RV Boondocking the Good Life

The girls (Heidi and her friend Betty) are doin' real good at takin' Navy showers, since we don't have a sewer hookup here at West World... Betty wanted to know if I was in the Navy... since I was sellin' their showers so hard... I replied of course not! I was U.S. Army! So she wondered how did you Army guys shower?

Showers? We don't need no stinkin' showers! ;-) We just used wet wipes!.... I don't think she bought it...

But, they are doin' good... I'm trying to avoid having to 'un-set' the Eagle and pull it over to dump... not sure that I'll make it though!

This West World is a pretty nice show grounds... even if it is in the middle of a huge city... lots of room and a lot of grass here in the middle of the desert...

They set up a whole bunch of three sided tents to provide shade for all the competing dogs... and their handlers...

There's plenty goin' on at this show... they not only have the agility....

**Here's a Border Collie I caught in 'Mid Teeter' :-)**

....there is dock jumping...

** a half second before KERSPLASH!**

which in the hot weather the dogs really love... they had to go in after a pup yesterday, because he wouldn't get out! :-)

and flyball, herding, and a thing I forget the name of, but they have a rabbit sort of deal, like in greyhound racing, that takes dogs over a bunch of obstacles.... not to mention plenty of opportunity for shopping... if that's your chocolate!

I went out yesterday around noon time to try and solve my computer problem... eeeeeeiiiiiiiiiipppes! Do you like the Indianapolis 500? Well, you ain't gotta go clean back to Indiana for it... just drive the 101 freeway in Phoenix at lunch time on Wednessday! It's either a race track or a bumper car operation! Geez! I couldn't live in this town... or most others for that matter :-)

We sneak out at night, after about 9pm to go for supplies... it quiets down enough by then so I don't get the quivers trying to get around... tough world for a country boy!

Last night we had another nice time sittin' under the awning for supper. End of a long but good day with some quiet times.

It's a good feeling. We can see some of the lights of Scottsdale in the distance to the east... it's quiet... the dogs are tired and happy, and my BBQ cooking is still ediblle! Shinin' Times!

Hope you're all well
Brian

November 2, 2007 07:56 - Some success... some not

Heidi and Buck are doin' fine at the trial... had a minor burp on the first day... got whistled off the course for goin' off course... oops! but it was a class that don't count in the real deal so ... Oh Well :-)

But yesterday... when things got to countin' they were in fine shape... so they're off this morning to check today's courses.

Then yesterday I had an interesting conversation with a couple of folks, the Pendergrasses out of Missouri. They'd come over to go to the Mayo clinic. Going through Gallup N.M. they made a stop at the Wal Mart... but it didn't turn out so well.

They were going inside at about 6 P.M. and were just about at the door when they got strong arm robbed! In broad daylight right there at the door. A pretty unusual incident at Wally World... at least in my experience. Wilford's arm was all scuffed up where the two legged vermin through him on the ground... Though they seemed far more upset at the loss of Alice's purse...

I guess a few folks chased the assailant but he made his escape... turns out... the same thing had happened the day before!.... If I was travelling I-40... I might just want to bypass the Gallup Wal Mart... and maybe Gallup! Seems like they might have a few 'issues' they need to clean up... or just carry your tire 'Billy' when you go inside :-) .... THWACK! .... Hey! No more 'issues.'... or better yet THWACK! THUNK! CRUNCH! .... Ya want to make sure you get his attention! :-)

Anyway, they made the comment that they'd most likely be puttin' their rig up for sale when they get home from this circle. I think it's a combination of things but kinda sad just the same.... If anyone is lookin' for a Class 8 Freightliner and a Cedar Creek fifth wheel... I know where there's a good one that's apparently soon to be on the market. Wilford is a retired over the road driver, so his truck is set up well and maintained just as well from what I could see. A nice white rig.

Well, we didin't make it... Three adults, three big dogs, and one nasty cat in a 30' fiver.... I gotta break down and drag the Eagle over to dump the grey water today... BOO HOO! I'm supposed to be takin' it easy... not doin' Work! And it must be a half mile clean over there to the dump site... poor poor me! :-).... you want to hear complainin'? Wait till we get back to Colorado and it gets COLD! I'll be warmin' things up with bad words and dirty names for sure :-)

Tomorrow morning is the Poker Run I've been registered to ride in... should be a fun deal.

