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tbutler

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  1. tbutler
    By now we have learned that penguins are best seen very early in the morning as they are going from their nests to the sea or at sunset when they are returning. Leaving Dunedin we decide to give penguins another try. This time we plan to start early enough to get a good chance to see penguins on our way out of Dunedin. The Otega Peninsula extends from Dunedin to the northeast. At the far end of the peninsula is Taiaroa Head Reserve, prime territory for seeing wildlife. There are two routes to the far end of the peninsula. The high route goes more directly and the low route which follows the coastline. Our bus driver friend had suggested the same route out to the point that our guide book suggested. We would take the high route to the point and then return on the coastal route. We left the park at 5:30 a.m. which was a really good time to get through the traffic in Dunedin.
    The high route was not easy, about 20 km before we reached the point, the road narrowed to a single lane and was one curve after another. Fortunately, there was no traffic this early in the morning and we made our way to the Taiaroa Head without any problem. There are two private wildlife parks on Taiaroa Head. One is the Royal Albatross Centre and the other is Natures Wonders. The Royal Albatross Centre controls the grounds where these magnificent birds roost on the Taiaroa Head. They protect their nesting area and also control who and when visitors are allowed. So they are doing good work protecting wildlife but they also have hours of operation and collect fees from visitors. The second is a private entity, Natures Wonders, which owns the penguin colony area and also charges for visitors. As a result there is no free public access to these areas. There was a public trail with viewing platforms but these were not overlooking either of the prime wildlife areas. Neither of these areas was open when we arrived.
    I walked down to the first platform which overlooked a nice area of rocks and sea cliff off to the north of the platform. After setting up the tripod and spotting scope I started scanning for any signs of wildlife. One of the first things I saw was a bush on the cliff which had about 20 little shags, the New Zealand term for cormorants. The little shag has white on its head, neck and chest in its mature plumage. This was a colony of about 12 adults and the remainder were chicks. There may have been more chicks as they didn’t show up until they lifted their heads to feed from their parents catch. The adult bird would land and then would cough up their catch to feed the young. Just like robin chicks seeking a worm from their parent, these young shags were stretching their necks to get some of the fish from their parents.
    Next I spotted some seals on the rocks below. I scanned and noticed several different groups. One group was way out at the point probably a quarter mile away. There was a tidal pool and young seal pups were playing in the tidal pool as if were their private swimming pool. There were at times close to twenty pups in the pool and it was literally churning with the pups splashing, diving and jumping in the water. A couple joined me on the platform. I shared the view through the spotting scope with them. We talked and I showed them other seals and the shags. The man spoke English, his wife did not. He said his name was Jerry. He and his wife were from Peking, China. We had a wonderful conversation, he showed me pictures he had taken of penguins at a location further north. Later in the morning he returned to tell me where there was a good location to see the royal albatross flying overhead.
    We drove on to Natures Wonders to see what that area would yield but it was to no avail. There were three tour buses there and their schedule was full. We would not see penguins here. The return trip along the shore was quite scenic. Reaching the mainland we turned north toward Christchurch. We stopped at a cheese factory and tasted some good cheeses. A nice conversation with Les, the cheesemaker. He told us of an area rich with wildlife, Shag Point just a few kilometers to the north. We stopped there for lunch and saw huge numbers of seals lounging on the rocks. It had been a good day for wildlife. By this time, Christchurch was out of reach for the remaining days travel. The route divided, Highway 1 to Christchurch was busy with traffic and the other route was inland so we turned inland toward the small town of Fairley.
  2. tbutler
    The next morning we departed Katoomba just after the office opened and we had paid our bill. We planned to drive to Lightning Ridge which was over 600 kilometers away. The Western Expressway gave way to two lane highway and this then entered the Blue Mountains. Travel became slower, the road was rougher and traffic was slower. We were among the slowest traffic most of time. We stopped occasionally to let traffic pass and pulled off at scenic overlooks. The weather was cloudy, hazy and we were getting occasional rain so the scenic stops weren’t as photogenic as they could have been. Still it was an interesting landscape.
    After another hour, the road started to improve. We came out of the mountains and the road became better. There were still curves and hills but the condition of the road improved. Slowly, the hills became smaller and the road straightened out. We passed through towns that now were farther and farther apart. As the day passed, the road became almost straight with only a slight turn from time to time. We worked our way further west and north in steps. Towns were usually the place where changes in direction occurred. The condition of the road now started to deteriorate. The road was good in the center but the edges were sunken and broken in places. I resorted to driving the way I had in Nova Scotia several years before when I encountered roads like these. With good visibility I could see traffic so I drove in the center of the road, straddling the center line unless traffic was in sight.
    We had now outdistanced the rain and things looked better for a while but soon we were running parallel to a large storm system. We could see dramatic clouds and rain shafts across a significant portion of the western horizon. As it go closer it became more menacing. I stopped to photograph the storm and then we continued on our way. We were headed north on the final leg toward Lightning Ridge so the storm was approaching from a right angle. It wasn’t too much longer that we outflanked the storm.
    Approaching Lightning Ridge, the road condition deteriorated more. In addition, we were now seeing emus and kangaroos in increasing numbers. In the final 40 kilometers we also faced open range with cows and sheep roaming the roadsides and crossing the road. I slowed to about 60 kilometers per hour (about 35 MPH) to allow time to stop if necessary. We reached Lightning Ridge at 6:30 p.m. pulling into the Opal Caravan Park shortly after. We were warmly welcomed and given an orientation to the park and the community. We even were given a CD which promoted the community. The park was one of the finest we have stayed at anywhere on this trip. It was built in 2011 so it is modern in every way. Located on the fringes of town, it is near the bore baths, the Australian term for artesian wells that bring hot water from deep underground. We hooked up the electric and turned on the gas. Louise started dinner and we opened a bottle of wine, glad to be at home in Lightning Ridge. This is the Australian Outback.
  3. tbutler
    Anyone who visits the Pacific Northwest will see ample evidence of the logging industry in this part of the country. As you drive the roads you will see hills and mountains that have been give hair cuts. Sometimes a whole hill or mountain is devoid of trees. In other locations you see patches removed from the rest of the forest. You are sharing the road with trucks loaded with logs and the empty trucks folded up for their return to the forest. The Olympic Peninsula which has been our primary objective this summer is largely devoted to Olympic National Park but the fringes which remain are the domain of the timber industry.
    Within Olympic National Park the forests are mostly untouched, trees are left to grow and die by natural processes. Under these conditions, Douglas Fir trees which are the dominant species here grow to 300 feet tall and have diameters over 12 feet and live for hundreds of years. The are quite simply breathtaking when you stand beneath them and look up to their upper branches. Their massive straight trunks, almost devoid of limbs in their lower reaches, seem to stretch to the sky. We need our National Parks to preserve sights like these for ourselves and for our children. Outside the National Park, trees like this are seldom seen.
    Beyond the protection of the National Park, trees are a commodity. They are grown like a farmers crop, they are a farmers crop. Seedlings are planted within a specified short period after the forest is cut. With the abundant rainfall typical in the northwest, they will grow to five feet tall in a matter of three or four years. At this point, the tree farmer decides how to manage his crop and thins the stand of trees accordingly. Within 50 to 60 years these trees will grow to 60 to 80 feet tall and a diameter of about 14 inches. This early growth is the most rapid and most productive. Having all been planted at the same time, they all grow to look like one another. This makes them easy to harvest. The harvesting equipment is designed specifically to handle trees of this size.
    We spent a morning touring the timber industry on a guided tour. The tour took us through a mill which processes logs into a variety of rough and finished dimension lumber. After that we went into the forest to see how the trees are harvested and processed for shipping to the mill. Our tour guide had a degree in forestry and had worked in the industry most of his career. He was a good ambassador for the timber industry.
    Gone are the days of individual loggers scaling the trees and cutting the tops then felling the trees with hand saws or chain saws. Machinery has taken over here as it has in many other areas of farming. Trees are cut by machines. A different machine will turn the tree into a series of logs, stripped of their branches and some of the bark, cut into sections to fit on a truck in just a matter of seconds. A computer controls the actual cutting operation while the operator moves the arm to drop the logs where desired. As several of us stood watching this machine process tree after tree into logs ready for the mill, we remarked how this machine could do the work of 50 men working by hand. When the operator of the machine stepped out of the cab to take a break we were amazed to see that he had an artificial leg. Our guide explained to us that this young man had cancer as a youth and had his leg amputated. His leg is not the ultra-modern leg you see on the news and in athletic events these days. His leg was a stiff prosthesis which he moved around by swinging and dragging it into position. So here we had the work that at one time would have been done by 50 burly woodsmen, Paul Bunyons in a previous era, now done by a single man with an artificial leg.
    Another machine will load the logs onto a truck which will transport the logs from the forest to a mill or in some cases to a port where they will be loaded onto ships. We saw huge stockpiles of logs at every major port in the northwest. At the mill, the mechanization continues. Arriving at the mill I observed a collection of rusty buildings that I was to learn held modern machinery. Logs are moved to conveyers by large machines. The conveyers carry the logs along an assembly line or perhaps it should be called a disassembly line. The last of the bark is stripped from the logs then they are lined up for the saw. They are placed on the saw table by a machine controlled by a computer. The computer using inputs from sensors and imaging devices decides exactly how to position the log on the saw table. With each cut, the log is first squared and then sectioned into dimension lumber. The operator at the computer sets the priority for the dimension lumber that is desired based on market conditions. If the price for 2x4's is better than 2x6's then the computer will try to cut as many 2x4's as it can from each log. The rest of the operators job is to watch the machine operate and deal with any breakdowns which may occur.
    From here lumber goes to the kiln where moisture is cooked from the wood. The final step in the process is to shave the lumber to its final dimension. The classic 2x4 ends up being 1 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches when ready for market. This mill has the capability to produce everything from railroad ties to finished 2x4's.
    The tour we took is offered in Forks, Washington by the Visitors Center in conjunction with the Timber Museum. Tours are free and are scheduled each Wednesday morning during the tourist season. The number of people who can participate on a tour is limited by the size of the van. If you tour the Olympic Peninsula you should put this tour on your agenda. It gives an interesting insight into an industry that is often maligned but is absolutely necessary for our modern society.
  4. tbutler

