Moist soil units

I kept the kitchen faucet dripping last night, but temps didn’t quite go below freezing.  I wish I could say the same for the next two nights.  :(  I think I’ll have both faucets dripping tonight.  The wind blasted us out of the north today, so Emma and I waited until the clouds cleared in the afternoon to visit some of the refuge’s moist soil units.  So, tonight’s pictures are brought to you thanks to one of the moist soil units in the Skillern Tract.

Some of these moist soil units are former rice fields.  Various units are flooded by the refuge at different times to provide habitat that is attractive to shorebirds that winter on the refuge.  You can see that the water isn’t very deep, but it provides an abundant food source for these birds.  One of the most abundant species on the refuge is the killdeer.  I like that little red ring around their eyes.

Some of you might think this is a sparrow, but it is an American pipit.

It walks and flits around looking for insects and seeds.

These birds nest up in the tundra, so they’ve come a long way to enjoy the Texas coastal regions.  I guess they’re really snow birds!

 

I’m going to have to really bundle up for tomorrow’s bird count, but at least it’s not supposed to rain, or snow.  I really got a kick out of some of your comments on last night’s post.  It’s always good to start the day off with a chuckle.  :)  I’ll surely be watching for those hummingbirds tomorrow!

                                                                    THE END!!

 

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

Are my bird counts way off??

I began to wonder about that when I received an email from my friend, Susan, in Minnesota the other day.  I include it here for your enjoyment:

JB-
For some reason, this story popped into my head this morning.  I've been
meaning to tell you this since October!  My neighbor asked if I had a
hummingbird feeder.  I told him yes, I put up two every year around May 1st
and take them down on Oct 1st.  Why then?  Well, I don't want the
hummingbirds hanging around too long and it could get too cold on their
migration to S. Am.  He looked at me like I was speaking Russian for a
moment and asked "What migration?"  I said, you know, when they fly to S.
America for the winter.  He said, "You don't think they fly all that way, do
you?"  Well, yes I do.  "Well, everybody knows they ride on the backs of
geese and they only fly at night."
I had nothing else to say which does not happen often....
Other questions came into my mind but I knew they would seem pointless to
him; like, is there only one hummingbird per goose or do they line up like
little Woodstocks on Snoopy's roof?  How do they meet up with the geese?  Do
the hummingbirds listen and wait and then hop on, or do they look for a
place where geese are feeding perhaps and then hop on like ticks?  What if
the geese do not migrate like the ones here in Rochester?  Do they hang on
all winter anyway?
Now you know the truth about hummingbirds and geese.  Please check your
geese when you do your counting as there may be hummingbirds attached to
them.
sjjj
Hmm…
Guess I’d better get a real powerful scope out each count day to check the backs of those geese!  :)  Let’s see, 50,000 snow geese could mean at least 50,000 hummers… 

Well, all those high winds yesterday have brought plummeting temperatures to my neck of the woods (or marsh, as the case may be).  Seems like the next three nights I’ll be leaving my faucets drip all night so things don’t freeze up.  As I think I’ve said before, I don’t want to put the stinky water here into my fresh water tank.

Do any of you have trouble figuring out who your new followers are?  I’ve had a couple the last week or so that I can’t seem to find.  Maybe they are folks that don’t have a picture?  I like to send a personal email to new followers, but can’t if I don’t know who they are.  So, if you haven’t received a welcome email from me, please leave a comment so I’ll know.  :)

The other day fellow blogger, MERIKAY, posted a recipe for pulled pork using root beer and BBQ sauce in a crock pot.  That reminded me that I had a small pork roast in the freezer, so today I cooked it up for pulled pork my way.  I don’t care for BBQ sauce, so instead I used chicken broth, lots of garlic, and some dark honey that I got while in La Palma, Canary Islands.  It was delicious!  :)  Thanks for the reminder, Merikay.

Did you know that the pot holes in Chicago don’t seem to be as numerous this year as last?  I’m just happy I’m located in an area where I don’t need to worry about those nasty things any more.  :)

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

Sea shells on the sea shore

One of the many blogs that I read is written by ANN.  I met John and Ann this summer while I was staying at Red Rock RV Park in Idaho.  They are spending the winter near Rockport, TX, and recently found a beach down there with a mother lode of sea shells.  When I read her post this afternoon, it brought back memories of the last time I had the joy of walking an ocean beach looking for shells.

