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tbutler

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Blog Entries posted by tbutler

  1. tbutler
    The Coromandel Peninsula is a favorite holiday area for the Auckland area. It is just a couple of hours drive from Auckland to the southern end of the peninsula. There is hardly a straight road anywhere in the Coromandel. To the west lies the Hauraki Gulf and to the east is the Pacific Ocean. So this is similar in some ways to Florida but it is also dissimilar in many ways. Primary among these is that the Coromandel is mountainous and has some indications of volcanic activity in its many hot springs. In 1852 gold was discovered in the Coromandel Peninsula and a gold rush was on. As with most gold rushes, they don’t last long and things quieted down for a while. Eventually tourists discovered the peninsula and it remains popular with locals and tourists.
    We stayed at a small park in Thames on Tuesday night. Wednesday we began our drive north along the western shore. The road was literally on the shore of the Firth of Thames. Driving north meant that we were in the lane right next to the water. There were places where the white line on the road marked the edge of the Earth as Louise described it. We were never at great height above the water but disaster was never far away. The road curved in and out of every bay and inlet. There were houses on the landward side of the road in little communities and an occasional park on the seaward side of the road. Log trucks and places where the road narrowed beyond the normal road kept me on my toes. We stopped where there were pull-outs to take pictures and marvel at the view. There were also slow moving vehicle bays which allowed us to pull over and let faster traffic continue on their way. Now instead of getting honked at, I’m getting thank you toots from the drivers.
    We stopped for lunch at a nice seaside park and ended up spending an hour watching some of the birds in the area. Shortly after lunch the road rose up into the mountains. Scenery was everywhere. We had views of the seashore, small towns along the coast, wonderful rich forest growth and farmland.
    As the afternoon went on we neared our destination for the night, Hot Water Beach. This is a well-known tourist attraction. A hot spring near the beach floods the beach with hot water. Dig a hole in the sand at low tide and you can sit in a pool of hot spring water. All the holes fill in as the high tide washes everything back to its prior state. We checked in at the TOP 10 Holiday Park just a short walk from the beach. Since it was low tide we decided to make our way to the beach immediately. Shovels weren’t available at the holiday park but the desk attendant suggested we could just take pools dug by others this late in the day. That worked fine. We found one pool then moved to a warmer pool when its occupants left and finally to a really hot pool. We’re lying in sand and water and our swim suits filled with sand. Even a dip in the ocean didn’t remove anywhere near all the sand. We brought a significant part of the beach back to the holiday park!
    The following morning Louise was off to the Laundromat early in the morning. She filled three machines with laundry and was just about finished when it started to rain – hard. I had almost finished preparations for our leaving the park when the rain started. The rain began to subside and I was preparing to unplug and go pick up Louise. As I went the door, she came down the street lugging the laundry. After hanging up the almost dry laundry and stowing the rest we were on the road south to get groceries and then on to the town of Rotorua. We were really glad we had taken advantage of the dry afternoon before to go to the beach. This day was not going to be a good beach day.
  2. tbutler

    Sheep World

    By tbutler,

    After our long drive from the Waipoua State Forest we pulled up for the night at Sheep World. We had seen this place on the way north, it is right on NZ Hwy 1. It looks for all the world like a real tourist trap but we were tired and it was late so there we’ll stay. The owner is a real character, elderly and quick with his mind.
    We had breakfast at their restaurant the next morning then stayed for the dog and sheep show at 11:00. We visited the many animals they had in pens and cages, everything from rabbits and opossums to pigs and deer. There was a nice nature trail and then the show.
    John described the two kinds of dogs, eye dogs and away dogs. An eye dog works the sheep by looking at them and running around near the sheep. The sheep react and the dog then reacts to their every move. If they start to go back where they were the dog moves quickly back in that direction and the sheep will immediately turn around and go the other way. The eye dog never barks, only stalks and pursues the sheep in a way that makes them move. He never gets really close to the sheep, always a distance of 20 feet or more away. The dogs instinct is to keep the sheep in a single group and to bring them to John. Not just near him, the dog tries to put the sheep at his feet. John communicated with the dog with a series of commands and whistles. It took five minutes or so to bring the group of sheep into the corral. The job of the away dog is to bark and get the sheep moving. The away dog is used to flush sheep out of remote areas of the pasture. With a big bark he will rouse sheep from ravines and in the bush. Once the sheep are moving his job is finished. Both dogs answer to commands so the herder can stand in one place and round up the sheep. Doing this job for a single person would be almost impossible without the dogs.
    Once the sheep were in the corral, John showed how they sort the sheep. Sheep are run through a chute in single file. Standing at the end of the chute a person manipulates two gates to direct each sheep left, center or right into three chutes leading into three different holding pens. If done by a professional, they can do the sorting almost as fast as the sheep can come through the chute. A member of the audience was brought up to sort a group of about 30 sheep. Each of the sheep had a color marking on their head, red, blue or no marking. After a bit of training, she was able to sort the sheep making only one mistake.
    John described sheep shearing including job opportunities and pay. It is a high paying profession for really good shearers and they can travel worldwide to work. Then he demonstrated shearing making some of the initial passes. Then he brought up members of the audience. Louise was one of three selected to get their hands on the shears. She got a handful of wool for her efforts. I got to hold a bottle to feed the little lambs which came charging up to get their bottle of milk. It was quite a show and one of the things on Louise’s list that she wanted to see and do on this trip. This will remain a special stop in our memories, kind of like finding a diamond in a coal bin.
    Leaving there in the afternoon we began our drive back to Auckland where we would get the water heater repaired. We haven’t had hot water in the campervan since we picked it up five days ago. A quick stop in Auckland and our water heater is working. It took just 15 minutes for the repair at the rental shop. Then we began the drive south out of Auckland. Our destination was a small town, Thames, in the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula. We were delighted to find the first straight roads for any significant distance. We were able to get up to 90 km/hr (about 56 MPH) most of the way. This turned a long drive into quick work. There is a little yellow sticker at the top of the windshield informing us that we are a “heavy vehicle” and our maximum speed is 90 km/hr. The highest speed limits we have seen here are 100 km/hr. There have been precious few roads that I would feel safe driving the campervan at 90 km/hr.
  3. tbutler

    Waipoua State Forest

    By tbutler,

    We left the park at Russell headed west to cross the island to the west coast. We wanted to spend some time hiking in the Waipoua State Forest, site of the largest Kauri trees in the world. Kauri trees are a source of gum and an important economic export from the islands until World War II. Much of the forest is gone but several very large Kauri trees can be seen in this forest.
    The road to Waipoua State Forest was quite serpentine, travel was slow and we encountered frequent one lane bridges. These bridges are common throughout New Zealand. With a population of 4 million people, traffic is not heavy and the cost of a one lane bridge is about half the cost of a two lane bridge. I am certain that some of these bridges date back to the first World War. There are signs to indicate which direction has right of way and everyone is patient about crossing, it is just a way of life here. We reached the west coast shortly after lunch time and stopped at a roadside table overlooking the harbor at Pakanae. Across the harbor from us was a huge sand dune, a most impressive sight.
    After lunch it was about half an hour on more serpentine roads to Waipoua State Forest. The parking lot was small and there was a bus taking up much of the parking lot. We found a spot to park and hiked to the largest Kauri tree. It was about a five minute walk from the highway. There were two viewing spots, one up close and another further back. From the most distant spot I could get most of the tree in the photograph. Can you find Louise in the picture? Look carefully, she is there. This amazing tree reminded me of the Home Tree in Avatar. There are numerous epiphytic and symbiotic plants living on the branches of these trees. There were even other trees sprouting on those branches.
    This was also our first opportunity to walk in the New Zealand forest. Every plant is different. There are fern trees that stand 20 feet tall. Later we would see even taller ones. We saw a vine with no leaves and no tendrils, slick stems that rose from the ground ten feet before curling around another vine or tree. The forest is a multi-story forest, a rain forest. We were 50 feet from another large Kauri tree but couldn’t see the trunk for the thick vegetation. From the road we could see its crown.
    Driving a little further south we came to the trail for the second largest Kauri tree. This was a longer hike and there were other groupings of Kauri trees, the four sisters standing within a 30 foot circle of each other. The second largest Kauri tree had the most monstrous trunk but wasn’t as tall. We marveled at the bulk of this tree. These weren’t redwoods or sequoia trees, we’ve seen them but these trees had their own kind of special beauty and a certain hearty nature to them. Their ages were estimated to be 1500 to 2000 years old.
    Our drive that night was slow and tense. We had been watching the fuel level go down and were under a quarter tank of diesel at this point. The first town we came to had one service station and it was closed. It was after 6:00 p.m. Did this mean all stations were going to be closed? I wanted to fill up before we made camp but maybe we would have to camp and then get fuel in the morning. The next town had a station open, a CalTex station. We filled up, just over 62 liters, 16.4 gallons cost $89.50 NZ, $73.24 US. That is about $4.47 per gallon. The important thing is that we were getting 18.8 miles to a gallon. I was impressed. We’ve fueled several times since and our mileage is running 20.9 and 21.0 MPG! It’s cheaper than paying $3 per gallon and getting 8 miles per gallon. This is cheaper than using our motor home in the US. Yeah, I taught science for years and I can convert liters to gallons and kilometers to miles and even NZ$ to US$. Makes for some good math fun!
    We finally arrived back at NZ Highway 1 and as the light drained from the sky found a campground at Sheep World! The sign said, “Tired drivers stay here.” Boy were they right. Ian met us as we drove in and ushered us to our site right next to our private shower and toilet. They had little restroom casitas so we could literally step out of the campervan and up the stairs to the restroom! He showed the rest of the facilities and then checked us in. Then he was off to take care of the next tired driver. We slept very well that night.
  4. tbutler
    We left Orewa Beach Sunday morning headed north to Whangarei and beyond to Russell and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. After several days in the campervan we had a list of things we needed. Groceries were at the top of the list. Yes, despite our purchase on Friday we were in for another purchase of food. We located the Countdown Grocery and Louise went in to start shopping. I went to a housewares store, Briscoes. I thought it was going to be more like a Lowe’s than a Bed Bath and Beyond but I still managed to find most of what I wanted. I found a door mat marked $19.95, two plastic wine glasses marked $10 each, a good steak knife for $9.99 and a sharp kitchen utility knife for $6.99. The door mat was marked 50% off so it should have been about $10. When everything was rung up, it came to $30.00 NZ. I checked the ticket and everything was on the ticket but at a discounted price. Must have been a big sale day. With the US conversion it came out to $25.19. Now that is better! I remarked to Louise that I wish the manager of the Briscoes store was running the Countdown! Louise spent another $170 at Countdown. While she prepared lunch I went to a technology store in the shopping center and inquired about a cell phone for our use. They directed me to the Vodaphone store which knew exactly what I wanted. I purchased a simple cell phone with 30 minutes of time for $50.00 NZ, $40.87 US. I consider this a bargain considering what it would have cost us to use our AT&T cell phones here in New Zealand. We’ll plan to do the same thing in Australia. No, of course the New Zealand phone won’t work in Australia!
    Shopping and lunch completed, we were off to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. We arrived at 4:00, inquired and found they were open until 7:00 which gave us time to explore. We paid $100 NZ, $82 US for admission. The treaty grounds are the location where the treaty was signed between Great Britain and the Maori leaders giving the British Crown sovereign control of New Zealand in 1860. A small museum displays photos, artifacts and documents from the signing. A short video describes the events leading up to the treaty signing. The house which was the residence of the an early British resident, James Busby, still stands and has been restored and furnished with period furniture. The gardens were in full bloom. Also on the grounds is a replica Maori fishing camp and a traditional Maori meeting house. We missed the cultural performances, war dances and celebratory dances. We would see them at another site later in the trip. There is also a huge Maori war canoe which held 80 rowers and is launched each February 6 as part of the Waitangi Day celebration of the signing of the treaty. We were there on February 2 and weren’t able to stay for the celebration. We did notice that traffic was really heavy on February 6 and the schools were closed. It was only after several comments to that effect that we remembered this was a holiday, the celebration of the birth of their nation. We walked from the war canoe by the beach back up to the house on the same path William Hobson walked 154 years before as he represented the British Crown at the treaty signing.
    On the western outskirts of Russell is a Kiwi Holiday Park. The facilities were good but the parking was mostly sloping. We found a site that was reasonably level and pulled in. Our neighbors were sitting out having a glass of wine and relaxing when we pulled in. They struck up a conversation right away. I had to excuse myself to hook up the electric and turn on the gas. I told them if I didn’t I wouldn’t get fed tonight. We later went out with our wine glasses and had a wonderful discussion with them. We found numerous things in common. They were from Melbourne, Australia and we exchanged contact information and have an invitation to get together with them when we are in Melbourne next month. The RV community is the same everywhere, friends are just a few words away.
  5. tbutler
    We left the rental agency with our campervan, our suitcases piled on the floor in the rear and a brand new left-side-of-the-road driver in the driver’s seat. Our first stop was to be a grocery store just a few blocks away but after negotiating several rotaries and getting totally turned around, it took us 30 minutes and a stop to get information from the brochures we had been given. We finally arrived at the Countdown Grocery which is a subsidiary of Woolworth’s, yep, the Woolworths we all remember from our childhood is alive and well in New Zealand! An hour later we emerged with $220.25 NZ worth of groceries. The shock was eased a little when I checked the charge at the bank website. The US dollar amount was $180.23, not cheap but considerably better than the original amount! We stocked the cabinets and filled the refrigerator and were on our way out of town.
    I programmed the GPS for a city on the northeast coast, Whangarei, and we started on our way. The route took us across town to the motorway (their word for a controlled access highway). Louise was watching like a hawk as I tried to adjust to driving on the left. She corrected me and I said, “Yes dear!” I was positioning us too close to the curb and my attempts to correct were defeated by the narrow lanes. Once on the motorway, NZ Highway 1, I still drifted to the left side of the lane but now I had time to look in the mirrors and check my position. It was long past lunch time and we decided to exit to look for some fast food. They have fast food here but we couldn’t find it. We drove around the town (a suburb of Auckland) for fifteen minutes before deciding to cut our losses and head back to the highway. Once there we drove on until we reached the toll portion of the highway which has electronic billing and we had been told in no uncertain terms we were not to take the toll road. The rental company would be billed and we would pay the charges plus a hefty administrative fee. So we exited toward Orewa Beach.
    At a stoplight in this resort town we saw a campground, Orewa Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park. We turned in and asked for a site for two nights. We had just come off a twelve hour plane flight and I was driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time. I needed some rest and this was our plan anyway, find a nice beach and stay for a while. Now I had to put into practice all that I was told in the vehicle briefing. We backed onto the site and got reasonably level. Out came the electric cord and after a quick examination I was able to plug it in. I opened the valve on the propane tank and we were set. Inside I switched on the electric and the water heater. The water heater lit, then shut off. I repeated, it lit, then shut off. It went through three cycles on its own each time, just as our water heaters do when the gas won’t fire properly. So I was dealing with a familiar animal. Perhaps the gas line just needed to be bled to get air out. Louise lit the stove and it burned just fine. I tried the water heater again. No luck! We would not have hot water, not tonight anyway.
    Louise fixed dinner and we ate, grateful to have a good meal. Then it was off to the showers. These were clean and well maintained. Louise made up the bed over the cab and we turned in for the night. Neither of us had any trouble sleeping. In the morning we could hear the chirping of birds and the chatter of children. The playground wasn’t far from us. They had a trampoline and there were always anywhere from six to a dozen children bouncing on it. Sure, the sign said one at a time but good luck with that. The children are not going to wait in line to take a turn bouncing on the trampoline unless the trampoline police are there to enforce the rule.
    Weather was a beautiful 70 degrees with sunshine. We ate breakfast outdoors and enjoyed watching the surf, the children and the birds. A neighbor stopped by to visit. He was a local and had a nice Class C coach about twice the size of ours. It was new and he had it out for a family trip. His grandchildren were competing in a lifeguarding contest up the coast. They would leave to attend the competition and relax in the park other times. This was the last weekend before school starts here in New Zealand so everyone was out on holiday. I understood some of what he said but struggled with some of the rest of the language. He had what I assumed was an Australian accent, kept saying, “good on you,” and using other local expressions. It turns out New Zealand English sounds just like Australian English in movies.
    That afternoon I asked at the office about the internet and learned they had internet available for $7 per day. I paid the $7 and we went to work. It was possible for Louise to use the service when I wasn’t on line so we could both work from the same account but not at the same time. I visited the web site of the provider and then went to sign up for one month of service which was $60.00 NZ or $49.10 US. We’ve used it several more times already so this will pay for us. It turns out to be common in the TOP 10 Holiday Parks and some of the other holiday parks (a generic term for campground or RV park) as well. We’ve stayed at several parks that don’t have the same internet service but they have an alternate and so far we haven’t had to pay for any of them. We have since purchased a membership card for the TOP 10 Holiday Parks which gives us discounts at other attractions. It saves us 10% on campground fees. It saved us $12 NZ for admission to Te Puia the day after we purchased the pass. It is also good for BIG 4 Holiday Parks in Australia so we’ll get much more than the $49.00 NZ we paid for the pass. We should have purchased it sooner!
    Campground fees here are interesting. We checked into a campground and the fee was $20 per person per day. That was the fee for us, using electric in a campervan. A couple came in to check on fees for tenting and it was also $20 per person. We were paying the same as someone staying in a tent. The TOP 10 parks are the best parks we have seen so far and we’re planning to stay there whenever we can. We’ve stayed at a couple of off brand parks and the facilities are way below the standard for the TOP 10 parks. Most of the major cities have a TOP 10 park. We’ve found them to all have clean restroom and shower facilities and generally to be in good repair. The parks have gas barbecues available for use, frequently have swimming pools if it isn’t a beach park. Prices are a little higher in and near the big cities, otherwise the prices are pretty uniform at $20 per person per day.
    Our activities at Orewa Beach consisted of some beach time and walking in a nearby ocean side park. Most of our time was spent resting and adjusting to the time difference.By the time we left the park on Sunday morning, February 2, We were feeling rested and refreshed.
  6. 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).
  7. tbutler

