Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Slow Day in Az.

This is what retirement is all about. Do not have to do anything if I don't want to. I had to run the new heater again this morning to take a shower. 2 days in a row. Kinda nippy out here last couple days. Wind was terrible Wednesday. A piece of siding blew up and got wrapped around my satellite dish on the roof. Today has been calm and sunny. At 50 or so degrees it seems chilly so Sam and I have been in the coach most of the day. Living in our coach is kinda like living in a small apartment. We have everything we need here, just on a smaller scale. There is absolutely no other way to enjoy the USA than in an rv for several months at a time. All the comforts of home and much cheaper than sleeping in someone else's bed at a motel. Not at all inviting to me.
Through the blog I have met several people. One of those just had solar installed on her motorhome. She did it right. Over 450 watts of panels on the roof, good controller with large enough wire to carry the juice, and a battery arrangement large enough to support her lifestyle without running the generator everyday. It is rare to see an installer do it properly but this one looks good. This lady keeps an excellent and up to date blog of her travels. Folks do not need to fire up their generator every morning to have plenty of power to last the entire day, especially if they sleep late like I do. The trick is to have enough sun hitting your panels, have enough panel on your roof, large wire and a good controller with plenty of batteries. We will add some batteries to our system in the upcoming year. I need to make a place for them first. If one needs to run the generator early in the morning is the best time. Get some charge in the batteries and then top them off with the sun. I carry a 3 stage 25 amp charger and sometimes use it as it will charge faster than the converter in the coach.
Friday Teri and I will run into town again for the, I hope, final supplies to finish our Kitchen cabinet doors. Teri has finished the drawers like she wants. Now everything is in place. I hid the quick disconnect for the gas line inside one of them. We just need to cover it up and make it look good. We will pick up a little more insulation while we are there. I want to insulate behind the closet and under the refrigerator. Then, when we pull the wall, we will re insulate that area. I feel air at night coming from behind the couch. Part of it I know where it is coming from. The window does not have the propper vertical seal between the glasses. I think the rest is coming through and around the wall. This area will also be insualated when Teri feels like helping me remove the couch.
I talked with my brother back home about noon. He says they are getting some real winter weather there. I feel a bit guilty for considering 50 degrees a bit nippy, no I don't, I am cold. It is nice being where 50 is cold. This would be a warm day back in Southeast Missouri. This is January folks, it is supposed to be cold back home.
Was able to make a call to a prospective supplier of automatic fire extinguishers for motorhomes today. I don't think most motorhome folks understand that fire is one of the biggest dangers in a coach. There is a company that has automatic extinguishers to put in the engine compartments. If a fire breaks out the extinguisher will kill it and save the coach. Teri and I avoided a fire last year by having the glass engine cover. We saw the oil spraying everywhere and got stopped before the fire broke out. If the fire had started we would have lost the coach, no doubt. Can't open the engine hatch with a fire in there. The air will swoop in and its all over. The company also has automatic extinguishers for the electircal compartment, rear of the refrigerator, and the generator compartment. When Teri and I travel in hot tmeperatures we often run the generator going down the road so we can run the roof air. Keeps Sam cool back here. Having an extinguisher back there is a good idea. This company sells to many Nascar owners so I feel he has a good product. I think a good deal can be struck between him and us to get some of these out where they belong, in motorhomes. Will have pictures when I get one or two in here.
No photos today, have not gone anywhere or done anything worthy of showing. We always take the camera when we get into the car. Never know what we might see. I did see that Flint Michigan has a rather rowdy bunch hanging out at Chucky Cheese. My grandson, Colsyn, will be sorry he missed that one. He loves a good fight at Chucky's place.
Ya'll have a great evening. Thanks for dropping by. We always enjoy your visit. Dan

