RV Boondocking the Good Life

Been dancin' up against it all month... and made it on the last day!... Readership/Visitors finally broke through, by 25, that 10,000 visitor a month threshold! Hoo Ya! :-)

Many Thanks!

Over the last three years, between the general economy, the disintigration of the house market... and my own boneheaded plays... (Yup... even a "Prairie Coal" conversationalist like myself makes the occasional... OOPS!) the financing side of our plan, to get gone, RV Boondocking Full Time has taken a pretty solid whuppin'.

Compound that with our own 'personal' turmoils... and it makes for an 'interesting' ordeal...

The 'personal part' is workin' its way along... and we'll all see where that ends up, probably sooner than later... Meanwhile, we're still trying to sift through the battered pieces of the financial side... to see what can be salvaged...

That dream... of wakin' up in camps like Cape Lookout, up on the Oregon coast... or settin' under a big Fir tree, up in Glacier... just won't die... but when you look at the hit our 'Bank' has taken... (along with ever'body else) We've got to really sharpen our pencil to torque on the numbers, to make things look like they'll work.

So... with everything else seeming to be in decline... the continuing growth of my 'Publishing' efforts is a sweet tonic... and the seed of Hope... that we can still... get done... what we set out to do... what seems now, so many years ago!

Fact is... SBI!.. the outfit that makes my two sites possible, is a big part of what's keepin' that Ol' Dream of mine alive... so much in fact... that I'm contemplating the creation of yet another site or two! :-) ... Hard to believe I've got enough 'gas' to fill that much space, ain't it? Either hard to believe... or ... maybe kinda sad? :-)

Fact is... when I can finally gather in half of the visitors George does, over there with Ms. Tioga... I'll be in Hog Heaven... and wakin' up in some purty beach camp in Oregon! :-) Sweet!

It's taken a lot of hard work... and gettin' there is a slow trip, with a whole lot of learnin'... but you know... if you're doin' somehthing difficult or hard... can you really call it work... if it makes you giggle? Lucky seems a better name.

It's kind of like being a master carpenter... If you Really Enjoy building things... and you work really hard at it... but at the end of the day you get to look back and say, with a grin on your face; "Look at that! I built that!" ... that doesn't qualify as 'Work' does it?... it's more like one of those... "I can't believe they pay me to do this" sorts of deals... :-)

So... If you're one of those needing to build a supporting income for your travels... or just one who's looking for a profitable enterprise where you can share your knowledge about... something... I'd have starved the last three months, if it weren't for my websites and SBI! :-) and now... while ever'thing else seems to be circling the drain... this enterprise keeps growin'... slowly but steadily...

Yes Sir... these past few months... tribulatin' times though they may have been, have driven into my head just what a lucky son-of-a-biscuit I am...

The worst times seem to be workin' their way out... the Best Friends a man could be blessed with... Truly Guardian Angels, have polished my Life to a High Shine... and now... my writing... thanks to SBI!... continues to become an ever more solid part of my world...

Awsome!...

Our 'Monday Hike' has been kidnapped by other commitments... so... it looks like were gonna do 'er on Sunday instead! :-)

... and if I'm to do that on the morrow... I'd better get my chores for today done!

Take Good Care
Brian

August 3, 2009 09:16 - Mt. Evans - The High Road for Rv Boondockers and Motorcycle Touring! :-)

Getting High in the Rockies!... I feel a "Big Wind" comin'! :-)

... and according to the experts and all their gadgets, you can't get no higher than the Mt. Evans road we followed, in this country... unless you do it by foot...

We decided we were both feeling kind of lazy... and didn't feel like exercising our feet... so we made the choice to exercise just my right foot... pushing on Lil' Reds' throttle... and take a good long Mtn. Drive.

In all the years we've occupied space in the West... and specifically... lived in Colorado... we've gone past on the north... east... south and west... but for some reason... we'd never climbed up Mt. Evans... so this day seemed like a prime and proper time to remedy that lil' issue...

We got there from the Fort Collins area by running west, up the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park... and coming down the face of the Rockies.

We ran down from Estes through Meeker Park, Nederland, Rollinsville and then the gambling mecca of Black Hawk. Figured since the idea was a Mtn. day... getting to the Mt Evans road... by way of the mountains, beat running the super slab through Denver all hollow.

