A Whole Month at "Home"

Hi there, glad to see you back. Our last episode concluded on Thursday, November 16^th, when we arrived back in Pahrump, Nevada. As most readers know Pahrump is our legal domicile, although we only have a mail service here. We almost always stay at the Wine Ridge RV Resort, which used to be one of our Western Horizon's membership parks before the company went out of business. The park is now a public resort, but it is still the nicest place in Pahrump to stay. No map for this blog since it starts and ends here in Pahrump.

Friday, November 17^th, we spent the morning doing chores around the coach. I did take the car down to the local body shop to get an estimate on the damage we got while towing in Texas. I was a bit shocked when the repair estimate came in at nearly $4,500! Just the replacement cost for the hood is over $1,200. The shop manager told me that she had seen damage like this before caused by a piece of steel re-bar that got kicked up off the road. That would explain the severity of the damage despite the fact that we didn't hear or feel any major bump in the road and there was no damage to the coach. The piece of steel would have been kicked up by the rock guard on the coach without ever hitting anything else on the coach.

We went out for a late lunch at the Chinese place in town, China Wok, and had a great lunch. We then stopped at a nail place so Jackie could get a pedi. After the pedi we went back to the coach. About 5:45 we walked down to the clubhouse for a social hour and then karaoke. It was a nice crowd for karaoke, but there were only about eight singers, so I got to do at least five songs for the night. Most of the singers were pretty good, so it was an entertaining night. Karaoke ended at 9:00, we went back to the coach for the rest of the evening and watched TV.

Saturday, November 18^th, we stayed at home and did chores for most of the day. About 10:30 one of the local car wash companies showed up to give the coach a much needed wash and wax. It hasn't been waxed since this time last year and hadn't been washed since we took off in April. The crew was around for most of the day. We did go out briefly in the afternoon when they were done to go the grocery store to get a couple of things we needed. The coach sure looks a lot nicer, and they washed the car too. After we got home Jackie made a chili relleno casserole for dinner and we watched TV until bedtime.

Sunday, November 19^th, I went out and got our Sunday paper so we could relax in the morning with the paper and coffee. After lunch I spent some time outside doing a little decorating. I put up a couple of strings of ground lights, some flags and signs. For the last six months we have been constantly on the move and never got to put out any decorations to make a spot “our own” so to speak. About 3:00 we left the coach and drove down to see Len and Debbie Forrest's new home. Len and Debbie were full timers for about ten years and we met them early on in their journey as we were both members of Western Horizon's campground membership group. We would cross paths with them several times a year, sometimes for a week or so, sometimes for a month. They both love karaoke and Len is a guitar player, so we have a lot in common. Last year they decided to build a house here in Pahrump, so they bought a lot in a subdivision a couple miles west of the RV park and had a house built. It is a nice, mid-size, three bedroom home on a big lot. We went down there with six other people from the campground, all of whom are regulars here and know Len and Debbie. We had some margaritas, some snacks and some of Jackie's key lime pie which she made for the occasion. We also supplied the tequila for the drinks thanks to our stock from our liquor basket raffle win two years ago. We sat around the campfire in the backyard until about 5:30 when it started getting too chilly. We then headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Tuesday, November 20^th, we had another stay at home and do chores day. I did a few repairs around the coach. I spent a couple hours working on one of the slides that we are having issues with. This is the large, front passenger slide. The internal brake on the motor has broken, which means that unless I put a pair of lock grip pliers on the mechanism when we travel the slide creeps out, not a good thing when going down the road. Even though I worked on the thing for a couple hours I didn't make much progress. I will have to take another crack at it at a later time. After dinner we went down to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. We haven't played since last year at this time. We had a good time, I ended the night nine dollars up, Jackie only lost a couple dollars. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, November 21^st, we left the coach about 11:00 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas to take Jackie to the orthopedic doctor. She is still having a lot of problems and pain with the knee that she hurt over a year ago and had surgery on this past January. It was 45 miles from the RV park to the medical center in Vegas, but there are no orthopedists in Pahrump. Before we went to the doctor we stopped for lunch at a place called Amazing Thai 2, which was just down the street from the doctor's office. The food was wonderful, among the best Thai food we have had. The service was also good and the bill was less than $20 for a complete lunch, soup, salad, egg roll, rice and entree for each of us. I had the orange chicken and Jackie had chicken curry. After lunch we stopped and picked up a nearby geocache, then killed some more time in a TJ Max/Home Goods store right next to the medical center.

