Ocean Mist- K/M Resort

The totem marking the entrance to Ocean Mist from the beach side.

Sand dunes and driftwood...

Beach side of resort.

I'm staying on the coast away from the heat in the interior of the country, so I'm at Ocean Mist, a K/M resort, between Ocean City and Copalis Beach, Washington.

Kite fest again, WIN's nearby

I'm in Chinook, Washington near the Long Beach Peninsula where the International Kite Festival is now taking place. A local remarked today was the sixth day of sun this summer, what a great day to fly kites. The WIN group is nearby and oh boy, do they have a full plate? From kayak trips, lighthouses, interpretive centers and watching salt being made, to campfires on the beach, they are on the go.

Also I got an ATV to test drive, a rather small Yamaha Moto-4 200, shaft drive, after extensive rust rehabilitation and working on the fuel system, it appears to be running fair, there is more work to be done on it although the plastic and rubber is in good shape. There are places all over Oregon to ATV and miles of beach at the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. There doesn't seem to be much ATVing area in Washington, or maybe I just haven't found it yet. I have found you CANNOT ride ATV's on the beach, although other licensed vehicles are fine as are scooters.

Salvation Mountain - Midnight Ridazz

Shouts out to the Midnight Ridazz that I met at Slab City and Salvation Mountain. From Yuma/Winterhaven area, I decided to hit Slab City before moving east.
The WIN dance rally will be in Casa Grande, Az. and it sounds like fun. Hope my feet can handle it, I've been walking between 3 and 5 miles a day so the feet are tougher. Salvation Mountain (wiki) (official website) was a hoot, so much has been written about it, but you have to go there to see and experience it for yourself, nothing will prepare you for the grandeur, love and color in the area. I took a few photos, (Midnight Ridazz) but cannot hope to capture the feeling there.

Quartzsite-2010 style

"Necessity is the mother of all invention" didn't get it far wrong. I had decided to stay in a warmer climate again this year. The place I had stayed in years past in Quartzsite Arizona was having legal problems along with the rest of the town of Quartzsite.

Out of necessity I decided to try boondocking, I have a different rig, more efficient than the New Horizons fifth wheel I had before, so I parked out at the Dome Rock 14 day area for a while and then moved up to Plomosa Road after seeing the WIN group had an area. I finally managed to join the (W)andering (I)ndividuals (N)etwork and even had Diana Tolerico, who writes the excellent "Life on the Open Road" blog sponsor me into the group.

I am not the "purist" with solar panels that a lot of boondockers are, I only get by with the help of a Honda EU2000i generator. With my electronic laden lifestyle (satellite television, cell phone, Verizon aircard internet and laptop) I can buy a lot of gas for the cost of a photovoltaic system (which experts say will NEVER pay for itself). The other side would say it leaves a smaller carbon footprint (I'm not so sure) (is greener) (less noisy.) However, I almost bought a windmill, and saw a couple mobile ones being put to good use. However, after studying mounting specs, I don't think the metal sided Nash 22h would be a good base to mount it. But in the typical male way, I buy gas and survive nicely, thank you. I moved back out to Dome Rock, (it has faster Internet.)

By the time I get to Yuma, (Feb 3rd,) I will have been in the Quartzsite area an entire month, I went to the big RV tent show, got some bargains there, didn't see much new RV stuff like earlier years though. I have managed to scour the other swap meets in the area for desperately needed items, (like I have room,) I got many items for future projects, but didn't manage to get a compact ladder yet, which I need for some "projects."

Again, Quartzsite has some of the most wonderful sunsets. (and Dome Rock is in the photo.)

A reason to like the West Coast

One of the reasons to like the West Coast is the Sunsets, the most beautiful sunsets are here. Now I suppose if you live on the East Coast you could brag about the sunrises, I'm never up at that time of day anymore, so I could care less about the sunrise. (It's enough just to wake up these days. Whether the sun is up or not, the question does not arise until I poke my head outside.) One of the reasons to dislike the West Coast is California, which takes up a majority of the coast. (Is there a joke there?) I could go on with California jokes here, from Guv Ahnold to Hollywood Hijinks. I say it's a fine place to visit briefly, as long as you can afford it. I am here on the Long Beach Peninsula (Washington) enjoying Stud Clam Chowder once again at the Portside Cafe. A friend in the area also recommends Chico's Pizza, says all the locals dig it.

Birds on Wire.. Seattle.. and moving again?

