Archive for March 2013
2013-03-31 Hooked on Squaw Lake, Re-tired in Yuma
Hello again, dear family and friends!
Wow – Easter Sunday already! And…a glorious Easter it is too – both here in the SW (Yuma), and, by the reports from my weather apps – at home on the BC coast also.
We are relaxing in the shade at our Rivers Edge RV site in Yuma until the afternoon heat sends us poolside to cool off. This has been a remarkably warm March here. Thank heavens for a “fantastic fan” to provide cooler air flow at night.
And what has transpired since my note of March 23?
Well, our Squaw Lake maintenance husband and wife team of Donald and Bobbi have provided us with some interesting information:
1) two sidewinder rattlers had to be removed from the washrooms up at the desert site “Little Mesa” across the dam from us. “Please don’t leave the washroom doors open at night!”… “Not to worry…we may never go to the washrooms again!”
2) apparently Donald catches fish on the other side of the dam at Senators Wash. Well, we will see about that! After a couple of tries, the truth is apparent…Donald caught all of them!
So, back to fishing at Squaw – late on Monday afternoon, Mike Harris and I were fly casting in a secluded pond. I was having no luck, so it was time to try one of the new lures that Mike gave me for my birthday. After a few tries, I completed all of the loops, and was pulling the knot tight with my teeth, when the line slipped, and the hook embedded itself past the barb into my left index finger. Now that SMARTS, but all I could think of was “You’re STUPID!”
I couldn’t remember if I had broken off the barb, or not, and the hook didn’t seem to want to pull out the way it went in, so I pulled out my knife and began to draw a line to cut the hook out. Fortunately, the blade wasn’t quite up to the task, and I wisely decided to get some help from Mike, so I began to paddle his way, fighting off a VVR [vaso-vagal reaction…ie. a “faint”]! Mike pulled out his pliers, and I pinpointed a place on the shaft of the hook that could cut with the wire- cutters. Mike then had a hard time pushing the hook through the end of my finger but he eventually worked up through the guitar callous, after which it was easy to pull out. I wasn’t happy with the experience, but lesson learned! I AM older and wisened! (Not “wizened” dear Grandchildren!)
With one day of recovery, I was able to again able to play the C chord on my guitar, so the music goes on! And, one evening, 3 folks from San Diego asked if they could bring their chairs over to listen. Nice! The man, not so musically knowledgable, apparently, suggested that he would vote for me “on American Idol”. Perhaps he meant American idle!
Also on Monday, a Nanaimo couple, Ieuan and Shiela visited us for a couple of hours on their way through to Tucson. And, on Tuesday, our friends Erna and Barry packed up and headed north for home.
On Thursday, Sandy noticed that water was not sitting level in our sink, so she inspected our Truck House attitude, which she didn’t like! Sure enough – we had a soft, but not quite flat left front tire. Donald, the maintenance guy, used his pump to inflate the tire to 60 psi, and that was good enough to get us to Big O tire in Yuma on Good Friday, where a screw was removed and tired sealed for $21.
Our two weeks in the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) was almost up (as of today) but we left a couple of days early as the Easter crowd built up at the camp ground. Tomorrow, our wanderings will take us further East.
Much love, best wishes, and a Happy Easter to all!
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter.
Sequestered at Squaw Lake
Dear family and friends,
Within recent months I read a book by a young researcher who decided to visit the stopping points of the great sailor Captain Cook. During his travels Cook received and sent frequent letters home to his wife in England and also to Royal Society that was sponsoring his journeys. Messages took up to TWO YEARS to arrive! I give you this factoid for a reason – a comparison.
Last Monday we rolled out of our lovely spot at Rivers Edge RV in Winterhaven, and headed for propane refills and supplies for the more remote setting of Squaw Lake – desert camping in a parking lot on a lake. I was pleased with my purchase of a T-Mobile SIM card and one month plan for my iPhone. And…I had discovered at Rivers Edge that I could “pair” my iPhone with my iPad, and use the iPhone as a modem that would allow me to receive mail on the iPad – using wifi technology. Genius! For the first time, we would be able to get phone service and mail at Squaw Lake. So, we got our propane, and groceries and left for Squaw Lake. When we arrived, we were surprised to find the lower parking lot (usually for smaller rigs like ours) almost empty…and our favourite spot was vacant. As we cruised through the parking lot to our spot, a voice hollered at us, “No more Canadians!” It was our friends from two years ago – Barry and Erna from Maple Ridge.
