Part 3 of Our Winter Stay in Nevada

Hello again. Our last episode concluded on Wednesday, November 14^th, while we were still in our official “home” of Pahrump, Nevada. Thursday was a fairly quiet day and we stayed home most of the day so Jackie could continue her recovery from her knee surgery. She is still in a lot of pain, even two weeks after the surgery and is getting frustrated. We did go out briefly in the late afternoon to get pedicures.

Friday, November 16^th, we went out after lunch so Jackie could go to PT, then we ran a few errands afterwards. We went back to the coach and did some chores, then after dinner I went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. Jackie didn't feel like going down there and having to sit for three hours, so she stayed home. After I got back from karaoke we watched a little TV and went to bed. Saturday we again left after lunch, stopped and picked up our mail, which today was the last package of several that I had coming from Amazon over the last two days. I ordered a couple of new speakers for my music system. The ones I have still work, but over the years they have become really ugly and are large and hard to store. They were my original speakers from when I ordered all the sound system stuff in 2001 and have served their purpose. The new speakers are more compact, but have comparable performance to the old ones. They are also in more durable cabinets so they won't get so beat up over time. After we got our mail we went to the big park in Pahrump for the annual Pahrump Pow Wow, which is always the weekend before Thanksgiving. They pull in a lot of Indian tribal members from California and Arizona, and there are even a couple of tribal areas in Nevada. We walked around the vendors for a while and watched some of the drummers and dancers. Some of the costumes were outstanding. After visiting the Pow Wow we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Sunday, November 18^th, I went out in the morning and got a paper and we had a nice relaxing Sunday morning. About 2:00 we drove over to the Escapee's Park for a party with our friends, many of whom either are staying, or used to stay, at Wine Ridge RV Park. Dick and Millie Duffin were doing the party, Millie actually, and she used to do them every couple weeks when they were staying at Wine Ridge. This year their name came up at the Escapee's, so they now have a lot there. This is the same park where we just recently put our name on the list for a lot. There were a couple dozen people there, most of whom we know fairly well. We had a nice snack pot luck, played some games and talked for a couple of hours. After the party was over we went back to the coach, had a light dinner and watched TV for the rest of the evening.

Monday, November 19^th, my brother Russ, who lives in North Las Vegas, came up to spend the day with us. He is a Floor Manager for the craps pit at the Golden Nugget in downtown Vegas and has Sundays and Mondays off. We spent some time talking and catching up. The last time we spent any real time with him was back in February, although we did get to say hi to him at work a couple of times during the year when we found ourselves in Las Vegas. We also stay in touch on social media of course. About 12:30 we went to the Chinese buffet and had a nice lunch, then went out to do a few geocaches. We had gotten Russ interested in geocaching about six or seven years ago and he has stuck with it and still enjoys caching. One of our “caching kids” who hung in there with the sport. There is a new caching team in Pahrump and they are starting to put out caches in the urban area, so we actually have something to go look for again. We have long ago found all the urban caches in Pahrump. About 3:00 we dropped Jackie off for her PT, then Russ and I continued to drive around, talk and check on a couple of our own caches that had been reported as having problems. We fixed the caches, stopped at Walmart for a bit, then picked Jackie up and drove back to the coach. We sat and talked until about 6:30 when Russ decided he needed to head for home. We spent the rest of the night with the TV then went to bed.

Tuesday, November 20^th, we had a stay at home and do chores day. Never left the park, but both of us got several chores finished and off our To Do lists. Wednesday we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to the Mountain Falls Country Club grill for lunch. We had eaten here once before earlier this year and had enjoyed the food. I had a Reuben, which was very good, as was the bean soup, but Jackie's chicken sandwich was overcooked to the point of almost inedible. After lunch we went to Walmart and did some grocery shopping, then Jackie went to her PT appointment. After PT we went back to the coach, put everything away and relaxed for a while. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker night. Jackie lost a dollar and I came out five ahead. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, November 22^nd, Happy Thanksgiving, very early this year. We had a relaxing day and about 2:00 we went down to the clubhouse for the Thanksgiving Dinner party. It was a pot luck of sorts, but the park provided the turkey and all the plates and plastic ware. Jackie made a big Chinese Chicken salad, which went over well. We didn't bring much home. The place was full, with probably over a hundred people there, but there was more than enough to eat. We sat and talked with folks after dinner until about 5:00, when we went back to the coach, had cocktails and spent the remainder of the evening with the TV.

Friday, November 23^rd, we had a 10:00 appointment at the Verizon store to take advantage of their Black Friday sales event. Jackie has been wanting to upgrade her phone for a few months now, but we waited to see what sales might be going on. Jackie go a new Samsung Note 9, which is a little larger and more powerful than the regular Samsung S9 phone. It also has a stylus that stores in the bottom of the phone, the first Android phone with a “pencil” attached. Our intention was to follow our usual routine, which was that Jackie gets the upgrade, newest phone and I get her hand me down. In this case it was a Samsung S7 Edge, a nice phone that has worked well for Jackie. Jackie's new Note 9 had a $400 credit for Black Friday, which was a good deal, glad we waited. While we were doing all the paperwork and stuff for her new phone the gal who was helping us was telling Jackie that we were lucky because apparently the Samsung S7 phones had battery issues, with the batteries overheating, swelling up and occasionally even catching fire. We never had any problems with her phone, so didn't give it too much thought, but when she pulled the phone out of the leather case Jackie kept it in the battery was swelling and popping the back off the phone! A dangerous situation, which meant that I wasn't going to get a hand me down this time. To the rescue, the gal told us that the Samsung S9, which was the latest regular Samsung smart phone, also had a $400 price reduction offer and so long as we did two separate transactions we would get both offers since both phones were upgrade eligible. So, I did get a new phone, a brand new phone! Yea! After paying the taxes on $1,400 in phones, as well as screen protectors for both new phones we were $300 poorer, but both had nice new phones. Our Christmas presents. After the phone store we headed back to the coach and played with our phones for a little while.