    Upside Down and Backwards

    By tbutler,

    We arrive in New Zealand at 6:30 a.m., two days after we left our house. Where did that day go? Crossing the date line erases a day. We are actually 19 hours ahead of Central Standard Time in the US. As I explained to our children, it means we are 5 hours behind their clock time so imagine moving the clock back five hours, and then turn the calendar ahead one day! Actually we are on the same day from midnight to 5:00 a.m. in the Central Time Zone. What about other time zones? Well, it is 18 hours difference for the Eastern Time Zone and 20 for Mountain Time and 21 for Pacific Time. When daylight savings time goes into effect we all effectively move east one time zone so adjust accordingly. What happens here in New Zealand? I have no idea. That is why I came to explore this strange land. I’ll tell you when I find out.
    As everyone knows, when you are in New Zealand and Australia, you are “down under.” It takes special concentration and great toe strength to hold onto the Earth and keep from falling off. Yes, we really are upside down. I saw the constellation Orion one night and the Great Orion stands on his head in the southern hemisphere! His sword is pointed up toward the zenith, overhead and his head is low on the northern horizon. In the northern hemisphere his feet are toward the equator and his head is near the zenith.
    The real thrill is to watch the water go down the drain. I haven’t been able to observe this just yet. The drain in the campervan sink is so slow that I could fall asleep before it finally drains out, no spin there. The toilets are water conserving toilets, there is no swirling to the water, just a strong splash and everything is gone. Another thing to be resolved. I can tell you that the rotaries do rotate in the opposite direction!
    Both New Zealand and Australia are former British Colonies. Despite being half a world away, they decided they would follow Great Britain’s model and drive on the wrong side of the road. This creates great confusion particularly in my mind. Knowing this they have taken special steps to ensure that everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. They have neat little blue signs with arrows to show you which side of the islands and barriers in the road to drive on. Every place you enter the road from a side road they paint large white arrows on the road showing which direction each lane is traveling. Clearly we need to work on the US roads and include these arrows to help remind our drivers where to drive.
    It is funny (and sometimes not so funny) to learn to drive completely backwards from how you have driven all your life. I worked for days just getting the position within the lane correct. I’m on the right side of the campervan. Constant reminding from Louise has moved me from the line at the edge of the road toward the center line. Louise insists that the line at the edge of the road is near the edge of the world and in a few places here it really is! When I turn off the road into a parking lot I revert to driving on the right side! Then there are the one lane bridges, come off the bridge and my first instinct is to go right – oops. I have tried to be at my most humble when being corrected by Louise. She has after all saved me several times by pointing out my mistakes. She will not take the wheel, at least not yet. Maybe I’ll find some remote road in Australia and convince her to take a turn at it. It is an experience that no one should miss.
    One of the best things I did before we started the trip was to order the map sets for New Zealand and Australia for my Garmin GPS. I ordered a hard copy as opposed to downloading it from a web site. It arrived in the form of a mini-SD card that simply plugs into the side of the GPS unit. On that tiny little chip is an amazing array of information. I could have rented a GPS here but that would mean learning how another unit works and we all know how painful that is. I have my familiar GPS, I know how it works and am able to use it to its full potential. It is just so wonderful to have step by step directions in a strange country with confusing city and street names, unusual traffic patterns such as rotaries and then learning to drive differently than in the past. Having those directions has taken one mental strain off my mind allowing me to concentrate on my driving. I think we have had to pull over to consult a map or check directions a couple of times. Otherwise, we just get in and drive to our destination. I have found it to be quite accurate and complete with parks and tourist sites usually in the data set. I switched it to read in kilometers and it gives distances, speed and speed limits.
    Of course it is summer here in the southern hemisphere. February weather here is the equivalent of August weather in the US. You no doubt have read or heard of the weather in Australia and the intense fire season they have had there. We aren’t in Australia. We started the trip in New Zealand which is an island nation. The ocean is within a one hour drive from most of New Zealand and the climate reflects that. We are using our heater at night to take the chill off the night. Daytime temperatures are in the 60’s, 70’s and a few 80’s.
    One of the mind-bending backward features of the southern hemisphere is that when you travel south the weather gets cooler. Go north to warm up! In fact when we are on the north shore of Australia we’ll be well within the tropics (in April and May, think October and November weather in US) and will see tropical rain forests at or near the end of their wet season. This time of year is also typhoon season. We get alerts from the US State Department regarding travel safety including notices about typhoons and tropical storms near where we are. What great service!
  8. tbutler

