Saturday, December 29, 2012

Dec. 29, 2012 Back in Quartzsite, AZ, again.

Time seems to have gotten away from us. We have been here two weeks as of today.  It feels like we just parked here last week.  We at La Posa North, the Long-term BLM parking just south of Quartzsite, AZ.  We paid $180 for the annual permit which allows us to park on the BLM land from Sept. 15th to April 15th.  I enjoy figuring out what the daily cost is for us.  Tonight our cost will be $12.  In four days, we will be down to just $10 a day and going lower each night.P1000290

The RV on the left is Doris and Clyde Scoval from Iowa.  They missed last year due to a family emergency.  Fred and Arlene Cray should be on the right side of our camper, but snow has kept them from leaving Alturas, CA.  They hope to start south tomorrow, if Hwy 299 to Redding, CA, is clear.  Notice all the open space around our RVs.  That won’t last; the desert around us will be full of RVs in about two to three weeks when the big RV Tent show opens.

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While some of us rough it here in the dry desert, some folks bring all the comforts of home with them.  Clyde brings his pressure washer to keep his car and RV looking spiffy.  He connects the hose to his outside shower spigot and runs his generator for power.  Isn’t he clever?  (And clean!!)

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Between the two solar panels on the roof (Thanks, Don) and the small generator, we have enough electricity to cover our basic electrical needs.  The water and sewer needs are taken care of every 6 days down the highway at the BLM sewer dump and water station—a perk of paying the BLM fee.

We spotted this RV at the library last Saturday.  At first I thought it had been a garbage truck in its previous life, but it was built as an RV—a German RV.

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There are windows behind the metal plates with little holes.  It is built stout and for some serious off-roading adventures.

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I think I will keep our friendly-looking camper, smile.

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We come for the drier weather, clean air and beautiful sunsets.  I can’t capture the correct amount of  color with my camera, (color all the clouds bright pink)  but this is what we see almost every night.  We had a very quiet Christmas and are looking forward to a quiet New Year’s Eve. And then 2013 will be with us—bringing more new adventures as we travel in the Shoe Box! 

The Jennings wish you a fun-filled and healthy New Year!

Friday, December 14, 2012

Dec. 14, 2012 The Jennings are on the move again.

We left Livingston last Saturday.  Our plans were to head west on Sunday, but the approaching storm upped our schedule by a day.  And of course, the weather man heard we were leaving to beat the rain in Houston, so he moved up the rain by a day too.

Sorry, no photos today as my “soon to be deceased” computer has decided it no long wants to recognize my camera storage card.  Apparently when Larry worked it over for several reasons last Friday, it found a way to retaliate!  It stopped accepting any signal from the card reader.  Soon, very soon, I may start refusing to feed it any electricity—and then see if it is a good Frisbee!  GRRRR!

We spent the first night at the Texas Rest Area between Luling, TX, and Sequin, TX.  It was a HOT and humid night.  (Should have just stopped at RiverBend RV Park like last June.)

We took a new route around San Antonio, TX by using Highway 46; it was a hint given to us by Tommie Sue and Harrell Hicks.  It was an easy run because it was early Sunday morning and lots of fog and mist to keep people home.  We didn’t stop to see the Spring Branch friends as we wanted to get further west because of the weather.  To spend the money we saved on Saturday night, we stopped in North Llano River RV Park ($33) in Junction, TX, as the cold front was supposed to catch up with us that night.  It did—with LOTS of strong winds during the night.  The temperature at dinner hour was 80 degrees and had dropped to 28 degrees when we got up Monday morning.

We continued pushing west to Fort Stockton, TX.  We stayed at a different park this trip because we just needed electricity.  The Comanche RV Park worked out fine, even had free WIFI and cable for $16. 

By Tuesday, Larry was feeling better and we were able to share the driving to El Paso, TX, and then on to Deming, NM in one day.  We spent two nights at the Escapees’ Dream Catcher RV Park so we could visit with Jim and Penny Scott and do some Wal-mart shopping.  I enriched the Deming economy!

We didn’t have firm plans for Thursday night, so we kept driving hoping to make Casa Grande, AZ, to see Mary & Jerry Frye and return some lost items they left with us in October.  We knew a big storm was headed our way—again—and had alternative plans just in case we got tired.  Things were going very well—until we crested Texas Canyon, the big pass just east of Benson, AZ.

