Locked Out, More Rain

 We're walking ..... we're walking ..... Mr. Cooper and I.  Although it was 34 degrees on this morning, Mr. Cooper was ready to hit the road the second the sun came out.  La Mesa RV is having an RV show around the corner, and sadly, pups are not allowed.   We went around the OTHER way, but it didn't last long.  The wind came up and the clouds came back in with 50 degree ferocity.  If it's not windy, that's a fine temperature.

As much as Cooper loved the hamburger, it didn't last long.  Thus the trip to the store for some roasted chicken.  He likes it ... I like it .... it's a win-win.

But wait!  What is this??  How did this get in the basket?  I rarely go to Frys grocery store.  I've never been in there that I didn't get lost and not find what I was looking for.  I'm sure that's planned, otherwise you wouldn't spend an hour walking up and down every aisle, throwing stuff in the basket you had no intention of buying.

But wait yet again!  THERE'S ONE MISSING?  HOW COULD THAT BE?  Yeah well, it was as good as it looks.  

With all the groceries unloaded and things stuffed in the freezer, which is a miracle considering the amount of space versus the space required .... Cooper and I headed out once again.  He seems to be doing okay since I put more medicine in his ear.  At least he's not scratching as much.  

In the meantime, just to occupy myself and become completely stressed out, I tried to file the IRS tax forms for the railroad club.  It should be simple.  It required an email address and a password.  I used every single email address I have, along with a few I don't have.  Nothing would work.  

I even called the guy who did it last time.  No luck.  It finally locked me out completely.  Naturally I left all that information in a book at home, or at least I HOPE I did!

Better to worry about Mr. Cooper than the IRS.  He's been hanging in there, not scratching too much, but his ear is beet red.  We'll be at the Vet's office first thing this morning.

Though it was supposed to be sunny most of the day, it wasn't.  Nothing will keep me inside faster than rain and cold, followed up with a healthy dose of wind.  

BUT ... it's Thursday!  That means Arizona Pizza Company will give you 20% off if you know the secret word.  I ALWAYS know the secret word.  I picked up this beauty at 4:00, just as the rain began to fall yet again.  It was delicious!!  Of course there was more finagling with the freezer to squeeze in what I can't eat in two days.

It's freezing cold again this morning, and predicted to be sunny all day.  That's just the calm before the storm, because it's going to rain and snow all day long Saturday.  Won't THAT be fun!!  Maybe I'll be able to make a cheesy snowman.  I had planned a short trip to Tombstone, but if WE'RE going to have snow, THEY surely will too since they live at a higher elevation!!  So much for the sunny Arizona Desert!!  I may have to head on back to Quartzsite just to get warm!!

I Have Questions!!

 Good Morning 34 degrees!!!!  I have no doubt it's going to snow in the next 3 or 4 days.  Temperatures are plunging right and left.  It's okay though, I finally found my little electric heater.  It sounds like a jet engine, but it's keeping us warm without propane.

I bet you know what the forecast was.  Rain, rain and more rain, all day long.  Surely this will make for some flash floods.  I think we are okay here, but we did have two nice rivers running the length of the park.

First things first ... I needed a vet for Cooper.  I was definitely disappointed when the emergency vet I go to said ear infections were not considered emergencies, and they would not let me take him in, in spite of my offer to pay the emergency fee.  It may not be an emergency to them, but it certainly is to me when my kid is shaking his head constantly!!

Instead, they gave me an appointment for tomorrow at 9:30.  I'll be at the door at 9:00.  I just feel awful that I didn't catch this sooner.  Even though it rarely happens with him, I need to be more vigilant.

In the meantime, I was out of his ear cleaner, a particular variety that I couldn't find around here.  Amazon is pretty good about next day delivery, so I put in an order.  I was sure I changed the delivery address, but when the email came, they had sent it to California.  RATS!!