    The Best Laid Plans

    By tbutler,

    On Friday, January 24, 2014, just five days before our scheduled departure for New Zealand, we stopped on our way into the park to pick our mail. In the mail was a summons for jury duty for me, Tom. Oh, Great!
    I read the information carefully. The report date was scheduled for after our departure. There was an information sheet to be completed and returned within 5 days. It was possible to submit the information by computer, so I logged on and filled out the required information. At the end were a series of reasons that would exempt me from jury duty. None of them mentioned New Zealand or Australia!
    There was an opportunity to request a postponement, so I checked that. Then it wanted a date for the postponement. I submitted June 23, a week after our planned return. That was accepted immediately, no questions asked. I was told I would get a confirmation e-mail within a day or two. On Tuesday I called to confirm that they had indeed received my information as no e-mail ever came. All was good, I was free to go.
    January 29, 2014, arrived and our much-anticipated trip was under way. We left the house at 5:00 a.m. on the way to the airport for a 7:00 a.m. flight. Our friends Bill and Laura drove us to the airport. It is a 20- to 25-minute drive to the McAllen, Texas, airport. There are four gates for commercial flights, so the long security lines at some airports are usually not a problem here.
    We approached the access ramp to US 281 South, only to find the ramp closed. This was odd, we’ll just go on to the next ramp, who knows what the problem could be. The next ramp was also closed. Hey, there is no one on the highway. Well the temperature was near freezing, there was a light drizzle and no one in this part of Texas has a stock of salt to deal with ice nor the equipment to spread salt if they did have it.
    We had to take the trip through town and found the ramps on the expressway, U.S. 83. also closed. As we approached the airport, the street crosses U.S. 83 and that overpass also was closed, so we had to detour onto the access road and cross under the highway and return to the street to the airport. This was absolutely crazy.
    Guess what, we got to the airport and our flight was delayed. The 7:00 a.m. departure would now be leaving at 11:00 a.m., maybe! We checked bags and cleared security and waited. As we waited we began to see the news reports from Atlanta. Yes, this was the day of the great highway disaster in Atlanta.
    Obviously, the road officials in Texas were watching the news and decided to head off their own disaster. That was why all the major highways and overpasses were closed. Our plane was coming from somewhere in the southeast and weather was delaying it also. Louise investigated and found a connecting flight in Houston that left later than our original but allowed us time to get to Los Angeles in time for our flight to New Zealand. We made all connections with no further complications.
    At 9:10 p.m. on January 29, 2014, the Boeing 777 pushed back from the gate and we were on our way. The flight was scheduled to arrive in Auckland, New Zealand at 9:00 a.m. on January 31, 2014. We would cross the equator and also cross the International Date Line.
    We arrived in Auckland at 6:30 a.m. thanks to a ferocious tail wind, more than 100 mph as we approached New Zealand. On the trip we had a seatmate who was making a return trip to New Zealand after going to the Netherlands to visit her mother. She was a delightful young woman, an educator and statistician working on testing and assessment in New Zealand. We had a very nice discussion as we were all waking up from our long flight. She suggested several things we should try to see while in New Zealand. Tomorrow I’ll share my first impression of some of the myriad of things that are different down under.
  9. tbutler
    Preparations for the trip took much of my time in the months leading up to our departure. We had passports but needed international driver’s licenses to be able to rent and drive cars and campervans. The international driver’s license is actually just a translation of the provisions of our US driver’s license into four languages and converting weight and vehicle restrictions into metric units so that someone in a foreign country can assess our driving qualifications and understand what our license entitles us to drive in their own language. For New Zealand and Australia the language isn’t a concern but the type of vehicle we are allowed to drive is specified with a letter or our license that would mean nothing to someone in New Zealand or Australia. These are easily obtained, send in a completed form along with photocopy of the driver’s license and a fee of $15 each. We sent ours to AAA in Austin and had the required international license in hand within a week.
    We did need travel visa's for Australia. These were easily obtained on the internet. Australia links our passport numbers to our travel visa and we don't have an actual paper visa, just the link to our passports. If all goes well when we present our passports the visa should be there for the customs agent. Neither New Zealand nor Fiji require travel visas for US citizens.
    Having been full time for years, I’ve been handling our finances on the internet but with uncertainty about internet access, special steps were taken to ensure that insurance that renews during our trip would be paid up on time. We also set up all our credit cards to pay automatically so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting internet service to pay those bills. I searched and found two credit cards that do not charge a fee for foreign transactions from banks that we already use for other credit cards. Those are the two credit cards we will take with us for the trip. I have contacted the banks and given them our travel plans but one only accepts such plans for 30 days so I’ll have to renew that as we travel. The other accepts travel notification for 90 days and that too will have to be renewed.
    We have friends who will take care of our house while gone. I’ve programmed the furnace and air conditioner settings into the thermostat and all they have to do is switch them from heat to cool as we go from winter to summer weather. We investigated and found no suitable way to handle mail other than just have someone collect it from our box and store it until we return. We should have nothing in the mail that will require our immediate attention, mostly magazines, advertisements and charity requests. Then it occurred to me that I won’t be able to file taxes so I had to file for an extension. I dropped that in the mail on the way out of town. All utilities were put on vacation hold, phones, DirecTV and the home internet service. We had our car and motorhome insurance cut back during our absence since they won’t be driven.
    Just when I began to think it was all covered, I found out that the holiday trip to Target has put one of our credit cards at risk. Fortunately it wasn’t one we planned to take on the trip. I called the bank and requested a replacement. They gladly complied so that I should not have to worry about that problem.
    The airline allows one checked bag per person, one carry on and a personal item. So we’re going to have to pack very carefully. We have good sturdy suitcases but we don’t want to deal with storing them in the campervan. We purchased two roller duffel bags (at Target) and ordered two carry on backpacks from LL Bean. That would carry all our clothes and gear for a four month stay. Careful packing was necessary to make sure each bag met weight requirements. We could have paid to take additional bags but that would mean dragging additional bags when we moved from one means of travel to the next. During our stay, the southern hemisphere will go from summer into late fall and our latitude will vary from 46 degrees to 15 degrees so we need clothing for a wide variety of temperatures as well as for all occasions.
  10. tbutler

    An Idea Takes Shape

    By tbutler,

    In 2012 Louise and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. We couldn't decide what to do or where to go for the celebration. Living in south Texas now, we didn't want to travel north in December so we decided to postpone the celebration for a special trip of some kind. We received an advertisement for a cruise from a company we had cruised with once before. This was a really exotic cruise, perfect for an anniversary celebration. Two weeks cruising the Fiji Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. We put our deposit down with about a month before the commitment date. The no refund date passed without much discussion, the trip was on. Scheduled for the first two weeks of June 2014, it seemed quite a long way off.
    Soon after making the decision to take the cruise, I pointed out that Fiji wasn’t really too far from New Zealand and Australia. Can you see where this is going? We discussed that and put it aside. From time to time one of us would bring up the idea of extending the trip for the cruise to include New Zealand and Australia. At FMCA in Gillette, Wyoming last spring we attended a session on traveling in New Zealand and Australia in campervans with the tour group associated with FMCA. The presentation sounded great, we made notes and inquired about the price. It all sounded good until we sat down to discuss details, the price quoted was per person, double it for the two of us. That was a lot more than I was prepared to spend for a six week trip to the two countries. Louise and I are not tour people, we don’t like to be on a schedule when we travel. We’ll do it when we must but we much prefer to make up our own schedule as we go. So we decided to go it on our own.
    Finally last fall, we decided that if we were going to see New Zealand and Australia we need to start making arrangements. Louise took the lead contacting New Zealand Airlines to get prices and information on flights. They service all three destinations so we settled on them. Louise started planning a three week trip extension for the two week cruise. I said that I wanted to make the trip a full year to allow us time to see everything we wanted. That’s when the fight started!
    I found a set of suggested drives for Australia, two week loops that covered most of the country. There were about ten of them so this was far beyond what Louise wanted. We talked and settled the argument on a four month extension of the cruise. We would spend one month in New Zealand and three in Australia. I anticipated doing this following the cruise but Louise wanted to be back in the US following the cruise. So I agreed to scheduling the trip before the cruise. Somewhere in there is a lesson for the US Congress I believe.
    Louise began to go to work with the airlines and their travel agency. We booked flights for the entire circuit from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand then after a month we would fly from Christchurch, New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia. At the end of three months in Australia we would fly from Sydney to Nadi, Fiji for the cruise. Then at the conclusion of the cruise we would fly from Nadi, Fiji to Los Angeles. From there we built in the details. We would rent a campervan in Auckland and return it in Christchurch, making a ferry trip from the north island to the south island on a ferry so we reserved the ferry trip.
    In Australia we would stay in a hotel in Melbourne for three days then take the ferry to Tasmania where we would stay in a hotel for a week traveling by rental car to tour the island. When we returned to Melbourne we would pick up another campervan and travel for 10 weeks going north along the east coast up to Cairns then traveling west along the north coast to Darwin and finally traveling south to Perth. We would leave the campervan in Perth and fly to Sydney. Our visit to Sydney, would involve a hotel stay for a week then fly to Nadi, Fiji. All this was going to cost us in the neighborhood of what the six week trip with the FMCA travel agency was charging but we would get four months on our own schedule seeing just what we wanted. What will follow in the coming days and weeks is a running commentary on this trip.
    I just checked my records and this posting is number 100 for this blog and comes at the end of 5 years of activity on the FMCA web site.
  11. tbutler
    We're back in our winter campground. Southern Texas calls us back each winter. It could be the warm weather. It might be the wonderful people. Maybe it is just the memory of winters in colder climes that makes us feel as though we are cheating mother nature staying where it is warm (remember, warm is a relative term). As I write this our temperature is 50oF while much of the central US is facing a night of negative temperatures.
    Here in our park we have an active group. I fell in with the tennis crowd in my first year. Nothing is more fun for me than playing with and learning from players who are better, quicker, faster, hitting harder than I. I learned that from my father who taught me to play croquet, table tennis and baseball. My father was a fierce competitor and always had a good sense of humor about it all. He enjoyed playing games from Monopoly and pinochle to those mentioned above. Dad never threw a game, he always gave it his all. My parents were fast friends with Dutch and Anna Mae Lightman. We would go visit them and while we played with their children, they would play pinochle. As we played we could hear them in the kitchen. Dad and Dutch would razz each other as they pulled off a particularly good hand. Laughter roared from both as the evening went on. That is how Dad played all games. I was in my 40's before I began to beat him at table tennis. I played table tennis with him for much of my life and never won but I learned to play well.
    Slowly I've been learning to play tennis and improving even as I grow older. I had several years of limited activity. In 2010 I had my right shoulder repaired, the torn rotator cuff was repaired. That was followed by total knee replacements for both knees in 2011. This summer I had cataract surgery for both eyes. Now I can swing the racquet, chase the ball and even see what is going on! My game is better than ever. Earlier this week I had a rare day. Playing with some of the best players in the park, I dominated the court. We rotate partners, playing with each other player on the court for one of three sets. Each player who played with me that day won that set.
    We have friends who have tickets to the concert series in McAllen. They had to be out of town for the November concert so they gave their tickets to us. We enjoyed an evening at the Community Center Auditorium being entertained by Pavlo, a Canadian entertainer of Greek ancestry. His group, three string instruments and a percussionist played a variety of Mediterranean music. I had to laugh, they would excite the crowd and get everyone clapping to the music but as soon as they quit clapping on stage the clapping died out in the audience. I looked at the crowd during intermission and mentioned to Louise the preponderance of gray hair in the audience. This audience was so different from the people in our park. We have many people who would be clapping all through the whole number.
    One of our golf friends will celebrate his 90th birthday this month. Lester still plays every week unless the weather is too cold. Several years ago he started playing from the senior tees when a friend of his also began playing those tees. Before that he toughed it out with the rest of us playing from the regular mens tees. Two years ago he got a hole-in-one, the first in his life. A couple who bicycles with our bike ride group regularly also ride about 10 miles making circuits in the park. Mary Anne has had diabetes since her childhood and keeps moving and exercising regularly to ward off the effects of this debilitating disease. Another friend had a heart valve replacement several years ago, had a heart attack this summer at the time of his wife's death. Bob bought a Harley and is riding with the regular motorcycle group. Laura is recovering from back surgery. She and her husband had planned to be at the FMCA Convention in Gillette, WY this spring but her back surgery intervened. She has struggled back from the surgery and though their arrival in south Texas was delayed, she is here now and getting better each day. These are my hero's. They are people who have managed to maintain their health despite setbacks and advanced age.
    Occasionally I rent an airplane at the McAllen airport and go flying just for the fun of it. Several weeks ago I took a fellow pilot with me. New to the park, staying for a month, he flies in Canada. We connected immediately with our interest in aviation. They have joined us for our weekly bicycle ride and we have played several rounds of golf with them as well. One of the hallmarks of our park is the immediate and warm welcome that newcomers enjoy. Invitations to participate in activities inundate people when they arrive. Getting them involved in various activities brings them into the family of friends in the park. Frequently casual visitors become regular visitors and return each winter for longer and longer periods. Many, like us, become residents and stay for as long as they are able.
    There are enough activities in the park that no one can take part in them all. We have our bicycle ride friends, our golf friends, our bowling friends and more. Louise enjoys the park theatrical performances, I prefer karaoke. She plays cards with several different groups of ladies, I'll spend my days volunteering on behalf of the Rio Grande Valley Chapter Texas Master Naturalist at nature parks here in the RGV. We are both thankful that we are in good health and able to be as active as we are. One of the down sides of living in a retirement community is watching your friends age and their health deteriorate. We all know that this happens to everyone. Knowing this makes us appreciate even more our good fortune.
    For us, these are the best of times.
  12. tbutler

    Rolling On!