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

And The Winner Is


Yep, that is our boy, front and center. He was at the top of his class and is moving on. The pinewood derby was a lot of fun last night. There were kids, dads, and a lot more folks there cheering on their favorite young man and his car. It was funny listening to dads and grandfathers talk about the cars. It was "my car" this and "my car" that. I asked a couple of guys "whose car?", they just smiled and then called the boy's name.
Yes, this is a great way for dads and sons to spend time together. It was obvious that the fathers were as involved, maybe more so, as the sons in building these little racers. The cars were so fast that they raced right out of the picture as Teri was snapping it. Those dog gone digital cameras. We will follow Josh to the next round of races and let you know how he does. No, not everyone is a winner but every child has a great time with their dad or grandfather. These cars live on for a long time. Dads keep them on their desks til they retire. I know, I have seen them. My son and I skipped the pinewood derby thing and went straight to the real thing, a 1968 Mustang. We had some great times building and then rebuilding that car after it got wrecked.
The sun is shining in Az. today but boy that wind is something else. I was sitting here a little earlier and heard something banging on our roof. Grabbed the ladder and found a vertical venitian blind wrapped around our satellite tv antenna. Why can't folks keep their trash picked up?
Sam has had an easy day. Teri and I did some work on the kitchen and got one more drawer in. Teri is building this thing just like she wants it. No space is going to be wasted. We have to run back over to Safford to get the hinges that she wants so we can get the doors built and put in place. I will have pictures then. I secured the quick disconnect, for the gas line, today inside the cabinet. It will not show when the door is closed. We will hook either the heater or the gas burners into it when we are using them. I am making a hose connection to use outside also so we can cook with gas outside too. As all rver's know, most daylight hours are spent outside enjoying what God has created for us.
Hmmm, I guess there was a surprise or two last night in the Florida primary. We see a couple of folks drop out. Rudy will go with Mc Cain hoping he can grab a spot in the new cabinet. Edwards will hold off a bit trying to guess who. He wants a spot in the cabinet too. One of these two will not get the spot. Can you guess which one will be disappointed? We will have a better idea next week after Tuesday.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Today was hump day for my working friends. I have nearly forgotten what that feeling was like. Check back when you have time. And, as always, I appreciate your company. Dan

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Southwest

Teri cleaned "house" today. Sam did not seem to care. You can see one of my favorite appliances, the ice maker. That thing just keeps on working. We have had it a year now. Makes soft ice. Sam and I use lots of ice everyday. Sam eats what I eat, or wants to anyway. We share trail mix from the Dollar Tree at night. Oh, that is my work staion. I should have straightened it up a dab before shooting the picture. That blue wall is going to become a wooden wall to match the kitchen. Using tongue and groove pine. It should look good.


These are some photos I snapped this afternoon. I took a drive 20 miles north on 191. Stopped at Three Way. These mountains are awesome. I would never have seen them if I had not captured Teri out here. This is not a pretty place in the summer heat but in the winter, this is great. I wish all folks could come out here just one winter. I stopped at an RV park or two. Most of them are full. A lot has to do with the copper mines running full blast again. They can not get workers. Busses run for several miles bringing workers to and from the mines. They even bus workers here from Phoenix and give them a house to live in during the week. Then they take them back to Phoenix for the weekend. Copper mining is a strip mine thing. No caves. I see it pretty safe. Maybe next year we will come back and get jobs for the season up there.






Mule Creek is in New Mexico. A couple switch backs between here and there. I ran smack dab into two big elks one morning cutting across there heading back to Missouri. I was doing about 15 mph so I was able to stop. Over in the mountains of southwest New Mexico they have 4 seasons. That is because the elevation is over 6,000 ft. Here we are at 3600 ft. Teri and I have friends in Silver City, NM that we always visit while out here. About 75 miles by road, maybe 45 by air. The roads run around the mountains.











Hope everyone has had a great Tuesday. It is one of my favorite days of the week. If you have emailed me and I did not return it, then it went in my trash. I don't open ones I don't know. Please put "blog" or "GMC" or something so I will recognize you and read it. "Solar" is good too.
Have a good evening. Teri and I are heading to our grandson's Pinewood Derby this evening.
Dan

Monday, January 28, 2008

Monday, One of My Favorite Days of the Week

I have this very close friend named Clyde. He enjoys looking for the perfect motorhome so that he and Judy can take off and see the country. Well, today, I found the ride for Clyde. Looks like this was a Dodge van that has been mated to a 1950 model trailer. It is for sale Clyde.



Every time Teri and I head over to Safford I am just amazed. Looking at the mountains and the tumble weed. I keep thinking that I am going to see Gil Favor, Rowdy Yates, and Wishbone. Maybe Rory Calhoun and some of the other boys. This is truly where the West is located. If you were born after 1965 I knida doubt that you know what I am talking about.