Most of the way it was just that way too... fine sunny day... sweet high country... and clean mountain air... hit a bit of traffic in the little towns... seemed like ever'body had the same idea we did... "Let's take a Sunday drive in the high country!"... but otherwise, no worries...

Mt. Evans is a 'Fee Area'... and thanks to the VA and the U.S. Forest Service... my 'cripple card'... or 'Golden Access' as they call it :-) got us past the gate with no loss of assets... and up we headed...

OK... now it gets pretty slow... whether you wanna or not... 'cause either the wormy switchback of a road will slow you down... or the volume of other folks crowding the road... seeking the 'Serenity' of the High Country, WILL! :-)

and that's a good thing... 'cause if you don't slow down... you'll miss a whole passle of what you went up there to find!

Folks like these had me a mite jealous...

There just couldn't have been a more gorgeous day to be splittin' the wind on a fine motorcycle... than this one!

... and then, though this might not be a mountain scene... Bein' on the Mountain, on a custom bike, as sweet as what this fella built... it just keeps on gettin' better!

hmmm... I wonder if Slick might be 'enlisting' in the U.S. Army? :-) hee hee hee...

So... you pull out of that lil' parking area... where we couldn't actually find a place to park... so Heidi kept circling the lot... while I took the picture of the bike... and talked to its' builder... :-) ... and STILL... forgot to get his name! ... Old Timers Syndrome is an awful thing!... and go around a few bends and find that there are even tougher... and maybe even masochist bikers of a different sort!

I mean... I figure I'm in pretty fair shape actually... and I wheeze like a leaky mattress at nearly 14,000 feet up... just walking across the parking lot... but these guys... pumping a bicycle up something like 14 miles of road?... that STARTS above 10,000 feet?...

... well... let's just say ya'll ain't EVER gonna see my butt wearing any of those sexy lil' shorts... pumping pedals at 13,000+.... or much of anywhere else for that matter!

... and this, is where he was pushin' for... 14,130 feet above the beaches of Oregon! :-)

It was another 134 foot climb to get all the way to the 14,264 foot top... which I could see juuuuuusssst fine from where I stood, down in the remains of what used to be a lodge at the top... until a propane explosion eliminated it in I think they said 1979...

Getting up there, Heidi spotted a couple of Bull Elk in velvet... back in the trees... but a good pic was not to be found... higher up, nearing the top was a small bunch of Bighorn Sheep...

They were shy though, and makin' it difficult for an amateur picture popper to capture their portraits.

That's OK though... 'cause right up at the top... just comin' down below the highest parking area, a herd of Mtn Goats had ever'body in a tizzy... They were runnin' 'round... the kids playin' and such, and none of the pictures I took measured up to my high Cowboy standards...

Until...

We started back down... got away from the biggest crowd... and coming around one of the switchbacks this Lil' gal and her youngster bounced across the road in front of us... and NO other cars or people around... SWEET!

We actually had several minutes with them on the slope right above us, and no other cars or people in the vicinity... SWEET! ... and when we pulled out... the people in the cars were looking at us... instead of the Momma and her Kid... right above them on the Mountain... :-) ... I guess... when you're as purty as I am... ya got to expect such things...

Pushin' Lil' Red up and down that mountain... my right foot reeeeeaaaalllly works up an appetite. Down at the start of the Mt. Evans road sits the Echo Lake Lodge. They've got a gift shop, restrooms... important to know! ... a lil' bar... and a really comfortable restraunt...

We'd planned to just grab some road food and head for my daughters in Denver... but looking at their menu, and prices, decided to have a late 'lunch' right there at the Echo Lake Lodge. (Really good food... and regular 'town' prices... not 'high country usery'!)

Well sir... that Quesedilla for Heidi and the Reuben sandwich for me, went down mighty fine... sitting there in that rustic, log dining room... at a table by a window... with this view from my seat... sippin' the ever present cup of coffee...

Reeeeaaaalllly makes a fella stop and think... "and I'm doin' all that 'other' crap?... for why?!"... hmmm.... gets my 'simplification genes' kicked into high gear. :-)

So... if you're in the front range area... RVin' or Motorcycling... don't do what I did for too long... and go around Mt. Evans... No Sir! Get Higher in the Rockies on Mt. Evans! :-)

Take Good Care
Brian

August 7, 2009 18:44 - Taking Care of The Regular Business of Living While moving toward more Frugal RVing...