    By tbutler,

    A month ago we had the close call with fire (see my previous post, Good News, Bad News) in Lander, WY. Leaving Lander we made a dash for California. A night here, two nights there, and next thing you know we are in Valley Springs, CA. Our son-in-law and his father installed a 50A hookup for us on their home so now we can park next to their driveway. What about the lawn you ask? In this part of California, rock and gravel are a natural ground surface and we found the parking spot just made for us. There is water available and a sewer clean out that I can reach with the macerator hose. It is much more convenient than staying almost 20 miles away and driving to and from each day as we take care of our granddaughters.
    For two weeks we we daytime babysitters for two girls, ages 5 and 7. Their year-round school schedule has a vacation break in early October so this is a regular appointment for us the last few years. A babysitter could do the job but we can save their parents some money and connect with our granddaughters. We use the days to go on adventures. Apple Hill is a favorite for the girls. Located on US 50 just east of Sacramento, there are orchards and wineries in this region that have banded together to market themselves as Apple Hill. In October they have corn and hay mazes for kids, pumpkin patches to explore and pick out a special pumpkin. You can had feed the goats and sheep at one farm, at another you can go on a hay ride. On weekends, vendors open their booths and sell their wares. Lunch is available at most venues and there are some spectacular pies for sale.
    The girls enjoy almost any outing, a day exploring the local reservoir which is far below full allows us to walk on the lake floor and explore rocks. Bowling is a real adventure. Nothing is more fun that knocking down those pins, yippee! Louise and I love to play golf and we decided the girls would enjoy riding along. We got a loaner putter, kid size, so the girls could putt. They took turns dropping their ball next to grandpa or grandma and putting to the hole. Nine holes took care of their interest in golf.
    Leaving on Friday, I took the motor home to Lodi RV Center to have a new slide out cover installed, replacing the one with the burn holes. That done I was off to Sacramento to get two new tires from East Bay Tire Company. Monaco International, a chapter of FMCA has a purchase agreement with Michelin for tires similar to the FMCA program and I was able to get the tires at discount. I had the new tires put on the front and moved the front tires to the right rear replacing the oldest tires on the motor home. There was one more stop to make. Beverages and More, doing business as BevMo, has periodic wine sales, buy one, get another for 5 cents. It's basically a 1/2 price sale. We stock up on wine for our winter retreat at this sale. A ten dollar bottle of wine becomes $5, a forty dollar bottle is now $20. It is a chance to get an interesting variety of wines at reasonable prices.
    Louise meanwhile is finishing the last day with the girls at their house. As soon as their mom arrives home, Louise is off to Sacramento to join me. We meet at the Pilot Travel Center on I-80 just west of I-5, hook up the car and are on our way. We reach Corning, CA just after dark and park at the Rolling Hills Casino just south of town. This has been a favorite stopping spot for us, easy off and easy on with now special parking for RV's and trucks. Off early the next morning we keep the wheels rolling all day long, arriving in Olympia, WA just before dark. We'll spend two nights here and pick up a totem pole that we commissioned last summer when we were in La Push, WA. I fell in love with totems on our trip into British Columbia on our way to Alaska. We found an artist, teaching carving at the school in La Push. David Wilson has done the large totems and also does exquisite smaller works. We met David on Sunday and saw our totem pole for the first time. It is simply put, spectacular. Atop the three foot pole is an eagle perched on the sun. Then a whale with dorsal fin and at the base a bear. Each of the figures has significance for Louise and I so this is our totem pole.
    Monday morning we were on the road once more. I had contacted the Monaco Factory Service Center in Coburg, OR. They agreed to take a look at the damage to the motor home caused by the motor home fire in Lander. We arrived there just before noon. I had a good discussion with the shop foreman, the damage was much less severe than he expected from our phone call and photos that I sent. It could be repaired but the repair wouldn't be as good as the original wall is now and likely wouldn't look much better. The possible damage to the paint doesn't show. He recommended that we ask the insurance company keep the claim open for a year to see how the wall weathers a year of seasonal changes. I left feeling much better.
    From Coburg we headed east, almost directly. We dropped south to Eugene and picked up Oregon Highway 126 for a beautiful scenic drive along the McKenzie River and then through the mountains to US 20 which would take us across eastern Oregon to I-84 in Idaho. The drive on US 20 rivaled our trip on US 50 across Nevada. Both roads are little traveled across desolate areas. We stopped for the night at a roadside rest area near Buchanan, Oregon. The next morning we completed the last 100 miles of US 20, surprised to see corn fields, hay fields and finally the Onion Capitol of the US near Ontario, OR along the eastern Oregon border. We cross Idaho and enter Utah, pulling up for the night at a rest stop in Brigham City, UT. Our next leg took us out of Utah on I-80, across Wyoming and into Nebraska where we stopped for the night at the Cabela's campground in Sidney, NE. We opted for the electric only sites and enjoyed a good nights sleep.
    Leaving Sidney early the next morning we made an unplanned stop. Louise had been complaining of double vision the day before and it was worse this morning so we pulled up in North Platte, NE to visit the hospital there. We spent about six hours there getting excellent care. Louise had a number of tests run in the first 30 minutes that eliminated many of the worst possibilities. A CT scan and an MRI cleared most of the remaining possible causes. The doctor diagnosed a palsy of the sixth cranial nerve which controls eye movement. Her left eye is aimed slightly to the right and its movement isn't coordinated with the right eye, thus double vision. Needless to say, this is not a good condition when you are riding miles and miles in the motor home. The doctor says these often cure themselves. Meanwhile, Louise has an appointment to see an Opthalmologist next week.
    We finished our drive Thursday in central Nebraska at a Wal-Mart in Kearney. We completed the next leg of our trip on Friday as we pulled into 370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters, MO. Saturday we joined my son and his wife for a couples baby shower/happy hour. That evening Louise and I went to dinner and a show before turning in for the night. We really enjoyed Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips. It was really a spectacular drama and another great performance by Tom Hanks. Sunday we went bowling with my daughter and her family. Monday morning I made a run to my dentist for a cleaning and checkup. Then we were off to Warrenton, MO to meet my two sisters. We had lunch and celebrated the final closing of my mother's estate. Another chapter of life ends. By the end of the day we would be parked at Wal-Mart in Joplin, MO.
    Tuesday we crossed Oklahoma and made our way to McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, TX. Louise attended an executive meeting of the Texas Silver Haired Legislature on Wednesday afternoon. Today, Thursday we drove south to Hill Country RV in New Braunfels, TX where I will attend a weekend state meeting of the Texas Master Naturalist organization. Next Monday we'll stop in San Antonio for routine service for the Cummins engine and the Onan generator before rolling into Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, TX where we will park the motor home for the next eight months! Whew! We will close out a much heavier year of travel than any time in the past, almost 17,000 miles from January to parking on October 28. The trip described above was over 5000 miles in just a month and 5 days. This is not the way I prefer to travel but I'm glad that I have the motor home and am able to do this when necessary.
  13. tbutler

    Good News - Bad News

    By tbutler,

    As of our last post we had just entered Colorado as the heavy rain and flooding occurred. We stayed for a week and got a first hand look at some of the damage. What we saw in the Denver/Arvada area was minor compared to the real damage which occurred in the mountains and out on the plains as the flood waters continued to disperse. There are towns in the mountains which have no road access to the outside world and likely won't have until sometime next spring or summer. Countless roads washed out and many bridges were destroyed. At the time we left the death toll was still uncertain. Many people lost their lives and huge numbers of people lost their homes.
    Leaving Denver we headed north to I-80 at Cheyenne. The trip was delayed as we ran into stop and go traffic for miles as we approached the bridge over the Big Thompson River. Traffic was slowed, a giant gaper block, everyone wanted to see the rushing waters of the Big Thompson. Once clear of this traffic we were on I-80 westbound in no time at all. We made a stop in Laramie for diesel and then drove on stopping at a rest area near Fort Fred Steele. It was late enough in the day that we decided to stop for the night here.
    In the morning I learned that circumstances would change our planned trip to Olympia, Washington to mid October so we now were headed for a family commitment in California in about a week and a half. That gave us a little time to enjoy exploring some new territory. We talked it over and decided to head into west-central Wyoming and take a look at the area around Lander. We drove a short distance into Rawlings, picked up propane to make sure we would have enough for cold nights at altitude. From there, the road northwest to Lander passes through some very scenic lands in the Great Divide Basin. The Great Divide separates water going to the Atlantic from water going to the Pacific Ocean. Here in central Wyoming, the Great Divide divides into two, then rejoins south of I-80 into a single divide again. Between the two routes of the divide is an area where waters flow into a basin with no exit. It would be similar to the Great Salt Lake basin except that there is little rainfall here and no large lake exists here.
    We decided to stay at Twin Pines Campground south of Lander. This proved to be a good choice and then a bad choice. We were 7 miles from Lander and spent several days in town and exploring Sinks Canyon State Park nearby. In Sinks Canyon State Park, the Middle Popo Agie River disappears underground as it flows into a cave. At high water, some water flows overland but most of the year the river goes underground. Several thousand feet down the canyon, water from the river bubbles back to the surface and then continues to flow on the surface from there on. This is not a terribly uncommon occurrence, it happens in areas with Karst topography, typified by caves and sinkholes. We hiked the north canyon wall to a viewpoint that gave us an overview of the valley. The second day in the canyon we drove up and over the north canyon wall and across the mountains back to our campsite. The scenery was spectacular as the road took us past a number of mountain lakes and over several mountain ridges.
    Once again, we stumbled on a unique event without any prior knowledge or planning. We drove into Lander on Friday morning and saw a banner stretched across the main street, "Welcome to the One Shot Antelope Hunt." The hunt would be Saturday morning, the opening of antelope hunting season. This event started in the late 1930's as a challenge between Wyoming and Colorado. Each state would field a team of three hunters. Each hunter would get one round of ammunition for their antelope hunt. Hunting parties would be made of one hunter from each team accompanied by a guide. The team that bagged the most antelope or in the case of a tie did it in the least amount of time would be declared the winner. Over time, the number of teams increased. This year there would be eight teams. Participants are by invitation only. There is a museum in town, past shooters include astronauts, a who's who of actors, particularly the cowboy genre of actors, politicians (former VP Cheney was in this year's group of participants), and other famous people. We saw several teams touring Sinks Canyon State Park after they sighted in their guns that morning in a remote area of the park. There weren't a lot of events open to the public but we enjoyed learning about this unique event.
    We enjoyed a look at South Pass City on Sunday afternoon. This is a gold rush town that like many turned into ghost town once the gold mine became non-productive. The mine enjoyed several periods of development, starting in 1868 and finally ending in 1954 with the closing of the Carissa Mine. South Pass City was turned over to the State of Wyoming and has been preserved in its early 1900's condition. Returning to our park I prepared the car for our anticipated morning departure.
    Monday morning I was up picking up e-mail, taking care of computer tasks as the coming days may not have internet coverage. I looked up from the computer and out our front window I saw smoke. This was not light gray smoke, it was not a distant cloud of smoke, this was a boiling black cloud of smoke and it was right in front of our motor home! I jumped up and looked out the drivers side window to see a neighboring motor home on fire. The fire was coming from the front engine compartment of a Georgie Boy that was in site 20. We were in site 18 and site 19 between us was empty. I picked up my phone and called 911. The call took 4 minutes. During that time the couple in the coach had bailed out the emergency exit window of the motor home. Both were elderly with obvious limitations in their physical abilities but they did make it out safely. Their pets, a cat and a dog, unfortunately did not escape. The Lander fire department is at least seven miles away and it is a volunteer fire department. It was 22 minutes from the time I made the phone call until I started taking pictures of the fire department at work. Those were the longest 22 minutes I have ever known.
    After my phone call, Louise and I set about getting our slides in and preparing to move from our site. As I went out to pull the electric, water and sewer connections the heat from the fire was so intense that I decided we should abandon our attempt to move for our own safety. I could have driven off with utilities attached and perhaps I should have but we didn't. We got out of our own coach, Considering the propane tank and gas tank on the coach, I didn't want to delay getting away from the area. I have since imagined a number of scenarios which would have allowed us to get out of the way but of course none of that saved us at the time. Louise and I talked this over several days later, could of, should have, would have, is a game that can be played forever and it still haunts me but at least I'm sleeping a little better now.
    I assisted in getting the woman into a fifth wheel on the far end of the park as she was feeling faint and near collapsing. We watched the fire from a distance and worried about our own coach. When the fire department started putting water on the flames their entire coach was involved in flames. The coach was completely destroyed down to the frame. Their Jeep which was parked in front of the coach had nothing left but the metal components. All this took just 22 minutes from the time I noticed the fire. It took another 20 minutes for the fire department to put out the last of the flames, and a few minutes more to pack up and leave. From beginning to end it was less than an hour. It was a truly frightening event for all involved.
    Our coach sustained some secondary damage. Despite the fact that we got our slide-outs in as soon as we could, there were still numerous burn holes in the canvas covers. Embers from the fire rained down on the roof leaving little burn marks like a cigarette left on the sink in a motel room on the roof of the coach. Of greatest concern is heat damage to the entire port side wall of the coach. The fiberglass wall is warped just enough to make every vertical rib in the coach wall visible. We've had all this documented by an adjuster from our insurance company, now the repair work begins.
    So we've now seen flood and fire, what is next? I don't know but I would advise you to leave if you see us coming into a park near you! In the Peanuts comic strip there was a character named Pigpen. Pigpen was always unwashed, grungy looking, and everywhere he went he had this black cloud of dust and dirt following. That is how I'm feeling right now.
  14. tbutler