I enjoy "souping things up". Nothing comes new that does not need some kind of modification done to it, nothing. I got this new Mr. Buddy heater from a guy on Ebay shipped to me for 70 bux. Good deal. Tore right into it as soon as I got it out of the box. Had to get it modified so it would run from the main lp tank here in the coach and not on the little one pound bottle. Made a quick trip into Duncan Hardware. Nope, no parts I needed so Teri and I headed over the mountain into Safford. Got what I needed at Ace. A fitting that would hook to my quick disconnect line here in the coach. Took the regulator out and screwed it right in. We have some real heat now without using the furnace. I will take the little catalytic heater back to where I borrowed it. It would not keep our feet warm. A Wave 3, 3,000 btu. I think it was worn out. Anyway, I am hoping for a cold night so we can test this thing. Got it on low now and it is about to run me out of here. This will really be great when we are parked with no hookups. The furnace blower draws a lot of current from the batteries.
As always, thanks for the emails. I enjoy getting them and responding. If you have any questions send them my way. Teri can probably answer them and I will take the credit.
Dan




Sunday, January 27, 2008

Rainy Day In Arizona

Here is where I get lp for the heat. It is so much easier to take a bottle in the car than to move the coach. That little connection I made in the gas line is worth all the 5 minutes that it took. Thanks Steve for locating me a great deal on that. I am wondering if the bottle leaks. We used the furnace very little this week, mostly the catalytic heater and used the same amount of gas as the week before. It ran out last night but it was really warm and we did not need it. I can turn a valve and use the tank in the coach if I need to. It still has over 3/4 of a tank in it. Its about a 5 mile drive to Franklin to get the lp. Only place for 40 miles so I have to pay high price for it. Since it was raining I was real nice to the lady attendant. She did not have to come out and fill our tank in the rain if she did not want to. Heat is costing me 25 bux a week. I am leaving the valve turned off til we need heat just in case it leaks. Can't complain as it is a borrowed tank from our son in law.
We are getting some rain today. Mostly a sprinkle but for the folks here, they call it rain. Nothing like a good old Missouri rain.
Teri over worked herself yesterday and was not able to attend church with me this morning. Just Stasha and 2 grandkids and me. Teri will go tonite though. The church is coming to our rescue. We need some clamps to hold some wood while we make the doors for the cabinet. They are bringing us some tonite to use this week. We will return them to the folks Wed nite. I think I mentioned yesterday that we are working on the doors. We should have them on this week and I will have pictures. We will have to stain them. A wall in the coach, across from the couch, is going to become wood too. It will look nice, matching the floors and kitchen counter. With a little luck we can get both of these tasks finished this week. Today we are not working, just resting.
I get emails from readers and appreciate every one of them. Folks, if you think that you can not afford to travel and are waiting, don't wait too long. We never know what will come our way. We might be prevented from traveling, for one reason or another. We travel as inexpensively as possible, no rv parks, and we stay put for a while once we arrive. In March we will be doing some traveling and make our way to Santa Rosa. We will drive straight back to Missouri from there, sometime during the 2nd week of April. I suspect we will take our time and see the sights, maybe a week or ten days. I want to cross Nevada on Hiway 50, over to I-70 and then the back roads to home. Will stay in free campgrounds along the way.
Thanks for stopping. If you have any questions just email them to us. gregg_dan at hotmail.com See you later in the week. Dan




Saturday, January 26, 2008

Interesting














I got several emails after last night's post. I try to keep things as interesting as I can. I read several blogs and find some way too boring. They can not keep my attention so I let them go. I don't want to be too boring for folks. I know that sometimes I just don't have much interesting to say, so I try to be a bit creative about being boring.
Teri was busy all day again today working on her new kitchen. It is looking really good. I worked outside cleaning and polishing on the coach. Sam supervised. She would position herself so that she could keep an eye on both Teri and me. I guess we wore her out as she is snoring away now. We had 70 degree weather today. I think tonight will be warmer also.


