Friday, February 15
The crew and I burst out the door to greet the day. We set off down the lane because at its end is the very best potty-bush in the Sonoran Desert, according to Spike. We start each and every day at this particular bush along the road. Perhaps coyotes have deposited here, or a succession of canines have left their mark. Only Spike knows.
Spike anoints this bush with daily regularity, leaving his messages, like he’s a dedicated blogger and this bush is his blog. Which, come to think of it, is a picturesque expression of how I feel some days when faced with writing this blog.
“Oh, p*#% on it!”
Warning: Sudden Tone Change
Out of the morning calm of the desert rises up a warm breeze, hesitant as first, and then bold and constant. I take my throw and my book out to the lounger. I turn the lounger to face the BLT so the sun will be at my back. I remove the quilt and dog bed from the PTV and place them alongside the lounger. Small, sharp rocks cover the ground at our campsite and leave no place for a dog’s behind to rest comfortably.
Bridget and Spike appreciate the accommodation and settle in beside me.
I pull the throw around my neck and shoulders to shield against the breeze. It’s a warm, desert day. The breeze becomes quite blustery. The sound of air moving through the palo verdes provides soothing white noise while I read. Not that white noise is needed here. There are four motor homes across the road from our campsite, yet all is quiet, excepting an occasional gila woodpecker. Not a sound from the missile range. I read, on and off, all day long.
Warning: Another Sudden Tone Change
Blah, blah, BLAH! That was our day. Nice for us, but, oh what painfully dull blog material. How can I blog on a day like that? I didn’t even take any photos. Hmm . . . I suppose I could pretend today is the day before yesterday.
Now that was a day of activity.
I’m hit with a burst of energy and proceed to pull everything out of the Perfect Tow Vehicle. I sweep it and sort out the stuff I don’t need to carry around, like bags of plastic for recycling and donations for the thrift shop.
I’m also bent on finding The Missing Avocado.
One day even further in the past, Olsen’s Grocery has a sale on avocados, two for a dollar. I buy two. I see the cashier place them in the bag. I get home and there’s only one avocado in the bag. Oh, I hate when that happens. Not because it represents a great financial loss, but because I keep wondering where the dang avocado went. I hate loose ends!
Which reminds me . . . One time, many, many years ago when I was very young, I drove out of a supermarket parking lot, leaving a frozen Thanksgiving turkey in a shopping cart. Did I tell you that story? Anyway . . .
Back to the avocado . . .
Did it slip out of the bag into the cart to be discovered by a poor woman with no money and no food to feed her hungry, little, barefooted children?
Did it slip out of the bag, hit the pavement and roll across the parking lot, leading to the unfortunate disabling of the kindly, but nearsighted, gentleman who happened to place one of his Easy Spirit walking shoes on it?
Did it slip out of the bag inside the PTV to be squished in my hand at a moment in the indeterminate future, as I reach under one of the seats or into the load of stuff I carry around?
Thus the energy to clean out the PTV.
I drive into Ajo, straight to the Chamber of Commerce. I’m tired of driving a garbage van. I walk in and ask, “Where does a person traveling through the area put their trash?” And . . . “Do you have a place for recyclables?”
The Chamber ladies are most cheerful and helpful as they inform me Ajo has no recycling program, but you can drive down to the landfill area and dump your plastic and trash for free. This I immediately do with a flutter of guilt over dumping plastic. It passes quickly when I see how much room I’ve reclaimed in the back of the PTV.
After that, I drive over to the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store to drop off more stuff.
It’s closed. A man is about to pull out of the parking lot. He sees me, parks, gets out, and hurries over as I open up the back of the PTV. “I’ll help you with that, young lady,” he offers in a cheery Irish accent. I think Irish. I don’t know accents very well.
By the way, you know you’re old when people start calling you “young lady.”
And that was the day before yesterday.
Today Spike peed on the bush, the wind blew, and I read my book.
rvsue
NOTE TO PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE WILSON ANTENNA:
Another page has been added under Internet Antenna (See header.). On this page is a schematic of a Mifi air card hooked up to a Wilson antenna. Thanks again, Mick!
