Upsizing and Downsizing

Although we have been full timing right at 15 years, none of that time did we even think of ever "downsizing". The first 10 years we traveled a lot and went a lot of places, but never once did we think of the time we might have to downsize. In fact, we kept getting larger and larger. We started out with a 32' Airstream, pulled by a 3/4 ton pickup. The Airstream seemed to get smaller and smaller as time went on. Everyone else's rigs were getting larger and larger.  We used to go into other friends 5Th wheels and I remember thinking "WOW... this must be nice". Our Airstream didn't even have a chair in it that was comfortable for more than an hour. Some of these bigger rigs had Recliners!!  Ah!!!  That's what I need.... a Recliner!!

We both found out that we enjoyed the full timing lifestyle so much,  we decided to look for a bigger rig. So,we started looking. That was in the fall of 1995. Well, the Lord was watching over us and something strange happened. We were workamping at the famous Hart Ranch RV Resort near Rapid City. We only signed on for a month, as it was September and by Oct 1ST we wanted to return to Florida.  The fellow I was working with and I were chatting one day and I made the statement that we were looking for a bigger RV. He mentioned that 6 months ago he purchased a 37' Teton 5TH wheel.  I told him "Gee we have been looking at Tetons, they are NEAT!  Some folks we workamped with at our last job had a Teton and we loved it."

To make a long story a little shorter, he invited us over for supper that evening so we could see his Teton.  It was beautiful!  He still hadn't even taken the plastic off the carpet. It smelled so fresh and new.. Both Pat and I were in Awe as we sat in it and looked around.  I said to Pat "LOOK at all this room"! It was huge!! It had 2 Recliners plus 2 slide outs.  WOW!!

About that time, they told us that due to some unforeseen financial problems, they had decided they couldn't make the payments and were going to have to get rid of it.   Now if that isn't fate, what is?  We went home with our heads spinning. Could this really happen?  Can we swing such a deal?  NO WAY. All night I tossed and turned.  Could we somehow do it? Maybe we should just forget it and set our heights a little lower.  But then again, maybe we could.  Oh, I was struggling.  I wanted to...but should we?  Was it right for us?   More about our "upsizing" next week.............

(To be Continued)

We went out 4 wheeling with Rollie and Gina Thurston yesterday for about 5 hours and did we have a BLAST.  Rollie and Gina took my ATV and Ms Pat and I got on hers and away we went.  We traveled nearly 40 miles!!! 

 

Rollie retired 8 years ago after 21 years in the US Navy and he and Gina are just starting their life as full-timers. They have done a lot of RVing, but are just experiencing full-timing . It is neat seeing all the enthusiasm they have and it sure brings back memories of when Ms Pat and I began this lifestyle.  It is so wonderful.....and so exciting.  Kinda fits into todays theme of "Upsizing and Downsizing".

These young Christian folks are the greatest.  We are so proud to know them. Gina gets so excited about things we take for granted.  Although they are younger than most of our kids, they are a wonderful inspiration to us. It does my heart good to see such super folks with such a loving family and love for life. They really had to have it together to work, plan and save as they did in order to do what they are doing, all the while raising a fine family.   More about them in the future...as they have fallen in love with this Desert....especially the "rocks"....right Gina??  They are going to Church with us this morning and we go to early church at 8:00 am, so we gotta run.

Thanks for stopping by and a Special Welcome to Follower #70,,,Cyndi !!

See ya Wednesday.  Travel safe!!

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

X-Bosses

(click on all pictures to enlarge)

I don't know about you, but a lot of my "X-Bosses" I'd just as soon forget. However, our friend Ron Tietsort, Head Law Enforcement Officer in Custer State Park, was our Boss for a good many years and certainly one we will never forget.

It was such a joy helping him with all his duties throughout the park for the 9 years we spent there.  Those years are something Ms Pat and I will cherish the rest of our lives. His pictures are awesome. Here he is tagging baby lions and the last picture is Momma Lion, who is watching Ron's every move. I'm sure someone is watching her very closely and preventing her from attacking. What beautiful pictures, Ron!  Sure makes me want to be there helping! What a Job! But somebody has to do it, right Ron? See ya soon Buddy.  Got any jobs we can help you with?

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, we are settled back in doing what comes naturally. Yesterday we spent ALL DAY cleaning up the 5TH wheel and the Volvo......and only got about half done.  Whew!! What a job. Have I told you that it's a LONG way around this thing??  Maybe we should think about DOWNSIZING!!!

"Downsizing".  Now that's an interesting subject...especially right now in our lives. Stay tuned and we will discuss that subject in future Blogs.

Today, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Rollie and Gina Thurston.  Take a look at their Blog:  All Because Two People Fell in Love.  They are renting Tom and Sally's lot just down the street from us for a few days. It will be great seeing these good friends again.

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!

Welcome to The Whippets, Jack Nimon and Jessica, our latest followers.   We are so glad to have you!!  That brings out total to 69.   For months, I tried to get the number up to 50. Suddenly it has jumped to nearly 70. Won't YOU be the next?  Sign up and make us feel like this gibberish is a little more worth while. We appreciate it.

God Bless you all.  Remember to tell your kids and loved ones you love them...they won't be around forever.

Mike

This Blog is published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Back home at the Ranch...