    Preparing to Fly

    By tbutler,

    We’ve been touring Australia for almost three months now. Along the way we’ve collected some souvenirs for ourselves and for our friends and family. When we started this trip our bags were packed to the limit. We investigated shipping the souvenirs and some of the clothing we would not need on the cruise back to the US. Every query ended up with prices that were extreme for even a small package. Then in a discussion with a park ranger at Monkey Mia we found out about something different. She suggested using Sea Mail offered by the Australian Post. She had shipped her goods from Britain to Australia that way and said it was an economical alternative. We investigated and found the prices that UPS, DHL, FedEx charged for a two pound package would pay for a 20 kilogram package shipped Sea Mail. The difference of course is that the Sea Mail package will arrive in 60 to 90 days instead of two days. That was perfect for our needs. We didn’t need to have the materials in hand quickly. So we purchased packing materials and loaded up two boxes. The amount of materials that we wanted to ship back were too much for one box so we split it into two boxes of 13 and 14 kilograms each. That is 27 kilograms or 60 pounds of goods we shipped back to the US. This took care of the excess we had purchased on the trip so far and also lightened the load in our suitcases.
    Shipping was accomplished on Wednesday before our Friday morning flight. Thursday was pack the bags day and also clean the camper day. We set out suitcases on the benches in the rear of the camper. Frist Louise packed the majority of her clothes and goods and then I took my turn. There isn’t enough room in the camper for both of us to be moving around at the same time. Louise did a final load of laundry and while she did that I packed my clothes and goods. Clothes were laid out for the next days flight and then everything was given a good cleaning. We didn’t wash the outside of the camper, that was not required but all the dishes and cabinets had to be left clean. The linens and towels didn’t have to be washed. Those would be left on the bed when we turned in the camper.
    Thursday night it rained. It rained hard off and on all night. By morning I was getting anxious about the final work of disconnecting the utilities, electric and grey water. It was going to be messy. We were parked on a sandy lot and nothing sticks to things like wet sand. If the rain continued I was going to get soaked in the process. Just before sunrise the rain quit. I got up and made a trip to the restroom. Several people were busy packing up to leave while the rain had stopped. I think everyone was thinking the same thing I was, get out quick before it starts to rain again.
    We had a quick breakfast, washed the dishes and disconnected. I washed down the hose and electric cord as I rolled them up. Then a last bit of packing and we left the park at 8:30 a.m. I took Louise to the airport and left her there with all of our baggage except my brief case which had the Britz documents and my records from the rental. The GPS showed me just a few kilometers from the Britz office. Ten minutes and I was there. I had called Britz on Wednesday to confirm their hours of operation. I was told they didn’t open until ten and our flight was scheduled for 11:30. The agent I talked to said he would be there at 8:30 and he could get me checked out at that time and offered to arrange a cab to the airport as well. He also confirmed for me that I would be able to take the campervan to the airport, it would be allowed in the drop off area which is something that isn’t allowed at most US airports. Anyway, he was there and after a brief look at the camper, a cab was called and I was on my way back to the airport.
    I met Louise in a coffee shop where she was waiting and we went to check our luggage. We got a surprise. The tickets I had booked with Virgin Australia didn’t include checked baggage. That was an additional charge. The Expedia confirmation didn’t say that baggage wasn’t included it just said that additional charges may apply for baggage. So we paid for shipping our bags and then were off to the security check. Once through security we had about an hour wait for the boarding call.
    Our plane was an Airbus 300-200, a wide bodied plane for this cross country flight. I was expecting a smaller plane but was pleased by the wide body plane. It takes just under four hours to fly across the country from Perth on the west coast to Sydney on the east coast. There was also a two hour time change for the time zone difference. We arrived just after sunset. I was able to photograph a spectacular sunset from the airplane. It took less than 30 seconds for the sun to disappear below the horizon once its lower limb touched the horizon.
    By the time we landed and got out of the airport it was dark. We picked up our luggage and found the taxi line. A $40 ride got us to our hotel in the Chinatown area west of downtown Sydney. We are right across the street from a large shopping market with three stories above ground and another story below ground. The lowest level is a vegetable market and has other vendors with booths selling other products, rather like a large flea market. Above the basement level are two stories of shops and stores including a large grocery store. The top floor is the food court. We got a simple dinner in the food court and then walked around the neighborhood.
  5. tbutler
    We are in day three of our 11-day trip with our two 8-year-old grandsons. We had a great day at the Evansville, Indiana Zoo on Wednesday. Both boys are really into animals and ran from one exhibit to the next. If there was something to climb on or slide down, so much the better! The Evansville Zoo is a small zoo but the animals are close to the viewer, unlike some larger zoos. They have one tiger, other zoos have more. We were less than six feet from the tiger as he paced his enclosure! The boys were always on the move, grandma kept up with them, grandpa was trying to take pictures and always lagging behind. We had too many good animal encounters to describe them all here.
    We bought a digital camera for the boys to use. Grandma had to carry it but they could ask for it at any time. The pictures will be only part of their record. They are both working on journals. They both have books of blank pages stapled together and they write their story for each day in their books. It is a delight to listen to them discussing the days activities as they write in the book. The books weren't our suggestion, grandson #2 made them up and brought them with him.
    We stayed at Burdette Park RV in Evansville. It is a very nice public park with bicycle trails, a BMX course, a huge swimming pool and water recreation area, lots of playgrounds, volleyball, tennis courts, you name it, they have it. The RV park is nice but not great for big rigs. The roads through town to get to the park are poorly trimmed and very narrow. This is true of the trees in the campground also. So many trees here we couldn't get the satellite TV to work. There is no wi-fi and our cell modem was roaming and would hardly work at all. Still, I would love to take the boys back there in the future and spend more time there. Rates are reasonable and staff is friendly.
    Today we drove to Corydon, the first state capital of Indiana. It is a short drive from Evansville and we arrived early enough in the day to walk around town. It is a charming small town with a country feel. We walked by the old state capital building. It was closed for the day but we can tour it another day if we want. We found a pharmacy with a soda fountain and went in for ice cream. Our youngest grandson has a milk allergy so finding something for him when we are having ice cream is a challenge. The girl at the counter suggested a cherry phosphate and so he ordered one. It disappeared in short order. Now he has a favorite drink. His mother, a pharmacist, called this evening and he told her about the cherry phosphate several times and then grandma took the phone and explained it further. She had never heard of a phosphate! Times have changed!
    I took the boys for a bicycle ride while grandma cooked dinner. We rode the bike trail, crossed a low water bridge through some water and grandson #1 slipped in the mud after crossing the creek and crashed! After much wailing, I got him calmed down and we talked about the fact that he had made it across the creek, just slipped in the mud. Then I saw a dead snake where he had crashed. I told him he had killed the snake. He laughed at that. After that everything was better. We got back to the RV and as I was claiming the muddy jacket to rinse in the hose, grandson #2 was inside telling grandma all about the accident. I had to laugh. No better story than someone getting injured in a crash. Luckily, nothing was seriously hurt, not even a single band aid required. The two boys were outside playing, swinging on tree limbs, collecting rocks and generally having a good time for an hour and half after dinner! Guess he'll survive. Not sure about grandpa!
  6. tbutler
    Our second day of touring Chirstchurch we chose to take a tour sponsored by the Canterbury Museum. Titled the Rebuild Tour, this bus trip through downtown Christchurch showed us much of the destruction of two earthquakes, September 4, 2010 Magnitude 7.1 and six months later on February 22, 2011 at Magnitude 6.3, which literally wrecked the city of Christchurch. The theme of the trip was the effort to rebuild the city with building codes that would help the city withstand further earthquakes. Even as we waited for bus at the bus stop near our holiday park, many miles from downtown Christchurch, we could look across the street at a stone and brick church which had obvious damage, missing ornamental stones and a pair of large metal braces holding up the front wall of the church.
    For a little background, New Zealand is a divided country. It isn’t divided politically, it is divided geologically. The North Island is part of the Australian Plate, a continental mass of rock which is overriding the Pacific Plate and this produces volcanoes and hot springs which are typical of the North Island. The South Island lies on the Pacific Plate which is sliding past the Australian Plate in a way that crumples up mountains. The South Island has a series of mountain ranges running the length of the island on the western side of the island. This crumpling produces not only growing mountains but also earthquakes as the stresses lifting the mountains are occasionally relieved.
    Christchurch is no stranger to earthquakes but these two very strong earthquakes coming in quick succession dealt a terrible blow to the city. Dozens of buildings collapsed partially or completely. One recently built building pancaked killing over 100 people. Investigators are still probing the cause of this catastrophic failure of a modern building. Older stone and brick buildings fared little better. Many commercial, municipal buildings, stadiums, museums, churches and cathedrals were damaged beyond repair. Most of these buildings have already been razed while other are still the subject of debates as to whether to try to restore them or to simply tear them down. You can identify the buildings which are in this state by the reinforcing braces holding up walls and fences blocking access to the buildings.
    Whole sections of the city near the Avon River were damaged when the water soaked soil became liquefied by the shaking action of the earthquakes. When this happens, buildings which have a foundation on the soil suddenly begin to sink into the ground. This usually doesn’t happen smoothly. Some parts of a building may sink faster than others. This will tilt the building or may cause part to collapse while another part remains standing. A large residential area will be destroyed because of this phenomenon. Some of the homes are relatively undamaged but the dangerous soil conditions in the area require closing the whole area to existing and future buildings.
    We were taking the tour on February 26, just four days after the anniversary of the 2011 earthquake. Our guide described the feelings of Christchurch residents about the earthquakes and the lingering fear they experience, a genuine post-traumatic stress syndrome. Ties to beautiful and familiar buildings are hard to break and reaching decisions on what to do about damaged buildings and how to rebuild new buildings are all mixed up in their emotional state. With destruction and construction everywhere, streets are closed or partially blocked by orange cones so the reminder is there in every daily activity. Three years after the last earthquake, many residents of Christchurch are still waiting for the insurance companies to settle their claims.
  7. tbutler
    I’ve had several commenters ask questions so I’ll take a little time to answer one of them here. This was written in February and I’m posting it now that our trip has ended.
    Regarding the nature of the night sky here in New Zealand. First let me say that you don’t have to go far outside the large cities to experience some of the best dark skies you can imagine. The population is spread thin outside the major cities. One in three people live in Auckland and 85% of New Zealanders live in cities or towns so that leaves just 15% for the rural countryside. On the South Island the population is spread really thin with much of the area being mountainous.
    The Milky Way stands out brilliantly from most everywhere on both the islands. This alone can confuse the casual visitor. There are few places in the US where you can see as many stars in the sky as you will here in New Zealand. That is simply because it is almost impossible to get far from centers of population in the US and we have a love of light at night. So we light up the night sky to an extent that hides many stars. See The Globe at Night website for more information about light pollution in the US. In major cities you will only see a handful of stars, the brightest planets, our Moon and Sun. Fill the sky with stars and it’s hard to pick out the familiar groupings you may know.
    Now, as far as recognizing constellations, there are three challenges to be met. The first is that when you look to the south you are seeing stars that an inhabitant of the northern hemisphere never gets to see until they cross the equator. This is one of the great treats of crossing the equator. The whole of the south circumpolar region is completely new. It would be like someone from New Zealand coming to the northern hemisphere and seeing the north circumpolar stars, the Big Dipper or Ursa Major and Little Dipper or Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, Andromeda, and Draco would all just look like a jumble of stars until they picked up a star chart and began to pick out the patterns of those constellations.
    The second challenge is that the portion of the sky that we are familiar with is all upside down. As we look at the sky in the northern hemisphere, the projection of Earth’s equator onto the sky would form an arc from east to west and at its highest point will be south of the zenith (the zenith is the spot straight above your head projected onto the sky). Everyone has their own personal zenith and it changes as we move about the planet. The equator is south of our zenith in the northern hemisphere. The further north you are, the further to the south the equator will be.
    Take the constellation Orion as an example. Earth’s equator passes right through the belt of Orion. When we look at Orion from the northern hemisphere, the star Betelgeuse forms one shoulder and is well above (to the north of) the equator. The star Rigel forms one knee and is well below (to the south of) the equator, thus Orion seems to be standing upright with his head toward our zenith (our head) and his feet toward the southern horizon in line with our feet.
    Now imagine seeing Orion from the southern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, your zenith is south of the equator. When you look to Orion, you are facing north. In the northern hemisphere you were facing south. This causes a left right reversal. So now, Betelgeuse is upside down and the star Betelgeuse is to your right instead of the left as we are used to seeing it from the northern hemisphere. That means that every constellation we see will be left-right reversed. And this is the third challenge to recognizing the constellations which are familiar to us.
    So the entire sky is now rich with stars, upside down and backwards (left-right reversed) and there is a whole cast of new characters around the South Pole that you only see from the southern hemisphere. Even for a seasoned observer of the sky, this presents challenges. The casual observer may want to enlist the help of a guide! Or, you could just stand on your head and wear sunglasses to observe the stars!
    Watching the sun during the day presents the same problems. When the sun rises in the east for us in the northern hemisphere we watch it move across the southern sky and it sets in the west. As we do this we are facing south and the sun seems to move from left (east) to right (west). In the southern hemisphere, it will rise in the east, move across the northern horizon and set in the west. Facing north, the sun will move from right (east) to left (west). So the sun seems to move across the sky in the opposite direction because we are turned around. This also applies to the motion of the stars at night.
    I have been an avid observer of the sky for many years and figuring all this out has been an interesting challenge.
  8. tbutler