By 1:30 we were in the doctor's office. Jackie's doctor at this place was much more personable and seemed much more interested than did her surgeon in Palm Desert. They took some x-rays, did a history workup, and talked to us for quite a while. He finally concluded that there was evidence of some early arthritis, but that in general the knee was sound and she wouldn't be needing any replacement any time soon. He gave her another cortisone shot and an order for some physical therapy. After the doctor visit we stopped at a nearby Costco for a few things, then started back over the hill, arriving back at the RV park just before 5:00. We had dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, November 22^nd, the anniversary of the assassination of John Kennedy in Dallas. I did not see or hear one mention in the news yesterday about the date. I guess today we are too concerned with what celebrity or politician has shown their wiener to what woman at any point in their life. We did some chores around the house and after lunch we went out and ran some errands. We picked up our mail, Jackie dropped a ring off for repairs at our local jeweler, and we did a Walmart run. We also stopped at four of our own geocaches to check them and be sure that they were in good shape. One had disappeared, so we replaced it. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. After dinner we went down to the clubhouse for another round of Texas Hold'em. Jackie lost seven dollars, but I ended up winning five. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, November 23^rd, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a stay at home day. Spent the morning doing some office work and small chores while Jackie cooked sweet potatoes for tonight's pot luck dinner in the clubhouse. About 4:00 we went down to the clubhouse for the Thanksgiving feast. The park provided the turkey's and ice cream for dessert. All the side dishes were provided by the guests. There were about 50 people there, so there was plenty of food, good food. The park also provided wine, which is only fitting since the Charleston Peak Winery attached to the clubhouse and the park is called Wine Ridge. We had a great dinner, sitting with some people that we have spent time with in this park for the last four or five years. After dinner we went back to the coach and watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Friday, November 24^th, the always crazy Black Friday. Unless, of course, you don't go out shopping. Then it's just Friday. We went out after lunch to do our laundry. When we were finished with laundry we ran a few errands, going to some of the thrift shops in town looking for parts for our costumes for January. The FMCA rally in Indio always has a themed parade, put on by the various Western Area chapters, and the theme for this year is “Viva Las Vegas.” Our Chapter, the Overland Trailblazers are doing a Las Vegas Wedding theme. Jackie and I did the pregnant bride thing about six years ago at a Monaco rally and we are going to do that again. We needed some old, beat up suitcases and Jackie needed a big man's shirt so she could put a pillow under it. We got a couple of suitcases, and a shirt, all for about five dollars. We are well on our way to having our costumes. After we got done with our “shopping” we headed back to the coach for cocktails and dinner. We spent the rest of the night with the TV. Saturday was another stay at home day. I did some chores around the coach, the biggest of which was to take everything out from under the bed so I could check and do maintenance on the slide-out mechanism. I didn't find anything wrong with the mechanical s, lubed everything up and put stuff back. We did get rid of a bunch of stuff we were not using anymore that was just adding weight. About 5:00 we went down to the clubhouse for a Thanksgiving leftovers party. We had all the leftovers from Thursday for dinner. There were about 50 people there, and after dinner they started karaoke, which ran until 9:00. After karaoke we went back to the coach and relaxed the rest of the night.

