October 31, 2012

October 31, 2012 

Happy Halloween!  I don't have a costume to wear, but Bill had his scary face on when he got up, just like every other morning!  As Michelle likes to say, its a good thing he's too cute to be very scary.

Every morning since we arrived in Loveland, Bill has had to scrape ice off the windshield of the Honda.  By mid morning, the sun and a clear blue sky helped warm the day.

Bill and I went to Walmart this morning.  We were going for an electric blanket and Halloween candy.  I picked out the color of the blanket and Bill chose the kind of candy.  He will eat the left over candy, with some help from three boys, I’m sure.

Sonic had a special today...corn dogs for 50 cents each.  Matthew had an early dismissal from school so when I picked him up we headed for Sonic.  After eating, we took corn dogs to Dwayne, Joey, and Hapa.  The rest went home for Connor and Joshua.

Tonight we had several trick or treaters knock on our door.  Most of them were tiny little things with proud parents herding them along.  After about an hour, I was getting cold so I turned the lights out and sat in the dark, working on the computer.

October 30, 2012

October 30, 2012

The sun was shining this morning and temperature was 40°.  We can appreciate a day like this.

I spent most of the morning dealing with mail that had accumulated at Michelle's house.  We also voted and Bill took our ballots to the Post Office to get them on their way to South Dakota.

I spent most of the afternoon on the phone, trying to take care of the responses to the mail I opened this morning. 'Twas not my idea of a fun time on a sunny day.

I helped Matthew make a Star Wars paper airplane.  He had started it, but was stuck on one part that was tricky.  We started all over with it and followed the step by step directions.  He had folded it correctly and we were able to figure the tricky part.  We finished it and did several test flights.  We were moderately successful.  The important thing was that we had a good time together.

October 29, 2012

October 29, 2012

We had some insurance papers to sign and return to our agent. Thanks to Michelle, it was a fairly easy task.

After lunch, Bill took me to Dwayne's so I could show him a DVD that I got in Lone Pine at the film festival.  When that was over I played with the pups.  When they were ready for a nap, Hapa lay on my feet.  She was so warm!

When Michelle got off work, she came for me.  We went shopping at Sam's Club.  We took pizza home for dinner.  When the guys got home from football practice they descended on the pizza like a swarm of locusts.  They come home very, very hungry.  I don’t wonder!

October 28, 2012

October 28, 2012

Bill said we left Pueblo at 6:00.  He’s an honest guy so I believe him.  I didn’t wake up until we stopped in a terrible traffic jam.  We were in it for a long time.  There was a bad accident that closed our side of the freeway.  We were finally able to exit onto Colfax, go past Mile High Stadium(Yea, Broncos), turn on Federal, and take 23rd Street back onto !-25.

Our only other stops on the way to Loveland were for breakfast and at Camping World for a new water pump.

It was good to see Michelle and her tribe.  We got the MH settled into its spot.  Not long after Meredith, Dwayne, Joey, and Hapa came for a visit.  The dogs know that I have treats.  Once that’s over they usually settle down for a snooze while the rest of us talk.

We went to Meredith and Dwayne's for dinner, which was very good.  Meredith had a pot roast, rice and salad.  Michelle brought roasted red potatoes.  For dessert, we had pumpkin pie and ice cream.  Our tummies were very, very happy.

We watched the first half of the Bronco game against the Saints before returning home.  We are both tired.  We only drove 162 miles today, but it was a tiring trip.

October 27, 2012

October 27, 2012

“Willie Nelson” woke Bill up early so we were “on the road again” at 6:30.   At least that was the story I got when I woke up at 8:30.  We pulled into a truck stop just past Springer, New Mexico, to eat breakfast.  

The Rest Area about 40 miles before Springer was closed.  As we have crossed Arizona and New Mexico, we have encountered several closed Rest Areas.  I would guess they are closed in an effort to save money.  I’d never thought of Rest Areas as an endangered species, but I guess they are.

The drive through the ranch land was made interesting by the plateaus and rock formations on each side of us.  There were lots of cattle and quite a number of antelope along the way.  As we went up Raton Pass there were warning signs for elk and bears.  We’ll have to count them as virtual wildlife, because we didn’t actually see any of those critters.

