Vacuum Review and Footprints

Meet my Dirt Devil REACH 24v lithium battery vacuum.  I admit I'm terribly spoiled by the Dyson cordless that I purchased several years ago.  It's the best one ever, with great suction, attachments and a handy dandy holder/charger.  After not that much use, it has a loose connection somewhere, making it not want to run continuously ... as in three seconds and it quits.  At that price ($300) I'm not throwing it away ... I will have it repaired.  In the meantime, with a dog that sheds like a black lab in Yuma, I have to have something.

After searching online for several hours, I finally found another cordless that didn't cost an arm, a leg and five fingers.  I went to every store within an hour's drive, but couldn't find it.  Finally at a place that I knew would accept shipments, I ordered this one from Amazon.

So here goes .... it's lightweight, has a great brush head and picked up an entire cup's worth of fine dirt and dog hair in a flash.  I even had to empty it before finishing the job.  There's definitely not as much suction power on the first setting.  But here's the deal ... hit the ON button again and it roars to life on maximum power, even picking up little rocks.  Of course the battery won't last long on that setting, but the little blue lights on front tell you just how much life you have left.

It didn't really take long to charge up ... it comes partially charged so you can have the immediately satisfaction of knowing it works.  It's even about the same size as a Dyson.  It worked great on the tile floor as well as the carpet and rugs.  This is not for a whole house, but perfect for my motorhome, only because you will have to dump the canister constantly.  The only down side I see is there's no way to hang it on the wall for charging.  I had to prop it on this cabinet.  When the job was complete, I had to find somewhere to store it.  

All and all, definitely worth the $129 I paid for it, $140 including tax with free shipping.  I actually think there is another model (same vacuum) but with a "holder" of sorts that you hang on the wall to keep it from falling over.  I went cheap ... no holder.  There are several models available with long cords.  I hate cords.   This one worked perfectly in my rig, cleaning everything on one charge.  Maybe I can order the holder as an accessory.

With housekeeping out of the way, I wandered back to the bird refuge on the North end of the peninsula.  The sky was pretty spectacular, but kept spitting at me the entire time I was there.  No it wasn't the birds ... it was rain drops.

It's sad when there's nothing to photograph so you resort to dead tree stumps!!

I did find more tracks in the sand ... these from a raccoon looking for tasty morsels at the water's edge.  Too bad the water was half a mile out.  That's when it dawned on me.  High water brings the birds and fish to the edge of the beach.  That's when the coyotes and critters are out hunting.  They aren't dummies ... why go all the way out and get their feet muddy?

I was hanging out at the wrong time of day.  I reached for my phone to check my tide charts, just as I remembered I left it on the table at home.  My next trip out will be at high tide.

Here's a few more tracks from the guy flying below.  These blue herons are huge and leave 5-6 inch tracks in the sand.

Breakfast is served.  This once tracked his food for several feet, being SO stealthy, then BAM!!  He hit that little fish, brought him up and swallowed all in one quick second.

He might have been after one of these guys.  Can you see the little crab under the wood?  There was a nice looking log on the beach (maybe 12 inches long) that I rolled over.  The little crab ran back under for cover.  I rolled it again and he quickly scurried back under, trying not to be a bird snack.  I left him to his cover as the water began to return.

The weekenders have returned to Long Beach.  Amazingly, there are many vacant spaces in the "trailer" section, but the camping part is full to the brim.  Thank goodness they are all at the FAR end of the park.  I just can't help it ... fifteen kids riding around on their bikes screaming at the top of their lungs (with absolutely no parental supervision) makes me crazy.  Apparently that's why they come here ... they just park their butt in a chair and drink, leaving the kids to their own devices.

I have to say the new Management here is considerably better than before.  I saw them admonish kids for their noise and actually chase down one of the parents who FORGOT to pay at the front gate.  Six smoky fires caused me to close the rig up tight at 6:00, but that's okay ... it kept the noise out too.

Tomorrow ... $12,000 for a pair of chaps!!!