It was back in the summer of 2007, and I was volunteering at Pea Island NWR and Alligator River NWR.

What a summer that was!  This was the view of the Atlantic right out my front window.  Pea Island is located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I spent a little over a month living on the shore.

This was a display in the Visitor’s Center, but it truly depicts the sea turtle nest hatchlings ‘boiling’ to the surface of the beach.

Volunteers would monitor each nest and construct a runway for the hatchlings to reach the ocean.  We would arrive at the nest at 7:00 at night and stay until midnight.  These sea turtles always hatch at night and need to be protected from the ghost crabs that will kill them all before they reach the water.  If you’re lucky enough to be there on a night that the eggs hatch, you have to literally beat the crabs off with a stick!  One of the nights that I was on watch, an entire nest hatched.  It was an exhilarating experience to insure that all little turtles made it to the sea.

On a different day, I helped band 500 young brown pelicans on an island off the coast.  The young pelicans were not real happy about this, and showed their disdain by emitting foul substances from both ends!  Those big pouches that they have feel like the softest kid glove leather.

After a month or so, I moved over to sister refuge, Alligator River, and had other creatures to contend with.  This mother black bear with three cubs came into the RV pads when we neglected to make sure the electric fence was turned on one day at lunch time.  We never forgot again.  :)

 

I know some of you may remember some of these pics from when I did my Sunday Blast from the Past posts about a year and a half ago, but then again maybe you don’t.  :)  Anyway,  ANN talking about collecting shells took me mentally back to that time on Pea Island.

 

It was cold and rainy and windy when I drove in to open the VIS this morning.  Absolutely no one was visiting, and who could blame them?  The wind out of the east kept getting stronger and stronger, and I began to worry about my slide toppers back at the rig.  Then the electricity went out!  I was plunged into darkness, and no way to heat the VIS shed.  I waited almost an hour, and then decided to close up and head for home. 

 

For a minute, I didn’t think I was going to be able to get all the way into the rig.  Once I pried the door open, it flew open and I was stuck in the doorway trying to hang onto the door, and get it closed with my computer backpack wedged against the side of the door frame.  Time seemed to stand still as I struggled to get the door shut against the wind, and Emma kept trying to lick my face!  Ugh! 

 

I did finally get it closed, and then I tried to get the slide outs in.  The bedroom slide came in easily, but the big living room slide would only come partially in.  I tried three times.  Ugh, again!  Okay, so I took a big breathe and waited for what I thought was a slight lull in wind.  The fourth try worked, thank goodness.  It’s not unusual for it to be windy in Texas, but today was ridiculous!! 

 

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

This and that

First, I’d like to thank everyone for their comments on my decision to spend the summer in Indiana, and for suggestions of what to see in the area.  Lora was especially helpful with some websites of wildlife areas in close proximity.  I probably need to let some of you know that I was born and grew up in the city of Chicago, so I’m well aware of what the city has to offer.  I’d sure like to get a pizza from Frank’s Pizza on the northwest side, and am hoping that Ackerman’s Bakery is still in business.  :)

It was cold, overcast, and a little rainy when I got up this morning, so I decided to put off the bird survey until tomorrow.  That will give the back roads a little time to dry out a bit.  Instead, I headed into the VIS to pick up the contraption that puts sales tags on items like tee shirts.  I had three totes full of shirts waiting to be tagged with the new bar code thingy at the community building at the RV sites.  Colin had printed off the new bars codes for me before he left.
Since I had driven ten miles to get to the VIS, I decided to check the refuge roads to see what was happening in the blustery bird world.
With the weather, the shovelers and pied-billed grebes had moved into the more protected areas closer to the road.
As I rounded one of the corners, huge flocks of snow geese took flight in the distance.   It’s hard to describe in words the magnitude of the thousands of geese filling the sky.  I guess you just have to be here!  Tomorrow I’ll be counting multitudes like this.  What a sight it was.
I surprised this snowy egret along the way.  I guess it decided on flight rather than fight!  Notice the yellow dancing shoes…a diagnostic feature in identification of this species. 
Back at the ranch (RV pads), several Wilson’s snipes had landed in a flooded section of the lawn surrounding the RVs.
Usually, we just have about a dozen killdeer patrolling the area, but the 1/2” of rain overnight provided wetter areas that the snipes like.  Because the water table is not far below the surface in this marshy area, it doesn’t take much rain to provide wetland areas.  Emma doesn’t like getting her feet wet, and she is a real hoot to watch on a morning like today as she daintily prances around to find that perfect spot to do her business.  :)