As we crossed into Colorado (Honk, honk! Yahoo!) we could see snow covered mountains in the distance.  That was a welcome sight to these two former Coloradans.

We drove on into Pueblo and parked at Sam’s Club in time to watch the Oregon Ducks play the Colorado Buffalos.  The Ducks really beat up on the Buffs.  

As the sun went down here in Pueblo so did the temperature.  A cold night is forecast.  I’m glad we have a cozy house.

Today’s Travel Totals:  Miles, 286---Critter Sightings, lots and lots, and lots of antelope.

October 26, 2012

October 26, 2012

It was really cold this morning.  According to Bill, the very local weather man, it was 27°.  Yikes and double br-r-r!

I got another ornament finished before Jim and I went on some errands.  After taking Peggy some papers she needed for a meeting, we went to Sam's for lunch.  From there we made stops at Verizon and Dollar Tree.  Before we went back home Jim showed me the place to get propane and the new Walmart.

Bill was ready to move the MH when Jim and I got back.  Since we plan to leave the Santa Fe area early tomorrow morning, we wanted to have a head start by being on the south side of town.  On the way to Wally World we got propane.

I did just a bit of shopping while Bill rested.  At 5:00, went back to Jim and Peggy's so we could go out to dinner.  The food was really good at Del Charro's in downtown Old Santa Fe, but it was one of the noisiest places we've ever eaten in.

It was nearly 9:00 before we got back to the coach.  We were both really tired, but weren’t able to get to bed any earlier than usual.

 

October 25, 2012

October 25, 2012

Br-r-r-r-r!  32° this morning.  And the wind was blowing.

Bill, Jim, and Peggy were busy working on some outdoor projects.  I thought this might be a good time to stay inside and work on Christmas ornaments for the family.

The ornaments were a little more difficult than I thought they would be.  I was only able to get two finished before dinner.  The first one took extra time.  That’s the problem when something is being attempted without a pattern.  The only directions for these ornaments are in my head, and that’s a scary proposition.  The second one I made was much easier.

Peggy made lasagna, a salad, and hot bread for dinner.  I wonder if she would like to travel north with us.  It has been nice to have these delicious dinners.  But we know what good cooks Michelle and Meredith are so we will scrap the plans to kidnap Peggy.

I was able to complete one more ornament before bedtime.  That means I’m 1/4 finished with the project.  Yippy, Skippy!

October 24, 2012

October 24, 2012

At 9:30, we were on our way toward Albuquerque.  Jim had another day of adventure planned for us.  We were going to travel the Turquoise Trail, from Santa Fe on Highway 14 to Tijeras.

Our first stop was in the small town of Madrid, an old gold and turquoise mining town.  Jim has several photographs in an art gallery, but alas, it hadn't opened for the day yet.  As we left town Jim took us on some back streets past old minors cabins.  About half of them have been upgraded and remodeled and are being lived in.

The next stop along our route was in the tiny town of Golden. The Henderson Trading Post was established in 1918 and is still run by the Henderson family.  They sell beautiful Indian jewelry, pottery, and rugs.  Peggy bought a necklace made of spiny oyster shells. It is really pretty.

After coming to the town of Tijeras at the end of the Trail, we got onto I-40 and headed west.  When we arrived in Albuquerque our first stop was at Costco. After about 15 minutes of shopping, we ate lunch...hotdogs for all four of us.

And now we were ready for some serious bead shopping.  The first place was one we have shopped at before.  Their selection is amazing.  I bought some small beads to use on this years' family Christmas ornament.  Peggy bought beads for about 10 necklaces.

She makes them and donates them for auctions at the various charities they belong.

Our next stop was at the Rio Grande, a bead company in the western part of Albuquerque.  Peggy already knew the items that she wanted.  Rio Grande is a huge warehouse store, so they gathered the things on her list.  We weren’t able to walk up and down the aisles of beads and things, which took some fun out of bead buying.

Our last stop before getting onto I-25 to go back to Santa Fe was at a warehouse store called Man I Can.  You guessed it!  They sell a wide variety of mannequins.  It was an interesting place to visit.