I immediately placed ANOTHER order to be sent to the Chance house.  Hopefully it arrives tomorrow.  Of course that will be AFTER we get to the vet.  I have to admit the drive to town was gorgeous.  I just love the clouds.  We were actually pretty lucky since most of the bad rain seemed to split and go right around us.

TJ Maxx lives right next to the pet store, so I slipped in for a quick look.  Don't ask me why I was looking for knee length Levis.  I think I had it in my head it was going to be warm here.  The shorts I brought are only acceptable for the back yard.  It was a big score ... 2 pair for $12.00 each.  

The purse?  Yes, my good old western one is completely falling apart. This $85 one only cost me $29.  I swear, TF Maxx has better stuff than all the other stores in town!

Back home, and it's still raining, I encountered two problems I can use your help with.  This is the back of my Dometic fridge.  I've never seen it drip and freeze like this.  Is this normal?  It's going into a tray, so no mess ... I've just never seen it do this before.

Next one ... and I called Mr. Chance for this.  I've been really lucky in my life to have good jobs to pay for vehicles.  It turned out that for whatever reason (and it usually involved pulling horse trailers) I got a new truck about every ten years.  

THIS truck ... my beautiful white Silverado 4WD 2500 diesel ... is 19 years old and still running like a champ.  But this was my question.  It's going to get down to 30-32 degrees.  Do I need antifreeze?  She has always been parked in a garage.

Don't laugh!  I've never EVER done anything to the radiator.  I mean what maintenance am I supposed to be doing for a truck this old?  Is there anything else I'm supposed to be checking?

An oil change is scheduled for next week, so I'll have them flush the radiator and put in more "stuff".  

In the meantime, I cooked up one of those delicious hamburgers, poured in tomato sauce and made hamburger helper, smothered in parmesan for dinner.  It was actually quite good.  I stole the recipe from Patsy 's blog. 

THIS was dessert.  I haven't mentioned that Deb and Tom gave me some wonderful candy from their home town.  This my friends is a Yooper Bar!!  OH YEAH!!!  CHOCOLATE!

Almost two ounces of delicious milk chocolate that I ate in one fell swoop!!!

The last problem of the day turned out to be me panicking.  You know I listen to everything.  The heater, the fridge, the truck engine, Cooper, Jonathan, my phone ... my ears are always going.  Suddenly I heard the dreaded DRIP DRIP DRIP.  NOOOOOOOO my house is leaking somewhere!!!

I followed it to the bathroom, but didn't find anything wet.  I looked and looked.  Suddenly it dawned on me ... big rain drops were beginning to fall on the plastic cover over the shower.  Boy did that sound like water dripping into the rig.  

It was a big relief as I put my earplugs in for the night.  NO MORE LISTENING!!!

Lobster and Laundry

 I have to say this has been one of the most interesting trips I've had.  At this moment, there are 25 mph winds knocking me around.  You can taste the sand in the air.  

In the meantime, back to last night ... we were headed off to Red Lobster for dinner.  I haven't had a good meal like that in ages.  Lobster fest was in full swing.  That doesn't mean you are going to GET much lobster, but it was a nice idea.

We always start off with an appetizer of coconut shrimp, dipped in an awesome pina colada type of sauce. I should have stuck with that for dinner.  We used to do that, but they figured it out and raised the price ... we were all just ordering the cheaper appetizers!!

And so I was convinced to order the special of the day ... lobster tail and scrimp scampi with a loaded baked potato.  I was in heaven!!  That scampi was just like a shrimp boil!

The lobster tasted just like lobster, in spite of the fact it was only four bites.  I cut it into eight pieces, just so I could enjoy it more.  

I ate half of everything and brought the other half home, along with a garlic biscuit.  Salty, buttery, garlicy deliciousness.  Not exactly a cheap meal at $24.00, but then nothing to eat is cheap any more.

THIS is what COULD HAVE BEEN.  This was a monster lobster that I had hoped would grace my plate.  No such luck.  Makes you kind of feel sorry for these guys.  It was a tasty treat that I thoroughly enjoyed, along with the company.  