    Rally Report

    By tbutler,

    We are in rally mode.  We do this every two or three years.  It is a fun thing to watch the coaches gather, a small city literally pops up almost overnight.  Thousands of people bring their houses, whether full timers or just camping for the week, they have almost all the comforts of home.  And, at the end of the week we will all scatter to the four points of the compass and the city will just disappear - poof!
    Our rally attendance began last week.  We were one of the last arrivals at the Monaco International Pre-Rally in Celina, Ohio.  Monaco International is a chapter of FMCA, in this case the chapter is open to owners of all the Monaco family of coaches, including Safari, Holiday Rambler and Beaver.  We like their pre-rally before an FMCA Convention and this one lived up to our expectations.  We arrived Wednesday, July 5, in time for the 4th of July Picnic.  Many gathered earlier in the week just for the chance to sit around and visit informally before the actual rally began on the 5th.  By the time we arrived, most of the coaches were already parked.  There had been significant rain so they were being quite selective with the parking.  Even so we were directed to drive across a field up to a road on the far side.  As I did so, I could feel the coach lugging in the soft ground.  I kept a steady foot on the accelerator and managed to pull up to the road.
    More rain was forecast so after seeing some of the coaches that had arrived earlier, now with wheels sunken well into soft soil, I went in search of lumber to place under my rear wheels.  At Menard's I purchased two 3/4 inch plywood pieces 2 feet by 4 feet.  I also purchased four 2x12's four feet long, one for each tire.  The 2x12's supported the tires while the 3/4 inch plywood under the 2x12's kept them from sinking into the ground individually.  I now had a 2 foot by 4 foot pad to put under each rear dual.  At this point let me point out our coach has air leveling only, we have no jacks which could be used to raise the rear of the coach.  So I pulled forward far enough to put the pads behind the wheels and backed onto the pads.  It worked, I was solid, for the moment.  The front wheels sunk in some but being near the road, the soil was more solid there.  I could move them if I had a solid surface for the drive wheels.
    By the end of the rally on Sunday, the whole assembly on the left rear had sunk into the ground about 3 inches.  Still, the tires were now on a solid surface.  It rained several times more during the rally, such that there were large puddles in the street which weren't gone by Sunday, our planned departure date. 
    Saturday afternoon as festivities were winding down, I made a run to Menard's and picked up two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood, 2 feet by 8 feet and four 2x12's six feet long.  This would give me additional support as I pulled off the pads I was parked on.  I was certain enough that the wheels would just sink into the now saturated soil when I tried to pull out if I didn't have some support under them.  Part of the convincing came from watching other coaches being pulled out by wreckers. 
    Louise described our departure from our parking spot as the Egyptian method, kind of like moving stones for the pyramids.  Place a set of boards in front of the tires, pull onto them, move the set that were under the wheels ahead, pull onto them, move the boards again.  By then we were close enough to the road to put the short 2x12's in front of the tires and the plywood in front of that.  I accelerated firmly until the tires were near the end of the plywood and then eased off to let the rear tires "coast" across the last of the soft soil.  The left rear was running on mud and the tires pushed mud up eight inches between them.  The resulting mud sculpture was impressive.  We were out without damage, delay or expense.  Yes, I could have used my road service for this but if I can keep the wrecker away from my rig I'm happy.
    We left Celina Sunday afternoon and drove to Anderson, Indiana.  We spent the night at a very nice RV park, Timberline RV Resort.  There we purged our waste tanks and recharged the fresh water tank in preparation for our stay at the FMCA Crossroads to Fun, Indy-2017.  We arrived at the north campground shortly before noon Monday.  There was a line of coaches waiting to be parked.  We waited patiently and then impatiently for more than 30 minutes before finally reaching our assigned space.  The north campground is pretty far from the activities of the convention but we have bicycles and they run a shuttle so we are happy to be here.  More importantly, we are in a real campground with 50A power (which we paid for), water and sewer at our site (which was a pleasant surprise).  We have learned never to expect this but sometimes we just get lucky.  Louise was ecstatic.  She can tolerate dry camping for a short period of time, we had just completed 5 days living on our tanks.  She much prefers to have all the nice features of our coach working fully. 
    I am certainly happy.  It is Tuesday, the convention starts tomorrow.  We woke up to thunderstorms this morning.  It continues to rain this afternoon.  Almost 3:00 p.m. now, we are under flash flood warnings until noon tomorrow and it continues to rain off and on with the occasional lightening and thunder.  We are not in an area subject to flash flooding but if we travel we know there are already roads closed in the area due to flooding.  We are parked on a solid surface, gravel is below the grass growing in this area.  No worries about tires sinking into a soggy grass surface.  So this year, we won the lottery.  Now if we can get the storms to move on we'll let the fun begin.
    I certainly don't know for sure but I think FMCA may have scheduled us to be in the campground on Monday because the full hookups makes it easy for us to be on-site for a week.  I assume then that those without hookups are being parked this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  It would be a tough day to arrive and set-up.  My heart goes out to those who are faced with this challenge and to the parking crew that is out in this weather getting everyone safely situated for the convention.
  9. tbutler
    We visited the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, MO this week.  The memorial was built immediately following the World War.  It was known as The World War at the time because there wasn't a second one and everyone hoped there would never be another one.  Of course today we know that wasn't the case.  There has been a second world war and a succession of other wars of smaller scale, revolutions, regional wars, proxy wars between world powers, a never ending sequence of violence between countries continues today. 
    We are now in the 100 year anniversary of many of the final events of World War I.  With that much time to reflect on the events that led up to the war and all the subsequent events, a clear analysis can be done.  The memorial built in 1921 has been completely reworked to be more than a memorial, it is now a first class museum.  While the war seems quite distant, Louise and I found the events and lessons of the war to be very relevant to current events. 
    The introductory film explores the events and causes leading up to the war.  The museum documents every aspect of the war from the battle conditions in various battlegrounds, the countries involved, the weapons used, the heroic acts and the human suffering of those involved in the war and those caught in the middle of the war. 
    At the present time, there is a traveling exhibit that includes among other things, the actual declaration of war signed by Woodrow Wilson.  To read the words and realize the tremendous commitment putting the signature on that document would take is quite sobering.  If you are in the Kansas City, MO area this summer, stop by to visit this outstanding national museum.
  10. tbutler
    We left Yankton, South Dakota, on Saturday morning on our way to Denver, Colorado. We have made this trip in one day many times in the past. This trip would be different. It is Labor Day weekend and we don't have reservations in Denver until Labor Day itself. So we have all day Saturday and Sunday and part of Monday before we have a place to park in Denver.
    We drove west on South Dakota Hwy. 50 until we reached US Hwy 18. This is a new route for us. I had set the GPS for Wounded Knee. We have never visited the site of this famous massacre. Despite the fact that this is a holiday weekend with expectations for record numbers of motorists on the road, the highways we are traveling are almost empty. We drive for long distances without anyone passing us. We pulled off in a small town and had lunch parked behind a gas station.
    We're driving through towns with names like Gergory, Dallas, Winner, Okreek, Hidden Timber, White Horse, and Soldier Creek. The road is lined with fields of corn, sunflowers, soybeans and huge fields filled with giant rolls of hay. It has been a wet year in the prairie and the crops are abundant. We've seen quite a bit of rain during our stay in Yankton and the fields are wet so we don't see much action in the fields. Later this fall there will be a rush of harvesting once the fields dry out.
    We stopped at Winner, a small town with a hotel and RV park. The owners were quite welcoming but they had no pull through sites so we drove on. They suggested that we might find a place to stay in Martin. Arriving in Martin there were no signs for campgrounds so we stopped at a Dakota Mart Grocery and Dairy Queen. We figured we could ask someone and get information about a campground and also get some ice cream, sort of killing two birds...
    In the grocery store the clerk at the register told us that there was a city park that allowed overnight parking. Just go to the stop light and turn left and you will "run into the park." We grabbed some ice cream treats and went back to the motor home to check out the free wifi advertised at the Dairy Queen. It turned out to be too weak a signal at the motor home to be useful so we pulled out. We found the park just as described. After driving around the park once we circled back and parked in a spot on the swimming pool parking lot. There was a place with a sign for overnight parking. It would have worked for a small class C but there was no way I was pulling in there. There were ball fields nearby but no game was scheduled for Saturday night. Near the overnight parking lot a spirited volleyball game was underway with what looked like 20 or more participants. As the sun set, a storm rolled in. We started rocking and rolling as wind gusts of 30 to 40 miles per hour kicked up followed by a good heavy rain.
    Sunday morning came with a nice sunrise and clear skies. As we left Martin just past the grocery store and Dairy Queen was a nice RV park! Amazing the clerk in the grocery didn't even think of this when we inquired the day before. The really interesting thing was that no RV park was listed on RV Park Reviews. In fact, I just checked RV Park Reviews and the park we visited the day before in Winner was not listed either. In fact, RV Park Reviews shows no RV parks at all on US Hwy 18. I need to gather information on these places and get them on the list! I had also checked the Allstays App and found that they have the motel/campground in Winner and also showed a state park and Corps of Engineers campground where US 18 crosses the Missouri River. So this part of South Dakota seems to be off the map for many sources. Good Sam lists the two parks at Pickstown where US 18 crosses the Missouri River but neither of the other two we found. So it turns out we are traveling in a kind of camping and RV no-mans-land. There are resources here but they are not easily found.
  11. tbutler