For dinner, Bill and Jim went to Panda Express to get our vittles.  Brent says it is bad “mojo” to read the message in a fortune cookie.  Nevertheless, I read mine...”You are an adventurer.  Travel the highway of life.”  I think that just about sums me up, don’t you?

October 23, 2012

October 23, 2012

Bill and Jim spent the morning working on a project in one of their garages.  Peggy worked with their gardener for an hour or two before going to another meeting.  I, er, uh, hmmm, can't remember anything of significance being crossed off my list.

After lunch and a nap for Bill, we went to Best Buy, US Bank, and a grocery store.  That only took two hours.  Santa Fe is really a big spread-out city.  And busy, too.  On the way in we took roads that went through town.  Coming back home we took the loop around the edge of town.  Not much traffic, and we were able to get off just a few blocks from Jim and Peggy's house.

Peggy fixed a great dinner...baked porkchops, baked potatoes, baked squash, and cornbread (also baked), and salad (not baked).  It was all so-o-o-o good.  She is a really good cook.  And we sat around and talked afterwards, which is always fun.  And the view out over Santa Fe’s twinkling lights was fantastic.

October 22, 2012

October 22, 2012

Early this morning, Bill drove in the CRV back into Albuquerque, with the alternator, to replace it with a rebuilt one or a new one.  They checked our old one and said it was OK.  They gave him several suggestions on ways to correct whatever?  (I have no idea what the problem was.  I leave that kind of stuff up to Super Mechanic.)

Peggy had several meetings today, so Jim and I had a good time running lots and lots of errands.  I'm so glad he knew his way around, because I had not a clue where we were most of the time.

By the way, Jim is my only sibling.  When we were young, he called me Sis and I called him Bubba.  When both of us had kids of our own, his son, Cort, called me "Aunt Sis" (and still does) and Lori called Jim "Uncle Bubba."  However, she, being only two, usually said "Unca Bubble."  You who know my brother (you who don't will just have to trust me), Unca Bubble fits him really, really well!

Tonight is the last Presidential debate.  Yippy Skippy!  I am getting just a little bit tired of it all.  Perhaps we should all think for ourselves and look at the past and what we want for our future.

October 21, 2012

October 21, 2012

Peggy fixed a very good breakfast this morning...scrambled eggs with lots of extra things mixed in, bacon, English muffins, and a fruit cup.  It was good to start our busy day with “happy tummies.”

We drove to Glorieta, on I-25 going north.  Jim and Peggy have a friend, Jim Gordon, who has a collection of items dating from 1700 to the early 1900s.  The collection is extensive, including 1200 rifles, several hundred knives, 60 pairs of spurs, one room with a variety of BBGuns, old wagons, and Indian jewelry just to name a few.  It was very, very interesting.  Jim Gordon is a history buff and can tell about everything that was on display.  We were there for three hours, and could of stayed three days, at least.

From there we continued on I-25 to Highway 3.  The road was good, but very narrow.  It took us through several tiny villages until we got to Villianueva.  It was a small town with several businesses and a school.  Even a Post Office was there.  

We stopped at a small convenience store that advertises Frito Pie as their specialty.  It was good, but very similar to what our family calls “Jeff Gordon.”

We continued on Highway 3 through rough ranch country until Jim suddenly made a left turn onto a rocky dirt road.  We went about 15 miles back in to the shrubs to the tiny village of El Cerritos (I think).  We visited a small adobe Catholic Church.  We met several “locals.”  One of them told us to take another road back to the Interstate.  “It was a much better road.”  Uh, no! It was as bad or worse than the other road, until we got almost back to I-25.

It was 5:30 before we got back to Santa Fe.  We were four very tired adventurers!

October 20, 2012

October 20, 2012

This morning we went to collect the adobe bricks that we had made yesterday.  They weren’t dry yet, but we were able to put them in shallow boxes and load them in Jim’s pickup.  

Bill and Jim went to unload them at home, but Peggy and I had a more important place to go...to a flea market belonging to the Tesuque Pueblo.  We were mainly looking for beading supplies.  She found several things, but I wasn’t successful.  It was fun to be there even if I didn’t buy anything.