Am having lots of problems getting a photo to upload tonight. Will not keep trying long as we have been invited to supper at our daughter's. Ribs.
The plant is an aloe vera plant. You can look up the spelling. Sylvia gave it to Teri when we were at their place a couple weeks back. Teri is taking good care of it. We move it in and out depending on the weather. Thanks Sylvia.
Oh, Teri and I are are going to add to our 12 grandchildren. Our son is going to be a dad again. That will be three for him and his family. I am hoping for a boy this time so we can keep the Gregg name alive for another generation. He has two lovely daughters now. Our other kids are girls. I hope all of our kids enjoy our grandchildren as much as Teri and I do. I really enjoyed spending lots of time with my son as he was growing up too. We rode motorcycles together and built a 68 Mustang. I was only 20 when he was born so we kinda grew up together, enjoying many of the same toys. He used to help me work around the church building on Saturdays, cleaning up after the Friday night teenagers. Occassionally I would take him with me to work. Once when we were doing home visits, in the rural Ozarks, he thought we had found the real Hee Haw bunch. I had to laugh as it did look just like them sitting on that front porch.
The dinner call has come in. I better go. Those ribs are going to be good. Our daughter is an excellent cook, just like Teri. Thanks for stopping by. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend. Dan




Friday, January 25, 2008

RVing Conservatively

Teri and I have lots of fun out here. As you have seen, we try to take care of things ourselves. Of course, some things we can not take care of, on the coach, so we take it to someone that we can trust. We made a big mistake right before I retired by not doing our homework. Took it to someone that really got to us. Now we make sure that we know sho works on our second home. Last year we took it to Jim Kanomata in San Francisco. He did a few things that I could not. We trust him and are heading back out to his shop in March. I want him to look over a few things that I don't want to mess with myself. In November Teri and I traveled to Atlanta and found a shop there that is good and trustworthy. It is owned by Zeb Frady and his two sons. They specialize in GMC motorhomes but work on all of them.
Teri is not afraid to tackle about anything I will let her. She worked hard today on the kitchen and made a lot of progress. I worked outside and washed the coach and polished the wheels. We do our own tune ups on the engine and change oil, do grease jobs, and any other non major stuff. Teri did the new floor. We will continue to give the inside a complete makeover in the next few months. Our goal is to make the inside look as new as the outside. We got a nice paint job for a fair price in 06, just before I retired. We are making the inside suit us since we live in here several months a year.
With the price of fuel what it is, we try to figure out ways to save. We spent 600 dollars in two days getting out to Az. last month. Is that too much? Sure it is but it does not keep us from enjoying our motorhome. We have been gone from home for 6 weeks. We have spent very little other than the gas money. We did go to a rally the first week of Jan. It was 400 miles round trip. Something over 100.00 in fuel. We were gone a week. Not bad for a week. The fee for the rally was 54 bux. We made the most of our trip and stopped to see our friends. We parked there for three nights. Could we have spent a week in a motel for that? No way. When we move the coach we make the best use of our dollars. We are not cruising in the coach, although if I could afford it I might. It is that much fun to drive. We use it to get to where we are going then we live in it. Our car gets over 30mpg and we do put a lot of miles on it.
We are fortunate to have a daughter and son in law that enjoy us being near so the fixed us full hookups. We are parked next to their house, like neighbors. Some days I do not see them. They also provide us with wifi internet. We do not worry about the hookups because we have prepared our coach to go for extended periods of time on its own. Last year we spent over a month straight with no hookups. I have outfitted the roof with 4 solar panels. 300 watts of solar power. That is more than enough to keep us in electricity and not run the generator as long as the sun shines. Even if we miss a day of sunshine we can make it. If it rains all week we can fire up the generator or we can go to where the sun shines.
What I am saying is that we normally plan our trips so that we use the least amount of money that we need to and still enjoy our freedom. Folks that do not "rv" do not understand how we get by. Most think we have a lot of money. We don't. It does not take a lot of money to do what we do. We put our city utilities on "vacation" so we don't have to pay them at home. OUr fuel and electricity bills are very small when we are gone from home. Actually, if we do not run the coach 1,000 miles we live cheaper on the road than we do at home. We don't pay for rv parks. Don't need to spend 30 dollars each night that we are on the road. If we did I could not afford 60 bux a month for my satellite tv. We get by without internet fees because I have some very good wifi equipment that allows us to get wifi for miles away, sometimes. We don't eat out much because we have our own kitchen, or will have when Teri finishes it. Or refrigerator runs on AC/DC, and propane. It will run for over 6 weeks on 10 gallons of lp. There are lots of free dump stations on the road. I keep track of them on the internet and with a book I have. We can take on water at any gas station. For 2 weeks at a time Teri and I live without needing anything. After that we need to find a dump station and take on water. I am going to increase the black tank so we can last 3 weeks.
I guess what I am saying is that even with high fuel prices folks can continue to enjoy rv'ing. We did not spend our money on this thing based on the price of fuel. We do not like weekend camping at the lake. We want to see the USA and that is what we are going to do until we get tired.
Hope everyone had a great Friday. When I worked, I loved Friday afternoons. It was usually just my secretary and me. Everyone else was gone on home visits or taking the afternoon off. Friday afternoons were my favorite part of the work week.
Will do pictures next time. Dan