About 2:00 we left and drove over to the Escapee's RV park to meet with our friends Dick and Millie, who now have a spot there. They had invited us over to go with them to a post-Thanksgiving leftovers dinner and music at the clubhouse there. They know that we got on the list to get a spot at the Escapee's, so they wanted us to see what the clubhouse looked like and meet some of the other residents. It is a nice clubhouse and they had a lot of leftovers. Most of the people were friendly and the music host was pretty good. They even did some karaoke so I got to sing a couple of songs. The only thing was that it started at 2:30 and by 4:30 they were done and packing up. This is NOT a night crowd at all. We went back to the coach, relaxed for a bit, and then at 5:30 went down to the clubhouse at Wine Ridge for the leftovers dinner there and then karaoke again. They had a lot of food and we had a good crowd for karaoke. We stayed, listened and I sang about four songs. By a little after 9:00 we were back in our coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Saturday, November 24^th, we had a stay at home day. Both of us got a few chores done and had a quiet day. Sunday I went out in the morning and got a paper and we relaxed with our coffee and Sunday paper. About 12:30 we drove over to the Escapee's park for a party with Millie and Dick Duffin and a number of other friends, most who are staying at the Wine Ridge RV Resort with us. There were a couple dozen people there, lots of good snacks, visiting and some fun games. About 4:00 the party was finished and we went back to the coach. We stayed in the rest of the evening, watched some TV and then went to bed.

Monday, November 26^th, Jackie had early PT, at 11:00. After PT we went to the new BBQ restaurant here in Pahrump, called QU BBQ. I had the pulled pork and chopped brisket combo and the food was quite good. The pork was better than the beef. The beans and mac and cheese sides were also very good. Jackie had pulled pork and pork ribs. The ribs a bit dry, but with sauce were also good. In my opinion the ribs at Red Sky, the other BBQ place in town, are better, but they don't have any pulled pork on the menu, so we will probably be back. After lunch we did a Walmart run and picked up our mail, then headed back to the coach. At 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker night. Jackie and I both lost, me about $7, her about $10. Couldn't get a good hand to save my life. After poker we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, November 27^th, we left the coach about noon and drove to the new doctor's office for my first appointment. Unfortunately, we got there at 12:15 and I found that I had put 12:30 on the calendar when it was supposed to be noon. They couldn't get me in and had to reschedule me for Saturday. Not a great first start with a new doctor. We went out and got two of the new geocaches that have been put out in Pahrump, our first finds in a few weeks. After that we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day and evening relaxing. Wednesday we left the coach about 10:30 and drove to China Wok, the buffet here in town, for lunch. Today was a free lunch put on by Medical Air Transport Association (MASA), which is a sort of insurance for emergency medical transport, either by land ambulance, helicopter, or fixed wing plane. They also perform emergency asset recovery, for instance, if you have a heart attack in New York they will bring your motor home and car back to your home if you can't. We are lifetime members of MASA, joining in 2007 shortly after we went full time. We haven't had to use it, but it gives great piece of mind with the amount of money that the various medical transport companies charge. Periodically MASA puts on lunches and welcomes current members to come. Of the 50 or so people at the lunch today at least two thirds were existing members. Dick and Millie Duffin, who are also members, joined us at our table. After a great free lunch we took Jackie to her PT at 2:00, then went back home for a while. At 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse to play poker. A little better night tonight, each of us only lost a couple dollars. After cards we went to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, November 29^th, we were up and on the road by about 9:15, driving over the hill to Las Vegas so Jackie could do another follow up with the orthopedist. There was a winter storm moving through so it was cold, cloudy and sometimes rainy for the whole trip and after we got to Las Vegas. Again the doctor didn't come in to see Jackie, but the nurses and assistants did an interview and exam and gave Jackie some modified PT orders and some medication samples. They just told her to keep doing what she is doing and wait for the pain to lessen with time. After the doctor we stopped at a restaurant called Distill, which is almost next door to the ortho center. We had eaten here the last time we came down,

but we were in a hurry and didn't get to enjoy the meal. They have a great menu with some really interesting items and we wanted to try again when we didn't have to rush. I had a BBQ brisket grilled cheese sandwich which was wonderful. Jackie had a blackened chicken club. After lunch we went to Costco for some things, then stopped so Jackie could get a haircut. After the haircut we went back over the mountain. By the time she got done at the salon the rain had stopped and it was clearing up. We got home in time for cocktails, then watched TV and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Friday, November 30^th, we left the coach after lunch and went to do our laundry. While the clothes were washing and drying Jackie went up the street for her 2:00 PT appointment. By the time she was done with PT the clothes were also done. We went home and put everything away and had dinner. About 6:00 I went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. Jackie didn't feel like going as they kind of beat her up during her PT. By a little after nine I was back home after a fun night of singing with friends. We watched a little TV and went to bed.