The Gypsy Journal Rally is over and we are once again back home on our lot at North Ranch Escapee Park. Our rig is filthy dirty and we are completely worn out. Four days of standing in a booth talking to friends and customers is not hard work. That is, under normal circumstances it's not, but the circumstances were far from normal and this Rally wore on us like no other Rally has. The Marine Air Base is right across the street from the Fairgrounds in Yuma.  There are extremely low flying jets taking off and landing all the time. What a disaster...it is deafening. You have to scream at the top of your lungs and then you just give up because it drowns you out. It is a metal building and the acoustics are not the greatest anyhow, but with jets rattling the metal, it's even worse. Our seminar was a total disaster because no one could hear us. We just as well have skipped it.  I was hoarse and had a sore throat the whole time we were there.

The entertainment was very good. Two Country Western singers, David Bradley and Michael Hargis entertained us for about an hour and a half Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Below Michael Hargis is performing on the stage in front of a large crowd. Look closely at the background of the picture and notice who got Top Center billing!   PressurePro , the No 1 tire pressure monitoring system on the market! We became acquainted with Michael and his wife and even sold their CDs at our booth. They are RV'ers and parked their big bus right near us.


















Before the entertainment was the big Pizza party. There was really a big crowd, I think they said 300+, and the Pizza was served in about 10 minutes to the entire crowd. It's amazing how quick they got everyone served and seated.  Terry, Nick's better half, does an excellent job of organizing events at the Rally.


The last night, as Nick was giving his closing ceremony, these 3 "Taller" gentlemen from the crowd came forward and gave Nick some guff about not having enough events for tall people.  Well,,what could he say but "ya, right"!!  LOL

















Everyone did their part and helped put the chairs away and get the area cleared for a big Gun Show the next day. We all had to be out by Noon.  So, we had time to get some bookwork done, run to the bank, then get ready to head for home.

Little Ms Megabyte2 was always so happy for us to come home everyday after leaving her alone all day. The low flying, LOUD aircraft that shook the ground and all the buildings had her as flabbergasted as it did us. It scared her to death!!!  She ran and hid in places I've never seen her go before.  She was more than ready to get out of that place.  We travel just enough to confuse her....she doesn't really get used to it and doesn't like the noise of the slide outs, nor the diesel truck.

We left Yuma and headed out to the Flying J where we filled up with about 100 gal of fuel, at a mere $2.779 a gal.......not a bad price, but it sure shot our profits.  We pulled into North Ranch about 2:30 pm and were all settled in just in time for....yep, you guessed it...."Happy Hour"!!

Whew!! it's good to be HOME.  I do believe that took care of our "hitch itch" for a spell.

It was a GREAT WEEK!!! 

Thanks for stopping by and it sure was great talking to all our friends that follow the Blog. Thank you again. A big welcome to our 65Th and 66Th followers; Chuck and Rhoda and Tim Whittle.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

We can't have a Rally without RAIN!!!

When I wrote last Sunday's blog, it was early and before daylight.   I think I mentioned that it was sprinkling lightly. We departed out quite little spot in the desert about 7:30am. By that time it was more than sprinkling, it was raining! Normally on such days, I would just STAY PUT. However, this was the day before the big Gypsy Journal Rally in Yuma and we had to get our booth set up and be ready for business Monday morning. So we continued on and it wasn't long until the bottom fell out and it was pouring!  Just as we arrived at the Fairgrounds in Yuma, it cleared up somewhat. However, the place was a LAKE. Dozens of other RVs were parked everywhere waiting in line to get parked.

Pat had called Nick Russell, the Owner/Editor of the Gypsy Journal,who is putting on this Rally, and advised him we were arriving.  One of the parking crew showed us where to standby.  He called Nick on his Radio and in just a few minutes, Nick showed up in his golf cart and told me to climb in. Nick took me in and showed me 2-3 places he had in mind for me to park our big rig and told me "the choice is yours". WOW, what service!!  It pays to know the Head Man!!! 

After I picked which spot would best suit our needs, Nick brought me back to our rig and told me to drive on in. This is the condition of the roads and area where everyone was parked waiting to get in, it was a mess. I plowed  through all this water and muck, around everyone and on into the Fairgrounds and we got settled in. We have a great spot.

In a couple hours, the bottom fell out again. There was rain, hail, lightning and the wind blew. We were in the process of setting up our Vendor Booth when Ms Terry, Nicks better half, came and told us that the parking crew was badly in need of help. Ms Pat and I immediately dropped everything and jumped in the Honda and headed for the entrance. There we ran into Nick and told him we were there to assist in any way we could. He gave us some quick instructions and we took the little CRV and led several big rigs into the area and found them a spot.  I managed to get totally soaked to the BONE!!!  But things soon settled down and everyone got taken care of.  I got home and got some dry clothes on.  I was freezing to death.

Here is Ms Pat setting up our booth. We have done this so many times we could do it in our sleep. No getting around it, it is hard work. Soon the crowd will be here.

This is the other Vendors getting set up. There is a lot of Comradery between the vendors and we have a ball.  Some we have met many times before and others for the first time.  That's half the fun and one of the reasons we keep coming back again and again.

This is Nick and Ms Terry welcoming everyone to their 4TH annual Western Rally during the opening ceremonies. We have attended all 4 Rallies.

There is a big crowd and we look forward to a Super Rally, as these two and all their helpers really know how to do it and make it one of the best rallies we have ever had the privilege to attend.

This morning we are on day 3.....halfway through the Rally.

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!

Thanks for stopping by......A big welcome to new followers; Judy and Emma, Mac and Netters, Allan and Jeanne Webster and Kenny and Angela. That brings our total up to 63 now.  Wow!  For the longest time I was trying to get up to 50. Keep 'em coming!!! We had 230 hits on last Sundays Blog.  We appreciate you all very much..