Thought I should do a little catchin' up...

I managed to lock down fresh employment while our wait for the house to sell continues... I'll be plyin' my 'hardware trade'n for ACE Hardware this time... lucked into a deal with similar hours and days... 3 tens on and 4 days off... like I had at that last 'place'... I'll be workin' for a guy I've worked for before... so this is a 'known entity' sort of a deal... and I actually got a raise over what I was makin' workin' for the despicable dirt ball I was!

Pretty fortunate... considering the situation of a lot of 'laid off' folks these days... I was only 'down' for 6 weeks... and truthfully, I can't say my heart was in finding a new job 'round here... but reality kind of makes that decision for a guy once in a while... don't it? :-)

That's a couple Good Things in a row now... hmmm... makes a fella kind of nervous... waitin' for the trap to spring! :-)

The past few months has been a time of a lot of 'rethinking', re-prioritizin'... and re-evaluation... for sure and for certain... Although I've always leaned toward 'Frugal RVing'... these past months have really gotten me a lot more focused on the benefits of that aspect of RV Boondocking...

I've taken a few actions re-directing my head in that direction, such as selling Big Red... I kind of regretted having to do that... but you know what?... not having that Great - Big - $$Payment$$ ... that would be coming due in a few days... is awful nice... so getting out in front on that one was a good thing... kind of nice to make a good judgement call for a change! :-)

I've started a new section... you can see it over there on the Nav Bar... called amazingly... "Frugal RVing!"... I'm thinking I'll likely put another of those Reader Participation pages in there pretty soon... so you guys can share with each other... the ways you go about makin' things shine... without breakin' the bank...

I've got a few ideas for it myself... but as always, it'll take a lil' bit of time to pull it all together... Nice to know I've got plenty of work left here! :-)

One of the things I'll be keeping in the front part of my brain pan, going forward, was the goof of buying that expensive truck. Got a little ahead of myself there... That won't happen again!... its replacement will be a lot more frugal... a lot less expensive... and it's darned unlikely there will be ANY debt on it...

I'm also... wait a minute... get a grip on yourself... OK... go on readin'... thinkin' of puttin' the Jayco Eagle on the market! ... easy... easy! Take a deep breath... :-) I'm not abandoning RV Boondocking ... Not For a Minute... or the Dream of Wanderin' that keeps me goin'... Not In Any Way... but... let's face it... things have changed some little bit for us... over the past three years... and the last few months...

Not all have been difficult or 'bad things'... One of the good ones has been the way my return to the world of Motorcycles has woke up something pretty nice inside me... so, I want to improve the way a Motorcycle fits into my rig... while at the same time, increasing the frugality of the way I live.

And... with the recent 'adjustments' in my thinking... I wouldn't be able to set up a 'New' Frugal RVing rig... and THEN sell the Eagle... IF... I do this... the Eagle will have to go first... to open up the space in our budget, that isn't what it was just a couple years ago...

... No decisions on this have been made yet... but.. I'm cogitatin' on ways to Carry a bigger Motorcycle... more conveniently... with a smaller, lighter "Frugal RVing" rig... Our recent experience... with Lil' Red, on our "Monday" hikes, has demonstrated, or reminded me, how much more 'relaxed'... driving a smaller outfit around can be... something I'd forgotten to a large degree... so... I'm giving that idea... "Smaller is Better" a lot of thought, and we'll see where it takes me...

Aw hell... more education... again... won't this 'learnin' stuff ever quit? :-) anyway... this time around I'm takin' it reeeeallll slow... can't afford any 'missed calls'... this time around... but, thinkin' about all sorts of RVs and ways of goin' is kind of a habit for me... so it ain't real traumatic. :-)

I've also been 'house sitting' the past couple of days... between driving the owner to the air port in Denver... a broken refrigerator in the house when I got back, puking cats... and waterin' house plants... along with building a couple new pages on the websites... I've actually been kept fairly busy! :-) ... ahhhh... it's so nice to pay back debts a lil'. :-)

Till the next time... just open the window... and all the smoke from my schemin' should clear out pretty quick! :-)

Take Good Care
Brian

August 13, 2009 06:11 - Slick - The Yamaha... and the Old Geezer She Carries...