... the books I'd hoped to get online this week are gonna have to wait till we get home... I race the battery in this busted laptop each morning tryin' to get my postin' done... and I'm sure it's gonna take some little while for me to figure out that paypal setup and get it all workin'. But... if you're interested at all... keep a lookin' :-)

Off to play with the sewer hose!
Brian

November 3, 2007 05:40 - Agility Trials can be a 'trial' for a mountain boy

To go to these agility trials requires us to stay close. That usually means in some sort of attached park area. These 'stops' are generally of short duration, just two nights or so. This particular show is a national championship sort of a deal and so, unfortunately, (for me) it's a lot longer. :-)

We've been fortunate to have no 'close' neighbors the past couple of nights... until last night. A dozen or more rigs were added in yesterday, as the frisbee and herding competitions got fired up ...

The Bounder Motorhome beside us now, pulled in late in the day. Their hot water heater is roaring maybe 6 or 7 feet across from my desk window... one more reminder that RV Boondocking is the ONLY way to go. After three days of the noise and commotion of this show... I spent most of today 'brushed up' in the rig reading....

I can only take so much noise, crowds and traffic... and then I go lookin' for a place to hide!

I had to come back from the trial yesterday morning to hitch the rig up to go dump the tanks... filled fast with three of us... but when I got back from that chore, I just closed the door... fired up the air conditioner...pulled a Jon Katz book my sister sent me off the shelf and hid out!

Even turned that harrassing cell phone off... for which I promptly got in trouble... since I wasn't available for some imagined need... Hmmm... folks tell you the world don't revolve around you... but let you disconnect yourself from their reach, and listen to 'em squall! :-)

I doubt they'll admit it though!

Gotta hit the road early to get over to the other side of town for the Poker Run... if I don't fall off or get run over I'll be getting back here late in the afternoon... I have to choose between 'surface' streets and that hellatious 101 freeway... Damn thing worried me in Big Red... not so sure I want to wander down it on a Motorcycle :-O... even early on a Saturday morning... I'm thinkin' of leavin' a bit earlier and takin' the slower city street route...

I must be agin' faster than I thought! Bummer! Well... ridin' buckin' horses an' rubbin' bumpers at 70mph are about the same thing to me... and neither shines for me any more. :-)

If I survive... you'll here from me again... if I get converted to a hood ornament... I'm sure my buddy Mike will find out an' let you all know! ;-)

Till Then
Brian

November 4, 2007 06:51 - The Charity Motorcycle Poker Run for Officer Anthony Holly

The patch from the run that will soon be stitched onto my jacket

The 'Poker Run' was a fund raiser for a foundation, to help kids, formed in this officers name. The ride toured around the west valley of the Phoenix area. I used to live just west of here, the first year Heidi and I were married, and I have to tell you... I was lost!... totally, completely lost... all day!

Odd how things change after only 30 years :-)

We had the lead bikes lined up at 9 a.m. to start the Poker Run. I was pretty proud of the fact that they had me line up in the number 5 position! Pretty Cool.

That's Slick 3rd bike on the right!

Jim (L) and Chris(R) rode the two lead bikes... they're two of Anthony's brothers. In a confusion/conglomeration of families, Chris is my Nephew.

Hmmm..... who's that bald headed Ol' Grump on the far right? Geez! The glare coming off that dome could cause a shipwreck!

I've not rode in a "Poker Run" before. Man-O-man it's pretty cool! Something like 250 bikes, mostly Thundering Harleys ridin' down the road two by two. Pretty awsome! I swear, the thunder shook the ground... I had to feel the grips of my V-Star to know if it had started! I couldn't hear it over the thunder of all those Harleys! :-)

We had a Glendale Police escort turn the lights at the first intersection so the whole group could thunder out of the starting parking lot two by two.... a really awsome sight...

Wish I could have been standing there to get a picture of that... I expect it was as awsome as being one of the Thundering Herd!

For a while we even had two Ambulances from the local services lead the bikes... as a good number of police cars, running in the opposite direction, on the other side of the road, ran their lights and sounded their sirens....

Makes a fella wish he could earn the respect this kid earned in such a short life. Kind of hard to ride a bike down the road with tears runnin' out from under your sunglasses.... good thing those other folks couldn't see that old geezer on the
fifth bike very close! :-) Ruin his rep if anyone found out what a soft touch he is...