Along about sunset, as I was on the computer editing my photos of the day, I began to hear sounds through the closed windows that made me think I was near an off-road vehicle race track.  As I scratched my head in surprise, Emma began barking with exuberance!  I need to tell you that there are only two things that cause Emma to bark… turkey vultures and cows.  Sure enough, another cattle drive was occurring down FM 1985.  It was too dark for any good pics, but I had to just chuckle at Emma’s antics at protecting us from this onslaught of bellowing bovines!  As she safely sat at the front window, her head arched backwards as the elongated woofs emanated from her core being.  She was successful in keeping us safe from this invasion, and all is well tonight.  :)  Of course, I’m sure in her mind, the cowboys had nothing to do with the cows staying away from us…
                                                                        THE END! 

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

An abrupt change

Thanksgiving Day dawned hot and muggy, and the mosquitoes were out in full force.  For the first time in refuge history, one of the volunteers had to work in the VIS (visitor’s center) on a National Holiday.  So, that meant we would all wait to have our dinner until Colin returned from his tour of duty.  :)  Colin is a resident of England that has flown here each fall for the last eight years to volunteer on the refuge.  He took the VIS duty yesterday so the rest of us could get the dinner prepared.  Turns out he had never heard of the sweet potato dish topped with marshmallows, but loved the traditional green bean casserole that I prepared.  Neither of these dishes are normally served in England.  As usual, there was more food available than could be consumed, but it was an enjoyable and tasty repast.
                                    Tonight’s photos are some from my recent cruise.

One of the things I really look forward to at a Thanksgiving Feast is savoring the taste of a large piece of crisp, brown turkey breast skin with a dash of salt sprinkled on it.  I know it’s not good for you to eat, but once a year I indulge and my mouth was watering at the thought of this culinary delight for me.  Boy, was I disappointed!  I don’t know what the carver of the turkey did with the skin, but none was to be found.  :(  I’m thinking I just may have to go buy one of those turkey breasts with the skin on so I can roast it and have my yearly treat.  (a whole turkey is just too big for me alone)

The wait staff put on quite a show the last night of the cruise as we dined.

After the feasting, I came back to the rig and the air conditioner was still running pretty steadily.  Then about 9:00, the wind shifted, the rain began, and the temp dropped about 30 degrees in 30 minutes!  I was suddenly getting goose bumps, and even had to turn the heat on.  What an abrupt change of weather as the cold front from the north moved through.  It didn’t drop low enough to wipe out our massive supply of mosquitoes, but today’s northerly high winds did keep them at bay. 

It rained most of this morning, and I just hunkered down inside and played on the computer.  I did a little work in the afternoon taking inventory for the VIS, but all in all it was a relaxing day spent inside with the furnace on.  Each time I took Emma out, she was invigorated by the cooler temperatures and ran circles around me at the end of her 18’ lead.  She likes the colder temps more than I do.  :)

If the sun shines tomorrow, perhaps we’ll take a drive.  Maybe I’ll make a trip to the Bolivar Peninsula.  I think I’ll pack a lunch tonight just in case…
                                        Sunrise entering the port of Nassau, Bahamas.

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

Training Tuesday

All of the volunteers and staff had to show up at the maintenance office this morning for a training video on safe driving.  Each month it’s something different, and I missed the October training on blood born pathogens.  Oh darn!  :)  I’ve about got that video memorized from all the years of viewing it back in my former life.

When that was over with, I headed back to the rig to relax until after lunch.  Then I headed to the Visitor’s Information Center (VIS) to get trained in on the new cash register for the nature store.  This year’s version even has a scanner for items that we sell.  Technology marches on even at our refuges!
During a lull in the afternoon, I took a short drive down one of the refuge roads to see what birds were about.  This Loggerhead shrike posed on a couple of branches for me.  This bird has a common name of butcher bird because it catches small birds and insects and impales them on thorns to dine.  It’s talons and feet are not strong enough to squeeze the life out of its prey, so it’s not considered a raptor.  They are quite common on the refuge.
I also got a brief view of an Eastern phoebe on the barbed wire.  Notice the dragonfly zooming around at the top of the pic.  You can’t see much more than the silhouette of this bird because I was shooting into the sun, but I liked the effect.