Sounds like a very pleasant couple of days – sunshine and peace & quiet, plus you got some errands taken care of. Life is good.
Reading anything good; that you care to recommend?
I read my first book by Louis L’Amour — “Bendigo Shafter” It was great! I read it with my atlas next to me. Several of the places in the book are places I want to visit this summer around the Wind River Range in Wyoming.
I’m about a fourth of the way into “Jackdaws” by Ken Follett (French Resistance/WWII). Very interesting!
If you want to know more about WY, search your kindle books for “Spirit Horses”! It was free a few days ago, prolly not now! But this is a great story that starts out in NC but ends up in WY. I can loan it to you from my Kindle if you are interested! It is full of wonderful readable history and Native American wild horses! Geri from T or C
I got that one, Geri! Thanks for suggesting it for all the Kindle readers who read these comments.
Louis L’Amour is my favorite. Have some hard copies here and if you want I can ‘loan’ you one on kindle. I am sure I’ve read everyone at least once! And reading with an atlas beside you really enhances the reading.
Used to call those selective doggie newspapers! Kids say hi to the crew !
Another funny blog!!!! Chuck n Geri n Kanine Kids
Chuck,
If you like L’Amour, you’re sure to enjoy Richard S. Wheeler’s books about Barnaby Skye. Have you read them? If not, try them. The kind of books you don’t want to end.
I still remember the first time someone called me “ma’am”
sigh…
Yes, that’s a landmark, for sure.
Ordered the pink dog buggy for Mugsy… clicked through from your page so I hope it works. 🙂
Oh, I hope Mugsy likes it! Let us know, okay? I’m curious which brand you chose.
I got the one for the 45 pound dogs even though she is only 18. But I figured the bigger it is, the better she may tolerate it. Did I tell you why I need it? I just bought a condo in Minnesota and it doesn’t allow dog toes to touch the hallways or lobby floors. And she weighs too much for me to carry her down. Actually I can understand the rule… many older residents, likely with elderly dogs… no discipline and incontinence can make a big mess. (my mother wouldn’t have noticed towards the end of her ownership of my Mugsy) The lobby is very open with sitting areas and lots of plants. I will only be there for half the year, so that is fine. Mugsy is also potty box trained since Mom couldn’t walk her. I’ll report on how she does… let the battle begin!!
A perfect solution to the no-paws-on-the-floor rule! I expect Mugsy will love it! Once she realizes it’s her own personal condo-on-wheels, she’ll settle in and enjoy the ride. You can put her blanket and toys in there because there will be plenty of room.
That’s the plan… watch this space! 🙂
Sounds like the day I had……read, listened to wind and crocheted. A very nice day
Pat, one of the motorhomes across from Sue.
Something about that warm wind… I don’t feel like doing much.
Thank you for the drawing of the air card hook up. I’m a picture person. I see, I do! I read, what the heck did they mean. Enjoy you and the crew.
I need visuals, too, Dedra. The thank you goes out to Mick!
You spent many L O N G years working specifically so you COULD have a relaxing day where “Spike peed on the bush, the wind blew, and I read my book.” Nothing wrong in enjoying what you earned. Besides, it’s encouraging to the folks who are dreaming of that type of lifestyle. You did it. They can too.
But, more importantly, did you find the avocado?
Nope. The Case of The Missing Avocado remains unsolved.
Keep an eye on Spike. He may have trouble passing the seed. :o)
Just a question, some dogs like to eat avacado and I am sure Spike could easily hide the pit since he is so smart.
I see your point. Hmm . .. He is a crafty fellow. If that’s his plan, there’s one flaw init he’s overlooked. I see what comes out the other end! So far, no incriminating evidence has appeared.
Hello Reine!
I have moments where I think, “I should be DOING something.” It’s a carry-over from a lifetime of trying to get everything (too much) done in not enough time. In that former life, if I took too much time to relax, I paid for it later.