Sunday, November 26^th, I left the coach about 8:30 to go out and meet with one of the local weapons trainers to get the qualification paperwork I needed to renew my Federal concealed handgun permit. This is a nice benefit for honorably retired law enforcement personnel that basically exempts us from the provision of any State or local concealed weapons law, even in very restrictive states like California and New York. The downside is that it has to be renewed every year. After my qualification I went back to the coach, read the paper and relaxed. After lunch we went out and did maintenance on the remaining six of our own geocache hides here in Pahrump. We also scouted a few locations for new hides. Once we were done we stopped at the Pahrump Nugget casino to game for a while. We spent about an hour there. I lost four dollars, and Jackie lost fifteen. But, we had fun. We then went back to the coach and sat outside with our friends Dick and Millie and Marge and Jerry, having cocktails and snacks. About 6:00 it got cold, so went back inside and watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, November 27^th, I went out around 11:00 and went to the Sheriff's Office to turn in my paperwork and get my renewed CCW permit. I then went to the Salvation Army to drop off a bunch of stuff we cleaned out the other day. I went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon working on some chores in the coach, as did Jackie. We also did some cyber Monday online shopping. Jackie got a new food processor to replace the small, cheap one we had. I bought some LED decorative lights for the outside of the coach. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse to play cards. Unlike last week when I had two good nights, I couldn't win for nothing tonight, although I did come back a little and only ended up down two dollars. Jackie had a bad night too, down about six. After cards we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night. Tuesday we went out after lunch and hid three new geocaches. All three were hidden near places that we had previously put caches, but had to archive the caches, delete them, for different reasons. After hiding the caches we went to Jackie's physical therapy appointment. After Jackie's PT we went to Mom's Cafe, a great local restaurant, and one of our favorites, for dinner. I had liver and onions, which was wonderful and Jackie had an corn beef hash omelet which Jackie said was OK, but not fabulous. After dinner we went to the Elks Lodge for the lodge meeting. Since this is our “home” lodge we always try to go to at least one meeting whenever we are in Pahrump. We got there early enough to have a couple of drinks at the bar and play some nickle slots. The meeting was an initiation, so we were there until almost 9:30, after which we went home, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Wednesday, November 29^th, I spent some time in the morning doing the work to create the new geocaches that we hid yesterday. You have to get on to the website and create the cache, then submit it for approval. In the afternoon we went out and ran some errands, picking up our mail, which included our new food processor. At 4:30 we went down to the clubhouse for the Wednesday night wine dinner. The RV park's clubhouse is physically attached to the Symphony Restaurant and Winery, which is owned by a member of the same family that used to own the RV park when it was a Western Horizon's membership park. When Western Horizon's sold off all their properties the RV park was sold to someone new, but the Winery is a separate entity, just on the same piece of property. The winery also has a very high end restaurant called Symphony and there is a cooperative agreement that the restaurant caters a nice dinner on Wednesday night for guests of the RV park. They are $15 a person and include three glasses of wine, salad, entree and dessert. Tonight's entree was orange chicken. We have had better dinners in the past, but it was still pretty good and certainly worth the cost. After dinner we played Texas Hold'em and my bad luck continued, ending up down about five dollars. Jackie did OK, up a few dollars. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Thursday, November 30^th, we had a stay at home day for the most part. Jackie went out after lunch for her 1:00 PT appointment and I stayed home and did chores. I did a couple of small repairs, put up the new LED decorative lights outside and then did some Christmas decorating. We will not be here for Christmas, but we are here up until the week before, so we figured we would get into the spirit and put up the tree and a few outside decorations. After Jackie got home we ran a couple of errands, then stayed in for the rest of the evening.

Friday, December 1^st, happy last month of 2017. We went out about 12:30 and ran a few errands, then stopped for a late lunch at one of the newer restaurants in Pahrump, the China Gogo. It is in the same shopping complex as our mail box service and opened last year, but we didn't go then. They have a fairly typical Chinese menu, along with some Korean BBQ offerings. Jackie had Kung Pao combo with chicken, shrimp and beef, which she said was OK, but a little lacking in spice. I had a fried shrimp and fish combo which was also OK, but not outstanding. Oddly, it came with both rice and a mac salad, unusual for a Chinese place. All in all, for the same price you can get better, more tasty, food at the China Wok buffet and get as much as you want. After our errands we went back to the coach so that we would be there when the repair guy came out. We are having someone come out to replace our front slide motor so that the slide won't creep out when we drive. The motor works OK, but the brake is shot. The fix it guy got under the slide, checked everything out and left, saying that he would do some research to try and find the right motor. About 5:30 we went down to the clubhouse for happy hour and then karaoke. All the usual singers were there, including our friends Len and Debbie. I got to do about five songs and by 9:30 we were back home to watch a little TV and then go to bed.

Saturday, December 2^nd, we left the coach about 11:00 and headed over the hump to Las Vegas. We are going over there to do a little shopping and then have lunch with my brother Russ. Russ, who is the number three of the five boys, has lived in Las Vegas since the mid-eighties and is a pit supervisor in the craps area of the Golden Nugget Casino downtown. We first stopped at Costco to pick up a few things, then went out and got one geocache for the day. We then drove to Casa Don Juan Mexican Restaurant and met Russ for lunch. The food was pretty good, and fairly authentic, but a little pricey. We did have a great visit with Russ, having last seen him this time last year. We stayed and talked for a couple of hours. After our visit with Russ we stopped at Ross for a couple of things, then headed back over the hill to Pahrump. We got home just after dark, around 5:30, and stayed in for the rest of the night.

Sunday, December 3^rd, we had a relaxing Sunday morning with the newspaper and coffee. We ran a couple of errands after lunch, but spent most of the day around the coach. I unloaded stuff our of the Jeep that we might need sometime in the next couple weeks as we are taking it into the body shop tomorrow morning to get the road damage we incurred in Texas repaired. At 3:00 we went down a couple of sites to the Duffin's coach for one of Millie's “Dilly Muffin” club meetings. It is basically a happy hour, but Millie likes to make a big deal out of her weekly get togethers. Tonight we did a revolving gift exchange with stuff Millie got at the Dollar store. Everyone drew numbers, picked a bag, then the next number gets either a choice of an existing gift, or a new bag. It was fun and I ended up with a cute little stuffed snowman for under our tree. Jackie got a tiny wind up train. About 5:00 it was dark and cold, so everyone left and we went into the coach where we spent the rest of the night.