Jim and I were going to another flea market, but when Peggy and I got home Jim had strained his back unloading the adobe bricks.  Perhaps we will be able to go next weekend.

Peggy's fish are still eating a little bit, but will soon go into hibernation.  She fed them a few Cherrios.  She said they like the honey nut flavored ones better.  They were not very interested in eating.  They are fun to watch.  She has them all named.  One little one likes to hide.  She seldom comes to join the others.  She named that one "Casper."

I had hoped to catch up on some book work that I have gotten behind in, but that didn’t happen.  Maybe tomorrow will be more productive for me.

October 19, 2012

October 19, 2012

It was 9:15 when we went toward Santa Fe to make adobe bricks.  Bill was the “mud mixer,” Jim and Peggy packed the mud in the molds, and I pushed in the place for a votive candle.  They are about 3x6x2 inches tall.  Three hours later we had made 280 of the little things.  When they are all sold, and I have no doubt they will all sell, it will mean $2800 for the restoration project.  

Mid-afternoon, the bricks needed to be turned over.  I stayed home while the other three went to take care of the turning process.  

Peggy and I spent quite a bit of time looking looking at their koi pond.  They have some beautiful fish---some big and some young ones.  There pond is really pretty, with two waterfalls.

We had soup for supper and watched Fox News and a movie...2016, I believe it was titled.  It chronicled the early influences on President Obama.

It was cold during the night and until about noon.  We are suppose to have the same for tomorrow.

October 18, 2012

October 18, 2012

After some deliberation we decided to go on to Santa Fe today rather than tomorrow as we had planned.  It worked out fine for us and for Jim and Peggy.

We had finished our Albuquerque shopping earlier.  Plus, Jim and Peggy have an activity tomorrow that I want to go to.

They are involved with the restoration of some of the old adobe churches in the area.  One of their money making projects is to make small adobe bricks to sell for $10 each at a gift shop.  Already this year they have raised $1,000.  The bricks can't be made in cold weather because they won't dry properly.

Since I have never had the opportunity to make adobe bricks before, I decided that I mustn't let this opportunity pass.  I'm sure that somewhere on my "bucket list" is making adobe bricks.

We parked at Walmart, waiting for Jim and Peggy to get out of a meeting.  When they came we went to dinner at Souper!Salad!  Afterwards, Bill and Jim took the motorhome to its parking place while Peggy and I spent a few minutes shopping at Walmart.

Bill and I spent the evening watching the Oregon Ducks plant one on Arizona State.

We traveled 60 miles today.  That's Bill’s kind of day!

October 17, 2012

October 17, 2012

Our first task this morning was to get fuel for the MH.  We paid $3.99 for diesel.  That's the lowest we've paid for several months, if you can call it "low."

Cummins was our next stop.  Bill needed filters for the coach and answers to his questions about the alternator.  They were helpful on both cases.  After purchasing the filters we had an address to get information about the alternator.

Although we weren’t able to get the alternator problem solved, we did get some useful information.

Our next stop was at Costco for some paper plates, etc.  We also ate lunch there.  It had been a long time since we had been to a Costco.   Across the street was a Sam’s Club.  We checked it out to see if there was a possibility for overnight parking.  

From there we went to REI and the Apple Store, shopping at both places.  Afterwards, Bill decided he wanted to move the motorhome from Cummins to Sam’s Club.

I saw an interesting bumper sticker today...Illegial Aliens Started In 1492.  Hm-m-m-m!

October 16, 2012

October 16, 2012

It was cold this morning just before 7:00 when Bill started herding the big box down the road.  I was really cold so I went back to bed.  That's the truth, not an excuse!  When we crossed into New Mexico I heard Bill honk so I yelled "Yahoo" from my cocoon in the bedroom.

We stopped for breakfast at a Rest Area.  While there we decided to drive on to Albuquerque today.  We need to stop at Cummins to have the alternator checked.  It is doing strange things.  They should be able to tell us who can work on it.

Before we got to Albuquerque we stopped at Camping World for some running light lens covers.  While we were parked there we ate a late lunch. 