As you may be able to tell, I went up to the Seattle area again, some rainy weather, some nice weather, my friend was moving again, this time from Kent into Seattle proper. Talk about location, she's now downtown, close to EVERYTHING... and the cutest apartment. By the way, the above photo is one of her paintings/mixed media in a series titled "Birds on Wire" I had a fun time, got tired and sweaty at times... but everything was finally accomplished before I got snowed on again, (I got a little snow at Tall Chief RV Resort near Redmond.) On finishing I headed down to the Long Beach Peninsula (Chinook, Ilwaco, Seaview, and Long Beach)

Mother Natures Way of telling me to move on...

One day I'm under the trailer, checking brackets and rustproofing the frame, the next day?


I have to find my one pair of socks, my one pair of boot like shoes (Doc Martens,) and my one pair of Levis. Of course I'm kinda skimpy on coats also, but I have a fleece/Goretex combo that will do in a pinch.




Thats over 6.5 inches on the hood.




Looks like a good test for the new bumper boxes.


Now I gotta air up my trailer tires because the Pressure Pro system is telling me I only have 43 lbs in one of the tires, (maybe the 22 degree out side temperature has something to do with it.)

The trailer is performing like a champ, keeping me warm and toasty, I had unhooked the water and put 15 gallons more in the water tank when I saw the temps dropping. The small electric heater on low (900/1500 watt) keeps the bedroom area about 66 and the rest of the inside about 61.

At .04 KWH, it's cheaper than propane. The conversion factor is 27 (26.85) in deciding what to use. (.04 x 26.85 = $1.08, meaning propane would have to cost less to be more cost effective. $0.12 KWH is about the break even point for most of the country) Of course the bathroom seat is a little chilly and puckers me a bit. The Hunter Digital thermostat kicks the furnace on when the temps get real low. I set it to kick on a couple of times during the night to keep the water tanks from freezing.

I'm doing inside projects now until I can pull out of Rock Springs, Wy. and head toward the nearest coast. (magnetic catches on the screen door, couple of 12 volt wiring projects, some more LED lighting, cleaning the crevices and such.)

I encountered a couple of sub-freezing days and one kinda snow day while wintering on the Oregon coast last year. Nothing like Wyoming to bring back memories though. I lived in Southwest Wyoming for 12 or so years, and in Park City Utah for 16 years, so dealing with snow is one of the reasons I went on the road, still chasing that perfect 70 degree weather.

Swine Flu.. Overreaction?

I wish I knew who took this photo, I would certainly give them credit, they have a creative mind. Piglet actually sent the photo to me, a friend had sent it to her. (Luv ya)

Working on Sticks and Bricks in Idaho

Okay, I'm working in the back yard at my mothers house in Idaho, killing weeds and wasps. I hear a chittering sound and look around, lo and behold, I've got an observer watching me and commenting on my lack of motivation. Sitting up on the power pole is this little guy, calmly eating a walnut and making comments. I finish up in the back yard and go to the front.....

And I get followed, this guy is like a supervisor, a micro-manager at that, reminds of some people at work. He's up in the tree watching me intently, as I walk around the tree for fun, he follows, keeping me in sight. This is one of three squirrels that play in the yard, sometimes they are playing tag, sometimes wrestling, and always looking for the next bite.

Travelin' the Northwest

From Birch Bay, I traveled down to Fife, WA. for a day, made some purchases at the Camping World, got some welding cable at a nearby welding shop, and stayed the night at the Camping World parking lot. It was actually very quiet, and nice.. The next morning I woke up late and traveled down to Chinook, Wa. to stay at Columbia Shores, a K/M resort I've used many times, for two weeks the cost was $14. The resort has satellite fed Wifi, so the connection can be slow at times. I made many trips to the Portside Cafe, to have "Studs Clam Chowder." I went and watched the International Kite Festival several days, although a couple were rained out. Gypsy pup decided she liked the sand and surf, so just about every day we drove out to the beach and ran, she loves chasing the ocean waves and birds. She filled my truck up with sand, but it's a small price to pay for the fun we have. I know she looks small and lost in the photo but the birds had just flown out of her reach..




Just beyond the truck in each photo you can see North Head, the southern end of the beaches of Long Beach, and Seaview, Washington.

My first YouTube video

Had to try out my new camera a Panasonic Lumix FZ18, 8.1 megapixal and 18x optical zoom.. I almost bought another Nikon, a D40, but this Leica lens on the Lumix has good resolution and the camera rates very high on all tests, so I took a chance.. I must say so far I am impressed, it's quick to start, and takes good saturated photos, I tried a movie without reading the manual, this is the result...

Gypsy is a YouTube junkie as you will see, Gypsy was rescued about 7 years ago from the Heber Utah animal shelter.