Saturday, December 1^st, the end of the year is approaching. I went to my doctor's appointment at 10:30 and got to meet our new family doctor, Dr. Wiggins. He is a fairly young guy who said he recently relocated to Pahrump from Alaska. We talked a little about the recent earthquake, which was centered not too far from where he lived. The exam went well, he reviewed my meds and put me on an additional blood pressure med. He also told me to come see him again in April when we get back and to get my lab tests done then. He said he would send all my med renewals to the pharmacy. He also gave me an order to have an abdominal aorta ultrasound exam. He said it is recommended for men between 65 and 75 who have ever smoked. Even though I quit 40 years ago he thought it was good to have the test. After seeing the doctor I went to the imaging center, which is conveniently in the same building, to set up an appointment. To my surprise they said to come in tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., which is a Sunday. After my doctor's appointment I went home. After lunch we went to Walmart for some supplies, then went back home and stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Sunday, December 2^nd, I was up and out for a quick 8:00 appointment at the imaging center. It was the only section of the building that was open, all the doctor's offices were locked up and dark as were the lab, pharmacy and coffee shop. I got right, in, the young gal did the ultrasound, and I was on the road for home by 8:30. I picked up a Sunday paper on the way home and we enjoyed the rest of the morning with the paper and our coffee. About 1:00 we went down to the clubhouse for another of Millie Duffin's Dilly Muffin parties. Since it was getting really cool someone had made arrangements to use the clubhouse at Wine Ridge for the party. There were about 25 people there and lots of food and snacks. We talked, played some games and ate. We had a great time and the party was over about 4:30. We went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Monday, December 3^rd, we left the coach a little before 1:00 and took Jackie to her PT. While she was in PT I did my exercise walk. After her PT we went home and I spent a little bit of time taking down and putting away a few things. Our original plans were for us to leave Pahrump tomorrow and head down to Silent Valley, near Banning, California for almost a month. However, we decided a couple weeks ago to extend our stay here in Pahrump so Jackie could continue her PT. As it stands now we have to move to another spot in the park tomorrow. When we decided to stay for another month the park was pretty much booked up and the only thing open was one of the pull through sites. I don't have to take the screens down since I can see good enough through them to move a few hundred yards, but I had to put away the flagpole and some other stuff. After I got done with those chores we relaxed for a while and then had dinner. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker. Unlike last week, both of us had good nights. I ended up nine dollars ahead and Jackie was three dollars ahead at the end of the two hours. Yea! After cards we went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, December 4^th, moving day; or so we thought. I got a call a little after 7:00 a.m. from the manager of the park telling me that they had some cancellations and we would be able to stay in our current spot for another month. Yea! I spent a little bit of time in the morning putting some of the outside stuff back in place, the BBQ, our chairs, a few things. I didn't put the flagpole back up because in a day or two I will be putting up our Christmas decorations since we will be here in Pahrump over Christmas. About noon we left and went to have Mexican food at El Jefe, one of the several Mexican places in Pahrump, and one we haven't been to in a while. The food was good and there was lots of it. After lunch we picked up our mail, which is significantly less now that the election is over. We then went to Walmart and then stopped at one of the casinos in town to game for a while. We both lost our small stakes, Jackie down $40, me $25, but it took an hour and a half and we had fun. After the casino we went home and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Wednesday, December 5^th, we left the coach just before 1:00 and took Jackie to her PT appointment. We actually got a little rain overnight, but only enough to just dampen the ground. After her PT we went out to do some geocaching. We have already gotten all the urban caches in the Pahrump area, and we no longer have a high clearance vehicle suitable for getting the ones on the gravel trails outside out town, so we have not done much caching lately. However, some caching acquaintances of ours from Pahrump are putting out some new caches, so we now have a few that we can go out after. This series of caches is not far from the RV park, on a good gravel road that our little electric cart can navigate, so we started doing the series. Today we got the first ten of the ones that are out, leaving another dozen or so to get another day. It was cloudy and cold and after ten we decided that was enough. We went back to the coach, relaxed for a while, had dinner, then at 6:30 went down to the clubhouse for poker. We did OK, I lost about six and Jackie lost two. We still had fun though. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Thursday, December 6^th, we had on and off drizzly rain all night and it appeared that it would be that way all day too. Considering the torrential downpours in Southern California I guess our light rain is a good thing. I spent about three hours, with short rain breaks from time to time, putting up our Christmas decorations. This is the first time we have been in Pahrump over Christmas. After decorating we just relaxed and watched the rain for the rest of the day. Friday we went to Jackie's PT at 1:00, then after PT we ran a couple of errands. We picked up our mail and made a quick Walmart stop. We went back to the coach and relaxed and had dinner. At 6:00 we went down to the clubhouse for karaoke. We had a good time, there was a pretty good sized crowd, but only about eight singers, so we had a quick rotation. By 9:15 we were home relaxing with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, December 8^th, we were up and out of the house just before 9:00 a.m., early for those of you who know us well. We got out early to go to a small geocaching event here in Pahrump. It was put on by a winter visitor geocacher from New Hampshire who was going to be in Pahrump for a few weeks and wanted to meet some of the local cachers. It was a small group, about a dozen people, and we had a good time talking caching. We knew most of the people by their caching handles, and even a couple that we have previously met. They were mostly from Pahrump and Las Vegas with a few Rvers thrown in for good measure. The event lasted about an hour and half, after which we went home and relaxed for a while. After lunch we went out to do some geocaching on our own, picking up 13 new finds, which, when combined with the event this morning, gave us 14 finds for the day. After caching we went back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

It has now been about three weeks since we published and we have about two weeks left here in Pahrump, so it would be a good time to get this episode published. Until next time remember the words of Will Rogers, “if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” See ya soon.

The Middle Portion of our Winter Stay in Nevada

Hi there, welcome back to the story. Our last chapter ended on Saturday, October 20^th during our two month stay at the Wine Ridge RV Resort in Pahrump, Nevada. Regular readers will know that Pahrump is our legal domicile, although we rarely spend more than a month or two each year there.