... are pullin' out in an hour or so... for a 4 day circle headin' down toward southwest colorado for some high country Motorcycle Camping...

I'd been plannin' on bein' ready to roll... right now!... but to be honest... that new 'part time' employment has been kickin' my butt!... so I slept in and didn't get up till quarter of 6. :-)

There's a few chores yet to do, to get that Motorcycle packed and ready to roll out on Freedom Road... but then I'll be splittin' the wind.

I still haven't decided which route I'm takin'... the idea I've had is to climb up over the top of Rocky Mtn. National Park and out through Kremmling... but... that would take quite a bit of time... and I want to get south... so... I may just hit Highway 7 and cut down the face of the Rockies. The same way we rolled a few days ago, going to Mt Evans...

Which would actually be the route I had thought out, in reverse... Hmmm... that would kind of fit a good bit of my life... Reverse! :-)

I'll make that decision when I hit Estes Park for my first cup of Road Coffee! :-)

My hope is I'll find a spot or two along my trail through the Mountains where Verizon is as good as it's word... and I can post an update or two... we shall see.

How-some-ever... ain't none of it gonna happen if I keep on jabberin' here right now... so I'll get to it... and let you know later... which-a-way I leaned the bike.

Till you hear which-a-way that was...

Take Good Care
Brian

August 13, 2009 18:33 - Gunnison National Forest - McClure Campground was my Home for the Night

I got goin' late... after 8 O'clock... it's hell bein' lazy... and butt draggin' tired to boot! :-)

When I rolled into Estes... the decision got made... like a lot of 'em... "uhhhhh.... that way!"... :-) I went with the original plan and climbed up over the top of Trail Ridge Road and down into Grand Lake. If you haven't been up to Rocky this year... it's kind of sad... the beetle infestation has moved hard over to the east side... It looks like Grand Lake, the year before everything died...

I'd guess next year.. the east side of the park will be brown... and we'll have to just wait for the fire to clean up the mess the govt' has made of managing the forests... hmmm ... makes you wonder about their ability to manage 'other' things... don't it?

anyhoo... I stopped at the Village Hub there in Grand Lake for a lil' break and enjoyed a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin to give me the fuel to get down the road. and then... I got down the road!

The day was really pretty gray and overcast.... result bein' that though it's pretty country... and was pretty when I was rollin' through it... the overcast didn't allow me to capture any really decent pictures... least I don't think they are...

Out of Grand Lake I ran south to Granby, fueled and headed west to Kremmling... missed the turn... :-) hooked a quick U in the middle of town... such a town as it is... and got back on the right asphalt...

Just a couple miles south of town a dirt road cuts west from Kremmling to State Bridge, a state scenic by-way and I took it. Of course, today was the day they decided to do maintenance on it... so Slick had to roll me through the watered down mud of a freshly graded road... She looks like she earned her pay today. :-) Good thing she ain't real particular 'bout such things... otherwise gettin' all muddy coulda caused me a real ruckus!

Just awful ain't it? Mud on her fender... and on her frame... just plumb awful! :-)

That road runs along what they call the headwaters of the Colorado...

South of State Bridge I had to climb on the dreaded Interstate to get to Glenwood Springs...

Good thing was... at least this part took me through Glenwood Canyon... a pretty place whether you're on two lane or interstate. Bad thing is... there aren't any truly safe spots to stop for a picture of the many spots where there are good pictures to be taken!... and since it freaks people out when I take my hands off the handlebars... snapping pictures... as I roll along at 70 mph... I don't do that any more. :-)

I made a stop in Glenwood to get some groceries for supper and then hustled south looking for my night camp... I was hoping for a spot just north of Redstone... but a few other folks had the same idea... and that campground, on the White River National Forest was chuck full, and I had to keep rollin'.

It's not real painful though, to have to keep on movin'... when you have this kind of country to roll through, as I ran past Redstone and started up McClure Pass.

I didn't have to be to fearful of finding a camp... there was only a couple million square miles of National Forest High country in front of me as I climbed McClure Pass... and just over the west side of it is McClure campground... and no fee to boot...