    Kings Canyon

    By tbutler,

    Northeast of Uluru is an area known as Kings Canyon. The as the crow flies distance is about 120 kilometers but the road distance is more like 300 kilometers. It is a beautiful area of sandstone bluffs and canyons. There are several hikes of interest to us in this location so we spent Easter Sunday driving to this location. We arrived at the Kings Canyon Resort to find that all the powered sites were taken and the rate for unpowered sites were just a few dollars less than those with power. If we wanted to camp without power, we could do that free at some locations but none close.
    Being in the park in mid-afternoon we decided to take one of the short hikes. The hike we chose was about a half mile long and went directly into Kings Canyon along Kings Creek. The hike was an easy one being on paved or gravel walkway with a few bridges over Kings Creek. The scenery was spectacular as you looked up several hundred feet to the canyon rim. The rock walls consisted of a lower layer of sandstone in very thin layers overlain with sandstone in massive thick layers. The canyon walls were eroded in these steep walls because the thin layers eroded away more easily leaving the upper layers unsupported. The upper layers then collapsed into the canyon and were evident throughout the walk. Blocks of sandstone the size of houses littered the floor of the canyon. Weather would eventually wear these blocks down and the creek would carry them away.
    We enjoyed watching birds, photographing a lizard and seeing interesting plants including one that looked very much like a holly with small red berries. There was some interpretative information but nothing mentioned that plant. There was another trail that started where this one did and we planned to hike that trail around the canyon rim the next day. That trail was described as being difficult with a steep climb to the rim and with very dry warm conditions strong cautions about taking adequate water for the hike were posted. We took note of those cautions and begin planning for the hike.
    The only other campground nearby was at Kings Creek. This was a private way station just outside Watarrka National Park, the park that contains Kings Canyon. These stations are isolated and are high cost operations which also charge high fees for everything from fuel and food to camping. We were able to get a powered site at Kings Creek and it wasn’t as expensive as I assumed but the facilities were really rough. The shower house was in poor condition and the roads and campsites were on dirt or dust. Still, we had power and could use the air conditioning to cool down for the night.
    The following morning Louise woke up feeling poorly. She was suffering from a migraine headache which had become worse overnight. We decided to scrap the plans for the rim hike and head for Alice Springs where we would get some rest and catch up with housework before continuing north toward Darwin on the northern coast of Northern Territories.
  12. tbutler
    Carnarvon is only about 100 kilometers from Monkey Mia as the Crow flies. We aren’t Crows and we can’t fly in our campervan so we have to drive south for 200 kilometers and then northwest for another 155 kilometers. We made a late start down the road after shopping for groceries and filling with diesel. We took advantage of the discount offered by the grocery store which is pretty standard in Australia. Woolworths, Cole’s and some IGA stores offer a 4 cent per liter discount on fuel at their partner fuel stations. We’ve been taking advantage of this when we can. It doesn’t sound like much but that is the equivalent of about 15 cents per gallon and I know not one of us would pass that up.
    We made another fuel stop at the Overlander Roadhouse. A fill-up there would give us enough fuel to make it back there on the return trip without buying fuel at Monkey Mia. It isn’t a good idea to plan to buy fuel at the end of a long road which is where Monkey Mia was located. Another stop along the way was to see some Stromatolites in the Hamlin Pool Marine Estuary. Stromatolites are ancient composites of microbes which form large colonies in shallow water. An information panel described it as the equivalent of a rain forest for bacteria and other one celled living forms. Fossils of Stromatolites are found in Precambrian rocks. Precambrian rocks contain no other fossils so these Stromatolites are the earliest fossils we find on Earth.
    After that stop it was almost sunset as we approached Monkey Mia. This part of the trip was mostly to the northwest which was directly into the setting sun which made the driving hard and looking for kangaroos and other straying livestock a real challenge. We arrived in Monkey Mia as the last light was fading from the sky and parked in our spot in the dark. We had done something we usually never do. There is only one campground in Monkey Mia so I encouraged Louise to call ahead and make reservations. I can’t say that it paid off for sure but we didn’t see any vacant sites in this park. The place was packed with campers, this was obviously a very popular site. At the office we got information about the premier event, feeding the dolphins, which occurs each morning. We were given the location and time to be there so we set an alarm to get us up and on our way before the start time.
    The next morning, Friday, we were on the beach waiting for the feeding to start at 7:30 a.m. This is a tradition that started many years ago when people in the campground began feeding the dolphins. It became a problem when the dolphins began to depend on the people for their food. Female dolphins would spend so much time in shallow water getting fish fed to them that their calves were dying because they couldn’t nurse in shallow water. The Western Australia Department of Conservation took over the feeding operation and carefully controls it so that the dolphins have to get most of their food by hunting and thus spend time out to sea where the calves can nurse and learn to hunt from the mother.
    We were given an explanation of the feeding process and then invited to come to the water’s edge forming a long single line at the edge of the bay. Once everyone was in line we were allowed to come into the water to about ankle depth. This brought dolphins closer to the shore and some of them even came within ten feet of our line. Two rangers from the Department of Conservation talked about dolphins and gave us the history of the program while supervising the group. Once the dolphins were close by, we were told to back up out of the water which signaled the dolphins that feeding was about to begin. Volunteers then brought buckets of fish to the beach. There were only a few fish in each bucket. They spread out along the line and picked people from the line to come feed a dolphin. Out of 130 people there that morning, less than a dozen were picked to feed the dolphins. Everyone else got a close look at the dolphins and the feeding.
    Once this was over, we spent some time on the dock looking for turtles which had been in the area earlier in the morning. Then before we left the dock they started the second feeding. This time only 30 people showed up and there were more dolphins. Louise was picked to feed a dolphin named Surprise. By this time it was almost 9:00 a.m. and we needed to be off our site by 10:00 or stay another night. We went back to the campervan and packed up, pulling out at 9:50 a.m. We left the campground and parked in the Department of Conservation parking lot. We ate breakfast and then spent some time in the gift shop and information kiosk learning more about the dolphins and Monkey Mia.
    We found out that no one knows exactly where the name came from. There were three possible explanations for Monkey, one being a ship named Monkey that docked there in the late 1800’s. Another explanation is that the name came from the Malay pearlers, who camped at this location, had monkeys. A third possible source of the name is that an Australian colloquialism for sheep is monkey and there were (still are) sheep farms on the peninsula. Mia is the Aboriginal word for home, camp or resting place. The information sheet clearly stated that there are no monkeys at Monkey Mia.
  13. tbutler
    The campground at Mount Gambier was in a difficult location to find and when we did, it wasn’t the best place to stay. They let us choose our own site which was their way of not having to listen to us complain about the assigned site. We found no level sites and settled for one that was nearly level. It was at the bottom of a slope and back away from the road for some distance. This became a concern when I heard it start raining during the night. As the night went on, the rain continued in spurts. By morning I was quite concerned about the possibility of getting stuck. I rousted out Louise early that morning so as to get out before more rain made the ground even softer. As it turned out, we were able to pull out without difficulty.
    I had promised Louise breakfast at McDonalds and programmed the GPS to take us there. It worked flawlessly. We found a parking place and Louise went in to order breakfast. I set up the computer to test the internet connection. McDonalds in Australia provides free internet. Yea! The connection was good and we could both get on at the same time. We ate breakfast and worked on the internet while sitting in the caravan for about an hour. Then we went to find a place to activate our phone. I went to a Coles Supermarket to ask how to do this. They gave me instructions and a phone number. Fortunately we had parked right by a phone booth and we got the activation done. I was now feeling a little better about communications here in Australia.
    From Mount Gambier we continued on the coastal route but now needed to move on to our next stop, Langhorn Creek. We could get there in a day but it would be very late in the day so we set our goal for a town just a little short of Langhorn Creek. We covered 300 kilometers, about 180 miles and stayed the night at Meningie. Our top speed on these roads is around 80 km/hour, about 45 MPH. The roads are curvy, hilly, narrow, rough and have little or no shoulder. We are rocking and rolling even at that speed. Louise has done wonders finding rattles in the caravan and we’re traveling with mostly engine and tire noise. This trip also involved significant winds, crosswinds that shift the caravan side to side. The route is northward just inland from the coast and the wind is strongly from the sea to our west. When we have trees along the road it cuts the wind but when we don’t it is a constant battle to keep the cararvan on the road.
    Meningie would be a delight once we reach there. The campground is right on Lake Albert, which is really a lake off of a larger lake which is behind a barrier island along Encounter Bay. The lady in the office is a delight and we book a site despite the note taped to the office counter that indicates their internet service is out of service. The note looks months old so I don’t think they are really trying to get it fixed. We parked so we could look out the rear window of the camper to the lake. Then the rain began. The far shoreline of the lake disappeared periodically as passing showers swept through the area. By night the rain had stopped.
    Sunday we’re off to Langhorn Creek to visit the Bleasdale Winery. There is a long story to go with this choice of winery, suffice it to say that Louise has family connections to the Blasdell name and the family organization includes many variant spellings of which Bleasdale is one. Through the family association, Louise was advised of this winery in Langhorn Creek and wanted to visit there to investigate the connection. We’ve encountered a number of people here in Australia who when we mention Langhorn Creek know all about the Bleasdale Winery and its history. Founded in 1850 by … Potts and named for a Reverend Bleasdale who was a vinter and inspired Potts to try his hand at wine making. Potts named the winery for Reverend Bleasdale.
    On the way we encounter one surprise, the road we’re following comes to a river and there is a ferry. We wonder if the ferry will accommodate us but arriving there we see several large camping trailers on board. Then on the far shore we see a tractor trailer pull onto the ferry, we’ll have no problem here. In fact, the ferry was free. We cross and are on our way. By 11:00 a.m. we’re at the Bleasdale Winery. We get a tour, meet the fifth generation of the founder who now manages the winery. After tasting a number of excellent wines we purchase a selection (including an excellent 18 year old Port) and set out on our way. Our next stop will be in Adelaide, a short distance to the northwest.
    If you are counting states, we been in Tasmania, Melbourne is in Victoria and Adelaide is in South Australia. We’ve been here just two weeks and we’ve been in almost half the states in the country. It sounds more impressive than it is, we’ve only seen a tiny fraction of this very large country.
  14. tbutler