There was a sea of bikes in the parking lot at the end of the run... fairly short run I guess... some 56 miles.

There were hundreds of people having a meal at tables to finish up one fine day... all In Honor of Officer Anthony Holly. An awsome, awsome day.

Well, today is our last day here at the West World complex... Heidi wants to do some 'Bead Store' business on Monday... and then we have to start workin' our way back north again... still have 'stuff' to deal with back there... and she wants
to stop for a day in Albuquerque for more Bead Business.... the fun ain't over till it's over!....

Hoping my laptop battery don't die for good... we'll soon be pullin' out!
Take Care
Brian

November 5, 2007 06:15 - On the Road Again!

***Update today at the bottom of today's post***

Soon anyway. We have a little 'business' to take care of, which I'm hopin' won't drag on too long, and then we'll hitch up the Eagle and head back for the Mogollon Rim.

Heidi got Buck 'Instinct tested' yesterday. We didn't add him to the family until long after we'd left the Ranch... so he's not really been around livestock... He looked pretty good. Took to it pretty naturally.... And of course .... I ..... am the one that picked him out of the litter! :-).... what can I say... when you're as pretty as I am... It's just natural that you'd be a hell of a good judge of dog flesh too! .... and modest to boot! :-)

Went to my sisters last night to see their 'New' rig.... I'm jealous! With a bit of inspiration from me they went huntin' and bought a brand spankin' new Ford F350 Powerstoke and a 2002 Holiday Rambler fiver. I gave them my condolences for not getting a Dodge :-) but they did good... they did real good... finding the Fifth Wheel they bought.

It's the same length as our Eagle, but inside it's really nice! The whole rig is a cut or two above us and our Eagle! Boo Hoo!... another taste of how hard it is to resist that conditioning we're all subjected to.. to 'Keep up with the Joneses!'

We had to make sacrifices for the way we travel though.... or try to! :-) Their rig is a lot taller... and I expect heavier... so with my bike and solar batteries... and the tight places I've pulled into... I guess we'll keep our Eagle. But I'm sure happy for them... They got a nice rig.

Hoping to pull out of here around lunch time... which will put us, after an easy haul, back into the Arizona High Country well before dark... and back up out of the heat wave goin' on down here.... just like me... if I'm not whinin' about how cold it is... I'm grousin' 'cause I'm cookin'... gotta have somethin' to keep my spleen vented :-)

Feeling kind of needful to get back to Colorado so I can get a fresh laptop ordered from Dell.... I'm even starting to have difficulty gettin' this one to charge. It's done me well, hangin' on like it has... but I think it's close to bein' down for the count. If it can just hang on for another few days I'll be in pretty good shape.

Not sure which way we're gonna go at Payson.... might retrace the way we came and find that great spot we used coming down... kind of likely... or take a chance and cut north at Payson toward Winslow.... there are some places up that way too.... hmmm.... all depends on where my head is at when I get to the intersection where I ... HAVE... to decide!

Won't know till I'm layin' in bed tonight... where ever my camp is! One thing I know... I'll be Boondockin'!

I'll let you know... when I find out...
Brian

***7:56 P.M. Update***

How cool is this?! We're back in exactly the same RV Boondock camp near Forest Lakes / Heber, Arizona we found on our way down a week ago... The one I couldn't get online at... While Heidi was at her Bead Wholesaler today... I ran over to a wireless outfit and picked up an external antennae and amplifier... the antennae is a little magnetic I'll likely use on the truck... they didn't have the bigger one I want to mount on the trailer... and I still have to do some experimenting with mount location... but.... I'm online! and it didn't cost me the $5,200 for the satellite system either... this just may work!

Yoo Hoo!

Just wanted to do a quick update... more later!

Time to step outside and look at the stars, in the silence, and darkness of the Arizona high Country... and smell those good Ol' Arizona Ponderosa Pines! :-)

Till Tomorrow!
Brian
*****

November 6, 2007 08:18 - Lord it's good to be back home again!

Yes siree! Sitting here watching out the desk window as a little tufted eared gray squirrel of some sort and a Stellar Jay hunt their breakfast, while I tap away on the keyboard is not to bad a deal. I wish we had longer to stay here. Camp ain't getting moved until tomorrow though. So I'll have to be content with two nights and a day in this beautiful camp.