Got camp set up... cooked up my beef stew with my lil' back pack stove... boiled up a cup of coffee... and savored a can of Mandarin Oranges... Yes sir... a genuine Cowboy Biker feast! almost as good as those top notch, 88 cent, Wal Mart Microwave Meals. :-)

I did make the few other folks that found this litttle camp shake their heads though... I guess... when they looked up to see the guy on the motorcycle... tap tap tappin' on a laptop... sittin' at a pic nic table high on McClure Pass... up in the Colorado Rockies! :-)

... of course... until it started drip drip drippin'... as it tried to rain. I may be wrong... but I figured it wasn't a good thing to have H20 fallin' out of the sky on my laptop... so I scrambled into my Hoodoo Tent... and went to finishing this post... sitting in my fancy 'hippie chair'! :-)

Now... there ain't no service here... not none at all... so this post won't get posted... till tomorrow... when I go through some little burg with a signal... but... then... punch a couple buttons and posted it will be. No matter... it's a pretty little, peaceful place... squirrels cussin' me from the trees behind the camp... a beaver pond on beyond those... a view through the trees of the valley down below... Not bad.

The light is fadin'... I need some z's... and I'm needful of saving enough battery to fire this gizmo up again sometime in the morning, to send off my post... so the timing seems 'bout right. :-) ... it bein' all of 7:38 and all.

Take Good Care
Brian

August 15, 2009 08:03 - The Year With No Summer...

Some folks in Colorado... at least the part I've been in... have started calling this the year with no summer...

It started raining in that McClure Pass camp... about 10 p.m. give or take... and it rained all night... never quit... not once. I laid in bed come daylight, such daylight as it was, hoping the rain would stop so I could break camp...

No such luck, so I finally got up, fired up my lil' stove and made coffee in the rain. Can you imagine... I didn't want to put the instant in my cup... 'cause it might get wet... ? ... :-)

Stalled around... took a short walk around that lil' campground and then just broke camp down while it drizzled on me... totally disgusted. Got Slick all packed up and ready for a wet ride...

Said goodbye to a soggy camp...

and headed south in the rain... looking for a bit of sun. Everywhere I looked, nothing but storm clouds. Took breakfast at a little cafe near Crawford... and got rained on... Cut down to the Black Canyon... got rained on... still clouds everywhere... everyone I talked to said the weather was the same in the direction they came from...

... so... cold, wet and disgusted... I just turned my headlight for home and packed it in... I can ride in the rain... no worries... but that don't make it something I do for fun... I can endure it... but when you're looking to 'recharge' a bit... riding an endurance trial don't do it for me...

I thought I'd go as far as Leadville... and get a room for the night and come on home this morning... no such luck... no rooms could I find... some bicycle thing going on or some such... so now... fully, totally, completely disgusted... I just rolled on the throttle and came home... and I was cold climbing a couple of those passes... in August...

... global warming huh... right...

so... I got home to the Eagle... just about 9 p.m. and guess what... the sky opened up and dumped another gully washer on me... arrrrrgggghhh!

Thursday was pretty fine... right up to the point it rained for nigh on to 12 hours straight... I think they've moved Seattle to Colorado... and it looks right now to be cloudin' up for some more...

Maybe next time... one thing I can say... that Hoodoo tent from REI kept me 100% dry and comfortable all night... I wrote on the laptop, sitting in my lil' hippy chair... for an hour or two... as comfotable as I could ask for, while the rain fell and rattled on the nylon... it just doesn't have the capacity to pack itself up tight and dry... in the rain! :-)

Need to go and try to dry out the gear... on what looks to be the start of another rainy day...

Take Good Care
Brian

August 22, 2009 07:14 - Lions and Tigers and Harleys... Oh My!... and other Surprises...

Thursday... the Old Geezer turned 57...

Heidi and I thought it would be nice to spend this weeks 'Day' at the Denver Zoo... on Thursday... since she and the dogs would be out of town at a trial, come the weekend.

And truth is... if you're RVing past, around, or through the Front Range town of Denver... I'd suggest stoppin', parkin' your rig for a few days and seein' some of the sights to be had 'round here... it's a pretty good deal.

As luck would have it... the rains departed for that day, the weather was gorgeous, and cool enough that the critters were out and movin' about quite a bit...