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Long Hard Day for Teri

It has been a nice day outside here in Southeast Az. today However, we were inside most of the time. I did not get to take a picture of the work but we did make progress. Teri worked hard all day long. She got the cabinet drawers ready. Hoping we can cut the doors next and get them ready to hang. This should look nice when Teri is finished.
Since I had no picture of the kitchen I thought I would share with you the clouds that are rolling east, over the mountains. They are blowing pretty fast. I do not think we will get any preciptation but they may cause us to be a bit cooler tonight. That is ok, we are ready. Got the insulation all in Sunday so we have just been waiting for another cold night. Our new electric blanket died 2 nights ago. We nearly got two weeks out of it. I sent the seller a note but as I expected have not heard anything from him/her as of yet.
Teri is back out here now working on the kitchen so I got to go. Hope everyone has a great Friday. If you see a cabinet maker give him a tip. Those guys earn their money. We know that for a fact. Oh, thanks for the emails. I appreciate the words of encouragement. Never know who is riding along with us til we hear from you. Look for kitchen pictures Friday. Dan






Internet on the Go


I like having internet available when we travel. To purchase internet services, on the go, is 60 dollars a month using a cell setup. Too much for my budget. Have to have satellite tv and that is 60 dollars also. No way around that. So, we do the best with what we can come up with. Those who have followed us from the start have seen my internet setup in full force. Pulling in a wifi signal from over 5 miles away, off the mountain in Tillamook, Or. Sometimes there are wifi internet signals that don't require the "big guns" but are too weak for an inside antenna. So, I found this little usb gadget that works really well. It has a 500 mw transmitter and the receiver is pretty hot too. It is as handy as a pocket on a shirt. I got it off ebay for under 60 bux, shipped to me. Less than one month of paying for services. I can hook my outside antenna to it if necessary but that is not why I bought it. Takes up little room and just works really well. It allows me to pull the weak internet signal into the coach and still be invisable to the outside world. I normally don't like the usb wifi set ups but this one is well worth the money, for us.
The work is going on in the new kitchen but Teri says no pictures right now. Maybe this evening I can get one and put it up. Teri is a busy little carpenter right now and our 4 year old grandson is helping her while Sam and I kinda just watch to make sure everything is right. I am a good supervisor, aye? Anyway, hope everyone is having a great Thursday. I am enjoying it myself.
Dan

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Back to Work

As you can see we got back on the kitchen today. Teri worked on it all day. Some days one can see the progress and some days it does not show. Today, it does not really show but we got a lot done. Don't call us if you need a new kitchen in your motorhome. This is going to be our one and only. We now understand why RV folks charge big bucks for this kind of stuff.
Can you tell that Sam was really not too interested in our work? She moved when I got the vacuum out.
This is a shot of the moon I got just as we got in from church tonite. Was a pretty full moon. Double click the photo so you can actually see it.



I have been following a blog with a couple of kids, late 20's, who just purchased a diesel motorhome and are trying to get it from Ga. to Colorado. It is funny as they have no previous experience. I could see the accident they got into in Memphis. That place is a killer and one must drive defensivly. Some guy pulled out in front of them and they hit him. The other guy did not stop even though there was major damage to his car. Then, they get to Sikeston and have trouble with the power steering. They stopped at the RV dealership that offered me the management position last year. I am glad that they helped the kids find a repair shop. The girl says they went to the resturant with "tossed rolls". I laughed outloud. Throwed Rolls, Lambert's. Then, they could not figure out what happened to the water in their tank. I suspect they took too many "home style" showers. It was cold in Mo. and I think they nearly froze over the weekend in Sikeston. Just a funny blog. I think they made it to Colorado today. Much wiser couple, I am sure.
Teri says we are working on the kitchen again tomorrow. When we finish it we will have more room in here as we can put stuff back where it belongs. We will see what we get done as we will have our 4 year old grandson tomorrow.
Well, who are we voting for this time? I think the pickins are pretty slim, for president. I really enjoy the Clintons squabble with Obama. He pretty much holds his own. The republicans are not nearly as fun to watch. Looks like 3 guys may have a chance there. Rudy still thinks he will be the winner. If so, I should have said 4. Maybe when it is narrowed to 2 people I will have a better idea. Whoever wins I will try to support them in the office. I don't have to be happy with the person to support the office.
Thanks for stopping. I had a nice look at the clouds on the mountains today but it just did not look the same in a photo so, I scrapped it. Has warmed up considerably here in last two days. Feels like a real snow bird place to be now. Come on back when you can. We will get this kitchen done before long and I can get out and get some good pictures. Dan