If we get moving... we're gonna take an easy day trip drive around through some of my old haunts. Maybe down to Young, which is a tiny little town just below the rim. It's the home ground of the 'Bloody Basin War' between the Grahams and the Tewksburys... regular old Cattlemen versus the Sheepherders battle.

That really puts me in the middle... since I've run and really like both! There's an old saying around the ranches: "You run cattle for your reputation... you run sheep to make money!" :-) .... Hmmm.... I don't know I ever done very well on either count!

Heidi is all fired up to get Buck goin' on herding... Hmmm.... how in hell am I gonna haul a bunch of goats around to train on?.... like they say... life is what happens when you're makin' plans!

This aircard... with the antennae and amplifier seems to be getting the job done for me... I'm connected up twice now in a camp that I couldn't get out at all in a week ago. I like the idea of that for sure. If I can avoid having to lay out five grand for a satellite system, it will work a lot better considerin' that part about me never makin' much money!

Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it all works out! At this point, I only have the little rinky dink antennae... I expect an improvement in performance once I get a permanent and better antennae mounted on the fiver.

At the worst, I expect I'll have to get work ready to 'upload' and then get in Big Red and go 'signal huntin'. Truth is, that wouldn't be that awful bad... might even lead me to some unexpected pleasures... and with all that extra dinero in my pocket from NOT buying the 'other' expensive system.... I might could afford the 'pleasure' :-)

Now if I can just work out the computer 'glitch' I've been ridin' around for the last two weeks or so... I'll be a Happy Camper!

Time to go do some local 'Yondering'.... later folks!
Brian

November 7, 2007 07:58 - The bluest skies you've ever seen are in..... ARIZONA! .... not Seattle!

First thing we did yesterday morning was take a good long walk straight out of camp. Too often we (and others too I suspect) figure we have to climb in our tow vehicle (or toads) and take off... thinking we have to do that to DO something or SEE something.

Wrong Thinking!

When this is how it looks just a short walk from camp, I'd have to argure that firing up a rig is many times a mistake! and NOT required!

A picture like this gets you to wonderin' where that dirt track might lead you, don't it?

I started spotting tracks all along that little dirt trail we were following....

From these...

and these...

That I took to be Racoons... and some darn big ones too!... and lots of 'em!

To these...

from some variety of Lizard I expect... to all manner of birds, rodents and even a bobcat I think... even a single set from the ever elusive Great Hairy Hereford :-) That lil' road was a critter super highway!

Buck and Lily have as great a time snoopin' an' pokin' around as I do...

I find myself searching for tracks, stones, bits of interesting wood... or just stopping and taking a deep breath of pure mountain air, soaking in the world around me the Boss lets me live in.

But then, every once in a while, I stumble upon the ugly track of a noxious critter. One I'd rather not find. The track of the White Chested Urban Slum Builder!...

What Slobs! They just roll down their windows and chuck their butts, candy wrappers... and more... Too bad they can't be 86'd from the country outside of the sewers they obviously live in....

We got back from our walk, carryin' that junk, built a pic nik lunch and climbed in Big Red for a circle down off the Mogollon Rim to Young... I wanted to see how it's 'developed' since I was last there some 20 years ago.

***The Mogollon Rim is that red cliff you can see in the notch between the two hills. Our camp and the Eagle is waiting for us up on top of that somewhere.***

It's built up a bit... but not that much. Still pretty ramshackle :-) ... either folks there have money ... or I guess they've got none... not a whole lot in between.

They fought a range war here in the 1880's I believe it was.... though I didn't hear any shootin' while we were there :-)

Gettin' down there you run through some pretty large areas of old wild fires. They've had some pretty big burns here in the past 10 years or so. But, the good news is you can see the fresh growth coming on all over.... life goes on... and it sure has freshened up the graze for plenty of Elk!

I always figured the Young / Tonto Basin area would make a fine location for a 'Winter camp'... if a fella could afford the price of land.

Leaving Young, we back tracked to a spot up on the rim where we could pull back into the trees for our pic nik lunch.

Made it back to camp just in time for a late afternoon nap... which Heidi stretched out until this morning! That's OK, she's been fighting a cold ever since we pulled out of Colorado... maybe a good long rest will help her kick it.