    That's How We Roll

    By tbutler,

    We have just completed one busy week while putting some serious miles on the motor home. We've made a few trips like this before. I would like to think that this is the last one but somehow the need to quickly move from one place to another seems to keep popping up. Unlike much of our travel, this trip was in the middle of summer in the very places we have avoided during the summer for the past 12 years.
    We have never been at home in Edinburg, Texas in July. The same could be said for June, August and September. I had cataract surgery on both eyes in May, just before the FMCA rally in Gillette, Wyoming. We made the trip to Wyoming and then returned to Edinburg so I could get my new glasses. Louise had a series of meetings in Austin starting on July 14 so we decided to make the trip back to Texas in the motor home and then set out for cooler locations in mid-July. Meanwhile our daughter in California requested some babysitting time with their two girls, ages 5 and 8 and the timing was really tight. They were taking a trip on Tuesday, July 23 and wanted us at their home in Valley Springs on Monday the 22nd.
    With the hot weather we decided we would stop at RV parks each evening rather than staying at rest areas and Wal-Mart stores. We would have electric to operate the air conditioners through the night and a quiet place to get good sleep.
    We started out on Sunday the 14th of July in Edinburg, Texas. We spent the Saturday before departure in the motor home doing our normal daily activities. We've started doing this as a means to find those few things we have forgotten. We eat and sleep in the motor home while parked at the house. If something has been forgotten it is just a few steps away. The toad was hooked up before we went to bed, the motor home was in the street, ready to roll first thing in the morning. Louise likes to sleep late, I like to drive at daybreak during the coolest part of the day. We would drive early, reaching San Antonio shortly after noon. Louise drove on to Austin while I stayed in San Antonio to have the engine and generator serviced at the Cummins Service Center on Monday morning. I stayed at Greentree Village RV Park just off I-35 and six miles from the Cummins shop. Sunday, July 14, 231 miles.
    Work started at noon and was finished at 4:00, just in time to join the rush hour traffic leaving San Antonio. Couple that with a heavy thunderstorm and flooding roads meant really slow traffic on I-35. I headed to Austin to join Louise. She was attending an orientation workshop for The Silver Haired Legislature, a senior citizen group that works to influence issues of concern to all seniors in the state of Texas. The orientation started Sunday afternoon and continues through Thursday noon. I parked the motor home at McKinney Falls State Park just outside Austin and Louise joined me there Monday evening. Since she had the toad during the day, I was free to explore the park and relax in the motor home. Monday, July 15, 70 miles.
    My relaxing schedule ended on Tuesday afternoon. I had fallen asleep with the computer on my lap. I heard a sound like an awning snapping. Since it woke me up, I didn't have a clear idea of what happened. I looked out the windows and everything looked fine. A little later I decided to go outside to check the awnings. I found the slide out cover on the living room slide was slack, laying on the roof of the slide. I got on the ladder and sure enough the spring that holds the awning taut had snapped. I got on the computer and looked up Carefree of Colorado repair shops in the Austin area. I had to leave a message at both shops. Now the problem was that we were scheduled to be on the road Thursday afternoon and I couldn't drive with an awning flapping loose. I've taken that awning off before but it isn't easy and is at best a two person job. I was alone and needed to get the job done quickly. I dug out the owners manual and looked over the instructions. I found a way to get the roller loose from the mounting just enough so I could slip the awning off the roller and off the roof at the same time. Then I put everything back together but with no canvas this time.
    With that done I went back to the computer. Since I couldn't get in touch with the local shops I'd call one near our destination. I called Paul Evert's RV Country in Fresno, California. We have dealt with them before and they are one of several shops around the country that are really friendly to traveling RV'ers. The other criteria that puts them at the top of our list is the excellent quality of their work. They were very helpful, the spring could be replaced and they called Carefree and confirmed that the spring was in stock. From the information in the owners manual I didn't think there was any alternative to replacing the entire awning. There was no part number for the spring. Paul Evert's would have the spring Monday which is when we could be there. Things were working out pretty well.
    Thursday we left Austin a little ahead of schedule. I topped off the fuel tank with almost 50 gallons of diesel at $3.76 a gallon at an Exxon quick shop. We were on the road at noon headed for Abilene, Texas; Clovis, New Mexico; then to I-40 and on to California and Fresno. We drove through some afternoon showers, something that Texas dearly needs. We stopped for the night at Lubbock, Texas staying at Lubbock RV Park on the northwest side of town. A spectacular rainbow had many campers out admiring the show as the sun set. Thursday, July 18, 416 miles.
    An early start on Friday morning put us into Gallup, New Mexico and the USA RV Park on the west side of town. I had just finished the outdoor work when the rain started. There was a good shower and everything was wet in the morning. Friday, July 19, 462 miles.
    Saturday morning we started at sunrise again. With the fuel tank near empty we made a stop at Speedy's Truck Stop on the AZ-NM border. A gallon of diesel was going for $3.76 cash (or debit card in our case). We purchased about 102 gallons and were off to cross Arizona. This was to be our long drive day. We paused for lunch at an exit just beyond a closed rest area. Before leaving Arizona we stopped at the US 95 exit to Lake Havasu City to top off the tank at the Pilot station there. We got an additional 32 gallons of diesel at $3.79. That was 2:00 in the afternoon and I told Louise leaving the station that she could pick the stopping time and place for the evening. We discussed possibilities and she decided on Barstow as the goal. A check of campgrounds and we decided to stop just short at Newberry Mountain RV Park in Newberry, CA. The park didn't look too promising as we drove up to the office. That turned out to be a real surprise. The owner was quite pleasant, we maneuvered into our site which was way too short but she said not to worry, just pull through far enough to leave the space behind clear. Louise wanted to do some laundry so I hooked up all utilities. It took every inch of sewer hose we were carrying but we were able to get everything hooked up. During the night we had a good thundershower - in the Mojave desert! Saturday, July 20, 509 miles.
    Sunday morning we started a little later. I was up early to unhook and stow the hoses while Louise slept in. It was shortly after 8:00 when we pulled onto I-40 for the trip to the end of Interstate 40 where it joins I-15. We left Barstow on CA 58 to Bakersfield, CA. After a short lunch stop on CA 99 we rolled into Paul Evert's RV. We checked in with the sales staff receptionist and got our assigned space for parking. We have electric and water hookups and a Monday morning appointment. Louise will drive to Stockton on Monday to pick up our granddaughters while I have the motor home at the repair shop. After the repairs I will leave headed for Watsonville, CA which is between Monterey and San Jose. Louise will meet me there and we will spend four days with the girls on the coast in an attempt to avoid the 100+ temperatures expected in the central valley of California this week. Sunday, July 21, 258 miles.
    In the course of 8 days, Sunday to Sunday we drove almost 2000 miles, got maintenance and repairs done, attended a 5 day orientation workshop and moved our base of operations from our home in deep south Texas to the central California coast. Along the way, we enjoyed a few new roads and many miles of familiar territory. We enjoyed exploring the new and had fun remembering some of our previous trips over the familiar roads. This summer we are celebrating 12 years of traveling in a motor home. We are enjoying one fabulous adventure.
  15. tbutler
    After our stay in California, we set out on our way east to St. Louis, Missouri. We’ve made this trip many times. The default trip going either way is to travel to I-80 east to eastern Nebraska where we pick up I-29 south to Kansas City and then I-70 to St. Louis. When we make this trip we are usually on a schedule so time is important and the interstate fills the bill. We’ve detoured several times, to visit friends, to see the Grand Tetons. We sometimes stop in Denver to visit relatives so the trip isn’t always exactly the same.
    This time we decided to take our time, traveling fewer miles per day and take a route which is not fast but has scenery we haven’t seen before. We departed on Sunday afternoon headed up California Highway 88 into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In Carson City, Nevada we turned east on US 50, known as the loneliest highway in the US. It wasn’t lonely as we left Carson City. We parked at Wal-Mart for the evening in Fallon, NV. Fallon is home of the US Navy Top Gun training center.
    Leaving Fallon on Monday morning the road narrowed to two lanes with little shoulder. The scattering of houses and buildings soon disappeared. We drove for miles across the desert. There were other cars and a few trucks, and only an occasional small town. Historical markers, the Pony Express ran through this area. Imagine a man in the 1800’s riding a horse through this area. Even today it doesn’t look that friendly for one man or for the horse. The road rolled ever onward. For miles it was straight making only occasional slight turns to weave the way between the block faulted mountains that give the area the name, basin and range. We pulled over at a wide spot overlooking the community of Austin. Here the road began an assault into the Toiyabe Mountains and Bob Scott’s Summit which was 7205 feet, a climb of about 1000 feet from the floor of the basin.
    After we cleared the Toiyabe Mountains, the road once again straightened out and continued weaving between mountains. In places the desert was noticeably green and we saw water standing in low spots along the road. Then suddenly there was a car approaching flashing its headlights. Over the hill came a highway patrol car with lights flashing. But wait, he was weaving all over the road, into our lane and back to his lane. I slowed and he pulled up alongside us to tell us we had to pull completely off the road. He informed us there was a wide load coming toward us. I slowly pulled to the side, putting our right wheels in the ditch to get clear of the pavement. Louise grabbed the camera and handed it to me. Two more highway patrol cars appeared followed by the mandatory wide load escort vehicle and finally the load appeared. It was a dump bed from a mine truck. If it were driven down the center of the road it would have completely filled the road. The truck hauling the load must have been doing 60 MPH. It was gone in no time. I thought about the mountain roads we had traversed and wondered if they had to go that far. I guess US 50 was the highway to use for this trip, there were few vehicles to be cleared from the road and we hadn’t seen any overpass on the route.
    Soon after the wide load passed, it began to rain. It was cloudy and cool and we were crossing the vast span of desert. We realized how lucky we were to have such mild weather. The rain lasted for half an hour and we met several trucks. Of course the toad was stuck to our tail and all the spray we generated was sprayed onto the toad. I hate when that happens. In the desert, rain makes mud and the toad looked horrible by the time we parked for the night. We stopped in Ely, Nevada and stayed at the Valley View RV Park. Ely is the site of one gigantic copper pit mine. The tailings were visible as we drove into town. Now those in tune with mining know that there are copper ores in other countries and mining in those countries costs less than in the US for a number of reasons. Anyway, Ely’s main source of employment has dried up and it is easy to tell by driving through town. We spent a quiet night and slept well. For the first time since we left California we had internet access and our phones worked! I think that those who live in the heavily populated areas of the country would be amazed at how little of the modern electronic communications has touched the remote areas of the US. Even in Fallon, we had marginal phone service and I learned that many of the apps which I have are useless if we don’t have 3G service. Our hot spot was useless and we were totally out of touch for most of the day.
    From Ely we climb over another mountain range and then descend as we travel the remaining 70 miles of Nevada before entering Utah. US 50 joins I-15 for seven miles and then we’re back on US 50. About 70 miles into Utah we come to the town of Delta. Here we find beautiful farmland. Vast fields of hay and crops and a thriving farming community. We encounter I-70 next, now we are on the fast road. I-70 in Utah runs just north of the canyons, Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Canyonlands NP and Arches NP. As such, I-70 has spectacular scenery and numerous scenic areas. We spent the night at the Sand Bench viewpoint. The sunset photography was wonderful. In the morning we drove on stopping at several other scenic view areas.
    In Colorado we decided to continue our slower trip and diverted to US 50 at Grand Junction. We went up and over Monarch Pass at 11,000+ feet and down into the Arkansas River valley. We spent the night at an RV Park near Salida. We are in the mountain time zone and losing an hour but not losing that hour at night, we get plenty of sleep and wake up late. We pass the Royal Gorge area which has been destroyed by fire. The bridge is still there and will reopen sometime in the future. There is still a zip line in operation and all the Arkansas River float trip operators seem to be doing well. Colorado highway 115 takes us into Colorado Springs and US 24 takes us to Limon, Colorado and onto I-70 for the remaining trip back to St. Louis.
  16. tbutler

    The Fun Never Ends!

