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Borrego Springs, CA

Monday, June 13, 2011

LaSalle Fish and Wildlife Area

I was awake at 5:00 this morning in anticipation of my drive to Brown and Brown RV repair.  I must say that it was quite a journey.  Although only 32 miles away, it took me well over an hour to get there.  Just getting out of this campground was a big enough challenge.  The road is narrow with some sharp turns, and many overhanging trees.  I know I’ve added some new ‘pin striping’ to the sides and top of the rig.  Sad smile  Then there was Indiana route 10.  This two lane road has heavy truck traffic, and is in deplorable condition.  Things smoothed out a bit once I got into Illinois. 

 

Once I arrived, they went right to work taking pictures of the damage and trying to correct the mess with the awning.  I think it’s because I told them I lived full time in the rig, and couldn’t just leave it for them to work on at their leisure.  They initially said it would be a while before they could look at it.  Things rolled right along, and as I suspected, all the parts will need to be ordered.  Interestingly, they had to deploy the awning in order to get the correct part numbers.  The whole thing will need to be replaced.  Getting it out involved the use of a sledge hammer to move the awning cover back into place.  Then, two guys helped it unfold.  The new basement door will need to be ordered from Winnebago.  Within four hours, I was back to my site and setting up at Pioneer Family Campground.  Route 10 was just as miserable coming back as it was going with the added trauma of having eight oversized houses being moved in the opposite direction on a skinny road with no shoulder.  I really sucked it up and moved over as far as I could as each house passed.  It was nerve wracking, but I made it unscathed!

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In the afternoon, I decided I had been sitting around this place long enough, and headed out to investigate La Salle Fish and Wildlife Area.  It’s only about 7 miles from here. 

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Most of the area is used for hunting, but I did find some nice wetlands that seemed to popular for fishing.

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Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, and not very good for viewing wildlife, I did find one cooperative great blue heron hunting for an early dinner.

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This male house wren was singing his heart out as his mate tended the nest inside this box.  I’m thinking this would be a nice place to visit early in the morning.  I needed some time out in nature after the trials of the last month.  I’m so glad Emma and I took this little drive.

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Most of the area surrounding the campground is farmland.  My guess is this is a soy bean field, but most fields are devoted to corn.

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On the way back to the rig, I passed this farmhouse with Monday’s wash out on the line.  You know you’re in a rural area when you see wash hanging out.  It’s just not very common any longer in this country.  It brought back many memories of the clotheslines of my youth.  I wonder where the underwear was??

 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

25 comments:

  1. Glad you're back safe and sound. We had to replace our awning on our fiver when Jim ran into a gas station overhang with it. But we weren't living in it at the time so it was less hassle. Glad you got out and found a couple of willing bird models. I bet Emma really enjoyed the change of scenery also.

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  2. Great photos, Judy! Just curious, what kind of camera do you use?

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  3. I hate to come across homes being moved on the freeway so I imagine it was an absolute nightmare on a two lane road w/o a shoulder. You must have nerves of steel to have survived that. I'd probably be having a nervous breakdown on the side of the road, shoulder or no shoulder.

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  4. We had an awning ripped off by a big Kansas cross wind one time. Nice pics, nice colors & contrast. And a nice clear eye on that big Blue Heron.

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  5. Doen't look like they did the "whites" yet.

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  6. Hey! You could get out your kayak! There seems to be at least a couple of them in you NEW header photo!

    Glad you still felt like getting out and about after your trip to the garage! I'd take that as a good sign ~ that you weren't all tuckered out!!

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  7. we use to live in a house that had a clothes line!..love the smell of the sheets when they came inside after being on the line all day in the sun!!..spectacular!!!

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  8. The picture of the laundry drying on the line brought back memories for me, too. I noticed that most of the items were hung the "proper" way, with one clothespin holding two items.

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  9. Sounds like a harrowing trip. Sometimes the road just doesn't seem quite wide enough.

    I grew up in So. Calif. and we always had a clothes line. Dryers were for rich people!! The wash sure smelled nice but it was a lot of work.

    Nice photos. Looks like a great nature spot.

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  10. Good to hear you made some progress on your repairs, maybe only one more trip needed. I knew you wouldn't have any trouble with the drive, even throwing some mobile homes in the mix, Confidence is all you need to be successful.Oh and we will be gone on vacation about a week and a half this time . Be safe out there. Sam & Donna....

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  11. A great day for photography! Excellent pictures. I also miss the fresh smell of cloths line dried laundry.

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  12. Happy to see that all is well. All of us “stress” occasionally when moving these big rigs around the country. The “clothesline” way of life is still very common in our neck of the woods here in northern NY. You wondered where the “underwear” was, the answer is it was “colored” cloths day, just not enough room on the line for both.

    John
    relaxedrush.blogspot.com
    connectedtothevinephotography.blogspot.com

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  13. Sorry about the bad roads up north. I'm afraid it is true over most of Indiana. Love the picture of the wren and the one of the water with the water lilies. Stay cool.

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  14. That's such a serene scene you have in your header picture.

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  15. Glad to hear your trip was successfuleven though a bit stressful.

    I miss my clothes line from our house. I did't use it all the time, but I did like to hang the sheets and whites outside.

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  16. Glad to hear you made your trip unscathed yesterday! I have two clotheslines and used both yesterday, one for sheets and one for the towels. No one up here to see me if I chose to hang my underwear out, too!

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  17. In the year we have been full timing, the roads we encountered in Indiana last summer were the worst and the road construction detours were everywhere (hope that road constructions someday pays off). Glad you got some time out in nature to decompress after a stressful drive.

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  18. Mom taught me to hang the underwear on the middle line so the clothes on the outside line would hide them :)

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  19. Love the new header! Looks like a nice place to paddle.

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  20. Sorry you had a stressful trip to the garage, but getting back into nature always calms me down too! One more trip in should have the rig finished and ready to roll.
    I agree with the others, clothes hung up outside sure do smell fresh and clean. Growing up we hung all our clothes outside to dry...just behind our garage.
    Take care and get back out in God's nature.

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  21. Great pic's. I still hang out my laundry, when I am in PA. Love doing it, smells great too.
    Donna

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  22. Glad you and Emma got to get out and do what you love...see the wildlife...Love the Heron..You are still my hero...You go girl!!!

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  23. very nice photos - looks like a great place to go.

    dan

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