We just strolled around for I think something like four hours... Zebras, and Lions and Grizzlies that aren't sitting on your pic nic table! Neither of us had been to the Denver Zoo in years... for me... I'll bet it's been nearly twenty... Heidi... seven or eight?

As nice, and cool as the morning started, we still got a lil' dry... so Heidi bought something to cut the dust... She bought one of those blueberry freezee things for us to share... gave me a brain freeze... OK... I know... it was a small freeze...

Then back to scoutin' the critters...

Lions...

and Tigers...

Bears... Lots of Bears...

... even with that big moat... it makes a guy think a bit... when you see this guy scopin' you out!

Hard to believe these big guys are actually just lil' ones... maybe two year olds...

As the day wore on it did start warmin' up... but there are so many big trees, the shade is plenty abundant... lots of benches to sit and PEOPLE watch... which can sometimes be more fun than lookin' at the critters... I've always wondered what the animals were thinkin'... I gotta say... I am truly amazed at what some PEOPLE are apparently thinkin'!

I was gettin' pretty lazy feelin'... just about wanted to take a nap, like this purty pink fella... though I've got no true idea, whether it's a fella or fellerette...

As we walked around there were actual, truly wild critters too! Like this lil' Rock Squirrel runnin' around... I gotta say, he was pretty rude to the fenced in residents of the zoo... kept hollerin' at 'em... "Cages? We don't Need no, STINKIN' Cages!" :-)

then... there were these things... which have always had my attention... 'cause I'm swattin' 'em... and jumpin' out of trucks goin' nine oh... if they come around too close!

Over at the Pachyderm area... the Elephants were getting hosed down, with a fire hose, by one of the Denver Zoo workers... when the hosing was done this Ol' girl... that some volunteer said is 50 years old... started her ritual of applying sun screen...

Though... you might just call it a Mud Bath

These next pictures show a bit of something that gives me pause when I go to a zoo...

I'm not some animal rights goof ball... Hell, I cowboyed for a good long while... but something in the eyes of a soaring bird... caught in a wire cage... and in that Gorilla, behind the wire... just gives me a really odd sensation... kind of a pang of guilt...

and then... you see something like this one here... Heidi looking at a gigantic sized Orangatan... with his face pressed up to the glass, his hands cupped to cut the glare on his side... so he can see out...

So... Just who is watching who?

... all good things must come to an end so we walked back to the car to head home... stopped for a soda to cool the ride... and as we drove along we wondered; "What could add to this day?"...

That one was easy!... MOTORCYCLES!... :-) ... so... we stopped at Thunder Mountain Harley Davidson as we got back to Fort Collins! :-) Sweet! A whole King size Motorcycle Gallery! Rows and rows of Gorgeous, Sweet, Shining, American built, Two Wheel, Machinery! Oh Yeah baby.... whooooeee! ... an even bigger grin...

After Heidi finally got me out of that shop we headed back to the house... for her to change clothes... 'cause we were supposed to be goin' out for a Birthday Dinner... with Terry... who is one of my Guardian Angels... Yeah I know... it's a wierd life...

So... She changes... and we roll over to pick up Terry... and walk into the house... and into the kitchen... SURPISE!

Those two... Heidi and Terry... had got their heads together and had been schemin' how to wrangle me into a Surprise Birthday party for two weeks! and they pulled it off too... I hadn't a sliver of a piece of a clue... and they'd been makin' slips that went whistlin' past my ears for a few days...

... and the bunch of folks that showed up was a humbling deal too... had me blushin' like a spring bride at the doorway of a cheap motel! With Heidi and Terry gigglin' like some sort of school girls.... " GOTCHA!"

So they managed to break two 'records' in one deal... I don't remember even ever having a birthday party before... and NEVER... a Surprise Birthday Party... Sweet!

Geeze... in spite of all that's gone on the past few years, and the past four months especially, I have to say... the way things are working out... I'm a pretty lucky, pretty Rich guy...

so now... this Rich guy... needs to get his butt back to work killin' weeds... so maybe that house will sell! :-)

Take Good Care
Brian

August 29, 2009 10:14 - Too Many Chores... Not enough me...

Been hustlin' every direction the last few days...

First off... my Verizon Air Card started giving me grief... Like I needed more! :-) ... so I took the thing to Verizon, to see what my options were... and of course... they had some... and of course 'options' cost money... so what else is new huh?