Monday, December 4^th, we were up early and at the Enterprise Rental agency in Pahrump by a little after 8:00. We were picking up a rental car because today is the day the Jeep goes in the body shop for repairs. We got a little bit of an upgrade and drove off in a 2017 Hyundai Elantra sedan. It is a nice little car, but so different from the Jeep. We feel like we are sitting on the ground. We did a few chores around the coach for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon. Mid afternoon we went out for a little while, putting out another new geocache in town and then doing a Walmart run. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker night. Tonight I was on fire, ending up $17 ahead from my initial stake, and also winning the high hand of the night with a straight flush. That netted me another $23, for a total of $40 up, not bad for nickle poker. We went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Tuesday, December 5^th, Jackie went out after lunch for her PT appointment. I stayed home and did some chores. When Jackie got home we went out for a while, getting one new geocache find. We have gotten most of the urban caches in the Pahrump area, and the rental car we have is not suitable for going out on the trails after some of the caches we haven't found yet. We also hid another geocache down on the south end of town, right across the street from the Chicken Ranch, one of the brothels in the area. On the way back to the coach we stopped at the Lakeside Casino and gamed for an hour or so. I broke even and Jackie lost $20. We went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the night. Wednesday we stayed at home and did chores for most of the day. At 4:30 we went down to the clubhouse for another of the catered wine dinners offered by the Symphony Restaurant. Tonight's meal was sliced sirloin with potatoes and veggies. It was quite good, with a nice mushroom gravy. They gave us quite a pile of meat tonight, so we left very satisfied. After dinner we played Texas Hold'em again. I didn't have a great night, but only lost a dollar, but Jackie had a great night, winning the high hand pool as well as ending up $5 up in regular wagers, winning a total of $23. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Thursday, December 7^th, the 76^th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. When I was stationed at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Air Station in Hawaii in 1967 the huge concrete aircraft hanger I first worked in still had bullet holes in the exterior from the attack in 1941. At that time it was Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay and was a seaplane base. The attack at Kaneohe actually started nine minutes before they hit Pearl Harbor because K-Bay was on the way to Pearl from where the Japanese carriers were cruising. We left the coach about 12:30 and went to lunch with a group from the RV park on one of the weekly lunch tag-alongs. There were 16 people who went to the Red Sky BBQ. We have been here before and enjoyed the food. Both Jackie and I had the half rack of baby back ribs and they were excellent. We had a good time eating and visiting with friends. After lunch we did a couple of errands then Jackie went to her PT. After PT we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Friday, December 8^th was a stay at home day. I spent several hours working on the Full Timers Newsletter for the first quarter of next year. Last summer I agreed to take over the editor duties and this will be my first edition. I have to learn Microsoft Publisher as I go along, but it seems to be coming along OK. About 5:00 we went down to the clubhouse for the Pizza Pajama Party and karaoke. Both of us dressed in pajama type wear and there were quite a number of people at the party who participated and dressed in jammies of one kind or another. The food was good and all of our Pahrump friends were there. About 6:00 the karaoke started and I got to do about five songs, including the show opener and a very fun closer that included all of the night's singers, as well as many of the non-singers in the audience. After the party we went back to the coach and watched a little TV, then went to bed.

Saturday, December 9^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and headed out to check out some of the local flea markets and sales. Our first stop was a place that had a big sign on the main road near the RV park that said “Big Ass Sale” and gave a location a mile or south. The sign had intrigued us and we decided to check it out. It turned out to be a private home on a big lot with a couple of garages and out buildings in the back. The whole back yard, and all of the buildings in back, were fulled with used stuff. The guy who was watching over the stuff said that the owners bid on auctioned storage units all over Southern Nevada and then brought the stuff up here to sell. We spent a half hour looking around and ended up buying a big blue and silver Christmas wreath for Millie, our neighbor at the RV park, because her coach decorations are all blue and silver. Cost a whole $2. We left that sale and went down to the VFW post a little further south and checked out their weekend sale. The next stop was the casino another mile south where they had a craft sale. I bought some rubber lizards to use as cache containers at that one.