    Sydney Harbor

    By tbutler,

    By Tuesday we had accomplished all our first priority activities for our stay in Sydney. The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday was a chance of rain but the rain never materialized. We left the hotel and took a city bus downtown to Circular Key, the heart of the transportation hub in Sydney. The bus route terminates near the ferry terminal and the commuter train station. We went to the ferry terminal and located the Manly Fast Ferry, a ferry service for people traveling to and from destinations within the Sydney harbor to the south of Sydney. It is not a tour boat but we used it as one. At the ticket office, we inquire about the ferry. The lady at the window says I’ve got a ferry just for you. She motioned toward the boat at the dock behind her and said it was about to depart and we could purchase our tickets on board. We hustled down the dock to the ferry and were welcomed by a young man who directed us across the gangplank and promptly pulled it in behind us. The lady in the ticket booth was correct, we were the only passengers on the ferry as it left the dock.
    We took seats on the top deck, an open air deck, which facilitated photography. Leaving the dock we got a harbor view of the Sydney Opera House. This was the only way to see the front of this amazing building. Among the stops were the Sydney Zoo and a National Park on the site of an early 1900’s immigration station. Manly is a community near the mouth of the harbor. All along the route we see one harbor after another with dozens of boats moored in each one. Beautiful homes crowd the hills along the harbor. In Manly we see many condominiums with harbor views.
    Our ride was suggested to us by an exhibitor at Vivid Sydney. He said you haven’t really seen Sydney until you have seen it from the harbor. He was correct. The ride around the harbor was a completely different view of this thriving city. Sydney is a city built around a harbor and they love their harbor. The Manly Fast Ferry is only one of the ferries that operate here. The City of Sydney also has an extensive ferry line that serves all areas of the harbor. There is a constant flow of ferry traffic into the ferry terminal day and night.
    Sydney has almost one quarter of the entire population of Australia. With nearly 4 million people, there is a life to the city that is found only in the largest of cities in the US. Our hotel was about 3 miles from the center of downtown Sydney. Foot traffic is heavy from downtown all the way out to our hotel all day long and well into the night. It is not uncommon to wait at a cross walk with 20 other people facing another group of equal size on the other side of the intersection. At ten in the evening we were surrounded by other pedestrians and felt quite safe. Sydney has a very diverse population. Its proximity to the Orient accounts for a large percentage of people from that area. We also met many people who were recent immigrants from European countries.
    One thing that stood out in our experience was the completely peaceful nature of the crowds of people. We saw no rowdy behavior or violence. Graffiti was rare and people were friendly, willing to strike up a conversation with us, total strangers. I even had one young man ask me how to use his Sony digital camera to photograph the night lights of Sydney. Not being familiar with his camera I couldn’t offer him much help but tried to give him some idea what the numbers on his digital display meant.
    We rode a city bus back toward the hotel but got off a few blocks away to get dinner at the Three Wise Monkeys Bar, now a favorite of ours. Once again we got a seat at the window and enjoyed watching the passing parade on the sidewalks of Sydney.
  15. tbutler

    Our 2020 Travels

    By tbutler,

    Despite COVID we hit the road June 11, 2020.  We felt that we would be able to travel safely in our motor home.  In fact, that proved to work well.  We left Edinburg, TX headed north for Missouri.  The first thing we noticed is that there was very little traffic of any kind.  We drove through San Antonio on I-435 and I-35 at the posted speed limit during "rush hour."  This continued as we drove through Austin and Waco.  We stopped for the night at a Walmart in Georgetown, Texas.  A brief visit to the store confirmed we were allowed to stay.  There were no other RV's on the lot that night.  In fact, we saw only a few trailers the previous day, not a single motor home traveling with us or on the southbound highway.  This continued to be the case until we got to the Oklahoma Turnpike and I-55 in Missouri.  Travel through Dallas was at or near the speed limit with the exception of one small delay for an accident. 
    We stayed at an RV park in Oklahoma.  Check-in was at a motel office.  The office personnel were not masked, there were no barriers (plexiglass) so we stayed as distant as possible, wearing our masks.  Fueling was pay at the pump so that required no contact.  We made a brief stop at Walmart when the DEF indicator showed us getting low on DEF.  The afternoon of the third day we pulled into our daughters home in Foristell, MO.  We had them install a complete RV site, concrete with full hookups when they built their home.  It is a rural area and there was plenty of space.  We paid for the improvements as we have several family members in the area and normally spend a month or more there. 
    With family now, we quarantined for a week, talking only at a distance and with masks on.  Early on in the COVID outbreak I started using a infrared thermometer to monitor our temperatures and I also purchased an oximeter to monitor our oxygen levels.  I did the same for our families we were visiting.  Temperature monitoring was easily understood.  The oximeter took some explanation.  My doctor recommended it as a way to determine when to seek medical help if you were feeling ill.  COVID attacks the lungs and when oxygen levels in the blood drop below 95%, the danger of damage to the brain increases.  That would be time for help.  I continue to monitor those conditions today. 
    We left Missouri in mid-August, headed for Colorado to visit our family there.  We were going to provide support for our daughter who had foot surgery scheduled in early September.  We have been staying at a humble but affordable RV Park in Aurora, Denver Meadows.  Office and maintenance staff at this park were always masked.  Once surgery was completed and our daughter was able to fend for herself again, we left Denver.  That was September 6.  During the entire time in Denver we were never able to see the Rocky Mountains.  Fires in the area had us in a smoky haze the entire time.  At times it got somewhat better but then the wind would shift and we were back in heavier haze and smoke.  We even had a small fire break out just across the creek from the RV park.  That was extinguished without danger to us but there was a fire department vehicle parked on our side of the creek the whole time. 
    The next leg of our trip was to Oregon where we had service scheduled on our coach.  We traveled through Utah, staying a couple of days at Golden Spike RV Park in Brigham City, UT.  Again we found staff masked and following COVID protocols.  We had passed the area of the Golden Spike National Historical Park near Promontory Point, UT, numerous times.  Each time we remarked we'd like to see that monument.  We spent an afternoon at the site.  The visitors center was closed except for the gift shop.  The outdoor exhibits were well worth the stop.  They had one of the two replica steam engines out for display.  The engine (one of two replicas) is an exact replica of the original engine used by the Central Pacific Railroad during the building of the western part of the Trans Continental Railroad.  The other engine is a replica of the engine used by the Union Pacific Railroad which built the eastern part of the railroad.  While the engines are exact replicas, they were way to beautiful to look like the working engines that were actually used.  The engine was under steam and we had a nice visit with one of the staff when they came out to release steam from the engine.  We could have stayed to see them move the engine back into storage, something that is done each evening. 
    As our journey continued into Idaho, we could see evidence of the fires on the west coast.  We were once again in a cloud of smoke.  We enjoy the trip across Oregon on US 20 and this was our plan on this trip.  Our daughter who lives in California and has relatives in Oregon advised us to check on the fires as they were near our destination.  We found that roads we normally travel were closed due to the fire.  We made an overnight stop at a rest area near Brothers, OR.  The next morning a quick check of road conditions indicated one route that would not take us too far out of our way to Coburg, OR.  That route took us up and over mountainous terrain.  One stretch had over 30 switchbacks, none too severe and traffic was light so our slow speed didn't back up a huge line of traffic.  We reached I-5 about 30 miles north of Coburg.  As we continued, the smoke became heavier and visibility dropped.  When we parked at Cummins that afternoon, I got out to hook up the power and found that there was more than smoke.  There was ash falling in fine flakes.  I was leaving footprints in the ash.  We stayed indoors until time to check in the next morning.  A day later we were at the REV Group service center.  There we could monitor air quality by how far we could see across a neighboring parking lot.  There were four large light poles that served as markers of the air quality.  For several days we could only see one of the four light poles, about 200 feet away.  Things began to improve and a week later we could see all four light poles.  Then the rain came and the air cleared.  Several more rain showers had most of the fires under control. 
    At both service centers there were waiting rooms and we used them.  Distancing and masks were required.  There were a few people who couldn't talk without removing their mask temporarily.  One couple who refused to wear a mask were isolated in a separate room at the REV Group facility.  Later we learned that COVID is rarely transmitted through contact with surfaces.  It is almost always transmitted through the air.  Still, we were conscious of touching surfaces and kept hand sanitizer with us in the waiting rooms.
    We had a week off from the service center while they were waiting for parts so we drove south to Sutherlin, OR.  We stayed at the Umpqua Golf Club and RV.  Again, everyone was following COVID protocols, masks and distancing.  We played golf almost every day while there.  We also got in a family visit and had lunch at a restaurant in Roseburg one afternoon.  We found early on when restaurants were open that if we ate at off hours, we could be almost alone in the restaurant.  In this case we also had an outdoor table. 
    Once repairs were completed, we headed south for our Texas home.  Traffic remained light to moderate and we made good time.  We left Coburg on the 16th of October and were in Edinburg on the 22nd. 
    We and our families remain COVID free and both Louise and I have completed the vaccine regimine.  We made our first trip of 2021 to Tallahassee, FL for a Monaco International Pre-Rally before attending the FMCA Convention in Perry, GA.  Our summer travels will begin in late May and we plan to be out over much of the same territory during the summer of 2021.
     