See ya Sunday.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Here we are in Quartzsite, AZ.

Yesterday we arrived here in the desert near the famous RV Town of Quartzsite. We are headed for the Gypsy Journal Rally in Yuma that starts Monday. We will go on in today and get things set up in the vending area.

When we arrived last night, the wind began to blow but it didn't get dusty like it sometimes does around here. We are parked just about 1/4 mile off the highway at mile marker 99. There are only a few RV's strung out here and there.....  but this is quite a popular area for get-togethers during January when the place is in full swing. It's crowded then.....too crowded for me. We came here for several years; however, I really do my best to avoid crowds anymore if I can. It's getting harder and harder to do.. Where do all these people come from???

We have been here at this exact spot many times before.  I remember one time several years ago, we met our good friends Nick and Joanne Alexakis here. It was on our anniversary. We set out by the fire that night and drank Champagne. It was a gorgeous night and back in those days I could even stay awake past 9pm. Ahhhh.... those were the days!!! Remember that Nick and Joanne? I love the mountains in the background all around on the horizon. Give me the "wide open spaces" !


Last week I had a Dr's appointment in Scottsdale (North suburb of Phoenix) and I also wanted to take the truck into the Volvo dealership and leave it for a couple days for maintenance. So we did ,as we often do, and hooked the Honda to the truck and towed it. Here we are parked at the Dr's office. When the Doctor was  finished with us, we went on to the dealership and left the truck.

Here is the truck at the Volvo Dealership way down in south Phoenix, sitting in line, waiting its turn to get into a repair bay. These Big Truck shops are open from 8am until midnight.  We checked it in and took the Honda back home.   It's about 60 miles back to North Ranch and the traffic is horrendous.....jeez, I hate it.

Then, on Thursday when we went back to get our Truck, I picked up this neat cargo trailer I bought. I needed a good solid enclosed cargo trailer to haul and store our 4 wheelers in and was lucky enough to find this one at a great price. So we hooked on to it and pulled it back to North Ranch. It's really a neat trailer, pulls like a dream...only 2 years old and has very few miles on it.  But now I need to get all that signage removed...any idea's anybody?  Any painters around? The poor guy that owned this trailer went out of business and closed both of his businesses because of the economy.  I felt so sorry for him.  He was a real nice, young fellow.

This morning we will the drive 85 miles into Yuma and find the fairgrounds. It sprinkled last night and looks like it may do some more today.  Hope the fairgrounds is not muddy when we arrive.  Anyhow, it will be a GREAT RALLY!! Looking forward to seeing everyone..

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

Thanks for stopping by and if you haven't signed up as a follower, please take a minute and do it.....it's easy and quick.  Just click on  "FOLLOW" on the right side. Great hearing from Barry who is at FSU in Tallahassee, Fl.....our home town.   Ms Pat worked at FSU for over 20 years and they send her a check every month :-). 

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday..

We are ready to RALLY!!!

WOW!!  I mean, where does time go? Gee, here it is MARCH already!!  Can you believe it?  We can't seem to catch up. Here it is time for the Gypsy Journal Rally.  This is a great Rally and by far our favorite. This year it's being held at the Yuma County Fairgrounds in Yuma, AZ. This is Nick and Terry Russell's 4TH Western Gypsy Journal Rally. We have attended them all. Previously they were held at the Fairgrounds in Casa Grande, AZ. However, this year it is at the Fairgrounds in Yuma and it will be a new experience for us all. Nick says it a much better facility than the one in Casa Grande, so we are excited about this NEW experience.

Saturday morning we are leaving North Ranch and heading for Quartzsite, AZ where we will Boondock (dry camp out in the desert with no hook ups) and go on into Yuma Sunday morning. We will be arriving the day before the Rally actually starts. We want to have time to get situated and set up our PressurePro/PowerTank booth.   We have so many friends and customers who come to this Rally and we are looking forward to seeing them. Ms Megabyte was the "star" of the Rally last year, as it was her first and our first with a Kitty. She was brand new with us and scared to death......now she runs the place!!   She is looking forward to seeing all her old friends again and this year she is not pregnant!!
All good things seem to come to an end.  Our friends Larry and Geri Gustafson, owners of the Broken Arrow Campground in Custer, have to go back to the "cold" country" and are departing this morning.They are getting more reservations than they can handle and have to get back to build some more new sites and a new Horse Barn and get the Campground ready to open by May 1ST.  If you want to get a site, you better call them ASAP because they are filling up FAST!! This is the MOST popular Campground in the area.  They aren't looking forward to getting back up in the cold country quite yet and I don't envy them....but duty calls.  They have been having a "Ball" riding their 4-wheelers out here in the desert. It has been so good having them around and we will miss them very much. Travel safe Larry and Geri and we'll see you in about 3 months in Custer.

Ms Pat has really gotten into the Line Dancing here at North Ranch. She loves it and others tell me she is quite good at it.  All of this is thanks to Danielle Mayer, who got her started down in the RGV at Retama Village. Danielle started a Line Dancing class there and according to Pat, she is a wonderful teacher. Danielle began her Line Dancing career here at North Ranch and has really taken to it.  She also gives lessons at the Diamond Campground and RV Park in Woodland Park, Colorado, where she and Jack workcamp in the summers high in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. 