Now when I get that nagging feeling that I’m frittering away the day, I remind myself, as you did, “Hey, this is MY life. I earned this time already. I can do whatever I want, even if whatever is lounging around with a book!”
Apparently Mick does not know about the induction adapter cable for getting the signal to the aircard. No antenna port is required to use it. I found out about it on Andy Bairds blog. It will work with any aircard and actually I have used it on my cell phone. This way you do not have to purchase a separate adaptor for each device that wants to use the wilson antenna.
http://www.andybaird.com/Eureka/pages/phones.htm#cell-antenna is where I found out about the induction hook up.
Mick knows about inductive coupling and about the 3 db loss that they introduce, so with a 10 db gain antenna you end up with 7db going through a coupler and about 9.8 db with a metal contact. Also I absolutely assure you that a lightning strike will couple through to the air card just fine. But they are convenient.
Thank you Mick for more information on the inductive coupling. I find that mine has worked extremely well in my travels. Of course a lightning strike will jump all over the rig frying things that cannot be eaten. Thank you for your input.
I remember reading when Andy Baird’s rig got struck by lightning. I just looked it up. Here’s his post describing when it happened. http://www.andybaird.com/travels/skylarking/2010/zapped.htm
I once heard “no one need remind me I’m old, I have a bladder that does that”. As a old guy I understand that. Spike gets it too. Where was the avocado, Sue?
The avocado remains at large.
Cute post. You had me cracking up talking about Spike and his bush.
My life has been pretty quiet lately too. I took myself to the movies yesterday…big outting. lol.
Ginger in Las Vegas
You went to . . . the movies? What’s that?
You’ve made me laugh today picturing which scenario the avocado went with! I love avocado’s, and, they are good for you. Did you know you can freeze them? Linda in Benson, Az.
No, I didn’t know you could freeze them. I like to cut them in half, remove the pit, and eat them by scooping with a spoon.
I don’t want to hear blah, blah, blah boring day, etc.,….nothing is blah, blah on your posts. I often wonder what you think about all alone in the desert….my kids ask, as they walk into my house, ‘Why is it so quiet?” I like the quiet most of the time, no TV, no radio, just me and my thoughts and an occasional mumble to my dogs. Some of my thoughts are deep like how fragile the universe is yet it has existed for billions of years and how fragile we are and if we take care of ourselves we live a long life. Sometimes I think about my life over the years…the struggles, the good times, the bad times…would I change some if I had a second chance? I am glad where I am now…I’m living a comfortable life. I don’t think I’d ever live RV life style full time but I enjoy reading RVing blogs…i.e. Tioga George, RVSue, Wheelingit and many others. I live the RV life from the comforts of my home. Yes, reading blogs is like visiting a friend and listening to them talk about their day whether it’s doing laundry, eating breakfast, or watching birds. What is going on with your bird feeder? I haven’t read anything about the birds lately. If you tire of blogging everyday, just blog a long one once a week and doesn’t necessarily have to have pictures…your description of events gives me a clear picture and some times lets my imagination run wild…I like that.
I do plenty of reflection on things,too. By the time I sit down at the laptop to compose a blog of my profundities, they bore the socks off me.
Thank you for the compliments, Rita.
When I moved to this latest camp, I decided not to put up a feeder. Coyotes follow the doves and quail to the feeder. After that one coyote nearly walked across the mat outside our door, I figured it wasn’t a good idea to lure coyote prey to our campsite.
Also for people who are affraid of snakes, if you keep a clean camp site you won’t be bothered by them. The crumbs and food stuff attract the rodents, then the snakes follow the rodents into your camp. Back in the wild west they use to think that a horse hair rope layed down around your bedroll was a good snake deterant. Snakes never want to slid over a horse hair rope ha. Wonder how that silly idea came about? But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to go ahead and circle your camp with a long horse hair rope? What could it hurt? Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite.
I don’t know if you want to answer this or not but what did you mean the other day when you said you had been burned on this blog? It was the one about the immigrants. I am a new blogger and wonder if there is something to be aware of. Thank you in advance.