By the way, I'll be in Seattle area by June 19th, 2008. Gonna go see some old friends..

THUD THUD Clank CRASH

I'm still in Las Vegas, currently residing at the Main Street Station RV park. Ok, it's a parking lot with hookups, and at six in the morning I was awoken with loud crashes and screeches. I look out the window and see a nearby building being demolished, it even looks like a nice sunrise (something I don't see a lot of.) I walked out and took a few photos, when my flash went off, a couple of workers ran and got a fire hose and began watering down the building. (guilty conscience?) I went back in my condo on wheels and put in earplugs (memories of sleeping after graveyard shift) and slept peacefully till noon. Fremont Street Experience and Light Show is less than three blocks away, so we went and experienced it for about 4 shows during an evening. I'm waiting for the northern US to warm up, and I'll head north, theres things to to do and people to see, passports to pick up and puppy dogs to get checked out by the vet.

Sunsets

I just sat out and watched my last sunset this year in Quartzsite, it was nothing spectacular, some nice color and a few westbound neon jet contrails.


I've spent many evenings watching the sunset and appreciating God's splendor and man's contribution of some smog. The colors touch something in the soul. I realized I've missed sunsets every evening for 16 years working in Park City, there are no sunsets, the sun just disappears behind the mountain and the coolness settles in. I did have some great sunrises on graveyard shift, but theres nothing like a good sunset.

Lake Havasu City

I'm in Quartzsite AZ since the first part of January, lots of Flea Markets, swap meets, the QIA PowWow (rock, gem and mineral show) and the BigTent RV Show with all the newest stuff in RVing, that you so desperately need. All I bought was some cinnamon bread, some AmsOil MPHD, and a few LED lights that work great and take very little power from the battery.


I took a trip up to Lake Havasu City, to see the sights, London Bridge, and all that. I never got a good shot of the most photographed thing in LHC, but took photo's of the sunset near the lake.

I'll be meandering north about the first week of March.

Forces..... of Nature?

Up in Wisconsin where the ice grows deep, a GM Duramax owner tests the ice with his truck. Looks very serene there under the ice, kinda quiet and cold.



And now, they just had to pull it out.......




Coming to you from The Diesel Place

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=207320

Wow.... IQuad kite team

If you ever want to see magic in the air (or indoors) you should check out the IQuad kite flying team. I am currently in Chinook/Ilwaco/Long Beach, Washington attending the International Kite Festival once again. Seems I enjoy the weather, the colors and the area a lot. Back to the story, I watched the team last night fly LED lighted kites, in a magical dance of beauty, passion and rhythm. It was truly awe inspiring, and no way to get pictures of these fast moving marvels. Dancing in the sky appeared simple, from old fashioned starbursts to playing tag and follow the leader, the kites took on a life of their own. I highly recommend anyone within reach of a kite festival to attend and watch these highly skilled pilots. They even fly indoors, without wind, to the delight of grownups and children alike.

I will be posting some kite photos again soon.

Stop and smell the ...

Roses



As I said in my June 16th, 2006 blog, sometimes we find the most beautiful things in our own backyard. The shots are from my mothers yard in Idaho.











These roses are called "Josephs Coat." The roses go through at least four distinct color changes and many shades in between.


Hint: Click on the photo and view it "full size"

Strong Odor of ......

OIL?

In a state that prides itself on Barbeque, this small town rolls up the sidewalk at 6pm, no BBQ to be had. So I drive over to the Pizza Hut just a quarter mile down the road. As I'm preparing to get out of my truck I smell an odor, hmmm, might be a little diesel from the last fill up.. I open the door and the odorous air assaults my lungs, I choke and cough, my eyes tearing up from the strong odor of OIL. Crude I'd guess. Just about lost my appetite right there. I look around and find a pumpjack nearby emitting the noxious odors. But... after looking around some more, they are all over town, hiding.. the flamingo was the odoriferous one..

behind the Dairy Queen (check out the DQ chaps)

in front of the Dollar General store,

in back of the Dollar General store,

over by the railroad tracks.



By the way the Barbecue at the "City Market" was great, you walk in to the back smokehouse, they grab some paper, pile on the ribs, brisket and links that you order, grab handfuls of sliced white bread and toss it on the top, you walk out dripping grease on the floor over to your table. You go dish up some beans, grab a bottle of local BBQ sauce(mustard/vinegar base), some sweet tea, sit down and chow!

About Luling

A different Foothill Drive

This is one of the most beautiful drives during October.

I made this drive several times over a 10 day period, both when overcast and sunny, I was always delighted with the changes each time.

Colors on the Sand

Where is this?

and this?