  16. tbutler
    Monday, May 12, we went out to swim with the whalesharks. We chose Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim as the company based on the information we could gather. We were picked up at our park at 7:15 and driven to the dock which is on the other side of the peninsula. There were 19 adults in the group plus three young children. We were transferred to the boat which was anchored offshore and then taken to a reef area. The snorkeling was partly a training exercise for the whaleshark swim which has to be executed very quickly to catch the shark as it swims by. You can swim for a while but eventually it will outpace even the strongest swimmers.
    The boat anchored off the reef and we were to swim to the reef for snorkeling. With the tide coming in and the boat being inside the reef it meant we had to swim against a pretty strong current. I wore myself out completely swimming against the current and just couldn’t get ahead of it. So I returned to the boat, a washout! Louise is a stronger swimmer than I and was able to get to the reef and snorkel there. Everyone came back with stories of a Manta Ray and other great sightings of fish. Once everyone was back on board we set out to hunt a whaleshark.
    The actual hunting is done by airplane. Pilots spot them swimming just below the water’s surface and relay their location to the ship. So off we went bouncing our way into the 2 to 3 meter swells of the Indian Ocean. As our guide said it could be rough as there is nothing between where we were and Africa just a whole lot of open water! Reaching a whaleshark we put on our snorkeling gear and once the boat was positioned ahead of the shark we jumped in. Off we swam to see the whaleshark. I got a look at it but it was a fleeting look still I had seen it. Whale sharks are large, this one was about 4 meters long from head to tip of tail.
    Returning to the boat, we continued searching for whalesharks. More rough seas plus the seawater swallowed while snorkeling began to hit a few of the adults. One woman was down and out from that point on. A second whaleshark was spotted and we got another chance to snorkel. This time I got an even shorter peek at it before it swam away. I couldn’t keep up with it at all. Louise got a pretty good look.
    We encountered a group of dolphins and circled them several times. There were about 20 dolphins in the group. They were not shy and stayed close to the boat. I went to the top deck and took some pictures. The telephoto lens doesn’t work for dolphins because they pop up and then are gone before you can point the lens at them. You have to aim a wider view lens at the area where they are and even then when you see them the lag time between realizing they are there and pressing the shutter relase can mean you get a nice picture of the ocean surface. I got a few good shots of dolpins before we left them.
    Shortly after that we found a third whaleshark. This one was swimming slowly and I was able to swim along with it for what seemed like a good length of time. I would guess that I was within 5 feet of the shark for a good 30 seconds, maybe more. I had time to look at the gill slits, to examine the fins and tail and to also appreciate the host of smaller fish that accompany this huge shark. There are different fish at what seem to be special locations. I had seen two long eel-like fish just below the belly of the shark with the first shark. There was also a school of about 20 tiny fish that were five or six feet below the belly of the whale. Several medium sized fish swam just above the shark and one colorful reef fish was swimming just in front of the tail. So the whaleshark has a whole community of fish that swim along with it. During this whole time I was the only swimmer along that side of the shark. Then the group caught up with me and I dropped out. It was the best experience of the day for me. Louise also got a look at this one but was on the other side with the crowd most of the time so she didn’t get as good a look. The photo with this article is one from the set the photographer for Ningaloo Whaleshark Swim took on the day we were swimming. They gave us a set of pictures taken during our swim.
    Finally a really large whaleshark was spotted. Our guides estimated it at 8 meters long. Louise was too tired and was feeling the effects of the motion of the boat and the saltwater she had swallowed while snorkeling so she sat out this one. I went in after it but never saw it. Louise told me I was right in front of it but must have somehow missed it. Anyway, I’d had a good experience and learned something about my limitations. I’m going to have to get more swimming exercise to get those muscles toned up for our coming cruise in Fiji.
    On our way back to the dock, we were traveling with the swell and it made the ride much easier. Everyone seemed to recover from their seasickness enough to eat lunch. We stopped just short of the dock to do one final reef snorkel and then returned to the dock and back to the campground. We spent the next day taking care of laundry and resting in the campground before departing Exmouth on Wednesday.
  17. tbutler

    On to Mount Isa

    By tbutler,

    After experiencing a rash of road repair work on our drive the day before we were pleasantly surprised to encounter no road work on our second day of driving. In fact, with just a few exceptions, this was some of the best road we have traveled. This highway is known as the Flinders Highway and is the only all-weather east-west road through northern Queensland. There were only a few towns in the 652 kilometer drive. One of them is featured in the picture with this posting. The windmill was working, drawing water for the public restrooms in the picture. The road was nearly flat all the way and had few curves. I could set the cruise control and concentrate on staying between the lines. An added plus is that the drivers out here wave at you. Even the native Australians wave at a rental campervan! We would encounter a vehicle every five or ten minutes and were passed by a vehicle only a few times an hour. It was a long trip on a lonely road.
    The truck trains which are posted as being up to 53.5 meters (about 160 feet) long are not driving much faster than we are. We met one or two of them several times an hour but we never had to pass one and were never passed by one so I assume our speed nearly matched their speed. We were driving about 97 KPH which was well under the posted speed limit of 130 KPH (about 85 MPH). The campervan will cruise at 110 KPH without difficulty but it severely reduces our mileage on a liter of fuel. It also makes the ride a little rougher, this vehicle rocks and rolls enough already. Fuel mileage is an important concern because the communities are widely scattered and the distance between fuel stops isn’t posted on any signs. In the US you see signs posted indicating how far to the next fuel stop on stretches of road that have widely separated stations. Here you are on your own. The map we have indicates all the small communities but not all of them have fuel so we have to plan on only the larger communities having fuel. I keep the tank topped off so we have a minimum of ½ tank if possible. We made two stops on this trip, both after about 250 kilometers of travel. Fuel prices are running close to $2.00 per liter at this point.
    Just before reaching Mount Isa the road goes through some hills. The road curves and climbs and descends and our travel is slowed for the last 30 kilometers as we come into town. Mount Isa (pronounced Iza) is a mining town and has the look of a mining town. There are active mines here and smelters with tall stacks spewing smoke. We could see the smoke for some distance before we reached the town itself. The smoke was white in the late afternoon sun and may have been simply water vapor or mostly water vapor.
    We stayed at the Discovery Argylla Big 4 Park which was right on the Flinders Highway as we came into town.
    We parked, hooked up electric and settled in for the evening. Temperatures during the day had been in the upper 30’s, near 100 degrees F. We are running the air conditioning at night now, at least long enough to cool the campervan so we can open the windows and ventilate during the night. By morning it is nice and cool inside and we are glad to see the morning sun.
  18. tbutler

    Indian Ocean Drive

    By tbutler,

    Departing the Geraldton area we noticed a dramatic change from our travels over the last month. We have returned from the Great Australian Outback. Suddenly we were seeing fields of crops and farms. There were still many areas with native plants growing but the sudden change from no farmland to abundant farmland was quite surprising. Along with this, we no longer saw signs for domestic animals, cows and sheep, roaming on the road. This was the end to open range country. Traffic was light on Indian Ocean Drive. We didn’t meet a single road train in our drive to Ledge Point.
    As we drove the road, we stopped in several small towns to see the ocean views and walk along beachfront trails. The highway itself wanders among large sand dunes. Many are covered with heavy vegetation but there are also huge sand dunes with no vegetative cover at all. The sand here is surprisingly white. This would indicate that the sand particles are almost exclusively quartz.
    Several towns bear mention for their facilities along the beach. At Green Head we pulled into a park at the beach. A map directed us to a walkway up and over a dune and then to a scenic overlook on several bays and some offshore islands. We enjoyed the cool sea breeze as well as the sound and sights of waves breaking on rocks and the beach. The park, walkway and overlook were well maintained and had interpretative signs to explain what we were seeing on the walk.
    At Jurien we enjoyed walking out onto their pier and seeing schools of small fish in the water below the pier. There was a very nice playground set up on the sand at the upper end of the beach next to the pier. There was a walkway along the beach and we walked that for a while. Along the walk there was a set of exercise equipment for adults. A little further down the path there was an exhibit about an artificial reef which had been constructed just off-shore in the area. The artificial reef was designed for young people and other who were not capable of swimming out to the natural reef which was quite a distance from the shore. They had constructed reef balls made of concrete, these hollow balls ranged in size from 1 meter (three feet) in diameter down to 30 centimeters (one foot). They weighed as much as 750 kilograms (1500 pounds). These had been placed in water that was about 10 feet deep to create a reef environment for fish and plants. The project was driven by a group of volunteers and partially funded by the county government. Many donors contributed to the project. It was truly a community effort.
    Once again we pulled into our campground as the sun set. The office had just closed but we were welcomed and told where to pick a site, we could register in the morning. The camp at Ledge Point was one of the nicest parks we have stayed at. It had some long stay occupants but showed all signs of a new park. The facilities were all clean and well maintained.
  19. tbutler