After setting up, I checked my iPhone – “No Service”, or the alternative, ” Searching…”. Nothing. Nada! What a disappointment! Oh well…there is a fellow up on Hurricane Ridge in the desert who supplies a wifi service for $2 per day. It is a 10 minute bike ride away. It is my thinking is that I will take time off fishing to visit up there every 2 or 3 days to “pick up” my email and text messages that I am sure will be waiting for my immediate responses! Think of that dear grandchildren, nieces and nephews – NO TEXTING, AND NO E-MAIL FOR 3 DAYS! (Incomprehensible?? Surely, the end of civilization as we know it!) The communication saga gets even worse. A bike ride up to Brad’s wifi hot spot on March 21 (“Expecting some messages, were you, Tony?”) proved fruitless. Brad has given up trying to create a wifi hotspot this year. A signal is spotty at best, and only in the early morning, or late at night. Thinking of less than friendly after-dark critters – specifically, scorpions and rattlers on the warm roads at night, I decide to pass on those off hour times!
Also on March 21, I decided to try Onstar (you remember that ongoing saga don’t you, readers?) to contact my mother to express my gratitude that she shares that wondrous birthday experience with me. No luck! I decided to stop hassling Onstar as I will probably not renew my contract with them this year. So…end result…no communications for a week! Thank-you Captain Cook for putting this into perspective.
Oh…another small event of great import – I must have left the propane hose with the Coleman BBQ attachment somewhere last week, for it has disappeared. An obsessive search of Truck House (“It’s gotta be here!”), and a 5 hour search run into Yuma didn’t help as no stores carry Coleman parts, and no place where we might have left it had it. “Why didn’t you get email while you were there?” you ask. Well…just because we were pre-occupied and focused, I suppose. And, the search took place only a day after we had moved to Squaw Lake. So…no barbecue! What a waste of space! (Not me!…the barbecue!)
And speaking of Spring…wasn’t I? We are finally back in Yuma for replenishment of supplies, and I am sitting outside Starbucks where I have just downloaded all my email including many, many Happy Birthday wishes. Many thanks to all for thinking of me…and caring! At Squaw Lake, Erna and Barry invited us over to “campfire” sing (candle fire, actually) and share a birthday cake – WITH ICE CREAM! What a treat! About a dozen people joined us, and all, except two from Ohio, were from BC, and all of those, except Barry and Erna were from Vancouver Island. I guess that says more about the leisure time retired Islanders have than anything else.
Today, strong winds curtail kayaking and fly casting, so we are shopping, and looking for a new barbecue, or a part for the old one. We are glad to hear that our family members enjoyed their Spring Break in mid-Pacific, and look forward to seeing their pics.
Much love and best wishes to all!
Tony, the Quill – older, and perhaps wiser???? Yes, and NO, and Sandy – showing early signs of yearning for her quilting machines!
P.S. many congratulations to the parents, and welcome to the newcomers in our family circle – Jude Pinilla, and Anna Catherine (Whitmore) Morris in Duncan!
P.P.S. We will return to Squaw Lake for perhaps another week, before heading further east to Patagonia Lake, then Phoenix, and then towards home. If we are not at Squaw Lake, we should be in a zone of communication – we hope!
“Beware the Idles of March!”
March 15, 2013 (Actually, today is March 16, but the note was written yesterday.)
Dear family and friends,
This blog note was supposed to go out yesterday – hence the silliness about the date. However, today we found a Starbucks, and perhaps Noah’s sibling is still in the waiting room. (Too cryptic for you? Read on!)
Throughout the winter we dream of the sun and heat available in southwest US. This winter, however, as we watched the daytime temperatures of Arizona, we were shocked to see snow in Scottsdale. “Tough luck, Baby” we chortled from in front of our electric fireplaces as the mist and chill hung heavily over Vancouver Island. However, the Arizona weather picked up, and once again, we counted down the slow creep of days until our departure for the south.