    By tbutler,

    We stayed with friends in Yankton, South Dakota last week. It was a nice long weekend visit. I played golf twice while Louise got her quota of card games. We shared plans and updated each other on family matters. As we left, we had a two travel days planned on our way to the Denver area where we are now. As we pulled away we began talking about the possibilities. I asked if Louise would enjoy a drive along the South Dakota border and what roads were there for us to travel? She looked at the map in her lap and gave me a suggested route. We departed to the north on US 81 to SD Hwy 46. The roads were good and traffic was light. I set the cruise on 55 and we enjoyed a leisurely trip. The speed felt right on this narrow two lane road with no shoulder. At Pickstown we left Hwy 46 for Hwy 18 which took us across the Fort Randall Dam on the Missouri River. This is a beautiful valley with a nice view of Lake Francis Case as you descend into the valley.
    Along the southern border of South Dakota are a number of Sioux Reservations. The population is sparse thorough this area with scattered farms. A succession of small towns gave glimpses into life in this part of the state. In the Rosebud Reservation we turned south on US 83 and drove to the South Dakota State Line. We pulled into the Rosebud Casino parking lot for a place to stay for the night. We shared the lot with one other motor home and several trucks. The night was quiet and we awoke the next morning, ate breakfast and continued on south into Nebraska and the town of Valentine.
    South of Valentine US 83 passes into the realm of the Nebraska Sand Hills. Once a desert, the sand dunes now support grasslands with low areas exposing the high water table in the area. These low spots form marshy lakes which can be seen for miles along this scenic highway. There are no streams here, water simply pools and sinks into the sandy soil.
    Near the town of Thedford US 83 joins Nebraska Hwy 2. At the intersection of the two highways is the Thomas County Fairgrounds and a parking area with information about the Sand Hills. We made this a lunch stop and enjoyed learning more about the Sand Hills and their history.
    We have driven Hwy 2 before but I wanted to travel west toward Hyannis and Nebraska Hwy 61. The scenery along Hwy 2 is beautiful and this time of year everything was green and vibrant. There were hay fields that look like they should be greens on a golf course. Hwy 61 turned out to be a very narrow two lane road. With very little traffic, it was a pleasant drive. The Sand Hills just went on and on. There was so little traffic on this road that I noticed there were grasshoppers sitting on the roadway. We were driving right over them - wrong! When we stopped for the night I found them all on the lower portion of the nose of the motor home, about as high as a grasshopper can jump! I got out the scrub brush and washed them off before they got baked on.
    We stopped to stretch our legs in the town of Arnold. Like many towns in the area, there were many old buildings. Unlike other small towns, these buildings were still kept in good condition and many being used. There was a hotel with a magnificent frieze depicting cattle and a cowboy. Across the street a small cottage labeled the Old Cowboy Rest Home. On the rail fence out in front were four saddles. We parked in front of the tack shop which had a sign that said Fed Ex Keep Off. Someone had issues! Leaving town we passed the cemetery which had a fence in front. Each fence post had a boot inverted atop the post.
    As we approached I-80 we drove across the dam on the North Platte River that forms Lake McConaughy, the largest lake in Nebraska. The recreation area around this lake is one of the prime vacation and recreation areas in Nebraska according to the information presented on signs in the area. There were numerous storage areas with huge numbers of RV in storage for the coming winter.
    Once on I-80 we quickly turned south on I-75 to Denver. At Julesburg there is a very nice welcome area and rest stop on I-75. We made that our stop for the night. During the night I awoke to hear a chirp. It wasn't a cricket, it was an electronic chirp. I listened and heard it again. After several more I decided I had to investigate. It was of course the smoke detector. I took it down and removed the battery. Then I heard the chirp again. We have three smoke detectors, an after effect of a fire safety seminar at an FMCA rally. One is in the bedroom, another is in the cockpit and the third is Louise's cooking timer, located above the stove! Before I went back to bed I changed the batteries in all three detectors. Louise mused that the battery life alarm always goes off in the middle of the night.
    We awoke the next morning to news that Denver had washed away overnight. Heavy rain and flooding, cars washing away in roaring creeks, homes flooded, and loss of life. The sky looked like more rain and indeed most of the way to Denver we drove in rain. Approaching Denver we saw the runoff basins along the highway filled with water. Small creeks and larger streams were roaring with muddy water. A low spot in the campground we are staying in is flooded, including several sites which now have no occupant. We unhook the car in a steady rain. It lets up and I get our utilities hooked up. I start to take the tow hardware off the car and the rain resumes. That's it, I'm soaked, time for a nice warm shower and something to eat. Tonight the furnace is running. Rain on the roof always makes for a good night of sleep. Tonight we are camped well up the hill at Dakota Ridge RV. We won't worry about high water.
  17. tbutler

    A Well Used Motor Home

    By tbutler,

    Our motor home always has something that needs fixing. This has been the history of the coach since we bought it. This is not a complaint, it is the nature of a well used motor home to need things fixed on a regular basis. Call it upkeep or maintenance, it has to be done. I'm glad that I enjoy doing things myself because the cost of hiring someone else to repair all the minor things that can go wrong would be exceedingly expensive.
    We just reached the 120,000 milestone on our last trip. That meant that the transmission fluid and filters needed to be replaced. We were en-route across Kansas when this occurred. I put Louise to work while I was driving, looking for an Allison dealer somewhere in Kansas in the hope that we might get an appointment and be able to stop and get this done that afternoon. I handed her my iPhone so she could do an internet search. So we started with opening the browser, that is the third button from the left on the bottom line. It is labeled Safari. When it opens, tap the space that says search. Type in Allison. She says I thought we had a Cummins engine. Now I give my five minute lecture on the transmission. Later I would follow this up with pictures of transmissions but for now I'm driving so I have to rely on words which we all know take at least 1000 to make a picture.
    So it is back to the iPhone, the Allison International web site comes up. Louise can't find any way to navigate from there to finding a dealer. She describes what is on the screen, I suggest trying several things, nothing works. Thank goodness there is a rest area coming up. I park and take over the search. She is correct, if there is a way to get from Allison International to any kind of dealer search I can't find it either. So I start trying other things. I take the basic web site entry, http://www.allison and delete the /index one letter at a time then put something like /dealer and I get a different screen which asks for country and half a dozen other choices before I finally come to a list of Allison dealers in Kansas. Louise says how did you do that. I start to show her and realize I can't duplicate any of it.
    I called the dealer in Salina, a friendly voice answers (always a plus). It is 10:00 a.m. and I ask if there is an appointment available later today to change the fluid and filters in the Allison 3000 in my motor home. He starts naming off times starting at 12:00 noon. I'm at least 120 miles away and we will stop for lunch somewhere so I select a 3:00 appointment figuring that will get us out the door by 5:00 closing time and we can camp somewhere nearby. I'm amazed, the usual answer to a request for work today is laughter. So we have an appointment.
    It took us a little over two hours to cover the distance to the Salina and another fifteen minutes to find the dealer location which was right by the interstate exit but the Garmin GPS had no clue! We unhooked and backed into a bay at 1:00. We were allowed to stay on board the entire time. They set up a fan, opened the engine compartment, and basically let everything cool until 3:00 when the actual work began. Everything was done by 4:30 and we were on our way by 5:00. The dealer had hours until 7:00 p.m. so it wasn't like they were hurrying us out the door. I was delighted to have this done while en-route rather than having to pick up and travel to and from a dealer to get the work done. We drove to Topeka and made our way to the Hilltop Campground on the NE side of Topeka. This was well off the beaten path but gave us a great nights sleep and a good start for the next day.
  18. tbutler

