The official tour

Today was the morning for my official tour of Malheur NWR.  I was to meet the Volunteer Coordinator at 8:00, and she would drive me around and fill me in on the details of the refuge.  It didn’t quite start on time because the Visitor’s Center was bubbling with people attending a birding workshop at a nearby retreat.  My fellow volunteer, Sue, was manning the VC, but needed an extra set of hands while the visitor’s made purchases.  She was also supposed to ask the visitors if they’d be willing to participate in a NWR survey.  I stepped in and helped her out with that because you have to write down their names and addresses.
While all the folks with binoculars, scopes, and cameras were scanning the surrounding trees for birdlife, the resident great-horned owl came to pose for pictures.  :)  How thoughtful of him.

About an hour later, the tour finally began.  This refuge consists of more than 187,000 acres of prime habitat.  That is big!  I must say that it was the fastest tour I’ve ever had, considering it’s size!  Of course, she knew I had already driven the auto tour route on my own, so we pretty much skipped that, and really didn’t stop anywhere to look at anything.  We also talked about my doing a special project in the field for her so I won’t be stuck the whole time I’m here in the VC.  I was all for that!  She also picked my brain about how to go about setting up bird tours here on the refuge.  I was happy to give her my input.  :)
 
We were back before noon, so I returned to the rig for lunch, and then made a call to Winnebago about the fluid leak from the leveler.  They gave me an email address to use to find out where the nearest place is to have it fixed.  I also asked them where the dipstick was located for checking the fluid levels.  It took him a while to figure that one out.  In the owner’s manual, there is a picture of the dipstick, but they don’t tell you where to find it.  What’s up with that?  Eventually, he told me it was on the frame under the motorhome in front of the passenger’s side front wheel.  So this afternoon, I crawled under the rig on my back to have a look.  I couldn’t find anything that looked like a dipstick (except myself:)).  I’m not giving up, though.
These two pics are of a yellow warbler I found hawking for insects on the wing in the willows along the Blitzen River the other day.  Notice how the bird on the left has his eye on an insect at the top of the pic.  :)

Tomorrow, I’m off early to go to a farmer’s market in Burn, OR, to hunt down some more home grown tomatoes.  It’s a 70 mile round trip, but it will be worth it to me if I’m successful!
                                                                   THE END! 

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

Rain, rain, go away...

It was another rainy cold day today here in the neighborhood, and there are at least two more days of the same in the forecast.  :(  So, today I headed out to take the toad into Rochester for the estimate for the repairs to the damage to the bumper and wheel well.  Of course, I forgot to bring along the receipt for the new tire I purchased in Kansas City, so I'll have to make another trip back to the repair facility tomorrow with the receipt in hand.  They can't proceed with the insurance company without that receipt.  I wish I hadn't forgotten it.

Afterwards, I stopped at Universal Marine and RV to talk about the rig I have in mind.  Several people have commented on what I have in mind and whether it's new or used.  It will be a new rig to me, but not brand new.  I'm looking at a 2008 WINNEBAGO ADVENTURER LIMITED.  You can click on the highlighted name to see what it looks like.  (I hope this works, it's the first time I've tried to include a link).  The rig I'm interested in is the 37' model.  So, the purge I referred to in yesterday's post just means I'll be forced to go through all of my stuff to see what I really need and use.  (Crackerdan, I don't think I'll need to see a psychologist about that... :))  I'm not downsizing, but actually up-sizing by 8 feet!

It's a gas pusher, with the engine in the back.  I'd be interested in any opinions on the difference of driving a 29' rig as opposed to a 37' rig.  When I started fulltiming, I didn't pull a toad for the first year because I thought 29' was enough to deal with.  After a year, I decided I really needed a car, and haven't had any issues pulling it behind.  Now, I'm increasing the size of the rig, and will still be towing the car.  I know I'll have to be a little more picky about gas stations, but is there anything else I should be aware of due to the increased length?  I'll give it a test drive next Tuesday to check my comfort level.

I called my financial advisor today to give her a heads up about this possible purchase, and although she didn't have a heart attack as I had predicted, she did scramble a little to deal with my decision.  :)  She gave me a couple of options to think about, and I'll do that over the next week.  This is going to be one loooong week for me as I wait to get a glimpse of what may be my new home.

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon with some one-on-one time with my oldest grandson, Joseph (aged 4).  He came knocking at my door after his nap.  We had a good time playing special games inside the motorhome without his brother.  He asked me to keep these games a secret from his brother. :) How could I refuse?  Tomorrow, I hope to spend some "secret" time with his brother, Seth.

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

Anxiously excited!

The dreary, cold, and windy weather returned again today.  Add to that some showers in the late afternoon, and it resulted in a pretty much inside day.  Andy and his family were busy with things to do today, so I just hunkered down and cleaned the inside of the rig and did some more investigating on the computer.

The subject of my investigation has to do with my dream to purchase a new (to me) rig.  After four years on the road, I'm hoping to upgrade a bit.  I've been happy with my Winnebago Sightseer, but I'm thinking of the future and what would make me most comfortable in my travels and beyond.  I have a particular rig in mind, and want to be fully prepared to bargain with the dealer.  I'm not interested in trying to sell this rig on my own, but will use it as a trade in.  The rig I want to check out won't be at the dealer's until a week from tomorrow, so I'm anxious and excited about the prospect.  I remember how excited I was as I prepared to go fulltime, and this is almost the same.  I'll have to do some purging, but not nearly as much as before.  No garage sales this time!

Robyn and Phoebe will be flying back to Chicago tomorrow morning.  They have been using my toad to get around while they've been here.  I'll be taking the car into Rochester tomorrow to get the estimate on the repairs from my mishap in Kansas City, and I think I'll stop by the RV dealer to see the pictures the sales manager has on the rig I'm interested in.  :)  I also want to talk to him about prices.  So, tomorrow I'll either be very excited or very disappointed.  Wish me luck!  Either way, I know life goes on...

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