Monday, January 21, 2008

Windows and Friends

Take a look at these photos. Teri and I had a great time today helping our friends, Al and Ann. They have purchased a place here for wintering and are fixing it up. We took out several windows and put new ones in. The fun part is using the hammer to break out the old ones. Look at Al's face as he breaks one out. He let me break one. The new windows are easy to put in. I learned a lot today. Check out that 6 wheeler. All wheels pull. Scroll on down and see his 40 ft. Coach for sale. Pass the word. Someone needs a big coach with a Cummings 360 with a 6 speed Allison. 12,000 on the engine, 79 on the coach. Apparently the previous owner blew the engine somehow. These things should run 3-400,000 miles, or more.
Teri insulated under our bathroom sink yesterday and I think that will stop our water from freezing. It froze Sunday again. Al said it was 8 degrees Sunday morning and his water froze at his house.
We are heading over the mountains Tuesday for supplies to work on the kitchen. Maybe we will finish that up shortly. We have other things to do while we are sitting here. This is the first time that we have really had time to work on the inside of the coach. Been on the road for most of our time since May last year. We might as well do our work while we are here. Will be sitting still until middle of March. Will pull out then and head west into California.
Hope you enoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed our time with Al and Ann. Life is good in the Arizona dessert. Dan






















Saturday, January 19, 2008

Another Great Day






















The above pictures were taken while we were at our friends' Debbie and Mike's. Those are irrigation canals. They run through most of the farm ground around here. Farmers rotate which days they can open their gates to irrigate the fields. Today is your neighbor and tomorrow is your day. Nothing like the irrigation back in Missouri where the water is plentiful. Those are the mountains that surround us. I also took those from Mike and Debbie's just a few miles from where we stay here. We had a potluck at their home today. Our friends from the local church of Christ were all invited and several of us were there. It was a great fellowship.
After Teri and I got home we took the bed out of our bedroom and insulated all under and around it. We are hoping that helps us stay a bit warmer here during these cold nights. We are hoping that most of the freezing mornings are behind us. However, I ordered our own lp heater today so we can return our friend's. Hoping to save on lp fuel by using the little heater until bed time. We pretty much insulated everything except the ceiling and upper walls. We will do them in time to come. Got to get back to work on the kitchen first though. I can already feel the cool air when Teri opens the door. I suspect we are in for another cool one. Our 12 volt blanket was being turned on to warm the bed and we turned it off when we went to bed. Well, the last two nights it has stayed on all night long. Sure glad we bought it.
We hope everyone enjoys the photos of the mountains. They are much more pretty in person. Wish I had a panoramic camera so we could really show you how they surround us.
Have a good weekend. Thanks for coming by. Teri wants to go south one day next week and explore the mountain chain there. Can't think of the name but we will get lots of good pictures when we go. Dan

































Friday, January 18, 2008

Whewww!!!!!







Take a look at these photos. What do they tell you? Yep, I mean it was cold here last night and this morning. That old guy is me trying to get the tank loose so I can take it to get filled with lp. The lady that filled it said it was 12 degrees at her place at 6am. I bet it was colder than that here. It did warm up to 55 degrees this afternoon. I think we have another day or two of cool weather before it warms up. That, according to the lady at the lp store.
The top picture is what lets us not have to drive the motor coach to the lp store. It is an "extend a stay". Lets us hook a smaller tank in line to run the furnace and save out tank on the coach. Our son in law, Cody, has loaned us a smaller tank from his travel trailer and I just throw it in car to get some $3.50 propane. A bbq grille tank will also work. This is a very nice gadget to have on a motor home.
The bottom picture is a small catalytic heater. Well used but it works. Loaned to me this afternoon by our friends, Al and Ann. They used it last winter while they lived in their 40 foot motorhome. They were rebuilding the house they bought, just over in New Mexico, about 5 miles from us. I was over there today with the new gps program and they sent the heater home with me. Thank you Al and Ann. That will let us save some on the expensive propane. This heater will not use nearly as much as our furnace. It will also be cheaper than the little electric heater we have. I will turn it off at bedtime and set the furnace to a low setting.
Our 12 volt electric blanket saved Teri and me last night. Poor Sam. She sleeps up here by the door. I know she had to be cold. She hunkers in deep when she goes to bed. It is hard to even see her back in her cover. We put the light bulb on the water pump last night. Good thing too. It still grunted a time or two when I turned it on for my shower. From what I can hear, it is a bit unusual to have these low temperatures here in the southwest. Our elevation does not help us any.
Teri and the kids are in town. Supposed to bring us some pizza. I can smell it now. Hope everyone has a great three day weekend. They are mostly all the same to me since retiring. Come back by when you have a chance. I may get some good pictures here in a day or two. Dan