I hustled back to the VIS to learn the closing procedures, but our only sale today was a bottle of water to a staff member.  :(  This isn’t exactly the busiest time of the year here for the VIS.  I’m really surprised the VIS is open every day at this time of the year, but originally the new VIS was supposed to be already built by this time.  There are plenty of volunteers to man it and the new second center closer to I-10, but neither facility has been completed.  I’m hoping to help set up the new visitor’s center before I leave, but I’m not sure it will be done by then.
After we closed up the building, I took a drive around Shoveler Pond.  This pic of a great blue heron was all I could come up with.  Since the hurricane, this wildlife drive has been miserably unproductive.  Before the hurricane, it was a fresh water oasis in the middle of brackish and salt water areas.  It will take more time to get it back to a fresh water haven. 

It’s not been a very exciting day today, but tomorrow I’m off on a bird survey assignment.  The weather has been muggy, windy, and hot; perfect for the hoards of mosquitoes that don’t seem to be blown off by the winds.  :(  When I lower the window on my vehicle to take a picture, dozens of those blood suckers rush inside and I’ve got lumps all over.  Even though it’s hot, I wear jeans and a sweatshirt to take Emma out so I won’t be a head to toe pincushion!  That’s the price I pay for this great location.

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

La Palma, Canary Islands

Just at dawn, we pulled into the port of Santa Cruz which is on La Palma, one of the seven Canary Islands.  We were up early since our tour for the day began at 8:15.

The first stop was the Santuario Virgen di Las Nieves.  This church was built in the 16th century.  One of the things that I found most fascinating about this church was it’s courtyard.  More specifically, the pavement of this courtyard.  Two designs in the pavement can be seen above.  Those are all sea rocks that make up the design.  They were all carried to the site of the church by parishioners and those making a pilgrimage to the church.  The flat round stones are set on their side and placed to create the designs.  They are quite smooth to walk on (unless you are wearing high heels).

Our next stop was the Caldera de Taburiente National Park.  Although it is called a caldera, in actuality, it is not.  The ravine resembles a caldera, but is punctuated by crests formed by erosion of volcanic materials.  It was a harrowing drive up and down in the big bus as the road is not one way, but is only one lane wide.  The tour guide suggested we write out our last will and testament as we took this journey.  :)

Depending on what side of the mountains you are on in La Palma determines the weather.  The national park is in the center of the island which has sunny blue skies.  When you head back east over the mountains to Santa Cruz and the coast, the skies become cloudy and the humidity increases.  You can see how the mountains are shrouded in clouds.

It was pretty cloudy as we returned to the ship.  The rectangular area on the left of the picture is the swimming beach.  The beaches have black sand because of the volcanic material.

 

This evening we attended the Ice Odyssey.  There is an ice skating rink on board, and tonight professional skaters put on a very good show.  I’ve never been that close to professional skaters before, and really enjoyed the performance.  We now have six days at sea before we reach Nassau, so we’ll be investigating the ship more.  Several people have asked about the food on the cruise, so I’ll have time to talk about that in the next six days.  :)

 

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

Wahoo! I finally made it.

The winds changed overnight, and this morning were out of the northwest as I headed out of Corsicana, TX.  That meant a nice tail wind for a good share of my journey.  :)  Once I got close to Houston, however, the gulf wind prevailed and was really blasting me from the side.  One of the things I like about traveling around Houston is that they paint the road with pictures of what lane is for what highway.  I really appreciate that in addition to the road signs.

After about 260 miles, I pulled into the volunteer village at Anahuac NWR.  What a relief that was!  After a month, I had finally made it here.  Of course, I’ve learned to not expect everything to go smoothly, and I wasn’t disappointed.  :(  After corresponding with Stephanie, the volunteer coordinator, I knew that I had a choice of two sites, and because I’ve been here three times before, I knew which site I wanted.  Well, there was a refuge vehicle with a fire crew trailer attached to it in the site I planned to move into.  Okay, so I checked out the other site (on foot).  First of all, it had a picnic table that I couldn’t hope to move in the middle of it, and secondly, there was a tree that leaned over the rear of the site which meant I couldn’t fit into it.   Ack!!

I knew everyone was on a field trip today, so no one would be around.  I unhooked the toad, and Emma and I sat out at the picnic table in the 90* heat to wait for everyone to return.  In about an hour, Stephanie and all the volunteers returned.  Since I was parked smack dab in the middle of the entrance road, it was immediately obvious that there was a problem.  After another hour or so, a key for the truck was tracked down, and it was moved out of the site so I could move in. 