Back home, I was completely surprised by the quiet.  In fact, it was SO quiet .... how quiet WAS it?   So quiet I couldn't sleep without the boom boom!!

So at 5 am I was over at the laundry room, beating the crowd.  You can't complain when it's only $1.50.  I threw everything into one load to get in and out quickly.  I was out the door before 6:00.  

No, these aren't mine.  I threw all the wet laundry into my bag and headed back to the rig.  I hang to dry.

But not until this happened.  Me thinks maybe they have a problem.  Truth be told, I knew that when I went in the door and smelled the odors.  I used maybe two tablespoons of soap, so there's that.  Luckily I got out before anything overflowed.

That's when the wind came up.  It was so weird.  It came up really fast ... rocked my rig back and forth making me think it was going to turn upside down.  I called Patty to say I wouldn't be going anywhere.  Thirty minutes later it was like the eye of a tornado.  Completely silent, quiet, no wind.  Just weird!

The afternoon wind came back up, turning the skies brown.  As I sat watching out the window, there was not one person outside their rig all day.  So much for shopping and visiting.  This was the view pretty much all day long.

Cooper however is a happy camper since his Mom has stayed in and snuggled.  He thinks the wind is just hunky dory!!  I literally spent the rest of the day inside out of the dust.  It got so bad I even had to stow my satellite dish.  What a shock to my system.  NO TV!!  I actually had to read for about three hours.

The bad news is Mr. Coop seems to have an ear infection.  This rarely happens since I try to keep his ears very clean.  So much for trying ... we will be off to the vet this morning.  

The weather guessers say we've got two days of rain before we see the sun again.  What happened to the sunny winters in Arizona?

Rock Climbing Obsession

 There's been many crazy things I've done in my life, one of which was rock climbing.  Sadly, I started a little late at about 50 years old.  There is nothing like being on the edge of a mountain, hanging on with your fingertips and toes where there's no place TO hang on.  Let there be no mistake however ... I would never have done that without being roped to a belayer at the bottom in case I fell.  

This guy ... Alex Honnold ... doesn't need all those ropes.  This guy free solos.  He climbed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park with nothing but his skill and fearlessness.  I watched him do this in 2017 because I live just outside the park.  It made me sick to my stomach to watch.  I can't explain it to you ... he's an unusual individual.

Yes, he's obsessed with rock climbing.  But what do you do once you've climbed the 2900 foot El Cap behemoth? It must have been frustrating and depressing not to keep up that kind of electricity.  He got married, had a beautiful baby girl and now finally found a way to put his talents to work.

This is a National Geographic expedition which turned out to be right up his alley.  All of these pictures came from that television program.  There are several programs in a series, and if you want to be amazed, watch every one.  Keep in mind I am NOT about global warming.  What can happen in a million years is pretty much out of our hands.

Six people, including one local guide, one gal an expert in polar ice melting, and one gal another expert climber ... along with I'm sure several photographers who are also climbers ... headed out on foot, carrying their supplies as they headed toward the glaciers.

This was their first warmup climb.  1500 feet of deteriorating rock carved by glacial ice.  

They took turns leading up the mountain.  That means the very first person going up, hauls tons of equipment around their waist, as well as all that rope.  They set the bolts and clip in the ropes on what they think will be the best route to take.  Here's Alex taking his turn.  

After the first day's climbing, they bivouac on the side of the mountain, two to a tent.  No, NOPE, NO WAY!!  Not even when I was young and dumb!!

They made it to the top after a big snowfall, hiked over a huge snow capped glacier and met up with a boat which took them to THE ROCK.  It's got a name, but I don't remember.  This is absolutely crazy. 

Here's the face they are going to climb.  It's about 1000 feet higher than El Capitan.  If this was a challenge for Alex, imagine what it was for the other climbers who are not quite of his caliber.  They've got guts, I can say that!!!