Sunday, October 22^nd, we had the Sunday paper and coffee in the morning. I spent about three and a half hours in the afternoon repairing the toilet in the motor home. The coach is over 13 years old and recently the pipe which leads from the toilet into the black tank of the coach cracked. It happened while we were traveling this summer and I did a quick fix patch, but I needed to make the proper repair by cutting out the broken pipe and splicing in a new one. It took a while, and two trips to Home Depot, but by 4:00 everything was back together and we are back in action. Yea! We spent the remainder of the day in the coach, watching TV and relaxing. Monday we went out in the afternoon to run a couple of errands. We stopped and picked up mail, went to Walmart and then Home Depot to return a couple of things I had bought for the toilet project and then not needed. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed, then about 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. I had a rough night, ending up about $8 down, but Jackie won about $10, so we were all good. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Tuesday, October 23^rd, we left the coach a little after 9:00 a.m. and headed over the hill to Las Vegas. Jackie had another appointment with Doctor Winder, her orthopedic guy, about her knee and what the MRI she had last week showed. We also had a bunch of other errands to run. Our first stop was a couple of furniture stores, continuing our search for a couple of replacement dining chairs for the coach. We found some chairs we liked, that were also affordable, at the second place, Living Spaces, but we wanted to check one other store before we bought anything. After the second furniture store we drove to the closest In N Out Burger drive in for lunch, then headed over to the Desert Orthopedic Center for Jackie's appointment. The doctor came in and after some discussion suggested that the best course of action would be for him to do another arthroscopic surgery on her knee. He said it was an easy out patient surgery with little risk. Although he didn't say it directly, and probably wouldn't, I got the impression he thought the first surgery didn't solve the problem. Of course, prior to the surgery Jackie has to have some blood tests, a chest X-ray and an EKG and they have to be done by your primary care physician. Jackie called out doctor's office in Palm Desert to see if our doctor could just order the tests so we could get them done in Pahrump. However, it turns out our doctor is no longer with the practice and they would not consider another one of their doctor's doing the orders without actually seeing Jackie in person. Since we are not going to drive 400 miles one way to Palm Desert, we will have to find a new primary care doctor in Pahrump.

It was kind of funny in that just in the last few months we have been discussing the possibility of changing doctors and getting one in Pahrump. We used to spend months in the Coachella Valley in the winter, but now we are only going there for two weeks. We are spending more time in Pahrump and it would make more sense to have our primary care doctor up there. Now it seems the decision has been made for us since we have to get a new doctor no matter what. The surgery is tentatively scheduled for about two weeks from now and we have to get busy tomorrow and work on getting a new doctor. After the doctor's visit we stopped at the third furniture place and didn't find anything we liked, so we drove back up to Living Spaces and bought the two black faux leather chairs that we liked. Two chairs, along with a five year warranty were less than $150. We had to convince the store to sell us two off the floor because otherwise we would have had to come back in three or four days to pick them up. They were a little reluctant, but finally gave in because they had about a dozen of them in the showroom anyway and I we whined enough. After the chairs were loaded we went to Costco, got some gas for the car and did a little shopping. The last gas we bought was 30 days ago and we only used 6.8 gallons in that time, getting almost 90 MPG for the period. Yea! After Costco we headed back over the hill, arriving back at the coach about 5:30 after a very busy and productive day. We had dinner, watched some TV and then went to bed.

Wednesday, October 24^th, we mostly stayed in for the day. Jackie spent some time on the phone in the morning and found us a new primary care doctor at the new medical center they opened last year. Our new doctor is Dr. Wiggins. We had to chuckle because we are old enough to remember the old Carol Burnett show when Tim Conway would play the office manager and Carol would be his secretary, “Miss Wiggins.” Funny how certain words or names can trigger memories. She was able to get an appointment for next Monday to see him and arrange for the pre-op tests she needs done. I spent a couple hours rearranging some things in the bedroom to make room for storing our old dining chairs. We don't want to discard them because we need them when we have extra people eating in the coach. After our chores we just relaxed for a while, had dinner, and then went down to the clubhouse for poker night. Jackie had a great night, winning about eight dollars, I lost four. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, October 25^th was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out after lunch and dropped some stuff off at the Elks Lodge for their garage sale and then we stopped and voted in the general election. Nevada has two weeks of early voting before each election, so it makes it pretty convenient for us. The line wasn't too bad, we were only there for about a half hour. We also got to vote for a dead guy. The republican candidate for the local Nevada State Assembly district the includes Pahrump was a guy named Dennis Hof. Hof has been running for this office for several years and this year he beat the incumbent in the primary. Even though this is a very heavily Republican district there were indications, according to the news, that some republicans were having trouble bringing themselves to vote for Hof because he owns a number of brothels in Nevada, including three in and around Pahrump. Last Monday he celebrated his 76^th birthday with a political gathering here in Pahrump, one which included former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpio, then he went to an apartment at one of his brothels in Crystal, a little community north of Pahrump. The next morning he was found dead in bed, no mention of whether the hooker he was with had been with him when he died. Since it was only two weeks to the election the ruling is that he stays on the ballot and can be elected. If he does win then the County Commissioners will select a replacement from the Republican party. According to the newspaper he now has better odds of winning than he did before he died. Politics! After voting we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Friday, October 26^th, we went out after lunch to do our laundry. That took most of the afternoon. After we finished we came back to the coach, put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day. Normally we would be going to the clubhouse for the Friday social hour and karaoke, but it has been put off until tomorrow when they have the Halloween party. Saturday was a stay at home day for the most part. We got a few chores done. About 5:00 we went down to the clubhouse for the Halloween party and karaoke. We don't do costumes, other than each of us has an orange Halloween tee shirt. Mine says “Forget Candy Give Me Beer” and Jackie's says “I'm The Good Witch.” There were a lot of people at the party, many of them in costumes, some were really great. There was lots of good snacks to eat and then there was a couple of hours of karaoke. After the party, about 9:00 or so, we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, October 28^th, I was up early, went out and got a Sunday paper, then drove to one of the local gun shops so I could do my annual shooting qualification to keep my Federal concealed carry license active. Although being a retired law enforcement officer with this permit exempts me from all State and local concealed carry laws, it does require annual renewal. I did a little shooting, got the instructor to sign off my paperwork and I was back home by 10:00. About noon we left and drove to the Lakeside Casino and RV park where we met Millie and Dick Duffin, some friends of ours that met several years ago at the RV park here in Pahrump. We met today for lunch so we could talk to them about the Escapees Co-op park here in Pahrump. They have just moved into a site at the Escapees park. After talking about it and thinking about it for several years we have decided that we would try to get a site at the park. We have been Escapees, one of the largest RV clubs in the country, since we bought the coach in 2005. The club has about a dozen co-op parks around the country, California, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Nevada and several others. The basics are that you have to be a member of Escapees and then you can apply to purchase a lot. You have to put a $1,000 deposit down and they put you on the waiting list. When a lot comes up because the previous owner dies or otherwise gives up the property, the next name on the list is called and asked if they want that lot. You can turn it down if you don't like the placement or whatever, but only three times. Then you go to the bottom of the list. The length of the list depends on the park and Pahrump has one of the shorter lists.