    Our New Home

    By tbutler,

    Arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, our first stop is of course to pass through customs. We filled out the arrival card answering questions about the contents of our luggage, etc. Then we face the agents and answer questions about our answers. It is all pretty routine.
    Next, we need to find a way to get to the rental agency to pick up our campervan. We inquire at the airport information desk and are assured that a shuttle will arrive shortly to take us to the rental agency. Within about 15 minutes, the shuttle arrives. It is a small van with a small covered trailer behind. I load our luggage into the trailer and we hop on the van.
    We arrive at the rental agency and check in with the receptionist. We are assigned an agent to take care of us. We go through all the paperwork, questions are answered, and we arrive at an agreement on the details, insurance, additional charges, etc. I elect to go with a full insurance package since I’m going to be unlearning driving and learning it all again. There are many exceptions in the insurance language and we discuss all of them.
    Next we are taken to our campervan. We would call it a Class C. It is not new, it has 194,000 kilometers on it. For a rental vehicle it really doesn’t look as bad as one would expect with that amount of travel. It has been well maintained.
    We are given a 15-minute introduction and then the keys. We have propane for the stove and water heater. There is an extension cord that plugs into the 220V connection, which is standard in all campgrounds. Standard current in both New Zealand and Australia is 220V alternating current at 50 cycles per second. This requires an adapter for some electrical equipment we bring with us.
    Interestingly, most things that have a charger, such as computers, cell phone chargers and many others, will operate on 220V current and on the U.S. standard 110 V current. All that is needed for these devices is an adapter that links our standard plug configuration with the slanted blades that the outlets here have.
    I have a razor and we brought a small portable radio that only operates on batteries or 110V. For this equipment we need an inverter and I have one that I’ve used in the car for years. It plugs into the 12V outlet in the car and provides 110 V AC for computers, etc.
    These vehicles have the same 12V outlet and it works fine for providing 110 V electric when we need it. With the inverter, we can have electric even when not plugged into the campground electric. The only thing that operates off the house batteries when we aren’t plugged in is the refrigerator, which is a small (think dorm room) regular refrigerator that keeps everything quite cold and freezes things that need to be frozen.
    The fresh water tank is gravity fill only. The water pump provides all water -- there is no city water connection in lieu of using the water pump. You fill the fresh water tank and then use the water pump. We find the fresh water supply lasts about two days just doing dishes. Gray water is stored in a gray water waste tank and is emptied with a small 1-inch hose. Toilet wastes go directly into a small storage tank, treated with chemicals. It operates much like the outhouse toilets at some parks, just a holding tank for wastes only.
    The entire tank assembly comes out of the campervan and then is emptied and flushed in specific disposal drains for black wastes. It holds about 3 gallons when full and, since little water is added, will fill much slower than the black water tanks we have at home.
    The hot water heater is the same thing we use in the U.S. Ours wasn’t working. We found that out when we got to our first campground, turned on the gas and turned on the water heater. I knew exactly what was wrong. It would light and then shut off. The thermocouple that senses the flame was not working. We boiled water on the stove for washing dishes for almost a week before we could get it fixed. When we returned to the rental agency, they had it fixed in 15 minutes.
    Despite our small size, we have a four-burner gas stove top and a microwave. A one-piece, single-basin sink with a drain board made of stainless steel completes the countertop. We have place settings for four people, glasses and coffee cups in one drawer, dishes, bowls and saucers in another drawer and pots and pans in a third drawer.
    There is a small built-in trash can on the inside of the door below the kitchen sink. A slide-out pantry with two shelves for cans and boxes of food handles most of our food storage needs. There is a closet that has four hangers, a broom, a hose for filling the fresh water, and a bag with the hose for emptying the gray water. Below the closet is a small built-in electric heater that can be set to maintain temperature in the campervan.
    We have seven overhead cabinets for storage of lightweight items. The dry goods -- bread, rice, etc. -- are stored in one. The remaining cabinets hold our clothes and my camera, computer accessories and electrical adapters.
    Above the closet and the cab is the bed, along the front of the bed is a label that says in bright red letters, “MIND YOUR HEAD.” I wish I could. I’ll have a permanent dent in my forehead by the time we finish this trip. Actually, by the second day I found that the bed could be lifted into a raised position when we are moving about the campervan. A ladder that stores on the bed is placed in position and hooked over the edge of the bed when it is time to retire. The mattress is thin but most welcome at the end of a day. There is also a cargo net to keep someone from falling out, but I refuse to use it.
    We have bag chairs and a folding table for use outside and I store these on the bed during travel. I’ll put the cargo net up to make sure they don’t come sliding off the bed while we drive.
    There is a second bed in this vehicle. That is in the rear of the vehicle where the dining table can be removed and the cushions rearranged to make a bed. We are not using that bed because we make use of that area for too much other activity. The table that fits in that space is unusable. It is supported by a single leg which inserts into the floor. The leg is removable and the table top is stored in a special slot behind the driver seat. We tried using it for several days and now have stored it permanently away. It was necessary to twist the table out of the way to get past it and sit on the seats. We’re using the camping table that was for outdoor use as our table in the camper.
    We also have a television, which is for use with DVDs only. We have no antenna, so no television for four months! As mentioned above, we have a radio and get a little news, especially local news, from that. Most of our news from home comes from the Internet.
    The bathroom is an oversized closet. There is a medicine cabinet above the folding sink. It folds into the wall right above the toilet. The shower is in the same small space and soaks the entire room, including the toilet when used. The bathroom is our least used space. It is nice to have the toilet instead of running to the campground restrooms in the middle of the night.
    We may find ourselves freedom camping (boondocking) at some point in the trip and may make more use of the bathroom. Here in New Zealand there are few approved areas for freedom camping, and there are strict regulations (as in a law) regarding this practice.
    The vehicle itself has dual rear wheels and a front engine. The engine has pretty good power for the size of the campervan. Handling is as one would expect with a vehicle of this size. Actually, I feel more comfortable with our motorhome than with this vehicle. It bounces and sways quite a bit on uneven roads, which are the rule rather than the exception.
    The vehicle is manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and the engine is a diesel. The transmission is automatic PRND and has the shift lever on the left side of the driver. All other steering wheel controls, are similar, with the turn signal/dimmer switch and windshield wipers on the left of the steering wheel. The Headlight switch is on the right side of the dash. There is an interlock that prevents the vehicle from shifting into gear if the electric is plugged in. I’ve tried everything! Hey, I just wanted to move it a few inches ....
    Next: We actually drive and go to a holiday park (campground).
  20. tbutler

    Fitzroy Crossing

    By tbutler,

    Leaving Lake Argyle on Sunday, May 4 we made a stop for fuel at the first town we came to, Kununurra. It is a small town. We found a grocery store and picked up some of the fruits and vegetables we hadn’t been able to bring across the border. Once that was done we were driving almost all day long. We made another stop for fuel at Halls Creek and ate lunch at that stop then were back on the road until we arrived at our stop for the night in Fitzroy Crossing. This is the place where the road crosses the Fitzroy River. We covered more than 700 kilometers, our greatest distance traveled in a single day up to this time.
    Traffic was very light on this section of road. The road surface was generally good but we encountered numerous one lane bridges. Because of the light traffic, we only had to wait at one but we had to slow down at each one so we could anticipate a stop if the bridge was in use by opposing traffic. We have encountered only a couple of one lane bridges anywhere else in Australia. They were common in New Zealand but not here. We’ll see if this continues as we drive through more of Western Asutralia.
    The road was straight and flat for huge distances with only an occasional dip through what is labeled a floodway. In times of heavy rain the depth of water on the road may be as much as 1 or 2 meters (3 to 6 feet) in some of these floodways. Rather than build bridges across small temporary stream channels the just let the water run over the road which speaks to the rarity of heavy rainfall in the area. It is an effective way to deal with roads if the traffic is light and the rain is rare. These are things we find in the US only in the most remote areas of the western deserts. I consider this an indication of population density which is very low in Australia along with a judicious use of sparse resources. The roads are just barely paved, seldom have shoulders and if shoulders exist they are usually gravel. Bridges are one lane or not used at all when the conditions will permit. This is the only paved road between Northern Territories and Western Australia. There is another paved road along the south shore of Australia. Two paved roads connect the western third of the country with the rest of the country.
    The scenery along this route is a mix of distant mountains and buttes, grasslands and plains with scattered trees. We’re still in the tropics and the day was quite warm and the vegetation had a tropical look. Palm trees occasionally, other small trees and the occasional Boab tree. Boab trees are strange looking trees with massive trunks and small branches. When the get larger the trunks can be four or five feet in diameter and the branches are still short and fairly small. There are some that are really old and their branches have the same massive quality of the tree but still remain relatively short. These trees are a unique symbol of this part of Australia.
    Along with the grasslands we are seeing cattle. The cattle are breeds commonly found in the tropics, Brahma or Brahma crosses. The cattlemen in this area were once described as kings in grass castles. We saw signs marking boundaries for some of the ranches or stations that were great distances apart. The size of these stations are very large with cattle able to graze huge areas. Water is the limiting factor for the productivity of the stations. We would occasionally see windmills which would be pumping drinking water for the animals but more commonly we would see the cattle around water holes, streams that still had pools of water. These will be drying up as the dry season is just beginning.
    We pulled into Fitzroy Crossing as the sun was setting. There are three campgrounds in Fitzroy Crossing and the first was the Fitzroy River Lodge. It looked like a nice enough place but the campground was in rather rough shape. Campsites were on dirt and were littered with sticks and leaves. The campground was large and many sites were empty. Keeping up with the trees and vegetation can be quite a challenge in the tropics and they were definitely struggling with the lush vegetation on the grounds. The electric box where we plugged in had a large walking stick on it when I plugged in at night and the next morning there was a medium sized tree frog on the inside of the cover. We were both surprised when I opened the cover!
    There were numerous kangaroos on the grounds. We’re seeing kangaroos more frequently as we travel west and we see them almost exclusively at dusk. Kangaroos are active at night and sleep during the day. We are seeing them only in a few areas. They are not as widespread across Australia as we thought they would be. The sightings are more a treat than a nuisance from our perspective. The natives may have a different view of their abundance but for a traveler they seem to be rather uncommon. Making a middle of the night trip to the restrooms I saw a half dozen kangaroos grazing on the grass lawn. They generally freeze or move away slowly when we are around. Most of these took off into the shadows once they saw me.
  21. tbutler
    Fairley is a small town which was the subject of an earlier post on the people and culture of New Zealand. We booked a tour of the Mt. John Observatory when we arrived at the TOP 10 Holiday Park on Sunday, February 23. The weather was mostly cloudy and it was sprinkling rain but I figured we needed to take the chance if we were going to have a chance to visit the observatory. They do day tours but I was most interested in the night tours. Two night tours were offered, one starting at 8:30 about the time of sunset and the second started at 11:30 and ended at 1:30 a.m. I chose the second tour because I wanted the skies to be as dark as possible.
    As the afternoon wore on, the showers stopped and the sky started to clear. By 9:45 as we were getting ready to make the one hour drive to Lake Tekapo where the tour company headquarters is located. We drove into town and found the tour company easily, it was the only thing open at 10:30. On the way in, we saw a sign indicating that the area is an International Dark Sky Reserve. The area is sparsely populated and there are lighting restrictions that limit the types of light fixtures which can be used for outdoor lighting. This makes for really dark skies. The Mount John Observatory is located further south than any other research observatory.
    We were taken to the observatory by van and then treated to really dark skies. A few of the southern constellations were pointed out to us. Most of the southern constellations are made of rather dim stars which makes them difficult to outline even in dark skies. There was a person on staff who was an expert in astrophotography. He took cameras from everyone who wanted and then did long term photos with a specially designed mount which would hold six or eight cameras. I surrendered my camera to him. When I got the camera back, I had several very nice photos of the southern Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud and some scenery shots. These were all made with my camera and lens. Meanwhile we got to enjoy looking through some nice telescopes including a 16” telescope inside a small dome.
    The night was cold which enhanced the dark skies. Just as our observing session was ending at 1:30 a.m. the moon was rising over the hills to the east. It was perfect timing. We had the whole two hour session in the best possible dark skies. Louise who doesn’t like cold was excited about the night and enjoyed the astronomy. We arrived back at the holiday park just before 3:00 a.m. We were very grateful that the owner had granted us a late departure the next morning. Our stay in Fairley had rewarded us with a wonderful evening of astronomy.
  22. tbutler
    Port Hedland was an overnight stop, we left in the morning intending to drive to Exmouth on the Exmouth Peninsula to the southwest of Port Hedland. The road route is over 700 kilometers which was a surprise to me. I had looked at the map and figured the distances at something over 400 kilometers. When I programmed the GPS in the morning I thought it must have a different route in mind. So Louise went to the map and confirmed that the distance was going to be over 700 kilometers. We have driven 700 kilometers in a day but I wasn’t prepared for that this day. We had a grocery stop to make and the trip would require multiple fuel stops so we right away decided that any attempt to get all the way to Exmouth would not work. As we drove we discussed options including staying at some remote location without power or utilities or finding a campground. We decided to drive until late afternoon and then based on where we were, make a decision about our stopping place for the night.
    Leaving Port Hedland we were escorted by dozens of truck trains. Most were associated with the local mining but there were truck trains hauling fuel, heavy equipment, wide loads and more. In this case there is nothing to do but simply keep up with traffic. South of town the Great Northern Highway, which we have driven across Western Australia to Broome and now south, turns inland and so did most of the truck trains. We continued on south on the North West Coastal Highway. Truck trains drive this highway as well but their numbers are about what we have experienced on other highways in the Outback. The road is in excellent shape, we encountered no road work once out of Port Hedland. The terrain on this route is very flat. We could see ranges of hills or low mountains in the distance. The road managed to stay between these obstructions with few changes in direction. I set the cruise in the low 90’s and we rolled along quite comfortably.
    We pulled off the road in Karratha to eat lunch and top off the fuel tank. The next leg of the trip was over 200 kilometers without any fuel along the way. With a full tank we drove for three hours with a short restroom stop midway. We arrived at the Nanutarra Roadhouse about 5:00 p.m. and fueled the campervan. There wasn’t much discussion at this point. It was late in the afternoon the sun would be setting in an hour or so.
    We were seeing cows along and on the road and we had just come through a section which was damaged during recent heavy rains. There were camper swallowing pot holes in the road and places where the highway was so broken up they had put gravel in place to make it easier to drive. Guess how long the gravel stays with the truck trains driving over it. With no traffic in either direction, I could drive slowly and weave all over the road to take the safest way through the obstacles. Facing the prospect of driving through all this in the dark, it was an easy decision to stay at the campground at Nanutarra Roadhouse. Besides, tomorrow is Mother’s Day and Louise should have the deluxe accommodations, restrooms, showers and electric power! Happy Mother’s Day dear!
  23. tbutler
    I am one month from my left knee replacement and life is returning to normal. Once off the powerful medication, I began driving when I returned to the rehab facility. I'm slow getting in and out of the car but once there, completely comfortable driving. Rehab is progressing from stretching and improving range of motion to building strength. The pain level in the knee is decreasing and I'm able to sleep better at night. My surgeon has me on extra strength Tylenol now. I thought I would see if I really needed the medicine a few nights ago. I was sleeping well and woke up about time to take the next dose of medicine but decided just to go back to sleep. The next morning it was obvious to me that I wasn't ready to give up the medicine just yet.
    I've made several outings lately. There have been several shopping trips, just a store or two. Wal-Mart is a long walk by the time you get to the back of the store! I've been to the bank and the office supply store. My first real excursion was Friday afternoon. Louise and I joined my daughter and her family for a trip to Herman, Missouri. Herman has a great German heritage from the early 1800's. Early immigrants brought wine making skills to the area and it remains the pioneer wine making area of Missouri. I had received an e-newsletter advertising a BOGO sale at the Stone Hill Winery so we planned a trip.
    The car trip through the back roads of central Missouri was a delight. My daughter and family and ridden the KATY Trail State Park from near their home to Herman a year ago and this trip was a chance to refresh all those memories. "Look kids, here is the bridge where dads bicycle broke down." We saw plenty of high water as we neared the Missouri River but it isn't flooding seriously in the Central Missouri.
    At the Stone Hill winery we tasted a flight of wines and picked out a few to take home. Then we had a late lunch in the Vintage Restaurant at the winery. The kids enjoyed eating lunch in a horse stall in the old barn building. The food was excellent and we even had dessert. We followed that with a trip back via another route. There were more memories of the bicycle ride and some close looks at the bank full Missouri River.
    Saturday night my daughter had snagged VIP tickets for the fireworks display at Innsbrook, a local recreational community. Her employer had contributed to the fireworks and then gotten a bad case of poison ivy so wasn't going to attend. We arrived at 7:00 p.m. to take advantage of the picnic lunch before the fireworks. This was a fine show, plenty of music playing during the picnic. Kids swimming in the lake. Boats gathering near the fireworks display. It was a very warm summer evening. They used periodic salutes to mark the time. As dark neared the music changed to marches and the fight songs of the branches of service. This ended with the fireworks accompanying our National Anthem. The fireworks were spectacular and we were watching from directly across the lake from where they were being fired. I had to walk to and from the car on grass on a hillside but managed that without any problem.
    The last visit to my surgeon we scheduled the replacement of my right knee for the end of July. I have four weeks to turn my left leg into my strong leg so I can support my right leg when that knee is replaced. Despite my summer of surgery we're getting in a few interesting events. Our plans now are to be here in Missouri through September before hitting the road again.
  24. tbutler