Sue, I’m going to get the same antenna for my truck camper. My connection will be a little different. I’ll use a Wilson Sleek to cradel my 4S iPhone, open its Personal Hotspot, and let it double as my “air card/router”. My question is how do YOU find the closest tower. I played a little w/ antennasearch and cellreception using Ajo. Both seemed very hard to use. I only found the closest Verizon tower in Gila Bend with cellreception. You have some better, magical way?
JC
I let the Wilson antenna find the closest Verizon tower. No magic from me. I look at my air card when finding a potential campsite. If I get any flicker of a signal bar, I’m pretty sure the antenna will bring up enough signal for me to have internet connection at that campsite. I put up the antenna on the pole, and rotate it until I get the strongest signal. Right now I’m getting three solid bars (Darby Well Road area is tricky because of the mountains.) Without the antenna, this campsite receives an intermittent single bar.
Good luck setting up your antenna for your truck camper!
Today Spike peed on the bush, the wind blew, and I read my book.
Clear, concise, descriptive! That tickled me no end.
Oh…. and I liked the rest, too. 😀
I tried to expand on that sentence and it went nowhere! Nice to hear from you . . .
Hey Spike, Pippy & Isabelle say Hello.
Hi, Allen,
Cute names for your pets (assuming neither Pippy nor Isabelle is your wife).
Hello back to your crew from Spike!
Thanks Sue, wife’s name is Donna. she says hello as well.
You made me laugh. So your day was not a total washout. Seriously, I am waiting anxiously for the day that I can sit in a breeze and read a book and perhaps add in a nap. Maybe even let Katie the dog pee on a bush. Would be lovely. You earned it. Enjoy it!
Not to sound smug . . . I sat in my lounger thinking about how fortunate I am… My little house is paid for, my vehicle is running well, the crew is healthy and happy, I’m healthy and happy, I have enough money for our needs with some left over, and I don’t have to go to work! Yay!
I wish you the same state of affairs and the same state of mind, Dawn.
Things have finally gotten back to normal here too! Bronchitis is all gone, Energy is returning! Ann and Bill arriving here on Tuesday! I am preparing a blog about selling our MotherShip and truck! You are right, life is good !!! The simpler, the better!
Great news to hear you’re back to normal! Bronchitis can really knock a person down. And just in time to enjoy the company of Ann and Bill. Have fun!
You blog sounds like “bliss” to me. I wonder how many people don’t realize how much “noise pollution” they are exposed to on a daily basis. Love your dogs!
Hi Bev,
Noise pollution. And people subject themselves to it voluntarily! They go out of their way to add more sounds to their lives. Running a television all day is one example. Talking constantly is another.
Example: The yakkety-yak I heard when camped next to the Rogue River in Oregon. What a awe-inspiring place of natural beauty and wonder! I found it interesting how many people walking up and down the riverbank talked non-stop.
We were staying in RV Parks and both Jim and I finally went over the edge. We opted to provide security for folks who have to leave their property. We are now in bliss! I’m communicating with dogs, birds, horses and a burro.
Sounds like a lot of fun, Bev. Glad you found an alternative to RV parks.
Wait a minute; I think I know what happened to your avocado. My husband and I were spending almost three months in 2012 in Borrego Springs. One day we went to Palm Desert to shop. We bought four avocados, paid for them, drove them 70 miles to BS, unpacked and there were five avocados. I checked my receipt and yes, we paid for four. How did we get five? Maybe a cashier felt sorry for this not so stylishly dressed couple? So here it is Sue. The case of missing avocado is now solved. We ate it. Thank you for sharing it with us. To compensate I’ll be shopping next week for a tent on amazon through your link.
Enjoy days of relaxing and not doing much. Once in a while everyone needs days like that. How I wish for at least one day of doing almost nothing. Unfortunately since my husband died two months ago every day brings more stress and new problems to solve on my own.
Enjoy every moment of peace, Sue.
Hello, Reina, and welcome to my blog!
I am so sorry for the loss of your husband. May God help you as you deal with life’s stresses without your partner.