Most of the people we know only had to wait a year or two for their name to come up. Once your name comes up and you accept the offer you have to pay a one time fee of about $7,000 plus the depreciated cost of any permanent improvements to lot, like concrete patios, fencing, etc. The average total is around $12,000 to $15,000 here in Pahrump. After that you only have to pay for your electricity and a maintenance fee, which is about $75 a month here. When you decide to sell your lot for whatever reason you get all your initial investment back. We have visited the park and it is not a luxury resort, but it is nice, with a clubhouse and some activities. We have just decided that we needed a place to be in a few years when we decide to slow down our traveling a bit. We had a nice lunch and talked to Millie and Dick about the process and what they think so far and everything we heard was positive. We will probably go down and talk to the park ourselves in a few days. After lunch we stayed at the casino and gamed for a couple hours, then headed back to the coach where we relaxed the rest of the day.

Monday, October 29^th, we left the coach around 10:00 and drove to the new medical building in town so Jackie could meet what we hope will be our new primary care doctor. She went in to see Dr. Wiggins because she needs to get a bunch of pre-op tests done so that the orthopedist in Las Vegas can do the arthroscopic surgery on her leg in a week or two. I didn't need to see the doctor today, but I did fill out all the new patient paperwork and got an appointment for next month to see him and get my prescriptions renewed. Jackie had a nice meeting with the doctor and then was able to get her blood work done, chest x-ray and flu shot all in the same building. This is a nice facility. After the doctor's stuff we went to Mom's Diner for lunch, then stopped and picked up our mail and did a quick Walmart run. After Walmart we went home and relaxed for a bit, then around 6:30 went down to the clubhouse for poker. Tonight I broke even and Jackie lost a couple dollars, but we had a good time. After cards we watched a little TV then went to bed.

Tuesday, October 30^th, the weather turned much cooler and windy. After lunch we took a drive to the Escapee's Co-op park, talked to the manager and picked up the paperwork we needed to get on the list to get a site one day. We took the paperwork home and filled it out, transferred a $1,000 into the checking account, went back to the park and turned in our paperwork and a check for the $1,000 refundable deposit. We are now officially “on the list” to get a permanent spot at the Escapee's Co-op in Pahrump. We are number 52 on the list, at the bottom until someone new comes in or someone higher on the list refuses three different offered sites and goes to the bottom of the list again. Of the 52 names the first 16 are “inactive” which means they have asked to be passed over either because they are not ready to get a site yet, don't have the money, or whatever. As of a few months ago this is no longer an option, your name comes up, you say yea or nay, and after three nay's you go to the bottom. However, the 16 who were on the list already as inactive were grandfathered in and can stay on the list.

The manager told us that this park cycles through the list a little quicker than most of the other Escapee parks, and that it could be anywhere from six months (unlikely, but possible) to about two years before we get to the top of the active list and begin to get offered sites. The down side is that you don't get to pick a site. When when comes up you can only say yes or no. For the most part the sites are all pretty much the same size and all have a wooden storage shed on it. There is actually one large wooden shed that is split in two between adjacent sites. The sites are number 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, and so on, up to 94, so there are 188 sites on the property. The differences are where are they in park, in relation to the clubhouse, the entrance, the ends of the rows, etc., and what improvements have been added. The most common things are concrete pads and fences. Some people have also added electricity to the sheds, shelves, windows, etc. The sheds as originally built were just a wood box with a door, no windows, no interior walls, no electric. So, we are now on the list and will just sit and wait for our name to come up. We are going to go through the park before we leave here in December and make notes of the sites that we really like, the ones that are just OK, and the ones we would prefer not to have. That way when we get the phone call we can refer to our notes. Our friends also videoed the entire park so they would have a reference and we may do that also. After turning in our papers we went back to the coach and relaxed for a bit.

About 3:30 we left again and went to an early dinner at a place called Tower Pizza with a group of people that are friends with Regina and Richard. They go out for pizza just about every Tuesday afternoon. There were about 18 people there, including us and Regina and Richard. Several of the couples we had already met because they live, or at least stay frequently, at Wine Ridge RV Resort where we are. The others live elsewhere in Pahrump and are friends of theirs. Jackie and I both had the Philly Cheese steak, which was only OK. Lots of meat, but not a lot of flavor. The pizza looked pretty good and if we join the group again we may have to try the pizza. We were there for a couple of hours and had a good time talking to new people. After we ate we went back to the coach, had a cocktail and watched TV for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, October 31, Happy Halloween! Boo! For the most part we stayed home. We did go out briefly in the afternoon to pick up mail and run a couple of errands, but mostly did chores around the coach. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse for poker. Both of us lost a couple of bucks tonight, but had a good time playing cards with our friends. After cards we watched a little TV and went to bed.

Thursday we left the coach about 11:00 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas so Jackie could see her orthopedic doctor for the pre-op exam. We got into the area a little early so we stopped at a place called Distill, a restaurant and bar just a block from the orthopedic center. We were pretty rushed, so we had to take half our stuff to go, but we will definitely be back when we have time to relax with our meal as the menu choices were great and the food was really good too. We got in to see the doctor and basically just got a briefing from the aide, the surgical nurse, and the doctor about what to expect tomorrow at the surgery. They also went over all the pre-op tests that we had done on Monday. After the doctor's appointment we went back to Pahrump and just relaxed for the rest of the day and evening.