I won't show you any more.  You just have to watch the programs.  I think there are maybe five?  It will have you on the edge of your seat every step of the way.  

Back in Tucson, after seven days, I think I will finally live.  I'm no longer exhausted and not coughing quite as much.  I might have wandered off today, except the wind was over the top.  Just what I need, more desert dust and pollen, the better to cough up!!

I did however, get an invitation from the Chance family for dinner, and you know I'd never turn THAT down.  Lucky for me, it was a night out to Red Lobster.  I'll post about that tomorrow, since it's laundry day .... and I have to beat everyone to the washers!!!

I See The Light ....

It's CELEBRATION day!  No, I'm not that much better, but the screaming head banging event they call music is finally OVER.  But not until they had not one, but THREE stages going full blast until 4:35 this morning.  I did my best to stay in bed until 5:30.   

Yesterday I did see a light at the end of the tunnel.  I actually felt good enough to get outside and take Cooper for a long walk.  It would have been better if I got some sleep, but he was bugging me like no other.  Off we went on a beautiful cold morning.

No boom boom boom ... as we walked through the show arenas.  I sat for a bit and enjoyed the quiet.

On the way back, I spotted this.  WHAT??  Is Jerry Shannon here?  Elva said no, but he sure was jealous of the setup.  Apparently they don't care about the 10 year rule here.

Back home and feeling energized, I placed an order at Walmart, who lives just down the road.  I even felt good enough to play with Cooper for a bit ... which he surely appreciated.  I mean how could you turn down that face?

It didn't last long.  By the time I drove to Walmart and back, I was exhausted.  So let's whip up a nice burger for lunch.  But wait ... I have no BBQ.  These are the same wonderful burgers Patsy and Bill cooked for me while in Quartzsite.  

Let me just say I will never cook another burger in a frying pan on the stove.  I was cleaning up grease for an hour after I ate, even WITH the pan screen.  Quite tasty if I do say so myself, but what a mess!!  I'm buying a small bbq as soon as I can find one.

I ate the whole thing, so I skipped dinner, making sure I had NO dishes to wash. 

I didn't think about it until today, but all that vibration and noise must be pretty hard on Jonathan.  They have very keen hearing and are aware of every bit of movement.  I rather imagine he's not feeling all that great either.  Hopefully all of us will recover today when this Gem and Jam has headed out the front gates and down the road.

Same for my shadow Cooper.  I spent the rest of the day watching the Pro Bowl Games because there was nothing else on.  I've no idea why they do that, other than advertiser cash.  It helped drown out the boom boom boom.

There was a little people watching ... and I have a question.  Am I the only one that doesn't hook up, take out and set up everything I possibly could every time I stop for the night?  There are water filter setups the likes of which I've never seen before ... major sewer hookups that I never put out unless I need to dump, along with every awning and window shade on the rigs.  Mats and chairs come out along with tables and even lamps.  

Good grief ... what a lot of work.  The next morning they take it all down and leave.  I do as little work as possible I guess.  

A much more interesting (at least for me) show was that of Alex Honnold, the greatest rock climber of all time, heading out to climb the highest rock wall in Greenland.  It's an expedition of six people, and I'm sure 3 or 4 cameramen, crossing an ice cap to get to a glacier for scientific exploration, before beginning an epic climb of the tallest rock mountain ever tried.  I got that scared feeling in the pit of my stomach and I wasn't even there.  More on that tomorrow.

That ended the day.  My plan for today is up for grabs, but dinner will be with the Chance family at Red Lobster.  It's time to get back in the swing of things.

A Knock At My Door

Okay, it's pretty dim, but I think there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  I actually felt good enough to get outside and take Cooper for a walk.  If he was bugging you like he bugs me, you would too, even if you were sick.  Off we went on a beautiful sunny morning.

It's quiet ... no boom boom boom ... as I walked through the show arenas.  I have to admit, this fairgrounds has one of the best horse setups around.