I traded out for their newest and greatest lil' gizmo... It's a 'Hotspot' setup. One way to look at it is... it combines a router and air card all in one... you can actually hook up 5 devices through it... according to their hype anyhoo... so far, it's working well... They call it the Verizon MiFi 2200... the thing is the size of a cell phone... completely wireless... though you can plug in through a USB cord... it also is equipped with an external antenae port...

Like I said... you can get online with up to 5 devices... using just this lil' MiFi 2200...

I'm using it right now... It's sitting 1/2 way down the rig... I haven't managed to check out it's battery life yet... and I haven't picked up an auto charger wire for it... but it seems, so far to be that Ol' Cats Meow for what I want..

On other news... Pat Daly, the webmaster for Good Old RV's had a bad day just the other day... I don't know for sure what happened, and he assured me that he and his are all OK, but he's got to be counting his lucky stars!...

Geeze... what a lousy way to close out a trip huh?... not to mention being pretty tough on the finish of a truck and RV...

And... last but surely not least... my Daughter who's in the home stretch on her first Lil' Bit... is set to 'deliver' the first Grand Kid... on Tuesday Morning...

So... as always... there's no shortage of things goin' on... and if I'm to keep 'em from stackin' up too deep... I better get back to dealin' with that part of 'em that I can...

Take Good Care
Brian

August 31, 2009 06:43 - Here's the story about Pat's "Bad Day"...

I just copied his mail for you to read...

I've never much cared for that grooved pavement... Guess I never realized how ugly it can get... It has made my liver quiver a time or two on the Bike... We can just be thankful they made it through with only the loss of the rig...

Here's Pat's Email...

Brian, we are home now at the cabin safe and sound. I gotta admit still a
little shook up. Took it slow and easy through Kansas and then down the 35
into Oklahoma to the cabin.

Really sorry we didn't get to meet. Was lookin forward to it. I'll just keep
following your good words on your blog until next time.

The grooved pavement on a curve merging into I70 at Limon, Colorado did us
in. Everything is a total loss and I ain't one for much insurance... too
cheap.

Watch Slick if you ever merge into Colorado's grooved pavement from asphalt.

A harley went down at exactly the same spot not 2 hours after we were towed
off!! They we're towing a little trailer behind their harley.

Here's what I wrote in my blog on goodoldrvs.com

"Well, we now know why folks hate the grooves in Colorado's interstate 70.
The grooves were responsible for us loosing all control and going into an
uncontrollable trailer whip and crash after simply merging onto I-70 in
Limon, Colorado at what the locals call "wreck curve"; a standard asphalt
downhill onramp at Limon, Colorado merging not too smoothly into I-70's
concrete grooved pavement. Apparently we were the 4th or 5th trailer in 7
months to loose control and wreck there.... And, the very professional and
nice State Trooper said that "since there was an accident he had to site
us!" and could not blame the road conditions.

We escaped with our lives, but bumper pull trailers are probably not in our
future for our usual long haul trips of 2 to 3,000 miles. Neither is
Colorado's I70 dangerous grooved interstate highway in the eastern part of
the state.

Note:
- Our tires were the very best
- Tires check and aired up to spec the very morning of the wreck
- Our trailer hitch was the best and may have saved us from rolling over
- Our gross vehicle weight was 4,600 pounds, about 60% of our beloved GMC
Yukons 7,500 pounds.
- Factory installed tow package
- No tires blown
- No cross wind... never a problem anyways; we've towed Miss Funfinder
through blizzards in 40 mph winds with no problem.

We were lucky to walk away from this one alive. So, if you EVERY encounter
grooved pavement anywhere slow wayyy, wayyy down or get off it right away so
you don't wind up like we did.

We had virtually no warning and it was all over in less that 4 or 5 seconds
and you can see from the pictures how we wound up.

A total loss on both our bumper pull trailer and our sweet GMC Yukon.

Guess I gotta get back in the saddle again soon. Can't let a near death
experience slow you down when the road calls. Hmm, vintage class A, Class C
or maybe a bus conversion to restore? We'll let your know.

PS. A great big Thanks! to the Limon EMT's, Fire Department, I70 Road Crew,
the State Troopers and to the 8 Eastbound travelers on I70 who pried us out
of our rig."

Take Good Care
Brian