Now we have arrived, and with our return, so has a blazing hot spell in the Yuma area. This makes it imperative to get our biking time in early in the morning, but I guess that this morning, we had not quite learned that lesson. By the time we had finished our first ride of season, the 16 km had melted off some of the hibernation poundage I had acquired – I hope! The temperatures are keeping us rather slow paced – well, stopped, actually – except for reading.
Our favourite used book store in Yuma had never heard of Jo Nesbø, (“there isn’t much demand for foreign writers”) our latest favourite writer! (Think ‘Steig Larson’! Thanks, Cindy and Karen!)
Many members of our Nanaimo family are now also “idling” in far off places – like Maui, and Mexico! Enjoy the break, all of you and don’t get burned in the rush to acquire a “healthy” tan. (Dr. Jenkins, the Nanaimo skin specialist would heartily dispute the word “healthy”!)
Meanwhile, the other side of the Island family is getting ready for other events, and are not quite so idle! Mother is getting ready to move into new residence, and is busy packing up and shedding accumulated treasures and furniture, while niece Katie, rather than being idle, longs for labour to bring forth a new member of our family! Hang in there Katie, and best wishes for a speedy delivery of Noah’s sibling!
I hope that decent weather is allowing those at home to enjoy some pre-spring days of sunshine and time outside before new growth erodes the idleness of winter.
Much love and best wishes to you all – et tu, Brute! (For all you Latin scholars, I hope that that is the correct ending for the “Vocative” case! Let me see…nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, ablative? Right?)
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
From a California highway…a CHiP
And a…
Sensory overload
Tuesday March 12, 2013
Dear family and friends,
At the risk of blogging myself into spam status, I will send another road note tonight. I wanted to tell you of the sensory experiences of road travel into California. First of all, let me explain that I am a total fan of Spring! Rather fitting I would say since, after all, I sprang into the world on the first day of Spring some many moons ago! (Get on with the story, sir!)
After leaving Woodburn (having purchased a new T-Mobile sim card for my cell phone – I would like to tell you that I slipped that one by Sandy while she was in purchasing quilting supplies, but that would be a complete fabrication!), we drove on and on in steadily warming temperatures, and clearing skies, until we crossed the Siskiyous just south of Ashland, and were rewarded with a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta and its smaller companion cone. What a sight on a clear day! Temperatures continued to climb, and by the time we rolled into Red Bluff at 3:30 or so, it was 27C outside: 15C above normal for this time of year. Many bird songs at Red Bluff RV completed the illusion of early spring where we were tucked into a private corner enjoying the remainder of the day outside with our books.
Oh yeah, before I ramble further into my sensory tales, let me add a further detail to the hot water issue…
Shortly after arriving in Red Bluff, Sandy tried to get some hot water out of the tap. It gave her a brief burst of hot, and then returned only cold water. Oh-oh! Something is really wrong with the hot water system, think I! Perhaps I should look for a mechanic after all. So, perplexed about the whole situation, I begin an Internet search for a nearby RV service. Gradually a whole new concept seeps into my mind – what if there were TWO taps from the hot water tank (intake and output) and I had only turned on ONE? I suddenly pulled the closet apart and sure enough – I found the second tap and turned it. Voila! NOW it all works well. As old Walter Brennan used to say in “The Real McCoys”… “Dagnabbit! You’re stupid!” (I don’t know whether he said that or not. I made that part up, too.)
Traffic today was fairly light, and I thoroughly enjoyed the miles with warm scented breezes at the various stops, and either music from my MP3, or NPR on the radio. The music can sometimes be a titch jarring! On “Shuffle” and with my playlist set to “All, but classical” (about 1400 tunes), I get many miles and hours of singalong time. However, shuffle can sometimes do mood changes that are dramatic, and shattering. We can be humming along with Andrea Bocelli’s, and Sarah Brighton’s “Time to Say Good-bye” – a stunningly beautiful duet, and before we have time to come down, the next song that kicks in might be Claude King’s “Wolverton Mountain” – “They say don’t go…”, or Delbert McClinton and Kacey Jones singing “You’re the Reason our Kids are Ugly”. Enough said!
Many, many bugs bit the windshield as we passed between rows and rows of olive or almond trees in bloom. The windshield spillage changes the hues of the fields to yellowish.