The indoor area won't be busy this weekend because all that music racket would send every horse through the roof.  In the next few weeks however, there will be several horse shows going on here.

We walked out the back door towards the bandstand area to see how crowded it was.  This is where all the noise has been coming from.  Since the rain stopped, they have moved back to this location.  I wandered around for awhile, staying out of the vendor area and quickly painted myself into a corner.  

Although you could walk right in one of the main streets, every other area was completely surrounded by fencing.  I began backtracking before I finally saw a tiny light at the end of the wire tunnel.  Aha ... the Beer guys were refilling their truck.  I snuck out just as they were closing the gate.

Absolutely nothing happened for the next three hours, UNTIL ...... 

There was a knock at my door.  Who in the world could THAT be?  

I opened the door to see this smiling face.  Hi I said ... she looked SO familiar.  Do I know you?  She said yes ... I'm Marlene.  Well for heavens sake!!!!  She said Benno was waiting at the front gate.  We walked out so I could meet both of them. I've never been so surprised!!!

I've been following their blog for some time now, always amazed at the knowledge and expertise these two have when it comes to building ocean going vessels.  I can barely use a hammer and nails, while Benno can make all the engine parts he needs by hand and from scratch.  

They are parked miles south of this location and are on my You-Need-Go-See-Them list.  It was windy and cold, so we didn't hang out long.

I did get to meet the kids in the back seat however.  Seems they were trying to see a Vet for a possible problem.  They knew I was at the fairgrounds, so just stopped in.  Marlene probably walked 5 acres before finding my rig, but find it she did.

Virtual hugs made sure there were no germs passed around, although I'm sure I'm safe now.  Just the naggy cough.  It was cold and windy, so off they drove.  I'll catch up with them at their campsite next week I hope.  

YOU GUYS MADE MY DAY!!!  

In the meantime, the music began again.  It wasn't that bad on this day, rather quiet and mostly female voices.  Sadly, it didn't last.  The noise and vibration torture began in earnest about 7:00 and continued until midnight.  You just cannot imagine the impact that has on your body.  Maybe it's because I don't feel all that great, but it actually makes you hurt all over.

Need to find out where your husband went?  Just subject him to this torture.  He'll come clean in five minutes.  Finally at the stage of screaming, I plugged my ears so hard it hurt ... but the noise was almost gone.  It felt SO good!  Like a huge bowl of ice cream!!  

Apparently they do make them dial it back at midnight, but the boom boom boom continued until 4:30 am.  I'm completely broken.  All the plans I had for today went right out the window.  Hopefully Monday will be a new .. non vibrating day so my adventures can begin again ... maybe at the quilt store!!

Wet And Wild

 What can I say.  Here I am with my ever faithful snuggly companion, still sitting in my chair.  We got up this morning, which was a feat in itself.   Nurse Patty says I will survive (yes, she's a tried and true ER Nurse), but at this point, I'm not so sure.  When the boom boom boom finally stopped in the early morning dark, I just turned all the lights off and sat in the quiet.  Never ever take peace and quiet for granted.

By 10:00 I got up enough gumption to take Cooper for a long walk around the park.  I knew there was a Sheriff's Station close by, I just didn't know it was a few hundred feet from my rig.  

And then the rains came down.  It was wet and wild with thunder, lightning cracks and pouring rain for the next few hours.

Sadly, it did not slow down the wild band thing going on.  The lightning cracks did stop them for awhile since they are in an outdoor theater, but they just moved to a CLOSER building.  It got worse and worse as the day went on.

Here's a little sample of the rain noise.  There are now rivers running through the RV park.

As for the band noise ... and noise it is when they just pour the power to those amps so it vibrates the soil under your rig that's parked more than a football field away ... there is no way to describe it.  It was so loud it shook the windows of my rig, vibrated the walls and drowned out my TV.      