We went on to Walmart, about six miles in toward the main part of town, to park for the night.  It was good to park early and relax for awhile.  Both of us are tuckered.  There are several geocaches fairly close to where we are parked, but they’ll have to wait for another day.

Today’s Travel Totals:  Miles traveled, 265.

October 15, 2012

October 15, 2012

Today started off like yesterday, but as we got further east the scenery changed.  We drove up and down mountains, and through scrubby cedar trees which soon changed to pine forest.  After Flagstaff things got scrubby again.

In Williams, we stopped at McDonalds and shared an order of pancakes for breakfast.  We like their pancakes!

When we got to Winslow we parked at Walmart.  The temperature was 71°...good cashing weather! 

We took advantage of the great weather, finding some very interesting caches.  One in particular was at a beautiful old hotel.  If we’d had the time, we could’ve spent the entire day looking at the displays on the history of La Posada, built in 1930.

At another cashe, an Indian woman walking her grandchildren home from school, thought we were looking at the berries on the juniper.  She gave us a lesson on how edible they are.  She was very nice to talk to.  We didn’t explain geocaching to her, but it really was interesting listening to her.

Tomorrow we cross into New Mexico.  

Today’s Travel Totals:  Miles traveled, 202---Caches, 9.

October 14, 2012

October 14, 2012

Last night I asked Bill what time he wanted to leave this morning.  Since he’s the chief driver he is usually in charge of our departure times.  He said he wanted to leave at five.  In “Bill-speak” that could mean five 'til eight or five after six, etc. etc. etc.  You get the picture?

He said we left at 7:20.  I couldn’t attest to that because I was still asleep.  The sound of that big diesel engine underneath the bed is soothing.

Once again, I-40 lead us through desolate country.  We stopped at a Rest Area to eat breakfast.  Shortly before we got there we encountered strong winds.  And, of course, it was a headwind for us.  What else is new?

Bill thinks he might start a new RV business.  If an RVer traveling north will call us, we will travel south.  Since we almost always have a headwind, the other RV would have a tailwind.

At Needles, we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona.  (Honk, honk!  Yahoo!)  It has been several weeks since we have had an occasion to do our state line thing.  We thought we had changed time zones, but remembered that Arizona doesn’t change to Daylight Savings Time.

After parking at Walmart in Kingman, we went to lunch at In-N-Out.  It may be our last chance for quite awhile.  When we got there, however, we discovered that the two tour buses parked on the street had overfilled the place.  All seats were taken and the line to order snaked around all the aisles.  

So guess what...we went back for supper!

Today’s Travel Totals:  Miles traveled, 211

October 13, 2012

October 13, 2012

At 10:15, after dumping the holding tanks and latching on the CRV, we said “so long” to Lone Pine and snow covered Mt. Whitney.  

We didn’t have much traffic and the roads were good.  The scenery, however, was pathetic.  There were miles and miles of miles and miles.  It was dry and barren.  There were a few very small towns and most of them were mainly boarded up.  And who can blame the folks for wanting to leave.

One town, Ridgecrest, supposedly had a Walmart.  We don’t know because we never did see the town.  And we were looking...not for Walmart, but just out of curiosity.

In Barstow, we had three important things to do...eat at In-N-Out (yahoo!), look for some caches, and park at Flying J for the night.  We were successful at all three things.

After resting for about an hour, we went out to find some caches.  The temp was 79° and no wind, so it was good caching weather.  Before we went back home we had found eight caches.

We spent the evening watching the NASCAR race from Charlotte.  It was a good race although we didn’t like the results.

Today’s Travel Totals:  Miles traveled, 156---Caches found, 8.

October 12, 2012

October 12, 2012

We had planned this as a travel day, but Super Driver didn’t like the weather report south of here.  So, we’ll hope things look better tomorrow.

Our next major destination is Santa Fe for a visit with my brother, Jim,  and his wife, Peggy.  We always have a good time when we are with them.  Their house looks out over Santa Fe.  I like sit on their porch and look at the beautiful view for hours.