A couple of the male volunteers helped me get set up, which I really appreciated since I was feeling pretty wilted at the time.  :)  Once the basics were done, I turned on the AC and sat inside for a while until I stopped sweating.  Then I tackled the DISH set up.  I dragged all the equipment out of the trunk of the car, made some adjustments, and using a compass made my first guess of where to point it.  For the first time in over four years, I was right on the satellites without having to do any searching!   I always make a bet with myself about how long it will take me to find both satellites, but today, all bets were off.  I did a little happy dance and went back into the AC.

I’ve been in the high desert for quite a few months, so it will take a little time to adjust to the heat and humidity of the coast!  I was also reminded I was in a marshy area this evening when I took Emma out.  I had three mosquito bites in no time at all.   Ah, I’m just happy to finally be here.  :)

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

Emma does Dallas :)

I perceived a small window of opportunity this morning, and got on the road before 8:00!  I’m so glad I did.  As the morning progressed, the miles rolled by and I found myself, and Emma, tackling Dallas shortly after noon.  Thank goodness it was a Sunday, and traffic was lighter than a weekday.  Without a navigator that can help read signs, it was a challenge today to keep moving to the correct lanes as I wove around from I-35 to I-35E to I-30E to I-45 to Houston!

I tried putting my destination address into the GPS, but it would have taken me on an awful lot of side roads, and added 20 miles to my journey, so I didn’t use it.  There were a couple of times when the directional signs were hidden behind overpasses!  Yikes!  There were also several car drivers that wouldn’t pass me, but wouldn’t let me change lanes either.  I hate it when that happens. 
Once I got through Dallas, I hit my easy button.  It helps dissipate my tension and makes me smile to hear someone say “That was easy!”  Of course, I talk back to it and say “That’s what you think!”  :)  Sometimes, I use even stronger language to disagree.  :)

Once outside of Dallas, the dreaded winds picked up, and the last 30 miles of my 287 mile journey was pretty white knuckle.  I would have stopped sooner, but there aren’t many campgrounds along this stretch of I-45.  I ended up at American RV Park in Corsicana, TX.  The reviews weren’t great on this campground, but I didn’t have much choice.  Actually, after stopping here and talking with the owner, I’d stop here again.  Best part of our chat was that after giving him some input about Escapees and workamping, he gave me a discount on my fee for the night.  :)  I was really happy to be off of the road, and get the AC going.  It was close to 90* inside the rig after I set up.

We are now surrounded by tornado warnings, and a tornado has touched down not too many miles from here.  The thunder is rumbling, and Emma is hiding under the table next to my feet.  :(  I’ll be keeping my eyes and ears tuned to the sky tonight!

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

Still waiting to move on

When I took Emma out first thing this morning, I noticed that there was no rain, but, oh my gosh, the wind was a howling!  I really wanted to be on my way to get out of Oklahoma into Texas, so I prepped everything inside.  I turned on the TV to the local news station, and most of the news was all about the weather!  Lots of warnings and watches, so I checked my online weather source, and the radar for where I was going to travel was not good.  Once again, I debated with myself, but finally made the decision to stay put for another night.  :(

 

When I went to the office this afternoon to pay up for one more night, the gal at the desk told me that she had a call from a camper that was coming in from Texas.  They had called to say they didn’t know when they’d get here because they were just getting hammered with high winds and severe storms.  Whew!  I guess I made the right decision.  In the afternoon, the winds were so bad that I pulled in the slides because I was worried about the slide topper awnings.  We had some rain, but mostly winds.

Things calmed down a bit in the late afternoon, and I was able to put the slides back out.

After dinner, Emma and I were able to take a good walk about, and I looked for some photo opportunities.

Here’s some more old John Deere equipment.  It was a bit of a struggle to find anything interesting after three days.  :)

 

The forecast calls for sunny skies tomorrow, but increasingly high winds by afternoon.  So, my latest plan is to get out of here early tomorrow morning.  I’m even going to set my alarm!  Egad!  What a sorry state things have resulted in.  :)  I leave you with tonight’s hopeful sunset…

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

I think I only have one nerve left!

You know how sometimes things just get on your last nerve?  Well, if I’m lucky I have one nerve left.  First there have been all the repair challenges, then this morning the storm’s blew in.  I decided to sit it out in Guthrie rather than drive in the deluge.  Weather is something I have no control over so it didn’t bother me too much.