    Canberra

    By tbutler,

    Canberra is the national capital of Australia. It is located between Melbourne and Sydney which have a population of about 4 million people in each city. That is 8 million people in a nation of about 14 million. So most of the population of Australia is in these two cities and in the surrounding communities. Once we leave this area we’ll see very few large towns and as we head west, we’ll see fewer people. Canberra itself is not a huge city. The population of Canberra is just over 400,000. That makes it small enough to be accessible. We enjoyed riding the buses, a ride from our park to the downtown terminal area was less than 30 minutes. The downtown terminal is a series of bus stops within several blocks of each other in the central downtown area. From there we transferred to another bus which took us to the parliament building.
    Australia replaced their original parliament building in the 1980’s and the new parliament building is a beautiful piece of work. The building sits atop a high hill. Much of the building lies beneath the ground and behind a façade that faces out toward the city with the old parliament building clearly visible several kilometers away. The building itself has modern utilities including solar panels and energy saving design. Parking lots are located beneath the building and as is necessary these days, everything is designed for tight security.
    We checked in through the security area and then were admitted to the public portion of the parliament building. We had a backpack with our rain gear and we checked it at the information desk. They have tours and we browsed our way around the building waiting for the next tour. On display in one area is one of only two copies of the Magna Carta that exist outside England.
    Our guide met us promptly at the appointed time and greeted the group, asking each person or couple where they were from and then replying in their language or with comments about their home area. He detailed the history and nature of the building and the history of democracy in Australia.
    The highlight of the day came following the tour when we were directed where to go to sit in on a session of parliament. We passed through another security screening and were seated in the gallery just before “question time.” This is a weekly procedural event something like a press conference with the Prime Minister and members of the House engaged in questioning each other regarding the issues of the day. It began with on a somber note as the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, addressed family members of the Australians who were passengers on Malaysian Flight 370 which had just been confirmed lost by tracking and the discovery of debris far off the southwest coast of Australia. The families were present in the gallery as Mr. Abbott addressed them and expressed his condolences. The opposition party leader agreed with Mr. Abbott and then added his remarks as did the Speaker of the House.
    This was the last agreement we saw during our stay. The format has the opposition asking questions of the party in power, primarily the Prime Minister. When the reply comes, there are outbursts from the opposition party mocking and jeering the Prime Minister. The Speaker of the House dismissed one of the opposition party members who she felt was being particularly persistent in her remarks. It didn’t seem to take much steam out of the opposition. This it turns out is pretty much a show of puffery for the public and the press. It does serve to air out differences but there is no substantive progress on any particular issue being made. The news media are happy, they have a number of topics to pursue in the coming week. We saw coverage on the session on the news broadcast that week and are still hearing news about some of the comments made during that session.
    Leaving the parliament building we took a bus back toward the city. We stopped off in another area to check out the science and technology museum. There was too little time to pay admission and buzz through it so we continued on our way. There are an amazing array of buildings located in the area and much time could be spent visiting the various art, science and history museums and other government buildings.
    Returning to our campground, we arrived just as the rain started to pick up. Overnight it rained heavily and by morning the grounds were thoroughly soaked. We were parked on grass in an area that could have been a real problem. I wasn’t at all sure we would be able to get out. Our plans had been to drive into Canberra and visit the Zoo and or the Science and Technology Center but with the rain, we gave up on those plans. I examined the soggy ground and determined our best strategy for leaving our parking spot. Fortunately, the ground was firm enough we had no trouble getting out. We didn’t even leave any ruts. That done, we set our course for Sydney, just over 200 kilometers away.
  25. tbutler
    I have driven the motor home without my navigator beside me before but never quite like this trip. There have been a few short trips to repair shops. The only long trip was from St. Louis to Houston. On that trip Louise was following me in the toad as I returned a tow dolly to its maker. On that trip we had radios for communication on the road and we stopped for rest stops, meals and overnights together.
    On Monday of last week I dropped Louise off at the airport. She was on her way to Denver to be with her daughter during and after surgery. I had to remain until Tuesday afternoon for the final follow-up doctor visit following my cataract surgery so taking Louise to Denver in the motor home was not an option. We had the motor home loaded and ready to go before Louise left.
    My appointment with the doctor was late in the day and they were running behind schedule so it was really late when I left the office. When I got home I packed the last few things in the car and called it quits for the night. Wednesday I hooked up the toad and got underway headed north from Edinburg, Texas to Denver, Colorado. I was prepared to take longer than usual for this drive as my usual navigator/stewardess/chef/housekeeper was not with me.
    I know the route, we've traveled it before. We drive a 40 foot coach with a toad and the team effort makes it much easier. When the GPS tells me to turn somewhere, Louise will check the map and say we do or don't want to go that way. When we need to stop, she can scout various sources of information for rest stops or just watch the road for picnic areas or large parking lots. If I want a snack she can make a run to the refrigerator. Louise usually prepares meals. Normally at overnight stops we divide the work, I do the outside work, wash the bugs of the windshield, check tires and the toad. Louise sets up the interior, attending to slides and leveling and then securing everything before we are underway in the morning. Doing all this by myself means extra stops and doubles the time spent taking care of the coach at each overnight stop.
    Louise has several jobs as we travel through large cities. First, she is on constant watch for those exit only lanes that pop up from time to time. Next, she is reading the highway signs and keeping me posted on any coming lane changes or exits we need to take. Finally, she is checking the map to confirm that the GPS instructions are what we really want to do. Our local knowledge or our preferences are difficult to program into the GPS. Sometimes we prefer an interstate highway, sometimes we prefer an alternate that may be better at a given time of day. When traveling through large cities we have a running conversation going related to our route and all of the above things. When she drives we switch roles easily. Either way it is almost always a two person operation. This trip I am responsible for doing all of the above, no help except the GPS.
    I got derailed in San Antonio on the early side of the afternoon rush hour. I decided to take the I-410 loop west around San Antonio to keep me out of downtown but hadn’t looked at the map before making the decision. For a while the GPS was fighting me until I finally gave in and followed its directions. By the time I was outbound from San Antonio, the rush hour was definitely building. Anyway, an hour later I was clear of the city traffic and rolling along the road nicely. Later when I was able to stop the map clearly showed that staying with I-410 would have worked fine. I should have checked the map before making my decision!
    I stopped for the evening in Ballinger, Texas. There is a city park with hook-ups but it definitely isn't for big rigs. I circled through the park and felt lucky to get away with all my paint. So it was the Wal-Mart that night. Nice people, they welcomed me to park in the gravel lot next to the small store lot. I was joined by an empty hog truck that parked about 30 feet away. He was gone by morning and I slept soundly. I took my time getting ready to go. Wal-Mart had a sidewalk clearance sale and I found a few bargains. I had breakfast, washed the bugs off the windshield and got the interior ready to roll.
    To be continued …
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