It’s all about the weather

In the last couple of days, we’ve had just about every kind of weather there is: beautiful warm temperatures, cold temperatures, sunny skies, high winds, rain, hail, rainbows, and a stunning sunset.  Thankfully, we haven’t had snow, but the temps at the campground in the Steen Mountains dropped to 12* the night before last!  Uf-dah!  It’s hard to figure out what to wear when I get up in the morning.  I’ve worn shorts, jeans, short sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, raincoat, and heavy jacket.  My coat rack that hangs over the bathroom door is packed with an assortment of outer wear.
Last night, I had both ends of the rainbow out my front window, but I just couldn’t seem to find any pots of gold.  :(  The storms have been barreling through on a stiff Northwest wind.
Every couple of hours, a storm would blast through while I was working the VC today, and this one left a coating of hail on the deck this afternoon.  I got a little chuckle out of watching all the California quail scurrying about trying to find a harbor from the hail.  They were trying to hide under the bushes, and in the lee side of the deck to avoid those icy pellets.  I even had a barn swallow trying to come inside through the picture windows.  When I was walking Emma at lunch time, one of those micro blasts of hail came through, and we made a bee line for the rig.  Those little hail pellets hurt!

Despite the adverse conditions, about 25 brave souls stopped in the Visitor’s Center today.  They tended to stay longer than usual just to warm up and get out of the elements.  :)  Most were from Oregon and Washington, but some came from as far away as Germany, New York, and Ohio.  Apparently we got a little too rowdy, as one of the staff came and closed the door between the VC and the offices.  :)  Sorry about that, but I think my job is to interact with the visitors and make them feel comfortable.

As usual, I brought my laptop with me to keep me entertained in between visitors, but was shocked at an email I received from Sprint when I got it set up and running.  It said I was nearing my limit of roaming minutes for the month (and it’s only the 9th), and they could shut off my air card service very soon.  Egad!  I’ve never had that happen before.  I’ll be calling them on one of my days off to see what’s up with that.  In the meantime, I found out that there is wifi at the volunteer pads, and it turns out it is much faster than the air card is.  So, I guess for now, I won’t be taking the laptop with me on work days any more.  :(  At least the computer I use in the VC as a cash register has spider solitaire.
I leave you with last night’s sunset.  As I looked past the RV pads towards headquarters, the rainbow was at my back.  Nice views both directions!

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

Challenging the brain cells!

I could have also titiled this post as "getting a new toy."  Yes, I went back to Austin/Cedar Park to the Best Buy to purchase the new laptop.  Little did I know that the time involved would be similar to purchasing a new car!  You know how that goes......hurry up and wait, for hours and hours.  Ugh!  I don't do well waiting hours and hours.  I purchased a Dell with a 17" screen and quite a few bells and whistles.  Scanning the plastic charge card was the easy part.  Getting the "Geeks" to get it ready to use and install the virus protection program was the time consuming part.  After three hours, it was finally ready to go.  So I headed for the nearest Sprint Store to have them install my aircard software.  When they started, they asked where my power cord was.  Hmmm, shouldn't it be in the box?  Apparently not!  The "geeks" forgot to pack it back in the box, so off I went on a return trip to Best Buy through the busy Saturday traffic.  When I got there, I had to wait in line to speak to a representative, and then he had the nerve to give me grief about it.  I took a deep breath and eventually got the missing power cord.  By the time I got back to the Sprint Store, they had installed the aircard software, and I was ready to go.

Poor Emma; she was in her crate for six hours while I got everything taken care of.  That was more time than I ever thought it would take.  We went on a nice walk when I returned, but I was chomping at the bit to see how things were going to work.

No sooner did I start unpacking the new laptop, when the phone rang and my son, Daniel, was calling to see if I had bought the new computer.  He then helped me through the intitial steps with Windows 7.  Of course, computers is what he does for a living,  and for me he was talking so fast that I struggled to keep up.  Once he hung up, I tried tinkering at my own speed, and was able to transfer over quite a bit of the things from my old computer by myself.  Slow and steady wins the race in my case.

I must say that I notice an astounding difference in the speed of trying to do things on this new computer.  I've been able to load all my travels pictures from the last four years, and get everything on my favorites bar that I had before.  I feel like I've really accomplished a lot today.  I guess I'll need to install a Word program before I can transfer over my spreadsheets.  I also have a few other programs that I want to install, but I'm afraid I've had enough of a brain challenge for today.  Time to chill out in front of the TV for the evening.  I'm a happy camper with this new toy.  :)

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

Oh, oh....I just noticed that I don't have the Google toolbar yet, so no spell check tonight.  Hope I didn't do too bad in that department.  :(

Life and technology marches on!