Friday, November 2^nd, we left the coach about 9:30 and headed over the hill again, this time to the Desert Orthopedic Center's surgery center, which is not too far from the airport in Las Vegas. Jackie's surgery was scheduled for noon and we had to be there at 11:00. We got there right on time and they took Jackie right in to get her prepped. I was able to sit with her when the anesthesiologist came in and then they took her off to surgery. The surgery only lasted about 20 minutes and the doctor came out and showed me some pictures, explained what they had done, and said that Jackie was doing well. They had two different areas of the knee that had to be repaired, including one very large flap of loose meniscus. I don't see how the first doctor missed those things last year. By 1:00 I was loading a very groggy Jackie into the backseat and heading back over the hill. She will be laid up for a day or two, then should be able to get around a little bit. She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the couch, just drifting in and out from the anesthesia.

Saturday, November 3^rd, Jackie had a bit of a rough night, in a lot of pain. We spent the day in, with Jackie in the recliner the whole day. She did eat lunch and I did a lasagna for dinner, so she has her appetite still. I did the best I could to be a good nurse maid for her all day. Sunday we again stayed in for the day. Jackie is still in a lot of pain and having trouble walking, so she was down all day. I got a couple of chores done during the day. Monday was another quiet day at home as Jackie recuperates. Got a few chores done around the coach, made burgers and fries for dinner. Tuesday was another repeat. Jackie is gradually getting a little more mobility and walking easier, and the pain seems to be slightly less. Hopefully a little better every day. I made some chili colorado for dinner and it turned out pretty good. Wednesday, Jackie continues to improve a little each day. We hope to be able to get out of the coach for a while tomorrow. The propane guy finally came and filled our tank. We were getting pretty low and the cooler weather is approaching fast. Supposed to be near freezing at night this weekend.

Thursday, November 8^th, Jackie felt up to at least getting out of the coach for a bit. After lunch we went out and ran some errands. We even walked around the Dollar Tree store for a while. We picked up our mail and some KFC for dinner, then headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. Friday we stayed around the coach for most of the day, doing chores and relaxing. About 3:30 we went to the physical therapy office so Jackie could have her intake evaluation and first PT session. After the session we went back to the coach and had dinner. I went down to the clubhouse for karaoke, but Jackie was tired and hurting from the PT, so she stayed home. After I got back from singing we watched a little TV and went to bed.

Saturday, November 10^th, Happy 243^rd Birthday to the United States Marine Corps! Today was a chores day. I spent a couple hours in the morning finishing up on the plumbing project in the wet bay under the coach. In the afternoon Jackie and I spent some time going through a bunch of memorabilia, old newspapers, magazines, photos and stuff from as far back as the 50's. Some we saved, some we set aside for scanning, some we sent to relatives, and some just got tossed. We did cut the amount of stuff in half, which is a good thing when storage space is limited. We spent the evening watching TV and relaxing. Sunday, Happy Veterans Day. The 100^th anniversary of the end of WWI. We mostly had a stay at home and do chores day, although we did go out in the afternoon for a quick Walmart run. After dinner we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, November 12^th, the “official” Federal holiday for Veterans Day. We just stayed at home until about 3:00 when I took Jackie down to do her PT appointment. After PT we went back to the coach, had a quick dinner, then went down to the clubhouse for Texas Hold'em. Jackie lost a few bucks and I broke even for the night. After cards we went back to the coach and watched a little TV before bed. Tuesday we were up and on the road by 11:00, driving over the hump to Las Vegas for Jackie's follow-up appointment on her knee surgery. We had to leave early to avoid getting caught in a traffic stoppage on the road to Las Vegas. They are widening the road as it goes over the Spring Mountain pass and once a week or so they stop traffic for an hour to blast the bedrock. They always do it at 12:45 and the schedule online said it was going to be today. We made it through and were in Vegas by a little after noon. We stopped at Farmer Boys for lunch, then went to Sam's Club to shop a little before her 2:00 appointment. The doctor actually didn't see her, his nurse came in, took off the bandages and talked to Jackie for a while. After the appointment we stopped at Kohl's for a bit, then went back over the hill to Pahrump. Once we got back to the coach we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, November 14^th, was mostly a stay at home day. About 1:00 some friends of ours, Riley and Karen Caton, arrived at the RV park for a one night stay. Riley and Karen are both geocaching acquaintances, as well as friends from the Monaco International Chapter of FMCA. They own a Monaco Diplomat, similar in design to our coach. We had been in contact with them a few days ago and were coming south through Nevada and when they learned we were in Pahrump they altered their route just a little to be able to spend one night in Pahrump. We sat and talked until just before 3:00 when I took Jackie for her PT. While Jackie was in PT I ran a few errands, went to the post office to mail some things, went to the UPS store for our mail and went to the bank. After PT we went back to the coach. At 5:00 Riley and Karen came over for cocktails and then at 6:00 we left and drove to the Red Sky BBQ place for dinner. We had a very nice dinner and talked for another couple hours. After dinner we dropped them off at their coach, we went home and watched TV until bedtime.

It has now been about three and a half weeks since we published and we have about that much time left here at Wine Ridge. That makes this a good place to close this chapter and get it published. Until next time remember that the most important thing in life is not knowing everything, it's having the phone number for someone who does. See ya soon.

Back in Nevada to Begin our Winter Season

Hello again, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Saturday, September 29^th when we arrived at the Riverside RV Resort in Laughlin, Nevada for a five day stay. We are here for a rally with the Beat the Odds Chapter of FMCA. This is a small chapter that holds two events each year, one in February and one in October. The February one is always in Laughlin and the October one was always in Pahrump, which is how we became associated with the chapter. We went to a couple of their October rallies in Pahrump because that is our “home” of record and we are usually there in the Fall months. They had to move the October rally to Laughlin because the casino in Pahrump would no longer put on a slot tournament, which is kind of a cornerstone of their rallies. It is a gambling chapter after all. The rally actually starts on Monday but we wanted a couple of early days.