This morning, we're reluctantly hitchin' up and pulling for Albuquerque. We're both wonderin' where we'll find a place to park tonight...

*** Our last walk through the Mogollon Rim Timber ***

Pretty good chance I expect that we may be Wally Worlders once again :-)

If you're headin' east ... or west ... and passing through Arizona, slow down and pay a visit to the Mogollon Rim and Tonto Basin Country. It's the Heart of Arizona ... I'm thinkin' its Soul may be the Sonoran Desert.

Whoever said blog posts are short... obviously ain't met me!

See you down the road.
Brian

*** I don't know how much more I'll squeeze out of this lame computer... increasind difficulty getting it to run.... keep your fingers crossed!***

November 8, 2007 06:14 - It happened... almost... as I expected

Rather than roll back to I-40 the way we came a week and a half ago, we chose to stay on the two lane. When at Heber, instead of turning North for the interstate, we stayed on hwy 60, rolling east through Springerville and on to Socorro.

The mileage, running this way is darn near the same a 'right hook' to Albuquerque instead of a left... but the country you run through is much finer and the pace is far more pleasurable on the two lane.

... and we all know... pleasure... is the critter I'm after! :-)

We have business chores to attend to this morning in Albuquerque, so we wanted to get as close last night as we could... We'll have a short run in to town this morning.

We'd have had them chores done yesterday... if someone... who shall remain nameless hadn't drug his... uh ... I mean THEIR... feet leavin' the Mogollon!

Anyway, we pulled into the Wal Mart, as I expected, in Los Lunas N.M. just a few miles shy of the Duke City.

I was feeling pretty chipper. Easy run over, feeling good, not even cross eyed and was goin' inside for the 'formality' of seeking permission to overnight in the lot.

OOPS! A 'minor' manager in the store told me:"Sorry, we don't allow 'that' here. The Security will run you off."

I was kind of startled... hadn't ever been refused at a Wally World before... bummer. We went back out to the rig and sat there searching on the map for an alternative for the night. Was still sitting there when 'security' drove by....

On a sudden 'spur' of the moment... I get them sometimes... I jumped out and flagged him down. He got a bigger look of surprise then I think I might of had on my face when I told him, they'd told me inside, that he was gonna run me off if I parked there....

"Huh? They overnight here all the time! I've just been advised to make sure no-one parks in front or on the other side... parked along the fence where you are... you're fine. I'm not running you off!"

COOL! says I... and my 'bummer' mood went away with a pop... kind of startled that guard I think! :-) ... "Aw... don't mind that ... it just does that sometimes :-) .... Thanks!"

So, it pays to stay polite... and a mite persistent... I suspect the gal I talked to inside might have had her own 'agenda'... whatever... it seems she was a little 'mis-informed'... 'cause we just spent a quiet, restful night!

It's on to Albuquerque this morning and then north for more adventures in the real estate rodeo! :-)

and battery hunting for this laptop... hoping THAT is all that's wrong

Till Then... Take Good Care
Brian

November 9, 2007 06:56 - Hard to get home quick... when you're travelin' slow :-)

Well... our stop in Albuquerque was supposed to only take an hour... 4 hours and some later... we finally got back on the road... Somebody got me goin' and I talked with Eddie while Heidi shopped with Tammy his wife... They're semi-precious stone dealers we get most of our stone for the Bead Store from... good people.

So.... back on the road and continuing our tour of Wal Marts :-) Since Heidi needs to be at ... another... Bead Show in Denver today, at noon, it didn't make sense to push hard to get all the way back to Nunn, and then turn around in the morning and drive back down to Denver... so we only went as far as Trinidad.

Not a bad deal though when you wake up and have this view out the window...

... it does show one thing though... somebody needs to wash the window!

Gotta get goin'... and this failing laptop... though it's hangin' in there... is fadin' fast.... so I better send this on or I'll not have power to do it! Next post.... and I'll likely be back at the house... continuing my search for a way out of it! :-)

Take Good Care
Brian

November 10, 2007 06:10 - Back to the Future!

Well... we're back at the house... back where we were in early June.

I'll be scrambling the next week or two... trying to get some resolution with the house... that will last at least a few months... and getting either this computer or a fresh one working reliably... I'm expecting the 'migration' of files and programs to a new computer to be a nightmare.... Oh well.... I needed some more 'character' ... right?