I decided to use the day to set up the printer and do my “Online Check in Procedures” for my upcoming cruise.  Everything moved along smoothly until I went to print my boarding pass.  It wouldn’t print.  I spent hours resetting and trying again to no avail.  This is a brand new printer, and all I can get is the first few lines of a page printed!  I’m so frustrated I could spit!

(I just may do that.  I bet you didn’t know that I am a really good spitter!  It’s one of the important things I taught my kids.  You don’t want to be a wimpy spitter with drool running down your chin.)

Well, after that little rant I’m feeling a little better.  I’ve emailed my sister and asked her to print my boarding pass since we’ll be roommates.  Of course, that doesn’t mean she’ll do it.  :)

Ah, well, I’d better move on before I get cranky about something else tonight.

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

A hodge-podge of thoughts and doings

It was a chilly, overcast, stay inside kind of day today.  Not a day for sightseeing.  So, I cranked up the heater.  Since this is day 11 in the Camping World parking lot, my mind took to wandering.  MARGIE’S thought provoking post got my mind to thinking about my fulltime lifestyle.  I certainly think my lifestyle is worth it, but maybe a few changes are in my future.  Most of my five grandkids are getting old enough where I can actually have a conversation with them, so I’m thinking maybe next summer I might spend more time around them so they get to know me better, and I get to know them better.  Lots of planning involved there, and I do love  planning.  :)  I enjoyed not having to work (volunteer) this summer, and I didn’t quite go bankrupt, so we’ll see what happens. 
Being inside all day, kind of forced me to accomplish a task I’ve been avoiding.  I bought a printer in July, but hadn’t even unpacked it until this afternoon.  I was dreading setting it up.  As it turned out, things went pretty smoothly, until I tried to print something.  :(  It only printed the first few lines, and then stopped.  I tinkered and tinkered, but to no avail.  Time to use my Google email and “chat” with my oldest son, Daniel, online.  Solving computer problems is his line of work, so in very short order he gave me a suggestion, and it worked!  I’m almost feeling a little geeky about that! (no where near the powers of RICK, but a little more accomplished, anyway.:))  Probably my biggest problem in setting it up was getting the box out of the overhead cabinet I had stored it in.  I finally had to shred the box in order to get it out.  I don’t remember having any difficulties getting it in there, but it sure wouldn’t come out!

Now, I’ll finally be able to print my boarding pass for the cruise in November.  I’m going to tackle that tomorrow, just as soon as I get a mailing address for my luggage tags.  I don’t want them to be sent to SD (my mail service) since my mail is on hold right now.  I’m hoping to have them sent to Anahuac NWR.  I just can’t remember the mailing address there, and it may have changed after all the rebuilding that was going on this year after hurricane Ike.
As I was looking for the printer, I ran across my other traveling companions.  They used to reside on my dashboard, but since Emma took up residence I’ve relocated them to a safer location.  Jiminy Cricket (of “When You Wish Upon a Star” fame) is my favorite, and has been with me since the get go.  The others I’ve accumulated in my travels.
In the late afternoon, the clouds finally dissipated, and Emma and I were able to spend some time outside.  I enjoy watching the mass exodus from the parking lot as the store closes.  It reminds me of Sunday afternoons when I’ve been a camp host in several state parks.  Peace reigns after the ‘rats leave the sinking ship’!   :)

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

Finally, something worked out!

When I headed from Yellowstone to Malheur in August, I had to drive through some construction.  Along the way, a big eighteen wheeler came barreling towards me, kicked up a good sized stone, and it put a chip in the motorhome's windshield.  Ugh!  I’ve had that chip on my mind ever since.  Fast forward to yesterday as I was at the laundromat.  Outside was a man sitting under a canopy with a sign that said free windshield chip repair.  I went out to talk to him which resulted in his saying he would come out to Camping World this evening to fix my chip. 
And sure enough he did!  He was happy that the rig was facing into the sun as he said that was necessary for the resin to set.
He was a little concerned about the oncoming storm, though, so decided to do the repair before calling my insurance company.
It’s a good thing he did, because shortly after he left, the skies opened up and the rain began.  We did contact GMAC, and the repair is covered without any further cost to me.  Sweet!  It’s about time something went as planned.  :) 
I thought I’d include a picture of one section of this Camping World to give you an idea of how many rigs they have for sale here.  That’s a lot of inventory!

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