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Yesterday

Kinda wishing I was back at Sylvia and Gordon's today. It was chilly here and breezy. Teri worked straightening up the coach and sanding some spots on the new kitchen counter. We are getting ready to finish it up and stain it to match the floor. I got the floor vacuumed and stayed inside. We plan to insulate the coach, under our bed, Thursday sometime. Sam is cozied up inside her little house now. She sure enjoys hanging out in the motorhome. If I want her to come out of her house I just rattle some plastic. She will think I have peanuts and boy, she loves them, and trail mix.
Ran over to some friend's from church yesterday. They are retired snow birds too, a little older than Teri and me. They have a new laptop. We piddled with it a while and then I showed them my gps setup on this laptop. They wanted one so I got on ebay and bought them one last nite. Will let them know I got it when we see them at church tonite. Might get it by Friday and can load it up for them and show them how to use it. Really nice couple who have a cabin in northern Canada, on a lake. Remote and no electricity. They spend summers up there. Teri and I meet the nicest people out here in our GMC travels.
Watching the Barrett Jackson auto auction this week in the evenings. Best car show on tv. Last year at this time Teri and I were in Little Rock. I remember wiring up her little tv so I could watch the auction in the hospital room.
No pictures today. We may get out Thursday and do a little sight seeing. If we do I will have some pictures. I know folks would rather see pictures than here me ramble on. I will get them. Time to head into the Wednesday evening Bible Study. Thanks for dropping by and checking on us. We are alive and having the time of our life. Dan

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WOW !!!


Teri and I took a trip to Tucson and Sierra Vista on Monday. Forget that third picture, I got it in there by mistake and can't get it out. Anyway, we drove downtown to one of the state buildings.
Went over to get my substitute teaching certificate. Could have mailed it but would have taken longer. We got there a little after 9 am and we were the only ones in the office. They looked at my papers and college transcripts then said, "60 bux". that was it. We were in and out in 5 minutes. Unusual for a state run office, I thought. We then got some directions from the lady and headed out to Michael's and Lowe's. Did not find what we really needed and headed out of town as fast as we got there. Tucson is a pretty neat town. One of the pictures shows us heading down a street and looking at this gigantic mountain. The picture just does not do it justice. Woops, the picture is not there. I am having trouble uploading this morning. Let me see if I can get it up. Hang on. Yea, it is number one now. That was an awesome sight. That mountain is several miles away.
We ran down to Sierra Vista from Tucson. We have some GMC friends there. They showed us around town and took us out to eat. We failed to snap any photos there. Very pretty town just 20 miles north of the border. Most folks are pretty well off and are retired there.
Those round rocks that you see are on interstate 10 at about 5,000 feet. They are just west of Wilcox. Teri says they are something from a volcano many years ago. They just sit there. Many of them look like they could fall right on the hiway. Must have some kind of glue holding them that I could not see.




One of the buildings in Tucson.



This photo is of Mt. Graham from about 70 miles away. We could see the snow cap. There is also an observatory on top. We could even see it. This was as we were coming north out of Sierra Vista.
























Look at these rocks, just sitting here next to the interstate.


















Well, that is about it I rekon. I am going to head out and visit with an elederly gentleman that I met at Walmart a couple weeks back. He lives about 5 miles from here. He was raised in Pocahantus, Ar. not far from us in Mo. We sat on the bench together waiting for our wives. So, hope you enjoyed the ride over to Tucson and back yesterday with us. Come on back when you get time. We may be working on the kitchen but always have time to visit with old friends. Dan