We still have a lot to do getting ready to hitch up and move out of here Saturday but since we have been here for a month already, it gives us a chance to satisfy our "hitch Itch" and get outta "Dodge" for a few days.
Next Blog should be coming to you from the desert area of Quartzsite and hopefully we'll have a couple pictures of our location and campsite. Please check back with us.

Now we have 52 registered Followers! A big hardy welcome to: Thelma and Skip and Barry Fitzpatrick. Glad to have you join our group and thanks for following us. Please feel free to leave some comments in the comment section at the bottom of the Blog. We would love to hear from you.

It's a GREAT WEEK!!!

Hope to see you in Yuma, if not somewhere down the road.  God Bless you all and Safe Travels.
Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Round Mountain

This is a picture taken from the top of our Teton 5Th wheel showing the vast desert behind our RV lot. Way back in the background in the center of the picture is Round Mountain. It is an identifying landmark for this area.  I would say that as the crow flies, it is about 6-7 miles from us. Friday we decided to ride our 4-wheelers to the top.

By noon, we were stopped for lunch at a staging area about a mile down from the top of the mountain. That's Pat with her back to us on the left and next is Larry and Geri Gustafson, then Jim and Donnalyn Vickers. This is an extremely beautiful area and is extra green this year because of all the rain in the past few months. Way back in the background of this picture is the Hassayampa River and the town of Wickenburg. The journey on to the top was very rocky, rough and steep, but it was a blast and we all made it just fine. At the top, the view was outstanding in every direction for a complete 360 degees. I was so busy taking it all in that I didn't get a picture.  However, I had some taken on a previous trip.

I took this picture from the top of Round Mountain back in 2008 when we went up with our friends Paul and Nancy Wilson. It was also extremely green at that time. In the top center of the picture is North Ranch RV Park where we live.

This picture is of Vulture Peak, way back on the horizon in the center of the picture.We have hiked to the top of it several times.  It's at least 15 miles away from us here.  What a beautiful view!  I want to hike it again soon.

We continued our ride from Round Mountain over to Box Canyon.  Box Canyon is a neat little canyon on the Hassayampa River and very pretty. The river was quite high and a little too deep for our 4-wheelers, so we found a way to get to it from the top and hiked down into it.

This is Ms Pat and Geri last year when we visited Box Canyon. It was about the same time of the year.  The date on this picture and the next picture is wrong.  It should say 2009.....not 2007.

Larry is on one of the upper ledges. This is a very deep and gorgeous canyon and always fun to visit.

We cranked up and headed back to North Ranch and pulled in just about in time for "Happy Hour". It was a grand ride enjoyed by all. We clocked on 30 miles and had a blast. It was a beautiful day! Again, we Praise the Lord and thank him for what he has given us.

Yesterday, Ms Pat and I went to the Gun Trader Show in Wickenburg. I saw a couple of guns I would have bought but since I am not a resident of this state, it is impossible for me to purchase one. I was also looking for a magazine for another one of my automatic pistols. I thought I found one and I was able to purchase it but when I took it out to the car and tried it, it wouldn't work. I took the gun and the magazine back into the show to have the dealer look at it.   After trying it several more times without success, the dealer gave me my money back,  but I was disappointed  I really needed a clip for my old 22 High Standard automatic However,  it was a nice little Gun Show and I enjoyed it. Not too big and not too small, just right for me.

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

Thanks for stopping by and a gracious welcome to Julie, our 50TH follower.  We have been anxiously watching and waiting for our followers to reach the "50" mark. We finally made it !!!  Many thanks to all of you that follow us on our journey across the country and through life. We appreciate you all VERY MUCH!!
We are getting  nearly 200 hits per day now and it continues to rise. I remember back in 2008 when we started the Blog. It's been quite a journey. It's been a real learning experience for me, and I have a lot more to learn. Thanks again to all of you for your help and encouragement. Without it, I would have quit long ago!

"Adios" and take care 'til next time.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday.. 

Escapees North Ranch Has It All!

This is why we love this place.

North Ranch is a favorite destination park in the Escapees Rainbow Park system. Located in Congress, Arizona, it is about 50 miles northwest of Phoenix and 50 miles south of Prescott. Prescott Square is a historic treasure, but history buffs won't have to venture that far because historic Wickenburg is just 15 miles away. There are bluegrass festivals, rodeos, and museums to attend. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy hiking trails, trail-rides, and rock-hounding. And, if you like 4-wheeling, you can use the BLM land that is accessible right out the back gate of the North Ranch property. The nearby town of Stanton even offers gold panning!


Even though there is so much to see and do in the area, you can fill your days without ever leaving the park. The activity calendar is filled with fun things to do. There are things like woodcarving classes, beading classes, jam sessions, sewing, quilting, games, and line dancing. Or, if you'd rather just take it slow and easy, you can settle into a rocker on the clubhouse porch and watch an amazing sunset or stroll through the beautiful memorial garden.


Don't Miss La Fiesta! Coming up soon. March 5 - 6, 2010


La Fiesta is an annual event that takes place at North Ranch each March. The event is filled to the brim with activities and fun. This year's Western theme will offer a "Roundup" complete with a Western band and lots of good ranch-style cooking. You won't want to miss the Senior NASCAR (golf cart) Race, with blind-folded drivers, no less! La Fiesta wouldn't be complete without its traditional parade and, of course, the crowning of "Ms. North Ranch." You are sure to enjoy the local talent as well as the local hospitality, so y'all come, ya hear!