    Fun With the Girls

    By tbutler,

    After our blistering cross country trip to California, Louise picked up our two youngest granddaughters in Stockton at noon on Monday. I stayed at Paul Evert’s RV to have a spring replaced in the roller of our slide out cover. As soon as that job was finished I headed for Watsonville to meet Louise and the girls. I arrived about an hour after Louise but there is a playground at Pinto Lake Park where we would be staying so the girls had something to do until I arrived.
    Louise had checked in for us so I was able to drive right to our site. We set up the motor home, full utilities with 30A electric. It was late in the day so I took the girls, ages 5 and 7 back to the playground while Louise prepared dinner. The youngest, Audrey, knows no strangers on the playground. If there are kids there she will be playing with them. It starts with, “What’s your name?” From there it goes to, “Watch this!” With that they are off and running, sort of like the board game we used to play as kids, Chutes and Ladders. Hanging upside down, climbing up the sides of the equipment, trying run up the slides, no self-respecting kid uses the equipment as it was designed to be used. Fortunately, playground designers have found nearly injury proof surfaces for the kids to fall on. The girls played until the other children had to leave and then they lost interest so we returned to the motor home for dinner.
    Watsonville holds pleasant memories for me and Louise. In our first year of full timing, the summer of 1992 we spent a week there exploring the area. Watsonville is on the north coast of Monterey Bay. The coastal highway, CA 1 runs through Watsonville. The town is a working town, the industry of the area is farming. Fruits and vegetables are raised here in commercial quantities. One of the vivid memories I have of the area was buying a flat of strawberries (6 quarts) for $5 in 1992. There is plenty of harvest work which is low wage work. Many of the workers are from Mexico and the area has many Mexican restaurants. Another vivid memory is finding a little store front Mexican restaurant after an afternoon of bicycle riding. We enjoyed an excellent meal and great service. We brought the girls to this area because we wanted to share some of the interesting things in the area with them and we wanted to escape the blistering hot weather currently in the central valley of California.
    Tuesday morning we set out to Ano Nueva State Park, north of San Cruz on Hwy 1. The scenic highway in this area is a feeder artery to Santa Cruz and on to San Francisco. Traffic, even at 10:00 in the morning was stop and go all the way from Watsonville to Santa Cruz. As we approached Ano Nueva the girls were asking for food. We found a small café in Davenport so we stopped to quiet the hunger pains.
    After a nice lunch we were off to Ano Nueva. This state park and wildlife preserve is home to a number of elephant seals. The yearly cycle includes breeding in the winter months, pups hang around all summer while the females are out to sea feeding off the coast. The males take off to Alaskan waters then return in mid-summer for molting. They shed their fur and then return to Alaska. We hiked the two mile trail along the coast and over sand dunes to an overlook where we could see a group of 15 of the two ton males basking on the beach. Every once in a while, one would raise his head and bellow at the rest of the group. Inch by inch they would work their way toward the water as it retreated to low tide. The girls enjoyed everything about the walk and were excited to see the elephant seals. The return walk was less pleasant. Audrey was worn out and nothing was going to make her happy. We eventually made it back to the parking lot and returned to camp.
    Wednesday Louise had planned a visit to a goat dairy north of Ano Nueva. We would get a tour of the facility and get to meet the goats. The trip up the coast went faster today and we arrived well before the tour started. The tour began with a walk to the garden where we sat and listened to a talk that covered the history and nature of the farm. Then we walked into the barn lot with the goats. Lily is the serious sister, she went around meeting goats and enjoyed petting them. Audrey bounced from goat to goat and then wanted to meet the llamas that were with the goats. Llamas are less friendly than the goats but Audrey was insistent so she was introduced to the friendliest of them. She then went right to the larger and less friendly llama. I was following her around and trying to steer her clear of trouble but she moves faster than me. Turn your head for a minute and she is gone. I retrieved her quickly and escorted her out to the pasture to meet more goats. We toured feeding area and the girls fed the goats. Then it was into the milking barn. Being mid-day, there was no milking underway. We then went to the dairy where the milk is processed into cheese. Our guide worked up a batch of chevre (goat) cheese while the girls and other children in the group were given a variety of flowers. They were to take the petals from the flowers and put them in a bowl. Then our guide placed the cheese in the bowl on top of the flower petals. She had Lily and Audrey hold out their hands. She turned the bowl over dumping the cheese ball into their hands as she said she would make cheese magic. When she removed the bowl there were the flower petals on top of the cheese. She then unwrapped the cheese and passed out samples on pieces of bread to everyone in the tour group. The girls will never forget this tour.
    Thursday we took the girls to the Monterey Aquarium. It was a very busy day at the aquarium and keeping an eye on the girls kept Louise and I on our toes. Lily would stand and watch an exhibit for a long period of time. Audrey was off to see the next thing almost as soon as she glanced at the first. We saw amazing things, a huge orange octopus moving back and forth in its tank did keep both girls attention. There were large tanks with big sharks and small tanks with tiny jellyfish. In fact, the jellyfish exhibit was extraordinary. Equally extraordinary was the exhibit of sea horses. The variety of sea horses was amazing. Who knew there were so many different kinds of sea horses? We stayed almost to closing time before leaving.
    Friday was moving day. Audrey is starting kindergarten and Friday was meet the teacher day. We had to be at school by 3:00. Since mom and dad were on vacation, Louise and I would play the part of parents today. We made the trip back to the girls home without incident and parked the motor home in the driveway next to the house. That afternoon we met Audrey’s teacher and walked through their morning routine. Then we found Lily’s classroom. She will have meet the teacher night later next week but at least she knows who her teacher will be and where her classroom is located. Later that evening we got a call from the girls’ mother and father. They had decided to return early and would be arriving about 10:00 p.m. When they walked in the door we all greeted them with cheers and hugs. Louise and I were off duty now, we could begin planning our next trip!
  19. tbutler
    We took the Bison Ranch Tour at the FMCA Family Reunion, 50th Anniversary Rally, in Gillette, Wyoming. It turned into a real adventure, much more than expected. Our tour was Friday evening and was to include a meal before our return to the rally site in Gillette.
    We met the bus at the assigned location and boarded without incident. This was a nice commercial bus with comfortable seats and air conditioning. After the last passengers were on board we were on our way south on Wyoming Highway 59 toward the little town of Wright. The trip was uneventful, the bus moved along at a good clip and we arrived at the Bison Ranch in about 45 minutes. We were met by the manager, a member of the family that owns the ranch, he lives on and operates the ranch. This ranch has 100 square miles of land, a bison herd of over 2000 and ships bison meat to a number of national markets.
    We learned all this as we were traveling gravel roads across the grassy plains out into the ranch. About 20 minutes into the trip across the ranch to the location of the bison herd the bus stopped. Those of us in the rear of the bus could smell the hot antifreeze, this was not a good smell. After several attempts to restart the bus we all got off and began milling about. The mechanics in the group immediately began opening up the engine compartments to see what the problem could be. It wasn't much of a mystery, there were wet hoses and the strong smell of hot antifreeze. So now we watched as our guide called his wife on the cell phone. He gave our location in order for her to guide the replacement bus to our location. From where we were we could see the town of Wright on the horizon and a few other houses way off in the distance. Over to the southwest we could see the bison herd. With a pair of binoculars you could actually tell that they were indeed bison. So our guide spends some time telling us more about the ranch and bison. He explains the difference between buffalo and bison very clearly. True buffalo are found in Asia (water buffalo) and Africa (Cape buffalo). Our North American bison are only distantly related to the true buffalo. They are more closely related to cattle and yaks. He relates a story about an Australian speaker at a meeting who explained the difference between a buffalo and a bison. You can't wash your face in a buffalo! Think about it. OK, say it with an Australian accent. Eventually, we all got it. His talk gives out and everyone starts to explore.
    After about 20 minutes of exploring, our guide decides we need some entertainment so he gathers up a pile of chips, bison chips! We are going to have a chip throwing contest. Now this is a group of FMCA members, serious RV'ers, who have never turned down a camp game of any kind. I don't think that everyone tossed a chip but starting with the women, one after another, they picked out their special chip from the pile and stepped up to the line to give it a toss. It didn't matter too much which direction you threw your chip, it varied some, none of the spectators were hurt except perhaps from laughing too hard. Being generous our host counted the tiniest chip that came off the chip when it exploded as it hit the ground. The piece that traveled the greatest distance was where you stood until someone threw further. They tossed chips 30 feet, 40 feet, 50 feet, this was serious business. Finally with no more takers, the winner was announced. Then it was time for the men to show their form. We stepped up to pick a chip. The process went quickly, I believe more women stepped forward than men. Cameras clicked, people laughed and a good time was had by all.
    Shortly after the last chip crashed to the ground the replacement bus could be seen winding its way over hill and dale to our location. Relief was in sight. We loaded onto the replacement bus, our bus driver joined us and we were off. As we started out we passed the stinky old bus, out across the field we went to get around it and then back onto the road and on toward the bison herd. Arriving at the herd, we got off the bus and while enjoying the herd our bus was turned around and ready to take us back for our dinner. We spent a good 40 minutes watching the herd. There they were, huge bulls, abundant cows and those light brown calves. Hundreds of them grazing on the range. We stood less than 50 feet from the closest. Once in a while a dispute would break out, a quick charge, butt or bump your way to where you wanted to be and then things settled down. Occasionally a cow or bull would lay down and roll in the dirt raising a cloud of dust. Calves trotted around from place to place, taking life entirely too lightly as the young are prone to do.
    Now it was time to go so we load onto the replacement bus ready for a trip back to dinner. Guess what, the replacement bus won't go into gear. It turns out that it would not build the air pressure to a sufficient level for the coach to be put in gear. The bus engine was run at a high idle for what seemed like 15 or 20 minutes before we finally achieved suitable air pressure. At last we're headed for dinner. We pass the stinky old bus on the way out, a mechanic is deep into the engine compartment. It doesn't look like a real pleasant job. On our way back to the dinner we enjoy watching storm clouds off to our east. At sunset the clouds are spectacular. We arrive back at the ranch headquarters. By the time we've eaten it is almost dark. A short wait while we build air pressure again and we're on our way back to Gillette. Everyone is pleased to see that the volunteers are still running the shuttle as we arrive at 10:30 p.m. It all makes for a very memorable FMCA Convention!
  20. tbutler
    Our oldest grandchild turned 13 today. Ryan was born almost exactly a year after my retirement and almost exactly one year before we went full time in our motor home. I mention this because his age so nearly parallels significant changes in our lives. From the day we purchased our first motor home in 2001, we were FMCA members. In our 12 years of FMCA membership we have attended five rallies, Hutchinson, KS in 2002; Redmond, OR in 2004, St. Paul, MN in 2008, Bowling Green, OH in 2009 and now the 50th anniversary celebration in Gillette, WY.
    We have been planning on this FMCA Rally celebrating 50 years since FMAC became an organization promoting motor home ownership and enjoyment. We were enticed to attend by the fact that Monaco International planned to have a pre-rally on the same site where FMCA would hold their rally one week later. The opportunity to stay at the rally site for two weeks with full hookups while attending two rallies was too good to pass up. You may notice a certain erratic nature to our rally attendance. We attend when our planned travels make it convenient to get to the location of the rally. Sometimes we build our travels around a rally site. In this case, our plans changed several times before the rally but everything has worked out.
    The rally for Monaco International began on Wednesday, June 12 but we arrived on the early arrival date, June 10, driving in from a 11 day stay in Denver. We soon found out that the predominant weather pattern in Gillette was strong afternoon winds with storms. The first few days of the rally there was a water truck soaking down the grounds to reduce dust. After several storms the water truck never reappeared. We learned to keep our awnings in when we left the coach. After a night listening to the pennants for a soda pop company flapping in the wind, we dropped the tape separating one row of campsites from the next to the ground. That made for much quieter nights.
    There were sessions on a variety of topics, one popular session dealt with the latest changes in ownership of the Monaco family of companies which had occurred only a few days before the rally. Mike Snell, CEO of Monaco, took us through a brief history of Monaco from its bankruptcy and subsequent purchase by Navistar in 2009 to its recent purchase by Associated Specialty Vehicles (ASV). Change continues as Monaco moves manufacturing facilities to new locations and closes other facilities. Future directions for Monaco were discussed and many questions answered. It was too soon after the recent purchase to answer all questions.
    Sunday and Monday were designated gap days, days between the two rallies. A picnic Sunday afternoon and walking tours of downtown Gillette on Monday gave rally attendees ways to stay busy and learn more about the community. Monday afternoon we noticed the parking and meeting signs changed with FMCA's signs now in place. Motor homes were rolling in at a steady rate and the excitement of FMCA was building as the Dealer exhibits began to fill with new coaches.
    When I attend a FMCA Convention I try to take care of many of my needed purchases with the vendors. I also plan to have some repairs done by the suppliers who provide some of the accessories in our motor home. I was frustrated on several of these quests as some vendors were not represented at the rally. Likewise, several key suppliers, a common awning company, the manufacturer for our inverter, and a satellite dish manufacturing company were either not present at all or not offering any service on site. I guess it is a sign of the times, still it is disappointing.
    We did find out what a Cam-Plex is. The facility is a multi-use complex built by Cameron County. The facilities for large gatherings of RV's are quite nice. There are some sites with full hook-ups, others with water and electric and many sites with only electric which is much better than many facilities where we have been for rallies in the past. I would give the Gillette community a big A+ for the facilities and the community support for the rally. We enjoyed the coal mine tour, the bison ranch tour and a couple of rounds of golf on very nice golf courses.
  21. tbutler
    In Part 1 I described the first day of a trip from Edinburg, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley to Dakota Ridge RV Park in Golden, Colorado. I spent the first night in Ballinger, Texas.
    My goal for the second day of the trip was Amarillo. I always prefer to park on the far side of large towns so I don’t have to start out driving through town in busy morning traffic. The weather was mostly cloudy
    until I got near Amarillo. Being just over a week from my last cataract surgery, I really appreciate cloudy days. I have those big dark glasses and they work fine but they work better when the sky is cloudy. Coming into Amarillo I needed fuel. At a roadside stop I checked my phone. Gas Buddy told me the local price for diesel ranges from 3.62 to 3.75. Of course I would have preferred the former price but the stations were off the highway and were small stations. I don't know the streets so I'm off to the Flying J on the east side of town.
    There aren't any RV pumps at this Flying J so I circled the islands and ended up pulling in where the truck towing an air tractor (aerial spray plane aka crop duster) on a trailer had been. I have the Pilot-Flying
    J charge card which gives me a discount from the fuel price but it also allows me to put 100 gallons in the tank with one swipe of the card! I didn't even have to go inside to leave the card and pick it up later. That was nice.
    Leaving the station, a right turn put me on the loop around town which is far better than taking the N/S highway through downtown Amarillo. It is new highway and the intersection with the US 287 isn't marked with any city names. Is this the road I normally take or is there another somewhere? I don’t remember
    highway numbers unless I travel them frequently. The GPS wants me to go straight ahead so I follow the GPS, no second opinion to tell me where to turn.
    When the GPS does finally indicate an exit from the loop highway, the road is a very small curvy road, FM1061, and I wasn’t sure where it was taking me. There is no place to pull off and check the map so I
    drove on. I finally reached US 385 and shortly thereafter crossed the Canadian River. There was a picnic area so I pulled off and parked for the night. I had phone service which was a real surprise. It was almost dark when I parked. I ate, called Louise to advise her of my progress and went to bed.
    The next morning I washed the bugs off the windshield, tidied up the interior and then headed north on US 385, a decent road with passing lanes on the hills. Our normal route, US 287, takes us through the Oklahoma panhandle. The road is one of the worst we ever travel as we leave Dumas, TX until we get to the Oklahoma line. US 385 was definitely a better road than US 287.