Suddenly, instead of a tail wind pushing us, we hit a southerly wind that was hitting us broadside and was picking up dust as it headed north—across the freeway.  It wasn’t too bad, some tight-fingered driving, until we got just outside of Tucson, AZ.  Suddenly there was a lot of blowing dust coming across the freeway.  Larry even called Jerry to see how the conditions were in Casa Grande to see if we should just stop and wait it out until the rain came that evening.  He said Casa Grande weather was beautiful.  Well, Tucson was NOT beautiful!  We kept an eye up ahead with plans to pull off the road if the cars started disappearing into a dust storm.  We hit one spot where it did—but as we entered the solid dust line, we could see out the other side.  That one was close!!

We are now parked at the Fiesta Grande Encore Park in Casa Grande.  It rained on and off most of the night—which means the dirt is out of the air.  We are headed to Quartzsite, AZ, tomorrow; we have about 200 miles to go—a day’s drive.  This is a beautiful destination park with lots and lots of activities and events going on.  Wish we wanted to stay for the winter here, but we have friends to see in Quartzsite.

We are making a early morning visit to the NextCare Urgent Clinic this morning to have Larry’s arm injury looked at by a doctor. He took a tumble last night on a walkway and scraped back too much skin for my limited first aid skills.  We visited a NextCare Urgent Clinic here in Casa Grande about two years ago to have his lab work done and we were very impressed with their service.  Thankfully, they take Medicare insurance!!  Big blessings that Medicare insurance!!  I hate to see the proposed changes to Medicare as it sure is a life saver for us when we travel!  But that would be another posting just to explain my position on Medicare, smile.

Happy Holidays—and if I don’t get back to post in the next 11 days, Merry Christmas.  Please remember the reason for the season—and it isn’t to buy presents that won’t be remembered by the recipients by next Christmas.  Give  Love, Peace and Joy—and even a helping hand to those you love—it doesn’t cost money and is remembered for life!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Dec. 3. 2012 Finishing up Texas projects……

We are in the count-down to leaving Texas.  I have one more kiln firing to do later this week to glaze some bowls that I bisque-fired on Saturday.  The car is packed for the trip and the camper just needs our medicines, food, and computers—and it will be packed.

Larry had his fun on Saturday:

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Notice the dirt screen behind him?

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Guess who got to wash his clothes and shoes?  He had a layer of dirt covering him!

Meanwhile, I was playing too—firing the kiln:

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Unfortunately about five days ago, some one, some place, slipped me some cold virus germs.  I spent Sunday laying on the couch instead of unloading the kiln. I still feel it trying to attack, so I have cancelled plans to go to the Livingston Art League’s monthly meeting as I don’t want to infect anyone else.  I sure wish someone had been as considerate about five days ago and had stayed home with their cold!!  I worry about Larry fighting it off and both of us being sick instead of driving west!

The weather has been crazy!  I run the air conditioner at night—to get the house back down to at least 72 degrees—and then  change it over to heat in the morning—when it is 42 degrees outside.  The temperatures have varied over 40 degrees difference from morning to afternoon!  The leaves are falling—and falling—and falling, while some trees are still green?

The weather can’t decide what it wants for Fall—cool or warm. 

In addition to playing with clay, I like to smoosssh bread dough around.  Larry is always giving me a hard time about how many Panasonic bread makers I own—five or six.  However, he loves it when I drag out both the big 2 lb. bread makers and make dough.

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Because he absolutely loves this kind of bread the most:

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These mini loaves are as close to heaven as he can get while still breathing!  I make there around the end-of the-year holidays for gifts and to make my favorite guy happy.

We had a very quiet Thanksgiving dinner with just the two of us:

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His sodium-restricted diet actually allows for a bit of ham, so we cooked that instead of a turkey.  However, we had all the other trimmings.  And it was worth all the work to see his smile:

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Because when I count my blessing, this guy is at the top of my list! 

I hope you were with your favorite blessings on Thanksgiving.  And as we get ready to head back to Quartzsite, AZ, for a few months of warmer and drier weather,  we look toward to happier and healthier times in 2013. 

The old Chinese proverb of ”May you live in interesting times” was used to wish someone some “less-than Happy” New Year wishes.  These days, listening to TV and radio stories, it sounds like we are living in “interesting times.”

So, I am amending the proverb to:  May you thrive in interesting times—and have thousands of blessing to be thankful for next year.