Learn more about North Ranch and the surrounding areas at : NORTH RANCH

(The above was borrowed from the Escapee News Letter)

I haven't spoken or shown you a picture of Ms Megabyte2 lately, so yesterday I snapped a shot of her doing what she does best, "napping". She continues to be her lovely self, entertaining Ms Pat and I to the fullest. She fits right into this RV lifestyle and I believe you'll agree that she appears to be quite comfortable with it.

It's been a little rainy and cool here for the last couple days, so we decided to take advantage of the down time and work on that most unpleasant task of preparing our Federal  Income Tax. It's real hard to stay in a good mood while doing this. With our business and other interests, it is extremely complicated and requires a lot of record keeping and bookwork. Bah Humbug!!!

My Harley is definitely not getting enough attention! It feels mighty neglected and I feel bad about it.  I wish our riding buddies Gregg and Bonnie were here.  We would have been out a long time ago. So many great places to ride around here. We're gonna get out there SOON!!

Tomorrow, it's back to the Big City of Phoenix for more medical stuff. It always takes the entire day and I'm getting tired of it and hoping this time wraps it up.  I guess it's time to take heed and give thanks for the great health we have. Health is so important because without it we have nothing. Remember folks, eat healthy and get plenty of exercise. Don't wait until it's too late. You won't regret it.  As my Dad used to say, "If I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."  He was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for. :-) 

It's a GREAT WEEK!!!

See ya Sunday. Be careful.

Mike

This Blog is published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Rio Grande Valley makes Nick's Top 10 list.

I read Nick Russell's Blog every morning at 4:30am. Nick is the well known Editor of the Gypsy Journal RV'ers newspaper. Nick has also published many books on RVing and traveling and before he and Terry began full-timing, he was a Newspaper Journalist, Reporter and Editor. We have attended many of the annual and semi-annual rallies that they put on each year and have become quite good friends with them. I love to read his work. Yesterday his Blog was titled "TEN LEAST FAVORITE PLACES". That caught my eye very quickly. Nick travels a lot of places and studies them all closely and reports on them all. It was interesting to see the first one he mentioned:
(quote)
While this list reflects just our impression, and we know RVers that love some of the same places we dislike, here are our Top (or actually Bottom) Ten, in no particular order.


1. The Rio Grande Valley in Texas – Most RVers just refer to it as “The Valley,” a stretch of land that begins down in southwest Texas at Brownsville, and stretches north past Mission. This is a popular snowbird roost, where you can find RV parks in every price range, and with every kind (or lack of) amenity. A lot of people love it, but to us it was just crowded, lacking in scenic beauty, and unappealing in every way. What grass there is was full of thorns that stab your feet, and the general RVer population is so old that people joke that “every time you hear an ambulance siren, another RV site just became available.” (unquote)

Read Nick's entire Blog here:  Nick's Blog

Most of you know that The Valley is not my favorite place either. Why people flock there the way they do baffles me...maybe they just don't travel much and haven't seen many other places. It's sure not a place where I would want to stay very long. It works out fine for us and I enjoy it for a couple months, but to plan on staying there much longer, winter after winter, is out of the picture.

Now our RV Park, thats a different story. It's wonderful, and the population in it is not OLD'er...'cept for me that is! I am no doubt the "OLDEST" one there and shucks, when we hear the ambulance siren, it's because some young lady fell off the ladder and broke her leg....:-).  (Hugs to ya girl!)

If we could, we would hook on to RETAMA VILLAGE and bring it with us everywhere we go. I love it. I'm not the least bit sorry we have a nice place there and will continue to enjoy it for a couple months every winter for several years. The question I have is...why have an RV with "WHEELS" if you're gonna stay in one spot all the time? Especially the first 10 years. But I guess it's like my dear "patient" Ms Pat says "it's each to their own". That says it all !

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, we continue with our great rides out into the Desert. Thursday we asked our neighbors and long time friends Paul and Nancy Wilson to take us on a Super Ride!! Paul and Nancy have been 4-wheeling this entire area for many, many years and they really know all the trails extremely well. David and Norma Turner, Paul and Nancy's kids, who are our neighbors also, joined us for the ride, along with Larry and Geri Gustafson.  That made a total of 8. Paul was the leader and he took us on a beautiful ride up into the foothills of the mountains, in and around many of the small and large mine's, where several folks have "staked" a claim and continue to search for GOLD. With the price of gold nowadays, mining for it has really increased in popularity. As you can see from the picture above at one of our stops, it is a breathtaking place. We traveled a distance of nearly 30 miles all total. It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather and temps. Everyone really had a SUPER time.   Thanks Paul!!  You led us on another spectacular ride.

Last Wednesday we again spent the entire day in Phoenix with medical checkups and talking to Drs. Now next Thursday we have to do the same thing with another set of Drs. You know, they will keep checking until they find something they can treat you for......sure as shootin'.  I told Ms Pat, I'm about done with it. My attention span is very short and I'm about to say to heck with it.  Let nature take its course. We'll never get outta this world alive anyhow.  I don't know a soul that has here-to-fore....Do You?

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

Travel safe and ENJOY!!!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Sunday and Wednesday.. 

National Seniors Rodeo Association

I mentioned last Sunday that after Church we would be going to the Seniors Rodeo.  Before the Rodeo, we stopped at the Arts and Crafts show in town and walked around. I was only interested in ONE thing...that being to see our good friends and sometimes neighbors, Tom and Sally Geirisch.

