Chaos Leaves Town

Had a great time working for the FS at Lake Tahoe, but the 5 weeks were coming to a close. Still had snow in the hills and a chill in the evening air but the days were sunny and warm.

Did a drive around to check out the local golf courses. This is on US-50 just a few miles south from the ‘Y’. There was another course further on. Both very nice, and rather expensive. And both with evidence of the very wet and brutal winter they’d had here. I would have played a round but I was still looking for golf shoes and a glove that I like.

Later on I went to downtown Stateline and just a couple blocks from city center is a public golf course owned by the city that I wanted to check out. I’d decided to go ahead and play there despite not having the shoes or glove. But it was closed ! (mid June) because the poor winter weather had saturated the ground so the trees were still unstable, there was standing water here and there on the course, etc.. That made me sad. Oh, well, some other time.

Continue reading →

My secondary reason for volunteering at Lake Tahoe was to use the physical exertion needed to help get my body back in shape. I’ve been too sedentary the last couple years and I had my bike stolen last August so I’m not even getting that exercise. That’s the secondary reason…the primary reason is to help make the historical buildings and artifacts on site attractive and interesting to my fellow citizens for years to come, and while doing so, making them safe from the ravages of time.

But back to the secondary reason for volunteering here, exercise, and the first week, I really felt all that walking in my hips, ankles, and knees. I’d go home after my shift and would be exhausted, collapsing into my chair and just zoning out for an hour. All that physical activity though really paid off because after the first week, my hips were feeling pretty good, another week and my ankles were fine, followed by my knees feeling better the week after. That activity really helped limber up the body framework.

And then, one evening after work I was driving towards town, and there’s a Thrift shop I pass by and outside there were nearly 25 used bikes for sale. And damned if the guy didn’t have a dual suspension bike in really excellent condition. I test rode it and everything worked, but it had those stupid plastic pedals. Had him change those out for metal pedals, paid him $78 (that sort of bike was $150 and up retail) and now I have a comfy bike to ride. Also stopped at the KMart and bought a new heavy cable lock for it. I do have the U bolt lock but those are so cumbersome, and with this style bike, there’s not a good place to attach it to the frame when I’m riding, and a cable lock is so much more convenient.

————————————————————————————————————-

One of my projects at Baldwin was to sand and repaint a Forest Service sign. But that wasn’t keeping me busy enough and I decided to donate a saw cover to protect the big chop saw Bob (a FS employee who had been with the FS for decades. I believe he’s in his mid-70’s but he’s not slowing down any) bought and donated to the FS because he felt the volunteer crew needed it, and the FS didn’t want to buy one for over $300. Since he’d done that, I thought I’d donate a cover for it.

Here’s a shot of the shop a couple weeks into the 1st session. Very crowded with stuff. You can get 3 or 4 guys in here working with the power equipment though.

And our tool room.

Continue reading →

Just a week and a couple days after arriving at Lake Tahoe, there was to be a field trip for the volunteers. We were to make our own way to Virginia City (VC). A field trip is something the FS does once each 5 week work session for the volunteers. Sort of a way to say thanks for all our hard work with a day off, and to give us some insight on the area’s history. This trip was around 70 miles round trip with no transportation provided and most car pooled it…but those were people over at the Baldwin RV park, while I was in the Tallac RV park. There were just me and Steve & wife at this park, and they weren’t going. So I drove by myself. Took the car naturally, and it’s a pleasant enough drive on good road. As you approach VC, there’s a Y with a sign saying that trucks and RVs should take the alternate route because the road is so steep. And boy, is it ever. But, eventually, I made it up into town, and parked in a paid parking lot right next to the Bucket of Blood saloon. My dad once owned a bar in Seattle named the same. I wondered if it was here that he got the name? He use to travel extensively as a long haul taxi driver.

Well, I’ll never know the answer to that at this point, but it’s interesting to think about. After we arrived, our guide Ellie gave us free rane to roam around the downtown area to take advantage of the opportunities to shop, eat, gamble. We’re to meet later and go to the cemetery as a group to explore.

First, I have to pass through Stateline on the south shore of Lake Tahoe. Past all those casinos…

Then there’s this tunnel. When I came through there a week ago it was during a heavy rainstorm mixed with snow.

Continue reading →

The next day at Lake Tahoe, the snow had already begun to melt, and I did another walk around but this time took a look at the Pope estate. The pond I showed pictures of last time is on the Pope Estate and these shots are again of the pond and just a bit further inside the property. And in better weather. Although a coat was needed, the warm sun helped to lift the spirit.

Continue reading →

Eventually, it was feeling a bit too warm in Gila Bend, so I headed off to Beatty, Nevada and the coolness it’s elevation promised. A couple reasons to do so other then the better temps. One was that I could give the V-Spoilers I’d installed in Mexico a good work out on a 440 mile trip with nothing to distract me from my observations…in other words, I wouldn’t have a friend following me on this trip. In addition, the car was running well, and I didn’t feel the need to do any more work on her for a while. Finally, I’d applied and been accepted for a volunteer position with the Tallac Historical Foundation which works with the Forest Service maintaining the several properties on Lake Tahoe given them by families, mostly because they couldn’t afford to maintain them any more. Built at the turn of the last century, I’d enjoyed working there several years ago and was eager to revisit some of my repairs. To see how they’d held up. And Beatty was a way point on that travel route.

First though, the trip up to Beatty was a trip through many and varied topographies, with various weather events. So it should be the great test of the V-Spoilers I hoped for. And there were to be a couple weeks hanging out in Beatty. Weather looked nice didn’t it? This is just a few miles north of Gila Bend. I’d left at 6 AM because I woke early. Had a long trip today so the earlier the better.