Sunday, September 30, I went out and got the Sunday paper from both Las Vegas and Bullhead City, Arizona, and we had a quiet morning. In the afternoon we ran some errands over on the Arizona side of the river, stopping at both Sam's Club and Walmart for a few things. After we got that stuff put away we went over to the Riverside Casino and gamed for a while, then went to the coffee shop for dinner. After dinner we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the night inside. Monday was the first official day of the rally, but other than picking up our registration materials in the morning, we didn't have any rally activities until the opening dinner at 5:00. For the rally this was the arrival day for most people. We spent most of the afternoon gambling at the Colorado Belle Casino. Neither of us had much luck so we went home for a while. At 5:00 we went back over to the Riverside for the rally dinner. There are about 50 people attending the rally and we already knew about a half dozen of them. The dinner was salad and sandwiches catered by the casino. The food was OK, nothing special but tasty. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Tuesday, October 2^nd was the main activity day for the rally. We had to be at the Riverside Casino by 9:00 for the slot tournament. The tournament costs $50 a person, but most of that comes back to the participants in prize money. The last one of these we attended about two years ago we got more back than we invested and we didn't finish anywhere near the top of the list of high scores. The tournament is done in two 15 minute sessions on special machines where you just spend the time hitting the play button and hoping for the best, three sevens across the line. I had sessions at 9:00 and 10:00 and Jackie had times at 9:30 and 10:30. Your score is the total of what you “win” on the machine for both sessions. Both Jackie and I had totals of just under 20,000 points, which is about in the middle of the pack from what I gathered watching other peoples scores. We may get some small prize money on Wednesday, we will see.

After the slot tournament was over we went back to the coach and had lunch, then had to go back over to the Riverside for the afternoon fun, the Bunko tournament. Bunko is another regular activity for this group and it is a lot of fun. It is a very simple dice game that is great for large groups. You get to meet with and play with a lot of different people over the two hours or so it takes to play four sessions. We always enjoy the Bunko games. After Bunko was over we drove over to the Tropicana Casino, which to people who remember the “old” Laughlin, was the Ramada Casino, the one with the steam train. The train is now gone, as are all the railroad themed decorations. The reason we went over there is that Jackie's long time girlfriend Helen Reiley had just arrived after driving up from Los Angeles. Regular readers may remember that Helen lives in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and that we visited with her last summer when we did our trip to the East Coast. She and her late husband Joe owned a bar and restaurant which Helen just recently sold, so she has no more responsibilities and can now travel more. Helen flew to Los Angeles about a week ago to visit with family and was going to drive up to Pahrump to spent a few days with us up there. When she found out we were stopping in Laughlin for a few days before going to Pahrump she decided to stop here too. She loves to gamble, poker slot machines mostly, and likes to try different casinos. We found her at the bar and talked and gambled for a couple hours. The three of us then went to the Italian restaurant in the casino and had a nice dinner. After dinner we left Helen at the Tropicana where she will spend a couple nights, and we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, October 3^rd was a free day for the most part. There is a banquet with the rally tonight, but that is all. We didn't feel like gambling much today since we haven't been having much luck, so we just stayed in and did chores. We did go out briefly to visit the post office and get one geocache in Laughlin. About 4:00 we went over to the Riverside for the rally banquet. We did a little gaming before going in and went into the banquet about 5:00. We had cocktails and then dinner. Dinner tonight was a little fancier, with several salad choices, pulled pork, pot roast, fried chicken and potatoes and gravy. The potatoes, pot roast and salads were all very good, the chicken was cooked to death and the pulled pork didn't look good at all. After dinner they gave away the prizes for the slot tournament and the Bunko tournament. Neither Jackie nor I finished in the money in either tournament. Boo hoo. After the banquet was over we went downstairs to the casino and gamed for a couple of hours. Helen had come over and gambled with us until we left about 9:30 or so. We went back to the coach and watched some TV, then went to bed. The rally is now over and we will leave tomorrow to go “home” to Pahrump.

Thursday, October 4^th, another travel day. We left Laughlin early, about 9:20, heading northwest 150 miles to our legal home of Pahrump, Nevada. We left early for several reasons. The trip has several fairly long, uphill climbs and although it is technically Fall, it is still warm and I wanted to get the trip done before the afternoon heat set in. The other is that the trip takes us right through the Las Vegas valley, so I want to be sure to miss the rush hour traffic. The trip went well, the coach got warm a couple times, but did not overheat, and we arrived at the Wine Ridge RV Resort in Pahrump just before 1:00. Helen drove her rental car up from Laughlin, leaving quite a while after us, and arrived within five minutes of when we pulled into the park. She is renting a cabin at the resort for four nights. We got registered for our two month stay, then parked the coach and started getting set up. That took most of the afternoon, but we got all settled in. Helen came over and she and Jackie played cards for a while and then Jackie made a chili relleno for dinner. We had a nice dinner and watched the Thursday night football game because the Patriots were playing and Helen is a fanatical Patriots fan. The game ended about 8:30, Helen went back to her cabin and we watched a little TV until bedtime.

Friday, October 5^th, the three of us went out after lunch to run some errands. We stopped and got our mail and then did a Walmart run. We went back to the coach and I spent some time doing some chores while Jackie and Helen went out again to run some more errands. They came back about 2:00 and spent some time playing cards. Around 6:00 we again went out and went to Mom's Cafe for dinner. Mom's is one of our favorite places to eat in town. We had a great meal and after dinner went back to the coach. Helen visited for a little while, then went back to her cabin. We watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, October 6^th, the three of us walked over to the Winery around 11:00 for the first day of the Pahrump Winery “Grape Stomp” weekend. The Pahrump Valley Winery is adjacent to the RV park, in fact, the Office building for the RV park is attached to the restaurant portion of the winery building. The reason for that is that the RV park used to be a part of the Western Horizons Resort system, of which we were members, and the brother of the guy who owned WHR built the winery on the same property. About five years ago Western Horizons went belly up and the RV park was purchased, renovated, renamed and opened as a public park rather than a private resort. However, the Winery wasn't included in the purchase and is still owned and operated by the same family. About four years ago they started holding an annual “Grape Stomp” festival in the Fall. They have a bunch of vendor booths, food booths, and live music for one Saturday and Sunday each year. The highlight is the grape stomping contest where a player gets into a sawed off barrel full of grapes and stomps the juice out. After two minutes of stomping the player with the most juice wins. The get a lot of contestants over the two days and many of them dress in costumes. It is really a lot of fun. We have been twice before since we are often in Pahrump during the October period when they hold the festival.