Going to bed really wasn't an option, but neither was trying to stay up.  I finally put in ear plugs, stuck my fist under one ear and pulled a pillow tight over my head.  When the techno band finally stopped at midnight, it became a little more tolerable until about 1:00 when they stopped altogether.  That's better than the 4:00 am scheduled time to quit.

I guess you can say it's an experience, but one I hope never to repeat!!  Oh wait ... they are going at it again tonight until 4 a.m.  I love all kinds of music .. ALL kinds ... but this is just head banging screaming noise.  Even the thunder, lightning and rain provide a better melody!!

Since Nurse Patty says I will survive, I guess I better give it a go.  I'll try for a shower today and maybe a short walk around my rig.  That's about as interesting as it's going to get!!  

Wait ... I think I will tape some of the noise to play for you ... you know, share the experience????  

By the way, I heard Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, so winter is over, is that right?  I thought Phil died two years ago!!

She's ALIVE!!!!!

 Well not quite, but it's a nice thought.  I feel more like the walking dead.  I'm now into the sneezing, dry coughing, watery eyes, headache part of this crud.  I can tell you, it's not for the feint of heart.  I passed the time by watching other drivers try to park their RV's.  I don't feel so bad now.  In fact, the average forward and back is SIX times.  I'm empowered by that, since I think maybe I'm at FOUR?

It was late in the afternoon when I tried to extract myself from the recliner.  I wasn't the least bit hungry, but some nice cool ice cream might make my wracking throat better.  Who KNEW?  It was an amazing discovery.  As long as I kept eating it, I didn't cough!!  I'm going to stock up as soon as I can drive again.

Back to the recliner.  If I wanted to know what the temperature was, I just took a picture and enlarged it.  It was way too much trouble to get OUT of the recliner.  Pushing the footstool in became a real challenge.

I did take Cooper out a couple of times ... poor guy thinks he's in trouble.  I just cannot get up the energy to crawl around on the floor and play with him.  

In the meantime, the Gem and Jazz Fest is in full swing, and for this I am NOT thankful.    Yesterday was day one and I only see a few people here.  I did hear the TEST TEST TEST of the outdoor theatre loudspeaker getting ready to completely drown out any normal speaking sounds.  

Yes ... if this is your thing ... it's going on here for the next few days.  You can get yourself a Glamping Tent for $800, or just a 3 day pass for $230, not including RV parking.  

What bands might you hear?  Pink Talking Fish, Yheti, Arkansauce, Lost Ox and DirtySnatcha, among something like 40 others.  Yeah I'm pretty sure I won't be seen there.  Especially with the 25-30 mph winds and expected rain.  Maybe that will muffle the sound.

It's going to be so bad, they actually taped notes on everyone's door so you know they will be keeping you up past 3:30 AM tonight.  That should make my headache better, yes?  My rig was actually vibrating from the drums.  

Yes ... let me tell you about the drums.  It was looking like rain, so they moved into a building behind me. Boom boom boom boom ... rest ... boom boom boom boom ... rest .... until 12:13 am.  Can you just imagine being as sick as I am, coughing and trying so hard to sleep, and being subjected to that?  Now I know why people commit harry carry.  Earplugs, a thick comforter and a big fat pillow did not deaden the sound one bit.  I'm thinking tonight Cooper and I will sleep in my truck at the local Walmart.

Lucky for me ... so far anyway ... they have parked all the rigs away from me.  Probably because I mentioned I was terribly sick and contagious!  

I did get a couple hours sleep, but awoke to pouring down rain.  It's supposed to continue all day today.  I can only hope it will deaden the spirits and the noise to come.  I know ... grumpy old lady.

I was thinking this morning, if ice cream is good, maybe a little Pepsi would be good too.  Sadly, I had no ice.  Finally my muddled brain thought to put some bottled water in a zip lok bag and lay it flat on the bottom of the freezer.  Well would you look at that.  It worked.

And so I'm sipping icy cold Pepsi as I type ... hoping for a better day VERY soon!!