I worked on some beading projects most of the day.  It has been quite awhile since I’ve taken a day to “play.”  I made three crosses.  When we are in Quartzite after the first of the year I will need to do some major bead shopping.  So I probably should start practicing to get my shopping skills honed.  Practice makes perfect, so they say.

Two camping spots from us is a rig with a golden retriever.  I told Brent I was going to go see it and get a “Willie fix.”  I really miss all of our family dogs, so I have to play with other people’s dogs.

Several RVs further on was a new rig, so we went to visit them.  I was impressed with the amount of cabinet space their Storm had.  They came back to see our house.  Their little dog came, too.  He was a cute, scruffy little thing...very friendly.  I ask if I could give him a treat.  Before I gave it to him I told him he had to sit.  He did after some coaxing and was soon chomping away.  I got another treat out and he immediately sat.  You talk about a fast learner!

October 11, 2012

October 11, 2012

There was a very cold wind blowing this morning.  By noon, the low clouds had lifted.  The mountains to the east and west were shrouded in clouds.  Occasionally we could see patches of fresh snow on the mountains to the west.

The snow didn't come down this far.  Drats!  It makes me sad, but it makes Bill glad.  Very, very glad!

We went into Lone Pine to the Post Office and for a few groceries.  While in town, we went to Karls Jr. for lunch.  They make good hamburgers and the sweet potato fries were great.  

By the time we got home we had some sprinkles.  I need Meredith and Michelle here to help me do a snow dance.

The dance must have worked.  We had rain and soft hail or clumpy snow.  We don’t know which, but it didn’t last long enough, anyway.

It was in the mid forties at bedtime.  Br-r-r-r-r!  And raining.

By the way, today’s date was 10-11-12.  It won’t happen again.

October 10, 2012

October 10, 2012

It was still windy this morning, but the sky is very blue with just a few white things floating around.  It was cold and the bed felt so warm and snugly I didn’t want to get up...so I didn’t!

We spent the afternoon inside, mainly because of the wind.  Although there were many tasks that needed to be taken care of, we spent most of the time relaxing.

“Survivor” was the entertainment for the evening.  Since Bill had recorded it on the DVR, we skipped through the ads.  “Himself” loves to be in charge of the remote.  Is that a “guy thing?”

October 9, 2012

October 9, 2012

After some slight problem with her car, Jo headed home to Pahrump, NV.  We had a really good time with her at her first Lone Pine Film Festival.  Maybe someday we’ll get to do it again...but it won’t be her first next time.  She’s a veteran!

Bill and I took a short walk, rested afterwards, and ate lunch.  By mid afternoon, the weather took a turn for the worse.  Storm clouds moved in from the south and brought with it strong winds.  There was a definite chill in the air.  We were both very glad this didn’t happen during the festival.

It was a good night for stew.  It’s not time for winter, but it certainly feels that way.  A warm supper tasted mighty good.

October 8, 2012

October 8, 2012

We left home at 9:15, in search of a ghost town.  Bill and I had been there twice before, but missed the road anyway.  We drove several miles further toward Death Valley than we needed to.  It was an adventure, but according to Brent and Joshua, we must be lost.  That's their definition of "adventure."

We turned around and retraced our path, this time finding the correct turnoff.  Our destination was Cerro Gordo, an old silver mining town established in 1866.  Silver, lead, and zinc were mined there.  

Several of the original buildings are still there and being renovated.  A fellow named John, staying there to do some photography of the area, befriended us.  He gave us a good tour of the General Store which has some great items from the mining days.

After spending time in that building, John took us to the hotel which is continuing to be renovated.  It was all very interesting and we appreciated the time he spent with us.

When we returned to Lone Pine, Bill took a nap while Jo and I went on a couple of errands.  We also went to the BLM campground west of town and south of the Alabama Hills.  We were checking for the availability of camping spots.  There were plenty of sites available so we went back to town to get Bill and our house on wheels.  

After getting the MH situated and and watching a few episodes of Zorro, we went back into Lone Pine to eat at Karls Jr.  We had a half price coupon from the festival and hated to see it wasted.  That’s our story and we’re sticking to it!  