Anyway... my posting is likely to be a little spotty for the next week or so... I'll try and keep things up to date... we shall see...

Never knew a 'homecoming' to be such a 'bummer'.... when we left we'd thought we weren't coming back here.... life is what happens when you're making plans... hmmm... wish somebody could figure out a way for the two of them to stay closer together :-)...

I'm off to try to do just that... push my plans... and reality... a mite closer together! :-)... wish me luck! I can use all the positive thinkin' you guys can spare!

Keep the wind at your back...
Till Next Time... Take Good Care
Brian

November 11, 2007 06:09 - Trying to avoid the same ol' grind

Not a whole lot has changed here. The house is in good condition, I'm thankful to the 'renters' for that... Have a couple 'meetings' planned this coming week to make our semi-final :-) decision on what we're gonna do with the place for the next few months at the least...

We're living for the most part, in the Eagle... sitting here behind the house... we've got no furniture and such to move back in... and little interest in collecting more... That's a slippery slope I want no part of!

So at this point, we're just using a bathroom in the house and everything else, still in the rig... somewhere out there in the 'fog' is our solution, just need to stay flexible and alert to find the sucker!

Luckily, the air card is working pretty dang good here... considering my old AT&T cell phone wouldn't... hmmm.... so far so good! on that score... and I haven't even moved the auxilliary amp/antennae back into the rig from the truck.... I'll take ANY good news at this point :-)

I forgot to tell you about one little deal down in Scottsdale.... The morning we were packin' to leave at West World, I was up on the ladder, strappin' down a couple chairs I carry there... Was stretchin' this heavy duty bungee cord around the chairs and a ladder bar when the end slipped out of my fingers.

It whipped around and thunked me in the middle of my forehead, THWACK!... there I am, teetering with one foot on the ladder and the other 'just' on the end of the motorcycle carrier... my eyes crossed so hard I was lookin' out my ears!

I don't think I said anything right off... there was a neighbor packin' their Bounder MH right beside us. When my eyes uncrossed, he was standin' there between the rigs lookin' at me with this wide eyed, startled kind of look... watchin' me hangin' like a lame monkey up there on the ladder... all I could say to him was..... OW!

He kind of grinned and says: "Damn, that sounded like hittin' a empty 55 gallon drum with a hammer!"

Moral of the story... If you got an empty head... be careful around bungee cords! :-)

49 degrees this morning... don't sound real cold does it? ... I've decided each degree below 70 starts to equal 1 1/2 degrees below 70 when you get past 50 :-)... at 65mph rolling down Hwy 1 to that ranch store... it seems a lot chillier than 49... with any luck, we'll get the place leased quick, for the season at least, and be back on the boondockin' road where this ol' cowboy belongs. Keep your fingers crossed!

Till the Next Time
Brian

November 12, 2007 06:11 - Tomorrow ... the ordeal continues...

This computer 'thing' has been draggin' on for weeks now....

I've gotten a lot of advice from lots of folks.... quite a few think the problem is 'only' a bad battery on the laptop and that a new one will fix everything... that the battery can make everything run all spastic like it's been... I don't know enough about the inner workings of these machines to argue with 'em one way or the other... and I don't want to! :-O

So... sometime tomorrow... I have to make a choice... drop the $100 or so for a new battery... with my fingers tightly crossed... or just go ahead and order a new laptop... and send this one on it's journey to the repair shop... it has to be shipped to Ohio or some such place....!

I'm leaning in the direction of getting a second computer anyway... this blog/site... is becoming such a big part of my world that I can't help but worry some about what would happen if my 'only' computer got stolen/ruined or whatever.... I would be leaking big Ol' crocodile tears for sure... so I'm thinkin' that no matter what... just for peace of mind I need to quite whining about it and get a backup rig setup so I can just switch from one to the other if something bad should happen...

So... the long winded (as usual) story is I'm likely to do both... new battery AND new computer.... this time though, having had this rig for a couple years and knowing what I really need a lot better... I'm more likely to go 'bottom feeding' for a computer. I don't do the games and such that need all sorts of fancy bits and do dads... all I need for the most part is a rig that will put words on the page and handle the occasional picture... so.... tomorrow... one way or the other I get off the dime and go on to other things!