Here is Tom....hard at work at his booth surrounded by some of the best smelling "stuff" there is. We could "smell" them long before we could find them. We missed Sally, she was off somewhere. Tom was looking good and today was the last day of the Gold Rush Days, so we will look forward to spending some time with them both at our infamous "Happy Hour" and maybe a Pot Luck.  WOW!!  That "stuff" (potpourri) sure smells good.  Check out their web site and try out some :  S & T Potpourri, Etc

On to the Rodeo.......

First is the Grand Entry.

And the presentation of the Colors and National Anthem.  That little gal,  between the horses carrying the American and Canadian Flag, has a microphone. She is none other than our Pastor's daughter! She can really belt it out and did a beautiful job.  Well, leave it to me.   I forgot my telephoto lens!!! Dad Gum it!!

Here is one of the Bull rides but without my telephoto you can't see much, so no need showing you more. Sorry...

It was a fun afternoon. What a beautiful day...we were actually even searching out some shade for a change. The crowd was large and the Rodeo was good, for a bunch of OLD guys.   Gosh, I was stiff and sore just from sitting for 3 hours.  It would have killed me to be out there contesting. OK, so now I'm a "tenderfoot".... but I used to love to get out there and roll around in the Mud, the Blood and the Beer!!

Yesterday, it was back out in the Desert with Larry and Geri Gustafson. This is one of the trails and that hill is MUCH steeper than it looks but what was really fun was going up the other side.

This is one of our "rest stops" and Larry is kicking back while Geri gets a few photo's of this beautiful area.

I just had to pause here and take a picture.....Look at this beautiful area, can you believe this! It is so Green this year. Out of this world!!  Can you see why I love it here so much? Right in our back yard....Praise God!

These machines are so neat and fun to ride. They will go almost anywhere. You should have seen some of the rock and boulder area's we traversed today.  Wow, it's amazing how tough and strong these 4 wheelers are.

After we got back out on the flat area, Ms Pat finally let me ride her new one....out where she was sure I couldn't abuse it like I do mine.  I only got to ride it for about 5 minutes.  But...My O My...let me say, I was impressed!! I couldn't ride it any more...had to give it back to her ASAP.   Otherwise, I could have never gotten back on mine.  I didn't think there would be that much difference, but there sure was. Her's rides better, has more power and is faster.  Now lets see??  What can I do and how can I talk her out of it?Hmmm, gotta work on that.  I can sure see why she loves it so much........and I'm glad for her!

Today it's back to the big city of Phoenix for more Dr appointments...not looking forward to it at all!! But gotta do it so off we go and get it over with.  Wish us luck and we'll see ya Sunday..

Wherever you are and whatever you're doing..... have fun, enjoy life and be careful.  See ya down the road.

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Happy Valentine's Day to my Sweetie !!

I wanted to get my Sweetheart a Valentine she would enjoy, something sweet but that wouldn't make her fat. :-) So I have been looking hard for the last week to find the right gift.  Finally I found it and yesterday we went and brought it home.

Her very own Polaris Sportsman 500 4-wheeler....what a beauty and she loves it!  She said "Wow, it's even red like a valentine heart". This baby is like Brand New, just barely broke in...

We no more than got it unloaded and she was on it and ready to go for a ride.

Soon we were all set to head out to those "Wide Open Spaces" that we love so much right here in our back door.

We gave our friends Larry and Geri Gustafson, owners of  The Broken Arrow Campground in Custer, SD, a call and asked them if they would like to go out for a ride. They are staying right down the road from us, so we picked them up and headed out.

Soon we were tearing around, uphill, downhill, around curves in the dirt, rocks and sand of this great wide-open, wonderful area. Here we are "resting" for a few minutes. Ms Pat loves her new ride so much she won't even get off for a second.

I was hoping she would get off for just a minute, cause I wanted to try out that new one and let her ride the old one. NO WAY, she said "You ride yours and I ride mine"!! Oh, OK...(I guess) Fortunately, I rode it before I bought it, but I'm afraid that may be my last time!

OK, here we are ready to go again. You can see that smirk on Ms Pats face as she says " Nope, you ride yours and I'll ride mine"!  What's a guy to do??  OH WELL, what the heck, I'm having fun, out here where I love it.  Lets go.....I like mine BETTER anyhow...(I think)

Here we all are lined up in Martinez Creek, one of our favorite sandy dry river beds that runs for miles and miles right behind our house. In that deep sand, these machines just glide along and you can run wide open, or as fast as you want to. Larry and I had a race between his new Honda and my old Polaris.  I won't say who won.  Don't want to hurt anyone's feelings here, especially MINE!

As you can see above, Ms Pat still will not budge off her beautiful new machine.  Gee,, if she would get off that thing I would give it a whirl.  I don't believe that's gonna happen.  But, when she's happy, I'm HAPPY.

The weather has been just gorgeous here lately and more of the same is forecast. This morning we are off to early Church at 8am...then this afternoon we are going to the Gold Rush Days and "Seniors" Rodeo with Larry and Geri. That will be a blast. We have gone many times before and always enjoy it. All contestants in the Rodeo must be over 50 years of age. Ms Pat always wants me to get in the Bronc Riding.....since I used to do that for a living.  Ya,,,right,,,,!!! I'm a LOT over 50....Way Over!... and smart enough to know as the song says,  "I ain't as good as I once was".....in fact, I'm not even as good ONCE as I once was!!!  Nowaday's there is a lot of things I can just talk about and recall some mighty fond memories. I admit...I'm a "has been"!! I'm now content to just sit back and watch. But ya can't help but think back on the "Good Ole Days"!! I thank God I had all those days. We have so much to be thankful for...