    A look at the map showed that I can still get back to the normal route by continuing north from Dalhart on US 385 but the GPS was indicating a turn to the west to Raton, yes, I-25 and the Raton Pass. My initial reaction was no, I don't want to have to go through the pass and I-25 is no picnic either. Then I thought about driving west into Denver on I-70 into the sun in the late afternoon. That stretch of I-70 late in the day is pure torture. I've driven it many times and it gets longer every time. Beside all that, I would be driving I-70 through Denver at rush hour. So, what the heck I'll follow the GPS. I turned northwest on US 87 in Dalhart and headed across the northeast corner of New Mexico to Raton.
    I'd never driven this road before and was pleased to find good road with four lane highway and then good two lane road all the way to Raton. The scenery was wonderful. I passed Capulin Volcano National Monument, another volcano to climb someday. The Raton Pass wasn't as bad as my memory made it out to be. Interstate 25 is exactly what I expected, too many vehicles, too little road. Curves through Pueblo make the drive interesting. Road construction on the north side of Colorado Springs turned the highway into a four mile parking lot.
    Approaching Denver I turned onto C-470. I figured this would be a quick trip to Dakota Ridge RV Campground in Golden. On this day, it was not. Once again I was in stop and go traffic which lasted for about three miles. I pulled into the campground right at closing time, parked and took the toad across town to pick up my most valuable navigator.
  23. 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 …
  24. tbutler
    I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
    I can see all obstacles in my way
    Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
    It’s gonna be a bright, bright
    Sun-Shiny day.
    Those are some of the lyrics from I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash. It is one of my all time favorite songs and I've been whistling it a lot lately. What follows is a detailed description of my encounter with a common eye condition, cataracts. If you have cataracts and have had them surgically removed, you know the story. If you have them and haven't had them removed, you should read the detail. In many cases, the surgery can give you good vision again.
    But first, I've got to share with you some conditions that may alert you to your failing vision because this comes on slowly and as with all small slow changes, you hardly notice. My apologies to Jeff Foxworthy for what follows.
    If you think newspaper ink has become almost the same color as the page, you might have cataracts.
    If your birdie putt disappears but didn't go into the cup, you might have cataracts.
    If the screen on your GPS on the dashboard is getting fainter so that you can hardly see the map, you might have cataracts.
    If you have noticed that there are more hazy days lately, you might have cataracts.
    If road signs have become impossible to read from a distance, you might have cataracts.
    If the left turn arrow of the traffic signal is too faint to be seen, you might have cataracts.
    If your nose is touching the computer screen, you might have cataracts.
    If you've quit reading books and magazines, you might have cataracts.
    If you haven't seen a sky filled with stars lately, you might have cataracts.
    If you are seeing fewer birds, you might have cataracts.
    In 2002 my optometrist advised me that I had a small cataract in my left eye. There was an area of cloudiness in the lens of the eye. It didn't seem to be causing me any vision problems so he said we would monitor it to see if and how it progressed. At each biennial exam he would comment on its progress or lack of progress. It didn't seem to be much of a problem. This past year I have noticed more and more difficulty seeing (see the list above), but the problem seemed to be my right eye, not my left. In March I was back in Missouri and stopped in to see my optometrist. He found a severe cataract in my right eye. He said the left eye had progressed some but was still borderline. I wasn't staying in town long so I would have to find an ophthalmologist when I got back to Texas. I started with the internet, learning about cataracts and cataract surgery. I found out that cataract surgery is the most common surgery in the US. I also learned that it is 98% successful and that the most common complications are relatively minor and affect people who have other serious health problems. The web site was an excellent source of independent information. All the types of replacement lenses which are available are described with their benefits and limits or problems described. There was one very interesting entry, a description of his own cataract surgery by an ophthalmologist. There are numerous articles which address many aspects of eye health, cataracts are just one topic on that site. The site is operated by Access Media Group, a healthcare publishing company specializing in eye care. The company's primary business, All About Vision®, is a website providing information to consumers about all aspects of eye health and vision correction. A friend, a retired optometrist suggested one way to find a good local ophthalmologist would be to consult professional organization web sites so I went to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Entering my zip code gave me a list of a half dozen ophthalmologist within 30 miles of our home. I also found a listing of local surgeons on another web site, Eye Surgery Education. Finally, I asked my physician for a recommendation. I now had three sources and a number of possible surgeons.
    My physicians office made an appointment with their recommended physician. When I arrived for the appointment I learned that the doctor wasn't in, hadn't been in all week. I was welcome to see another doctor in the group. I wasn't happy with that arrangement, after all they had called to confirm the appointment only a few days before. I left discouraged, it would be another week or two before I could get an appointment with another doctor. The second doctor I chose had an office which was definitely high end. He was a very professional doctor but had one particular premium lens that he liked to install and talked down all others when I asked about them. Then we were sent to a scheduling consultant who reminded Louise and I of the worst used car salesman we could ever imagine. He exaggerated, misrepresented, and exhibited an alarming lack of knowledge about lenses. He informed us of the doctors fees which were well above the charges that web sites indicated for premium lenses. It took me about ten minutes of this to walk out on this sales pitch. I still can't imagine that doctor sanctioning his presentation. It would be another two weeks waiting for the next appointment. I went back to my list and picked a doctor from the AAO list. I read about this doctors background, education and years of experience. Everything looked promising but I was now leery of the whole genre of ophthalmologists. When I arrived at this office I was first tested by an assistant who did an excellent job of explaining the testing and measurements she was taking. Then I went to see the doctor and she completed her exam and we talked lenses. I told her what my concerns were and what I expected from a lens. I wasn't after the most expensive, nor the most convenient. Some lenses can allow you to do away with glasses entirely. Some have different focusing zones, others are flexible like the body's natural lens and can be flexed to focus on different distances. The lens I chose is a fixed lens which will give excellent distant vision but will require reading glasses for close vision. Dr. Alexander agreed with me that given my concerns that was a good choice. We set up surgery dates for both the right and left eye, one week apart. By the way, both of the doctors I saw agreed that I needed cataract surgery on both eyes. The left eye didn't have the spot that was in the center of the right lens but it was generally cloudy throughout.
    We planned to do the surgery on my worst (right) eye first. Surgery was done in a surgery center. Prep included about 4 dozen eye drops, some to sterilize the eye, some to numb the eye and finally the ones to dilate the iris. I had an IV with a sedative to relax me. Then I was wheeled away to the operating room. Dr. Alexander came in and began to work. She works through a microscope for the entire process. I am pretty much immobilized by a protective cover on my eye which is fastened to the bed. I can see light but can't feel a thing, no pain, no pressure. The light keeps moving and Dr. Alexander requests one thing or another from her assistants. I have read about the surgery and seen movies simulating parts of the surgery so this all sounds familiar. Soon she announces that she is finished with the surgery and everything is fine. I am wheeled out to recovery where I get some juice to drink, the IV and heart monitor are disconnected, I am put in a wheel chair and am on my way home. I have a clear cover on my eye, I can see but I'm looking through plastic. It has holes around the edges for ventilation and the central area is transparent. I can see, everything is blurry and way too bright, sunglasses help. At home I am able to eat for the first time since midnight. Slowly through the day my vision is improving. I notice that the houses are really white, the grass is green and cars are really colorful. I'm like a railroad crossing signal, right eye, left eye, right eye, left eye. Wow, my left eye is really bad! It is just the first day and I'm looking through a plastic cover and I'm seeing better with my right eye than with my left. Following surgery I have to continue eye drops and sleep with the patch on for a week. There is no pain following surgery, no discomfort, only the steady improvement in my vision.
    The next day I have an appointment with Dr. Alexander. The plastic cover is removed from my eye and I can really see how clear my vision is now with the new lens in place. I'm on restricted duty, no lifting or bending so I catch up on some of the light work around the house and on the computer. Later in the week I do some painting that we'd put off for some time. By the weekend I'm able to mow the lawn. The following Monday, May 20, I'm back to the surgery center for the left eye. The story is much the same, I remember more of the operation this time but the results are the same. I'm writing this just hours after the plastic cover has been removed from my left eye. I have a pair of reading glasses purchased off the rack at Walgreens that function as my reading glasses for now. I can see clearly now. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home this afternoon and the experience of walking through the produce section was amazing, the colors are now so bright, vivid compared to what I was seeing only two weeks ago. It is as if I am seeing the grocery store for the first time. I am amazed how far down the highway I can see, even reading signs from distances I could only imagine a few weeks ago. I can see all obstacles in my way. The old hazy gray world I was living in is now gone. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
    It’s gonna be a bright, bright Sun-Shiny day. Have you had your eyes checked lately?
  25. tbutler
    Anyone who owns a smart phone has heard the saying, there's an app for that. It's more than a cute rhyme. An app (tech talk for application) is a computer program which performs some function. Apps on smart phones are small programs that require very little memory and usually form a specific function or limited set of functions. In my last post I mentioned that we found an app for locating Wal-Mart stores, ALLSTAYS ONP Walmart, $2.99. There is a beefed up version that includes the Wal-Mart app as part of a larger, more comprehensive app, ALLSTAYS Camp & RV, $9.99. The Camp and RV app includes campgrounds and truck stops, rest stops and so much more. By the way, both of these show Wal-marts in two colors, a black pin on the map for those that allow you to ask to park and a red pin for those that do not allow overnight parking. Yes, these are shown on a map and you don't have to tell the phone where you are, it knows your location so when you activate this app, it comes up with a map showing your exact location as a blue dot (moving if you are driving and your navigator is using the phone because no one should be texting or using an app while driving). There are flags and pins for all the resources you want shown on the map. You can choose as few or as many as you want. You just touch the tab at the top of the page that says filter and the list comes up, For campgrounds there are 14 choices, starting with Army Corps through County/City park and Elk Places, KOA, Military, Moose Places, National Parks, and on down the list to Walmart Ask to Park and Walmart No Overnights. Then there is a section for Low clearance with categories from 7 feet to 15 feet in one foot increments. Below that is a section on RV Business of various types, six listings. That is followed by an extensive set of listings for Rest Areas so you can request just the ones you are interested in, Rest Area Eastbound or Westbound or North or Southbound or Rest Scenic Vista or Rest Turnout Northbound. You get the idea, you can customize the map to fit your immediate needs and not clutter it too much with all the data avaliable. The next section of the filter has all the stores that outdoor and RV people are interested in (well, most anyway), Bass Pro, Cabelas, Costco, Cracker Barrel, Sam's Club, Supplies-LPG Propane, etc. The final section of the filter has the truck stops, eight listings including those that are most popular with RV'ers.
    Now the neat thing is that if you don't like this app, there are dozens of others that do something similar. You simply go to the app store and put in a search word and it comes up with apps for your need. The Next Exit is available as an app. Sometimes you get 2 or 3 choices, other times you will get dozens or even hundreds of matches. Some apps are free, others have a fee. And the really crazy thing is that people are writing these things for almost every little niche or interest. I picked up an app for zip code. Activate it and it gives me the zip code where I am located. That is handy for getting the local weather on the weather channel. You have to enter the zip code to get the local weather information. Have you ever seen a highway sign that says leaving zip code 34003, entering zip code 34050? Even if you know the name of a nearby town, how do you find it's zip code? Yes, I have a book, small with tiny type that lists zip codes and I've used it for years. It will gather dust now. I turn on the phone, tap the app for zip code and there it is. That app also gives you area codes and helps you locate a post office. You can use the look-up function to find zip codes for any specific address or just a city. Locate a post office and tap the map function and it shows you where the post office is located. Zoom out and you can see your location so you can navigate from where you are to the post office.
    I have another app for latitude and longitude that also shows elevation. I haven't tried this for accuracy with elevation which is usually pretty approximate using GPS but it looks close for my present location. There was a map app on the phone when I got it and it shows where I am located. I can view my location on a standard map view with streets and highways shown. Zooming in or out as necessary to see the detail that I need. If I tap the turned up corner of the map there is a menu underneath the map which allows me to switch to satellite view (like Google Earth). That is accurate enough that I can tell which corner of the house I'm located in, which is someting I consider nothing short of amazing.
    Key Ring is another app which I find to be really handy. Being full time for ten years I've collected membership cards for a dozen or so grocery stores, discount membership cards at restaurants, fuel stations, etc. My wallet is crammed with them and I still have dozens others that are stored in a container which is never where I need them when I need them. With Key Ring you can scan the front and back of the card. Many stores and restaurants are set up to read that information directly from you phone. Those that are not can get the number from your card and use that to give you the discount. Now, I don't need to carry the cards, I have them all stored in my phone. There is a calendar app with appointments that will give you a ring as an appointment comes up, you tell it how far in advance, 15 minutes up to 2 hours or more. There is a clock app with alarm function. There is a contact list app with address information and you can also use the phone list as a contact list as well.
    I have been e-banking since we went full time. It was harder in the "old days." My old days go way back to 2001. Stop laughing you old guys! I never get paper statements, bank, credit cards, utilities, etc. I got a check last week and used the phone to deposit the check in the bank. The piece of paper is in my file in case something goes wrong but it didn't, the money shows up on my account when I check it with the computer or on the phone. Access to my account on the phone is just like the computer, it is password protected. I have a pretty good password so I'm not worried about someone getting my phone and accessing my account.
    Speaking of tracking down the phone, have you ever misplaced your cell phone? Just have your spouse call you and you can find it right? With the find my phone app you can get a map location of where you phone is located. Louise has the same app on her phone so we can use either phone to find the other. You can choose to shut the phone down so it can't be used. There have also been cases of police arresting thieves who have stolen phones using this app to track the phone. While we're talking about losing things, how about your car? There's a app for that. Simply activate the app when you park your car, go into the store, shopping center or doctors building and when you come out later tell the app to find your car. A big arrow shows you which way to walk and will get you within a short distance of your car. I tried it and it took me right to my car in a large parking lot at my doctors office in a large hospital complex. It works. It might even help you find your motor home at the upcoming FMCA Motorhome Showcase and Family Reunion in Gillette, Wyoming!
    I'm interested in birds and have an app for birds with songs and pictures. I heard a speaker recently talking about an app which will let you photograph the leaf of a plant and then will identify the plant for you. That is still in development. I'm an amateur astronomer and have several astronomy apps. One shows the moons of Jupiter and you can put them in motion to see for yourself the way that they revolve around Jupiter. It shows eclipses of Jupiters moons and other interesting events and even shows the giant red spot on Jupiter so I know when to look for all these things. I mention these not because I think many of you are interested in them but if I can find these apps, you can probably find an app for finding BBQ restaurants or quilt shops or antique shops. Are you interested in old cars? I'd bet there's an app for finding car museums. Want to keep up with the golf tournament, NASCAR race or a baseball game, there's an app for that!
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