When we got up yesterday... even though I really wanted to be a long ways from here... a guy still had to admit the sunrise was kind of pretty... nice way to start the day... hot coffee, good music on the stereo... this sort of a view out the door... now if I can just get to be one of the 'homeless' :-)

There are a few things around here to moderate my 'whining' a little... I see this looking East every morning.... and the high peaks if I turn and look west.... so It's tolerable for a while :-)

I'm off for another day at the ranch store

You take good care
Brian

November 27, 2007 13:22 - Hoooray! Finally!... I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Whooooeeee! What a pain!

OK... my hair is neatly combed.... what's left of it... my blood pressure is dropping back to normal... my breathing is slowing down... my teeth aren't gritted any more... and the Winchester is back in the gun safe :-)

The Sun is shinin' an' all is right with the world again.

Typical Brian... the more frustrated I got... the more catastrophic things got to lookin'. That's pretty much the story of ignorance ain't it? ... The less you know... the scarier things appear to be.

This has been an ordeal I don't ever want to repeat! .... though I must admit, the biggest part of it was most likely a self-inflicted wound :-)

I can do the word carvin' pretty fair... at least according to what folks tell me... (though they may just be blowin' sunshine up my skirt!) but, when it comes to migrating files, moving programs, drivers, folders, permissions... yadda yadda yadda... this child gets real ignorant, real quick.

So, all I could see was the Bogeyman carvin' his initials on my liver... turns out it wasn't quite that bad :-)

Anyhow... outside of a minor little thing or two I still have to find, it looks like I'm back to work!

And plenty of work I have to do too! So I guess I better quit jawin' for now and get to it!

Oh Yeah...
Our current 'status' is that we are living in the Eagle... parked in front of the house... that I'm sure you know, from all my whinin,' hasn't sold yet. We're trying to avoid actually movin' back into the house... we've gotten emotionally 'divorced' from it and really don't want to go through the turmoil of getting reattached.... that, and we ain't got any furniture any more :-) As long as the winter doesn't get too tough, it will be OK... We are using the laundry and bathrooms... if it does break off a tough winter (like last year)... we may just take our lumps and camp in the house for the duration.... It's off the market right now... planning on putting it back on in February....

Since that work is still waitin' I'll get after it...

Thanks for keepin' an eye out for me!
Take Care
Brian

November 28, 2007 09:14 - The Rundown....

OK... the mistake I made in all this computer deal was getting my shorts in a knot!

Thing is this... I don't know the Techie stuff. What's simple and fun for the Techie fellas is a tooth pullin' misery for me... and a lot of other people I expect.

So I worried over it all for a couple of weeks... trying to find the cheap way out... and only ended up with a bad rash for my trouble! :-) In the end... I ordered a new Dell Laptop with XP... about the only place I could find where I could still get XP.

I just didn't want any MORE headaches... and from what I can tell the 'Vista' system only has changes that I don't need, use or want... so I went with the old tried and true.

Then came the change over. Along with the new computer, they sent me an 'enclosure' box into which I was supposed to plug the hard drive from the old Toshiba, converting it to an external hard drive... that I could then plug into a USB port on the new rig and swap everything over.... SWEET!

Only... the pins on the hard drive that were 'supposed' to be one sort of a way.... were a differrent 'sort of a way'... and wouldn't match up.... there go a few more bad names and dirty words!

Finally... out of frustration I started calling around hunting a Techie I thought might get me out of the corner I'd painted myself into... Found a fella who would do the work for what I considered a reasonable price. (The geek squad and geeks on call wanted what I considered an obscene amount... but that's just me maybe?)

Went by yesterday morning... started out bad... the old hard drive seemed to be damaged as well.... eeeeeiiiiiiii!..... more bad words and dirty names :-O

But... with what he called 'luck'... (I've found, Luck, to most often be a measurement of the skill of the 'Lucky' one) in just a few minutes he managed to get the critical folder (for this blog) moved to the new computer... took him a couple hours to get through everything... BUT... he charged me about half what the 'Big Guys' wanted for Half the time he spent... and it put me back to work....