I think we may have an avocado rebellion going on! They’re running away to join other avocadoes! This subversive activity must be stopped! Eat them before they hit the streets with evil intent!
I like your payback idea — shopping through my Amazon link. I’d like to add a link to a good tent on my Shopping Links page, but I know nothing about tents. Hope you pick one that works well for you.
Thanks for writing and peace be with you!
Reina, check out the Eureka Equinox 4 person tent. It can withstand 45 mph winds without blowing down and they last for years. Plus if you are tall you won’t hit the ceiling with your head. They are pricey but if it rains and the wind blows you won’t regret it.
Your blog is perfect. We don’t pick our day……..our day picks us! Sometimes what you deem as “absolutely nothing happening” is actually funny. For example….Spike and his bush! The missing avacado…being called young lady. You have the ability to create…..period….and that’s why you have such a following.
Enjoy your day! Sun is shining here….going to open the windows and exchange the air…it’s 28 degrees…BUT the sun is shining! Whooooeeeee!
Thank you for the compliment. It’s not fair that your temps are about 45 degrees lower than ours. Not that I’m rubbing it in or anything. Sheesh. 28 degrees is not fun. Oh well, enjoy the sunshine. (Is that the same sun we have? Ours seems to work better.)
Not so boring, young lady :). I hope some hungry person found your avocado and enjoyed it.
Yeah, think the best always!
I would die for a Haas avacado right about now….pit scooped out with some tiny IQF shrimp in the middle!
Something is wrong with the selection back here……..tastes like $@#@! Ripe on the outside and absolutely awful on the inside. Note to self: Bring back some avacados on my next trip out west!
Maybe the avocados are hurt by 28 degree temps!
Individual Quick Frozen Salad shrimp isn’t………and we have to drive 85 miles for that!
I just wanted to post a review of the ABO gear Happy habitat screen tent for the kitties. It’s an outdoor cat house and it goes up in about a minute. It is great! So far they have stayed and laid in the sunshine all safe and sound. I found it on Sue’s amazon link( for your crew). Already had the park neighbors asking about it and told them to look up Rv Sue and her canine crew. Two more weeks then I’m headed to Texas for my first trip. Wahooo!
Two more weeks? Hooray for you, Laurie! You have sense enough to go to Texas in winter. I went in mid-August (to pick up the BLT) and it was 106 in the shade.
I’m glad the Cat House is working well for you and your kitties seem to enjoy it. Thanks for mentioning the Shopping Links page here and the blog at the park!
Hi Sue! A similar day for us:-). Thank goodness for “lazy loungers” – and abundant sunshine, good books, silence and no worries. -Maureen
We’re happy, lazy loungers!
Your day sounds amazing. It’s 13 degrees here and going down to 5. It’s nice to know that warm breezes are blowing somewhere!
I knew I would learn a lot from your blog when I subscribed, but I had no Idea that I would learn so much from your other followers. I need to start taking notes about air cards, cat tents, and finding cell towers. The avocado tip amazed me. (I’ll be using that hint right away.)
You just don’t know what You don’t know until someone astounds you with an all new piece of knowledge.
katydid, south of Chicago
I agree with you, Katy. When I started this blog, I thought it would be a record of my travels with Bridget and Spike and nothing more. It’s turned out to be a lifeline for me, an ongoing source of information, contact with really good people, and entertainment, all in one!
I encourage people to ask questions and offer answers, because we all have things to learn and things to share. And it happens here, folks! Pretty neat, huh?
What a great day you had. Remember when “we” were everyday working people and really treasured a day when the most important thing was to watch your dog leave “pee-mails”, read a book and sip on iced tea for the entire day!! I tell the young folks I meet its worth it getting old, just so you can be retired.
You speak the truth, wise one!
I would like to say amen to it’s worth getting old so you can be retired. I always thought I wuld miss working since I had done it so long but so far it’s been a gift every day to know that I can sit and read a book or go for a walk or whatever I want to do.
I think your blog is amazing. You write about very interesting things. Thanks for all the tips and information.