Hitch itch planning

I mentioned a day or so ago that I was feeling the first pangs of hitch itch.  That usually gets me into the planning stages of my next route, and today was no exception.  I guesstimated  that it's about 600 miles to Malheur NWR in Oregon, and I will have about three weeks to get there.  If you always have numbers going around in your head like I do, then you've figured out that it's an average of about 30 miles of travel a day.

Of course, since I have an appointment in Idaho Falls on August 9 to take my rig in for some issues, that will knock off at least 100 miles the first day.  I don't know how long those repairs are going to take, assuming they have any needed parts.  So, I'm kind of in a quandary.  :(  What to do??

After looking over my book of maps, and surfing the internet, I've decided that I definitely want to spend a few days visiting the Craters of the Moon National Monument.  It's not too far from Idaho Falls, so I thought I'd make some tentative reservations at a campground in Arco, ID.  It's only 18 miles from the Monument, and 66 miles from Idaho Falls.  I've just sent them an email since I can't call them, so we'll see what happens.  If I should have to wait for parts, I'd rather do it where I can be out and about seeing things rather than just waiting at the dealership.  I'm hoping this repair facility works at a faster pace than Universal RV and Marine in Rochester, MN!  I'll let you know.

It was another beautiful, but buggy, day in the neighborhood today.  Other than my rather lengthy planning session, I really didn't do much else today besides taking Emma on several long walks.  I've decided to try setting the alarm again for tomorrow morning (ugh) and venture out early into Yellowstone.  When I drove the motorhome through the park on June 6 from Cody, we didn't stop to see any of the sights along the way from the East entrance because we were on a mission to get to Red Rock.  My plans are to take that route to the East entrance tomorrow and take my time.  We'll see if I pay attention to the alarm or not.  :)

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy

Taking care of business

Well, I learned the last three days that I really miss the internet when I don’t have access to it.  The wifi in the park has been down quite a bit this month.  Apparently a lightning strike on the DSL server has played havoc on service for almost two weeks.  I’m hoping, the problem is finally fixed.

I headed out before 8:00 this morning for a trip to Idaho Falls to accomplish a variety of chores.  I wanted to look at printers at Best Buy to start with.  I occasionally have found that it would be nice if I had one.  Getting my old camera fixed is a good example.  I can send it in to Canon for repairs, but I need a printed copy of the repair order so I can do that.  Hard to do when you don’t have a printer.  :(  After looking things over, I decided I just couldn’t afford it at this time.  Maybe later in the year.

There was a Sear’s store across the street from Best Buy, and I noticed that there was an auto service area, so I took the Focus in for a much needed oil change.  For some reason, I got a $10 discount, so it only cost me $20 to get that done.  :)  Last night, I had a real craving for some home made French fries, but I don’t have a deep fryer in the rig.  When I signed up for the oil change, I was given a $5 coupon good for anything I might buy at Sears (only good for today). So while I was waiting, I decided I really couldn’t live without a small FryDaddy deep fryer any longer.  :)  Yep, I bought one.  French fries tonight!

After stopping for groceries, I called Universal RV in Minnesota since I had cell phone reception for a change.  I still haven’t received license plates or a title for the rig that I bought almost two months ago!  As usual, I was put on hold several times, and then told I couldn’t speak to the person I wanted, but could leave a message.  Ugh!!  It’s so frustrating to deal with these dealerships long distance!  If you are not there to bug them daily, you just get put on a back burner.  I’m not a happy camper about that.

As I headed for home, I stopped at Smith RV to set up an appointment for taking the rig in on August 9, when I leave Red Rock.  Yesterday, my Splendide washer/dryer went berserk on me.  I got out the book to troubleshoot the problem, and after doing what it suggested, it still wouldn’t work.  So, I need to take it in for that, and also another issue with the surround sound speaker system.  There’s always something.  :(
The wind has really been blowing very strongly today, and the view of the valley around the campground is really hazy.  With the windows open in the rig, the dust is just blowing in.  Everything was getting pretty gritty, so I shut the windows.  :(
After being cooped up all day, Emma was ready for a good walk, so out we went.  The wildflowers have had a great year because of all the rain this spring, but as new varieties appear, some have passed their peak.
Looks to me like these past prime blooms are having a bad hair day.  :)

One of the things I needed to pick up at the grocery store today was apple cider vinegar.  My neighbors, Jim, Jackie, and June, are gone for a week to take a trip up to Glacier NP, and I am watching over their rig while they are gone.  When they left, they gave me a bag of Jim’s special buttermilk pancake mix.  They also gave me a quart of buttermilk to make them, but I needed the vinegar to follow the recipe.  I also picked up a pint of fresh blueberries, so tomorrow morning it will be blueberry buttermilk pancakes for breakfast!  :)

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy

I’m back in business

I headed out early this morning on a mission!  It was about a 100 mile drive to Idaho Falls, and the nearest Best Buy.  After two hours of driving, I took my camera in to the Geeks to see what they thought.  They say the portion of the camera that connects the battery to the components that run the camera are toast. They don’t know the reason this happened.  The bottom line is that my camera isn’t going to work.  I will send it in to Canon to see if it can be repaired, but in the meantime I needed to find a camera that works!  I ended up with a Canon  Rebel XS.  It is similar to what I had with a few advancements in technology in five years.  I wanted a camera that would match the telephoto lens that I already have, and wouldn’t cause me to go into bankruptcy. 

It wasn’t cheap, but I got to thinking on that 200 mile round trip.  Photography is a hobby that gives me a lot of enjoyment, and an average of $100/year isn’t too bad.  I think that’s less than 33 cents/day to keep me happy.  :)  I can live with that.  Anyway, I told the salesman that I’d take one.  Yea, right.  It turns out that they didn’t have any in stock; they were on back order, and it would take over two weeks before they would get a delivery.  :(  I ended up buying the floor model at a discount below the “on sale” price.  When I left Best Buy, the camera was all set up ready to go.
When I was driving to Idaho Falls, the Grand Tetons were brilliant in the morning sun to the east.  On my return trip, some clouds had moved in, but I stopped at an historic marker anyway to give the new camera a try.
The famous Three Tetons are there on the horizon under the clouds.  What a gorgeous day it was for a drive.  I also stopped to investigate a couple of national forest campgrounds on the way back.  I’m not sure I could fit my rig into the camping sites, but the campgrounds were located in the mountains and were the kinds of places I enjoy going.

Once I got home, I took Emma out for a walk and brought the camera along to test it further.
    

I ended up crawling around on my knees to try to get some shots of the low lying wildflowers that are beginning to bloom in the fields.  I’m going to have to make some adjustments to get used to this camera, but I’ll be working on it.  :)



That little trip to Idaho Falls took me about six hours today, and I was thankful that Pam was able to take Emma for a very long walk while I was gone today.  I know Emma appreciated it also!  She’s sleeping like a rock right now.
This is tonight’s view to the north of the campground shortly before sunset.

Now that I’m back in business with a camera, I’m feeling pretty good.  If I could just get all the cracks in my fingers to heal up from the cold weather, I’d really be a happy camper!

Thanks for stopping by….talk to you later,  Judy