October 7, 2012

October 7, 2012

Bacon, eggs, potatoes, and biscuits were served at the VFW hall this morning.  We have been doing a lot of walking at the festival and it is nice to start off with a good breakfast.

After eating, we went to the rodeo for awhile.  They were not getting their “act together,” so we didn’t hang around for too long.  

We were entertained this morning by Joey Dillon,  three times world champion fast draw gunslinger.  He was very good at handling guns, but he also put on a program with a lot of humor.  He was an excellent performer.

The panel discussion for this morning was about the various films made here in Lone Pine.  There have been over 200 and they are still at work behind the camera in the Alabama Hills.  Most on the panel were actors, but one was a stuntman.

At 1:00 there was a parade.  It lasted over an hour.  A typical small town parade!

Our last event for the festival was a presentation by Loren Janes, a stuntman for 50 years.  He had a video of the stunts used in the making of “How the West Was Won.”  It was interesting to hear how they were planned and carried out.

We all agreed that this was an excellent festival and that we had had a very good time.

We skipped the Closing Campfire at the park.  We were just too tired!

October 6, 2012

October 6, 2012

Today was even busier than yesterday, if you can imagine!  

We started off the day at a pancake breakfast served by the local VFW.  With “happy tummies,” we went to the rodeo to watch calf roping until it was time to go to our first special program of the day.

There was an interview with Johnny Crawford, who played Mark on the TV series “Rifleman.”  He has been one of our favorites for a long time.  His brother, Robert, was also on the there.  Robert was also a child star, but now spends his time behind the cameras, among other things.  We had looked forward to this presentation, but there were no microphones and we had trouble hearing everything.  Rats!

We had to hurry to our next panel which was “Memories of Classic Hollywood.”  On the panel were the two Crawford “boys,” Stanley Livingston who was “Chip” on “My Three Sons,” stuntman Diamond Farnsworth, and Wyatt McCrea, grandson of Joel McCrea.  This group had microphones so we could hear the interesting stories from their careers.  

We went back to the Museum to hear a presentation and videos by stuntmen Loren Janes, and Diamond Farnsworth, who is coordinator of stunts for NCIS.  He had interesting stories about car crashes.  

Our last event was a presentation of theme songs from some of the major Western movies.

We spent the evening watching Zorro and the Oregon Ducks put it to Washington.  Yea, Ducks!  QUACK, QUACK, QUACK!

October 5, 2012

October 5, 2012

We had a busy day at the Lone Pine Film Festival.  While Bill was watching Westerns at the High School Auditorium, Jo and I went to the Film Museum for a video presentation about Dale Evans.  It was a very well done video.

The three of us went to the craft show at the park.  We had planned to eat lunch at the Lions Club barbecue, but couldn’t find it.  We finally found out that it had been canceled, but nobody thought to pass the word around.

Bill decided to walk home to eat, and leave the car for us.  Jo and I were going to Karls Jr.  When we got ready to drive back to the coach I discovered that I didn’t have my car keys.  So-o-o-o we walked home.  

It turned out to be a good thing, because there were information signs out along the way that told some of the history of Lone Pine.  When Bill got out of his afternoon movie, he walked back to get the car.  We are all getting some exercise.

Jo and I went to a showing of a very old movie, “Dudes Are Pretty People.”  It was just about as bad as the title makes it sound, but we were glad to have seen it.  Some of the acting in those really old movies was lame, to say the least.

We stayed on after it ended to hear a presentation by Ed Faulkner who was in several movies with John Wayne.  He also had many stories to tell about other actors.  It was interesting, although I couldn’t always hear him very well.

We went back to the museum for a presentation about Roy Rogers given by his daughter.  It was a well done video.  She had a lot of interesting experiences about growing up in the Hollywood scene.

Back at the coach, Jo made potato soup.  We had French bread to go with it and date bread for dessert.  The evening’s entertainment was more episodes of Zorro, plus a lot of time to visit.

October 4, 2012

October 4, 2012

We decided that, for convenience sake, we will stay at the chamber designated area for RVs.  It will avoid a lot of driving back and forth to get to the activities.

Our friend, Jo, arrived here in Lone Pine soon after 11:00, and after resting for awhile, we went to the festival office to get our tickets.  That took some time.