I was up at 5:30 this morning to make sure my oldest son, Daniel, and his wife, Crystal, got up in time to get to the airport for their flight back to Denver.  You never stop being a mother, you know.  :)  After that, the two granddaughters kept us on a roll for the remainder of the day.  Since I have been here, Phoebe has decided to improve her night time sleeping which has resulted in her mother getting more rest.  It couldn't have happened at a better time.  I think it was Friday that she finally slept through the night for the first time.  It has been a joy for me to be with Phoebe and her older sister, Avery, each day.

After the girls were bundled off to bed this evening, I asked Dennis if we could try the Skype connection again.  I've heard of Skype, but didn't know exactly how it worked.  Dennis had picked up a Logitech  Web cam for me a couple of days ago, but our first attempt to get it operational was a flop.  Then we were too busy to give it a second try until tonight.

This is the little web cam that allows you to call others like a phone call, but you are also able to see who you are talking to.  Of course, both parties have to have internet access and one of these web cams.

It rests right on top of your computer screen, aimed at you, and transmits a live video of you to the person you are calling.

The true test came tonight when we tried to call Daniel in Denver.  None of us knew if it would work using my Sprint Air Card.  It took about an hour to work the kinks out, but eventually we (Robyn, Dennis, and myself) were able to see and talk to Daniel and Crystal.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop when it worked.  What a great way to keep in touch with family!  I think it's especially nice for fulltime RVers.  You can be a visual presence so those young grandchildren remember who you are.

Boy, oh boy, it's mind boggling to think of all the advancements in technology in my lifetime.  And to think that I can take and use most of those advancements on the road with me!  All it took was about $50 (and the help of a techy son-in-law) to get me out of the 20th Century.  ;)

Tomorrow, I'll leave the cold and snow behind as I fly back to Texas.  I'm ready for some blue skies and warmer temperatures!

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

I didn't win!

I thought sure I was going to win the final prize of a 35 day trip to the Canadian Maritimes, but alas, it was not to be so. :( The closing ceremonies took place this afternoon at the 49th Escapade. It was the first day since Sunday that I was able to ride my bicycle to the activities today. That's not to say that it was sunny, but at least it wasn't pouring down rain.

Yesterday morning, I hopped on a shuttle to the vendors' area. I had a few items in mind that I was interested in. Upon approaching the first booth, the vendor asked me where my ID tag was. Sure enough, I had left it on the counter in the rig. That meant I had to find another shuttle back to the campground and then finally hitch another ride back. That accomplished, I proceeded to find those items that I felt would enhance my existence. One item I was interested in was a cap for my holding tank vent on the roof. Whenever I turn on the fan in the bathroom while showering to suck out the moisture, it seems that sewer gas fumes somehow get sucked into the rig. I thought this new vent cover might help eliminate that, but wasn't sure I wanted to install it. The saleslady said not to worry, she knew someone that was doing installations. I bought the vent and signed up to have it installed. It only took the guy ten minutes, but he had all the proper tools and knew what he was doing. It was worth the price to me.

I also purchased a new sewer hose to replace the one that was shredded in the hail storm and found a few other goodies that should make my life a little easier. I'll try a few of these items out when I arrive at Swan Lake and let you know how they work out.

By that time, I got a call from Steve at Workamper News and he had the camera set up and was ready to interview me out at the gazebo. We squeezed the interview in between showers and I think it went well. I mostly talked about the volunteer positions I've been in since I've been on the road. At some point it will appear on a new site at the Workamper News Website.

In the afternoon, I went to the Craft Show and Sell and found two beaded bracelets that will now enhance my wardrobe. ;) In the evening, I hiked over to the Ham-O-Rama which is entertainment provided by Escapees members. It was a great night with a wide variety of talent showcased. There were some great singers, some not so great singers, story tellers, and comedians. All in all, a very enjoyable time.

This morning, I went to two seminars. One was for women only and the other was geared for solo travelers. The second one was really about loneliness on the road. I can honestly say that though I travel alone, I've really not felt lonely. This afternoon was the closing ceremonies and the awarding of the grand prize.

I've started to pack things up and managed, with another solo lady's help, to get the bicycle back on the rack. I dumped the tanks, packed up the outside rocker, and began the inside ritual. I also called my Emergency Road Service to be sure I'll be able to get a tow truck to pull me out of the mud tomorrow if needed. So far, everyone who has left has had to be pulled out. The clouds have finally broken this evening, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to just drive out carefully without becoming mired in the muck. That may be wishful thinking.

There have been three big tow trucks circling the campground like vultures for the last few days. I'm sure this Escapade mud mess will make their income soar for the year. Can you imagine what pulling out 750 rigs from the mud will do for them??? Talk about economic stimulous!

My plan is to attend the hitch-up breakfast tomorrow morning and take my time getting ready to head out. Maybe some of the moisture will evaporate by then. If not, I'll wait for a tow. I only have about 70 miles to drive to Swan Lake, so I'm not in a big rush. I've heard internet reception with an air card is almost nonexistant there, so I'm not sure when I'll post again. Maybe Sprint will come through for me once more....

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