Oh, and one further note if you care about my scorecard of critters seen…
WILDLIFE:
Hawks – 11
Walking ducks – 17
NOT SO WILDLIFE
Coyotes – 2
Skunks – 2
What used to be furry tribble-like creatures (probably ground squirrels, raccoons, muskrats, etc.) – dozens. (I tell Sandy that these are just “sleeping”.)
POPES – 0 (This probably should have been included in “Not So Wildlife”.)
Sandy doesn’t approve of my counts. She says I should have included her counts. Okay – here is what she was counting…
colts, lambs (gamboling, of course), goat kids, calves. (She wasn’t sure of the numbers.)
Much love and best wishes to you all!
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
Burned in Woodburn
Woodburn, OR, March 12, 2013
Greetings dear family and friends!
We left home 12 days ago, but have just spent the night in Woodburn, OR. This is in response to those who have asked, “Where are you?” No, we have not had any vehicle problems – we had a 4 day visit with family in Walnut Grove, and then we drove to Kamloops to join in the cheering section with the families of the Wellington Sr. Secondary Girls basketball at the Provincial AA championships. Both of our nieces – Montana and Olivia Mjaaland – played on this team, and Wellington eventually won the Bronze medal after losing only one game to the highly favoured Holy Cross Christian School from Surrey. We were so proud of the way the girls played, and eventually, the cheering squad even one an award for the most spirited support! Cool!
(An aside: private schools with the ability to draw and recruit students from anywhere on the planet should not be competing in a Provincial Championship with public schools that can only enlist students from their catchment area! Just my personal opinion, after seeing the size and skill levels displayed by some players from private schools which predominate in the Provincial rankings. Apparently, they also have their own final tournament.)
Our trip back to Walnut Grove after the final game on Saturday was beautiful, with clear blue skies, and dry roads on the Coquihalla. It was a 3 hour run with little traffic. On Sunday morning, we arose to the new Daylight Savings time, and as we drove, I listened to the beep, beep, beep, beeping of Sandy’s watch as she spent many minutes and long kilometres trying to reset it to the current time. (It still reads as a 24 hour time, and neither of us can correct it.) We crossed the border at the Truck Crossing for a smooth sail down I-5 to Woodburn. We are now officially on the road again! It was a 6 hawk day! (They are probably red-tails, or sharp-shinned hawks, but bird identification at 120 km per hour is a trifle tricky!)
On the issue of “getting older and wiser”…not so much! When we arrived last night we had to de-winterize the camper to get rid of the antifreeze in the water lines, and to stock up with water. Winterburn RV seemed to be a good place for this. We hooked up everything, cleared our tanks and lines, plugged in the tv cable, – and almost everything worked! Two exceptions:
1. Water from the pump area leaked all over the floor of the camper, but Sandy is Mrs. Efficient at making it go away;
2. When we turned on the hot water heater, it momentarily flashed, then ceased to work. That was that! (“Flipping the switch on and off won’t fix it, Tony!”)
The night was chilly, but the furnace works fine.
8:00 a.m. March 11
Moments ago, while I constructed my notes to you, Sandy busied herself with tidying, and reading manuals. Finally….”Did you re-open the hot-water tank isolation valve?” Yoiks! (That’s not exactly the word I used! I had NOT! I can hear you old time RV-ers out there tsk, tsking!) Okay, it is now opened. Although it hasn’t been said yet, I am pretty sure that I can sense a silent “You’re stupid!” being held back rather kindly!
However, we must have burned a fuse or kicked a breaker that I cannot locate since the system is still non-functional. I hope that we will have good news to report after the RV places open at 8:30.
Much love and best wishes to all – with special thoughts for the student and teacher Spring-Breakers who are heading for the breakers off Maui, or other vacation spots, and to my nonagenarian mother who is now getting ready to move into a new residence in Langford!
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
P.S. As we began to pack up, I decided to check the hot water tank outlet at the back of the camper. Under the dust and grime was a black rubber pad with the word “Reset” stamped into the rubber. I had a final “Aha” moment as I pushed it and tried the heater button again. It worked!! Thank heavens I didn’t go into an RV service and have to see the “You’re stupid!” behind the eyes of some junior mechanic! So we are off, knowing that, for the moment at least, I am “NOT so stupid!”
roadquill1 