After our shopping spree we stopped at a local Mexican Restaurant called Johnny's for lunch. Although neither of us had a clear recollection, we did figure out that we had been here once before a few years back. The food was good and inexpensive. Pretty basic, typical Sonoran cooking. After lunch we stopped at the nearby Gold Town Casino for some gaming. We played an hour or so, both of us finally losing our $20 stakes. On the way back to the RV park we stopped one last place, a new antique mall that was having it's soft opening today. It is located in a building on the corner of the main road, Highway 160, and Winery Road, the road that goes up to the RV park. The building is a large, white structure that looks a bit like a castle. Years back it had been the Kingdom Gentleman's Club, a strip bar, but it closed about three or four years ago and has been for sale or lease since. We had seen an article in the paper a few days back that said it had been bought and was going to be opened as an antique mall and museum. We thought that whoever bought it would clean the place out and turn it into a big open space with booths for sellers. To our surprise, we walked in and everything from it's days as a strip club were still there. The bar, bar stools, stages, even the stripper pole! They just had shelves along the walls where the sellers put their stuff. Very odd. After that we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Sunday, December 10^th, we had a stay at home day. I did go out first thing and got a Sunday paper. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon doing some chores. About 2:30 we went down to the clubhouse for a potluck party put on by Millie and her husband. There were about 18 people there and we played some games and all sat around and talked. The food was very good and everyone had a good time. The party broke up about 5:30 and we went back to the coach and watched TV the rest of the evening. Monday we went out after lunch and did some geocaching. We found two of the few remaining urban caches here in Pahrump, and then we drove around to different locations and hid three more new caches. We are now up to 18 active hides here in Pahrump. We also stopped at the Lakeside Casino and gamed for a bit, both of us losing a little, but we still had a good time. After driving around for a while headed back to the coach for dinner. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker. I finished about two dollars up and Jackie was about four dollars down. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, December 12^th, we left the coach after lunch, about 11:30 or so, and went to the laundromat to wash clothes. We got the clothes in the washers and I took Jackie to her PT appointment. The PT place is only a couple blocks from the laundry. After Jackie was done she walked back to the laundry, we folded the clothes and were done by 2:30. After laundry we went to the Terrible's Roadhouse Casino and gamed for a bit. We both lost our $20 but it took about an hour. We then went back to the coach, put our clothes away, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we left the coach about noon and went to Jack in the Box for lunch. We had gotten a buy one, get one, coupon for their new steak sandwich, so we thought we would try it. It was OK, but I will stick to the good old Jumbo Jack or Ultimate Cheeseburger in the future. After lunch we did a Walmart run and had a quick stop at Smith's for some stuff Wally World didn't have. We then went back to the coach until 4:30 when we went down to the clubhouse for this week's wine dinner. Tonight was chicken Tuscany, which was pretty good. After dinner we stayed for Texas Hold'em. Jackie was down a couple dollars, but I had a good night, ending up $12 to the good, not bad for nickles. We then went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Thursday, December 14^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas and Jackie's orthopedic appointment. We stopped at a BJ's restaurant for lunch, then went to the doctor's office. The doctor did a quick exam and said that he thought Jackie was doing OK. He said that she could call and come back any time she started having problems, but that there was no need for a new appointment right now. After her appointment we started back towards Pahrump. Since the doctor's office for this appointment was on the far northwest part of Las Vegas, we decided to go home the back way, north on Highway 95, then south to Pahrump, rather than go back 25 miles through town. The distance was about 18 miles more, but it turned out to be faster by a couple of minutes, plus there was no traffic frustration, just nice, wide clear roads all the way. After we got home we had our friends Millie and Dick over for cocktails. We sat and talked until about 8:30, when they went home. We then watched some TV, and went to bed.

Friday, December 15^th, our last day here in Pahrump. I spent some time in the morning getting things taken down and put away in preparation for our departure tomorrow. We also went out and did some errands in the afternoon, picking up mail and doing a grocery run. About 3:30 we got a call from the body shop that we could pick up our car. We went down there and got it. It looks pretty good except that there are two chrome trim pieces on the passenger side doors that are missing. They had not gotten them in yet, although they were on order. Since that was the only thing they hadn't finished, and it was just cosmetic, we paid the bill and took the car with the promise that they would put the strips on when we came back up here in late January. We then turned in the rental car and went back to the coach where we relaxed the rest of the evening.

The end of this last full day in Pahrump, after a month, marks a good point to put this episode to bed and get it online. We are headed to the Coachella Valley for four weeks, then a week in Quartzsite, then back up here to Pahrump. Until next time, remember that a friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. See you soon.