We went back to the MH for lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before going for a drive into the Alabama Hills.  Many movies were filmed here, mostly westerns.  Last week, scenes from the movie, Tonto, were filmed in the Alabama Hills. A casting call went out in the area for Indians to be in one of the scenes.  

Shucks!  We might have been able to watch the filming from afar if we had been.  Two years ago we met two “locals” who sat on some rock at a distance away and watched movies being made when they were kids.

At 6:00, we went to a gala affair at the film history museum here in Lone Pine.  There was a buffet dinner, with very good food.  A lot of people attended, some in very fancy western wear.

Once we were back at the motorhome we watched several episodes of Zorro.  That is something we have done over the years when we have been with Jo.  The three of us enjoy watching Zorro.  We are easy to entertain, eh?

October 3, 2012

October 3, 2012

A cool night for sleeping and a clear blue sky at sunrise.  Yippy, Skippy!

This morning I did a major “clean out/rearrange job” on the back part of the Honda.  It took a long time and I needed help from the Muscle Man with some of the heavy lifting, but it is very nice to have that task out of the way.  When we go from one kid’s house (Pleasant Hill) to another (Loveland) and to another (Brandon) we always play like we are in the hauling business.  This trip is no different.  But now it is organized.

We were told late today that we wouldn’t be able to park our MH here on the street by McDonalds.  We are in the same spot that we have been in the other years we have been here for the festival.  The city has a new ordinance that is only in effect during the film festival.

Tomorrow morning Bill will go to the BLM campground to the west of here.  It is our favorite place to park when in the area, but it isn’t as convenient for the festival activities.

Our friend, Jo, is coming in the morning.  After she gets here we will move the coach up the mountain.  We certainly don’t want to spend any time in the slammer!

October 2, 2012

October 2, 2012

This morning I loaded several geocaches in the Bishop area into our GPSs.  By the time lunchtime arrived we had found seven of the caches and made friends with two of the “locals.”

While Bill was fueling the motorhome, I went into K-Mart for paper plates, a necessity in our house.  There was a Ben Franklin Crafts in Bishop so, naturally i had to go there.  It was a store with a little of lots of things, but not much of anything.  

It was about 2:30 when we left Bishop.  On the way to Lone Pine we saw a snow plow working.  He must have been practicing, because this was another warm day.

We parked on the street next to McDonalds.  This is our usual spot during the Lone Pine Film Festival .  The headquarters for the festival was a half block away so I went to check things out.  We hadn’t preregistered, but will take care of that in a couple of days.

I met a basket maker, Julie,  who has a booth at the festival.  I told her I use to weave baskets, but now I’m beading.  She wanted to see some of the things that I had made, so she came when her shift at the information center ended.  We had a fun time talking about crafts.

Today’s Travel Totals:  Mileage, 60---Geocaches, 7.

October 1, 2012

October 1, 2012

And another month rolls around!  This year is 3/4 past. Yikes!  This has been an eventful year so far, and the remainder looks as if it will be likewise.  We have lots of traveling planned before the end of the year.

Usually, when we are traveling east, we delay our departure for an hour or more so Bill doesn't have to drive facing the early morning sun.  However, today he left early to avoid some of the mid day high heat that has plagued the area the last few days.

As we drove through a small mountain town we saw seven deer in a yard, happily munching away.  I'm sure the homeowner was thrilled!

The road through Yosemite was narrow and very curvy, but the landscape was beautiful.  Traffic was really heavy.  At one point we came VERY close to a drop off.  The race car driver at the wheel said, "You have to remember that you are sitting in front of the wheel and it just looks closer."  I said, "And you need to remember that I'm looking straight down."  It took about 4.63 minutes for my heart to quit resembling a Gatling gun!

When we left this morning our elevation was 35 ft.  We stopped at Tioga Pass to rest and eat lunch...elevation, 9946 ft.  The ride down from that elevation was a kick.  Bill had to use the brakes more than usual.  The coach wanted to “roll.”

We parked for the night at Von’s (aka Safeway) in Bishop.

Travel Totals:  Mileage---232,  Critter sightings---7 deer