God Bless you all.....Thanks for stopping by and please come back again.  Remember your comments below are appreciated.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!!  Be sure to tell that special someone how much you love them!!!  They may not be around forever.

It was a GREAT WEEK!!

Mike

This Blog is published every Sunday and Wednesday..

Killer BUFFALO Chili.

We had a wonderful Anniversary Sunday. It was our first Sunday back in Church for too long a time. Pastor Dean carries a super message and is quite moving and interesting.   I just love listening to him. We have been attending his Church for several years while we are at North Ranch.

When we got home from Church, our friends and neighbors Larry and Geri Gustafson from Custer were sitting in our drive way. It was great to see them again. We had arranged for them to rent Tom and Sally Geirisch''s RV lot which is just down the street from us. They will be around for at least a month, hopefully more. We plan on some good 4-wheeling together out in the desert.

We love BUFFALO meat and it is quite plentiful around our home base in Custer, SD.   Ms Pat always brings as much as she can can get into our 22 ft Amana household refrigerator freezer. I like Chili anytime, but when it's a little cool, it tastes extra good. Pat decided she would use the final package of our Buffalo meat to make up some of her "Killer" BUFFALO chili. She had it cooking for several hours and the smell was about to kill me. I had managed to sneak a couple small tastes while she was up at the Clubhouse doing her new found adventure of "Line Dancing". She knows that leaving me alone around  the house while she has something cooking is dangerous.

We had told Larry and Geri when they arrived to get settled in and invited them over for happy hour and some Buffalo Chili.   It was delicious and we enjoyed it much more than any celebration dinner up town. That's my kind of Happy Anniversary...at home, with friends and some of Ms Pats wonderful cooking. Geri even helped her with the dishes....and we watched some of the Super Bowl Game. 

Monday morning early we began our annual medical check up procedures. Almost all of our Doctors are in this area and we love the medical facilities. We have a great Doctor her....and yes, he is a Cowboy. Doc has lots of horses and goes on long trail rides all the time. He is a great Doctor, too!! Definitely not a pill pusher like most of them. Anyhow, we were to meet him at his office at 7:15 Monday morning to pick up the orders for our blood work. I asked Pat if Doctors anywhere else in the world get in their offices at 7am...not many that we know of.   Maybe here and Custer, but that's about all.

Sure enough when we arrived there was Dr. Melde standing on the front porch with his coffee cup in hand watching another beautiful Arizona Sunrise. He took us inside and since none of his help was there yet, he dove into our files and made up our blood work orders. Since his office is in the Wickenburg Hospital, we walked down the hall to the Lab and gave our blood samples.

Since we usually get up at 4am and have a cup of coffee in hand by 4:15 and here it was 7:45 and we had been fasting since midnight, I was about to DIE! Pat was in about the same shape, but not quite as "grumpy" as I was. It's unbelievable how a person gets into such a habit of things and believe me I needed COFFEE!!   We have been doing this here for many, many years and have learned just exactly where the employee's lounge is. We headed there as fast as we could and began "draining" their coffee pot... Ahhh, it tastes Soooo GOOD!!

Now, early this morning we are off to the big city of Phoenix to begin our long list of getting our check ups. It's going to be a LONG, BUSY day and I'm anxious to get home even before we even get started!!  Wish us luck... I'm sure we'll be making several more trips during the next few months...

It is a GREAT WEEK!!!

God be with you all...

Mike

This Blog is published every Wednesday and Sunday..

Oh, give me the Wide Open Spaces!!

One of the reasons we had to make a rather fast trip up to North Ranch in Arizona was because we were totally out of  PressurePro systems.  We had 16 full systems in stock before our Seminar at the Bentsen Palm Village RV Resort in Mission, Texas on Jan 18th.  We completely sold out of everything we had.  We even sold one system we didn't have and shipped it back to Gary Scoffied in Retama Village from here when we arrived. We had a big stock order shipped from our supplier and it was waiting for us when we got here.   Plus, we received two more orders to ship out while we were on the road traveling.

In the picture above, I am enjoying the beautiful morning sunshine and putting up the stock order. I love my "Wide Open Space's" office. Aren't we lucky to have such a wonderful life? Praise the Lord.

This is another reason I love my "Wide Open Spaces". This is what we see when we look out our back window. That's Round Mountain in the center. This picture was taken from the top of our rig 2 years ago when we were building our new Patio and parked across the street on our neighbors, Dave and Norma's, lot. This is beautiful country. We have a 360 deg view just like this with hills and mountains all the way around us. The closest town is Congress, 5 miles away..   Ah......I'm in Heaven!!!  Soon as we get setteled in, we will be out there in those hills stirring up a little dust and enjoying life even more!

Nobody says it any better than our great friends Rollie and Gina Thurston:

"I hope everyone has a pleasant and wonderful day, enjoying what our Father has so graciously blessed us with".

My exact feelings.   Rollie and Gina are in California headed this way to see us. Travel safe folks, we can't wait to see you....    

Today is our 24th Anniversary!!! God again blessed me 25 years ago when he so graciously arranged a "Blind Date" for me with Ms Pat. "Happy Anniversary Ms Pat, I love you very much."

We're off to early church at 8:00am this morning, anxious to hear the wonderful Pastor we have here in Wickenburg.

God Bless you all and thank you for following my Blog.