So... bottom line.... I should have just gone with him a couple of weeks ago.... DOH! Live and learn... 'cept.... my Ol' brain is to swoll up an' sore to do much more learnin' ! Hopefully I can remember this lesson if I run across something similar in the future.... that lesson being: "BRIAN! Go find some fella who knows what the heck he's doin'... IF YOU DON'T ! "

I'm workin' on a page about the Verizon Aircard I've been using... at least when I - WAS- able to get online... and am using now to send this post... Hoping to have it built and on the site this afternoon... might be of use to anyone trying to make a decision which way they want to go.... I've certainly changed what I was planning.

It's now my thinkin' that the Aircard internet system is going to rapidly replace the satellite internet system over the next very few years... At the rate they're improving coverage, for the biggest part of us I think it's the way to go.... Considering the huge difference in set up cost and the performance I've been getting.... it's how I'll stay.... unless something comes up, of a sudden to change my mind.... again.... like the wind in Wyoming? :-)

It's cost me less than $450 including the external antennaes and amplifier, as opposed to anywhere from $1500 to $5,200 for satellite. (The aircard itself was free - with the rebate)

.... Big cold front roared through last night.... had visions of the Eagle rolling off by itself... good thing I have the wheels well chocked... This rig was bouncin' and bangin' in the wind like it was occupied by a couple of newlyweds... got me to thinkin' some... Heidi just warned me to: "Go to sleep.... ya dirty Old Man! "

Hmmm.... it would appear that a 'few days' offline has built up some 'wind' of my own.... better get to work on that new page and put that wind to work!

Just a thought... If you're goin' into Bear country.... make sure you go with someone... slower.... than you are!

Take Good Care!
Brian

November 30, 2007 08:40 - Some people have all the fun

Nick and Terry Russel... over at the Gypsy Journal had a bit of excitement the other day. Their bus was rolling down the road at around 65 mph when one of the front tires blew out.

Don't know if you've ever had such a thing happen... but it gets 'Western' in a hurry with a big rig!

Nick did a fine job and got it stopped with the rubber side still on the pavement and everybody whole.

Reminds me of a little excitement of my own some 35 years ago... I was rodeoin' and makin' a run on the Fourth of July from a show in Springerville, Arizona back over to climb on another bronc in Show Low.

There's a narrow gauge tourist train that runs across the road between those two towns.

I'd been pushin' hard for a while, with little 'rack time', and to be honest, I wasn't on top of my game :-)

I was rolling along... probably running around 90 mph.... I was always in a hurry in those days. Problem was, I was asleep! My eyes were wide open, and I was keepin' it between the lines... but I wasn't 'there'... this child had a good case of 'White line fever'.... I was sound asleep!

Anyway, I had that brand new Super Cab Ford pickup crankin' .... when into my sleeping brain broke an odd sound....

waaa...... waaa..... waaaa.... WAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I slowly turned my head to the left..... "Hmmmm...... a train"........... I turned my head back forward.... still mostly sleepin'....

"EEEEEEEEiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKKKKKKKes! A TRAIN!"

My right foot mashed that brake pedal so hard I believe I dented the floorboard.

That shiny new truck tried real hard. The front wheels locked solid and I started slidin'..... and slidin'..... and slidin'..... all the way, right up to .... maybe.... five feet from the tracks, where it rocked to a halt in a cloud of Blue, burnt rubber smoke.... just as the enging came to and crossed the road.

I was laughin' by that time, and trying to pick up all my junk that had fell off the seat... and that engineers eyes were burning mad as he glared at me as his outfit crossed the road in front of me. The windows of that train were filled with big round eyes of tourists staring out at the crazy fool in the brown Ford pickup.

The train crossed.... I put my foot on the accelerator to continue the journey and I almost couldn't drive! That foot started shakin' like a pole dancin' hussy! Just a mite of delayed reaction :-)

I didn't make it ten feet before the thought crossed my mind... "If I hadn't touched the brake... I would have crossed the tracks and been a couple hundred feet down the road before the train ever got there!"

'course... if I wasn't 'hypnotized' by the road... there might not have been an 'event' either :-)

Those front tires, with less than 5000 miles on 'em, got scrubbed down to the cord! Two patches, about twice the size of my little fist, one on each tire, of white cord showing. It was a sunday as I recollect and no tire shops open. I had to run all the way back to Tucson, rattling my teeth on square tires.

So what's the moral of this story? Hmmmm.... how about take a break once in a while! Driving sleepy is a risky business!

Take a nap... and I'll see you later!
Brian