Continue reading →

So it was quite comfortable in Gila Bend, and since the Holt’s Shell is a Passport America park, the cost was only $13/night. And initially, I paid for 3 nights. But the WiFi was good enough that I kept extending my stay. Meanwhile, I figured since I had so much room at my site, I could finally work on my car’s tranni which if you recall had issues. Usually a ‘thump’ when it up shifted from 2nd to 3rd and rarely from 3rd to 4th. Since I’d been having trouble with the tranni since just a month after I bought it in August of ’16, and was using a work around to keep driving, I felt that this was a good place and time to work on the issue.

First though, to give an idea of where I’d parked and the work space I had, a few pics:

There was enough space to work on the car on either side, or right in front. What I did was move around to the passengers side closer to my tools. But in any case, here’s a shot of the desert where you can walk your dog if you have one… Weather was really nice and mild. I’m like 40 miles from Phoenix here.

Continue reading →

It had been enjoyable in San Felipe, but now it was time to head back north as the weather changed. It was averaging mid 70’s in SF and though still comfortable, I wanted to take a meandering trip north to stay in the moderate temp zone. I also really wanted to get the car’s transmission issues taken care of and wanted more nearby resources. Either I was going to work on it or I wanted to find a shop where they spoke English. There’s lots of great mechanics in Mexico but I wanted to take a more hands on approach with nearby parts or easily available parts via eBay or Amazon, and hiring a mechanic I could direct on the work was a backup plan. BTW, San Felipe has a newer Autozone store and they can get practically anything.

My friend Dawn was having a bit of trouble with the people she’d hired to watch her B&B for her up in Vermont so she’d planned on leaving SF on March 27th and sort of asked if we could caravan because she’d never traveled that route alone before. That date suited me fine and since we were heading the same direction, seemed like a good idea. The last couple days I was in SF I was busy with the various necessary preparations, and had a visit by a couple of blog readers, as detailed in my last post, but eventually the day came.

Did get an early start, but before I even left the RV park, at 6:30 AM, I had to stop and spray lubricant on one of the front jacks to get it to retract all the way. Usually a sticky jack will eventually get to the stored position due to vibrations caused by the engine but this time it hadn’t budged by the time I reached the exit so I had to stop and work on it. After I sprayed and levered it to the top of its travel, that silences the alarm and I can drive on in peace.

Many of you readers probably haven’t driven in a Mexican town, but if you do you’ll find that many streets are narrow, potholed, unsigned, so leaving early in the morning in my big RV towing a car was a bit of an anxiety reducer for me. Though nearly all Mexicans are tolerant of RVs on their roads, still, I like to be polite by getting out of town quickly. The light traffic of early morning helped.

Fifteen minutes later and I’m parked along the road opposite her hacienda waiting for her to join me. Weather was very nice. The trip up to the border takes about 2 hours. We’d decided, after considering 3 other crossings, that the best one for us would be at Mexicali East. It’s a straight shot from here, and the route bypasses most of the Mexicali downtown area. And there were mechanical things to consider on Dawn’s rig and she wanted to cross the border as quickly as possible for the available RV services in the US if needed.

She was late. I saw some movement of an RV over that direction and took this telephoto shot trying to catch a picture of her rig, but missed it. 

Continue reading →

After nearly 3 months in San Felipe, is was getting close to time to head north and cooler weather. It was still comfortable most of the day and night here, but there were portions of the day when it was uncomfortably hot. So I was feeling it was getting to be time to head on north into the mountains for a while to cool off. Maybe wear some long pants for a bit.

Oh, here’s the cocktail guy. Comes around every afternoon. Makes pineapple drinks.

Because the wind is rather fickle this time of year, I pull out my awning early in the morning, around 8, and then retract it in the afternoon when the wind is getting blustery, around 2. Kind of a hassle, but not as bad as having a ruined awning would be.

Continue reading →

I bet you’re wondering, “How good could a blues festival in Mexico be”? Of course you are. I wondered the same thing. And I’ll tell you right off the bat that although it wasn’t great, it wasn’t bad either. What was great about it was the venue…right in front of the El Dorado restaurant on a large grassy area that fronts the place and is between the restaurant and the golf course. The golf course is by necessity a dry desert course with the only grass being on the tees and the greens. Cacti here and there dotting the landscape. Because of the fancy restaurant, clubhouse, and large bar being right there, the food booths were supplied and staffed by the restaurant so they were eclectic and original. In addition there were two full service bars in tents on the grass, and regular bathrooms over in the restaurant. Nice.

What wasn’t so great was the talent. About a 6 on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the best. Ya gotta expect that clear down here in San Felipe though. Pretty sure the organizers didn’t have the funds for any spectacular bands. And it is a fundraiser after all. The other thing that wasn’t that great was the blistering sun. We had a hell of a time trying to find shade. Eventually ended up scrunched up behind a VIP tent which afforded some shade. Didn’t find out for sure until we got there that you can bring your own umbrella. Someone at the RV park had told me they don’t allow bringing your own, but that was probably in past years. This year there was an area specifically for folks with umbrellas. I think they were previously outlawed to sell more space in the VIP tents, with their higher priced tickets and such. Along with shade…those tents had their own waiters or waitresses. Probably other goodies I’m not aware of too. Also, the walk from the parking lot to the venue was rather long if you’re carrying a large lounge chair. I was. And that’s basically all that was wrong. Now, on with the event…

But first some shots of the flora while I was waiting for Dawn to pick me up a few miles from the venue.

Continue reading →