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

Mike

This Blog is published every Sunday and Wednesday..

Here we are at North Ranch Escapee RV Park in Congress, AZ.

We pulled into North Ranch RV Park at Congress, AZ Monday just as predicted at 3:45pm.  I told our friends and neighbors, Paul and Nancy Wilson, that we would be there by Happy Hour, Lord willin'! Praise the Lord, he was willin' and we were right on time. We had a great trip up from way down in South Texas. The weather was perfect all the way. The truck and all the equipment worked great.

Yesterday we got settled in and setup on our lot. This was the first RV lot we purchased way back in March of 2001, 9 years ago. We love the way the property backs up to the wide open spaces of the BLM desert. We came here several winters before we purchased the lot and stayed in the Campground.  

Right across the street from us is this beautiful desert garden area. It is maintained by several of our neighbors.

One of the first things I did yesterday was get the Polaris Sportsman 500 ATV out, uncover it and get it ready to roll!! I'm charging the battery now and hope to have it up and running soon.

Poor little Ms Megabyte2...all this commotion just gets to her. She doesn't like all the noise and can't understand what is happening.  We don't travel enough for her to get used to it.   This is the sleeper in our Volvo truck and she quickly found a little ledge under the booth table. She would not come out of there at all the first two days while we were in motion. The third day she would come out when we stopped, but the minute we started up, back to her secret hide-a-way she would go.  Yesterday, all day, she was SOOOO HAPPY to be stationary again. I truly think she remembered this place. She was happy as a lark! She would run from window to window to check things out and wanted to play all day. This was her first home after leaving Texas last winter.

It's a GREAT WEEK!!

Thanks for stopping by........come on back Sunday.

Mike

This Blog is Published every Wednesday and Sunday..  

Weather Delay..Sorry my Blog is late!

This is the weather we woke up to on Thursday, the day we planned to leave the Texas Valley, with more rain forecast for the next day. So we decided to delay our departure until Saturday.  We were up and out of Retama at 8:15am. It was a nice brisk, cool morning and we were happy to be on the road.

We had a nice trip and easily traveled 386 miles to our favorite boondocking spot of all time. It is just 40 miles West of The WalMart store in Del Rio. We got there shortly after 4PM, just in time for Happy Hour! It was a gorgeous evening and Ms Pat and I enjoyed the evening watching the sun go down on the beautiful Pecos River and Canyon.  You can see where the Pecos dumps into the Rio Grande River from where we were.  We had the place all to ourselves the entire night. The moon was full and bright as it reflected off the river several hundred feet below our camp site.

We were way off the highway right on the high canyon above the Pecos River. It has a nice, wide, winding road leading back to overlook, with a big turn around that can handle any size rig...even ours!  There was NO cell service and NO WiFi or Internet....we felt a million miles from nowhere! We did flip our King Dome on for some Direct TV, but we were so beat we couldn't stay awake to watch it.

This is the bridge across the River on Hwy 90 just North of us. It is some 240 ft above the river and is the highest bridge across water in the state of Texas.  Have you ever seen such a beautiful view from a private camp site??

We were on the road at the crack of dawn the next morning and on our way to Deming, NM to the SKP Dreamcatchers RV Park. We racked up a total of 486 miles and made it in by 4PM. However, we lost an hour, so it was really 5pm. Anyhow, we were just in time for Happy hour! It was another day of superb travel. It is so comfortable traveling with this big rig, I could almost go on forever. We even had a 5-10 mph tail wind all the way.

Sorry I couldn't get the Blog out yesterday.  It is the first one I have missed in 2 years. It is kinda nice after a day of travel not to have to put the Internet Satellite up, although I didn't really mind it. Being a Ham Radio enthusiast for the last 45 years, erecting antenna's and getting a signal, then tweaking it was my enjoyment.

This Verizon Air card is handy, but I really hate it. Just like yesterday, no signal and we couldn't even get a respectable connection on I-10 from Van Horn West. Plus, the 5 GB monthly limit really kills us. We go over that amount in two weeks with both of us on the internet as much as we are. Most of you know that we went over the 5GB to the tune of $190.00 the first month we had the Verizon Modem. Oh and yes, we don't watch movies or download music, etc. We have stopped all our automatic downloads and updates. We absolutely do not watch any of the You Tube videos, etc. forwards that we get.   So, no I don't like the Verizon Air card at all! Better than nothing...OK, but just barely. Pardon me for griping, but we just came off of a high speed cable data line for 3 months at Retama and BOY did we get spoiled.

I have come to the conclusion that I am spending way too much time on the computer. To the point that it is interfering with other things that I really like to do. So I have decided to put myself on restriction and cut out some of this computer time. Here at North Ranch, where there are so many great things to do that I enjoy, like 4-wheeling and target shooting out in the desert, Motorcycling in the hills and just getting a lot more exercise, my computer time will diminish.

Today (Monday) we will be up and out of Deming, NM early and make the final leg of our journey to my second favorite spot (Custer is first!!) North Ranch. It's a leisurely day's drive of 436 miles through some of the most beautiful country in the USA. I just love these Hills and Mountains. I guess the flat lands of the Rio Grande Valley make me appreciate them even more!! Thank you God, it's great to be HOME.

Paul and Nancy....see you around 4 PM this afternoon if the good Lord's willin' !!

It was a GREAT WEEK!!!

God Bless you all!!!

Mike

This Blog is published every Sunday (sorry I missed yesterday) and Wednesday..