We got some lunch from one of the food booths, walked around and looked at the vendors, and then watched a few rounds of the grape stomping. We only stayed for a few hours because the weather was a bit stormy and threatening and wind came up really bad. We ended up going back to the coach and we spent the rest of the day inside, the girls playing cards and me doing some office work.  About 5:30 we went back down to the clubhouse for a free BBQ and karaoke provided by the RV park.  Had a couple of hot dogs and did a few songs before we quit around 8:00 and went back to the coach.  We watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, October 7^th, I went out and got the Sunday paper and we relaxed for the morning. In the afternoon we went out and ran a couple of errands, but we mostly stayed home and relaxed. The weather was again unsettled and very windy. Jackie made a meat loaf for the three of us for dinner. Helen stayed until about 8:00, then went to her cabin and we watched some TV until bedtime. Monday we left the coach about 10:00 and drove in the car to Las Vegas for a couple of days. Helen is a big player at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Vegas and gets big comps every time she comes out. If she asks they give her a suite and they comp all her meals and any shows she wants to see at any of the MGM resorts in Vegas. She invited us to come down and spend a couple days with her before she flies back to Massachusetts on Thursday. She had gotten a suite with an adjoining room for us and told us that she was going to get tickets for the Michael Jackson One show, a Circ du Solei production that is playing in the showroom at the Mandalay Bay.

Once we got to Las Vegas we met Helen at the airport rental car terminal where she dropped off the rental car she has had for the last couple weeks. The three of us then went to the hotel and got checked in and moved in. After we got settled in the room, which was on the 60^th floor overlooking the airport and south part of the strip, we went down to the casino and had lunch in one of the restaurants. We spent the rest of the afternoon gaming in the casino. Helen made a bunch of money because she plays the dollar poker machines and gets big wins. We didn't have that kind of luck, but it was fun. About 5:00 we went to the room, changed clothes and freshened up for the evening. We went to dinner about 6:30 in the Fleur restaurant in the casino, which was a nice, upscale dining place. We had a nice variety of appetizer plates for dinner, including a plate of steak tartar for me, something I haven't had in years. After dinner we gamed for a little while, then went into the Michael Jackson show. We had great seats, right in the middle of the showroom. The tickets said they were nearly $200 each, but they were comped to Helen by the casino. Yea! The show was fabulous, lots of Michael Jackson music and the acrobatics of the cast were amazing. Big stage, lots of special effects, people flying around over your head, it was a great show. It has been years since we have been to a Las Vegas style big show. The show went for a couple of hours, after which we gamed for a short while then went back to our room and went to bed.

Tuesday, October 9^th, we left the hotel about 11:00 and went out to take Jackie to her doctor's appointment. She is still going to an orthopedist because of the knee injury she got two years ago when we were at a rally up in Oregon and she fell on her knee. She has had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, had cortisone shots, and still has a lot of pain. She had a shot back in June when we came through Vegas, but it didn't do anything so she wanted to go see him again. We stopped for lunch at a Thai restaurant near the doctor's office and had a nice lunch. We then picked up a geocache on the way to the doctor's office. We got there a little early but they also took us in early and we got to see the doctor. After talking to us for a while the doctor said he was going to get her set up for another MRI scan to see what was going on.

After the doctor's appointment we drove back to the Mandalay Bay and picked up Helen, then drove to downtown Las Vegas. On the way we stopped at the Gold and Silver Pawn shop, which is the site of a cable TV show called Pawn Wars. We have never seen the show, but Helen is a fan and wanted to see the shop. Lots of people, but it is kind of a tourist trap. For me, nothing to see here, move along. We parked at the Golden Nugget and went into the casino to do some gaming. My brother Russ is a pit boss in the Nugget and I stopped and said hello to him. The girls played some slots and I sat at a Let It Ride table for a while. I left after an hour $200 ahead and even for the weekend. Yea! We went out and walked the Fremont Street area for a half hour or doing some sightseeing, then drove back to the Mandalay Bay. We spent the rest of the afternoon gaming, had a nice dinner at another of the casino restaurants, this one a Mexican themed place. Like the other places we have eaten in, the food was good, but a little too fancy for my liking. However, it was all comped by the casino, so who am I to complain about free food. After dinner we gamed for a while then went back to the room, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, October 10^th, we were leaving today to drive back to Pahrump, but Helen was staying for another couple nights. We were packed up and in the car by 10:30 on the road back to Pahrump. The drive is only a little over an hour, so we were back in the house, unpacked and having lunch by noon. The cat was making a lot of noise because he missed us for 48 hours and probably thought he was abandoned. After lunch we went and picked up our mail, then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. A fun “weekend” in Vegas, but glad to be back home. Thursday was a chores day. We went out after lunch and did laundry, then a Walmart run. After we got back home we put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Friday, October 12^th, we left the coach about 10:00 and drove to the Pahrump Valley Hospital so Jackie could get the MRI done on her knee. After the procedure we headed back to the coach, stopping on the way at three of the geocaches that we have hidden in Pahrump, just to check and see that they didn't need any repair, supplies or other maintenance. We also stopped and picked up our mail. We had lunch and I did started some repair work on the coach, working on some issues in the water bay. About 4:00 we changed clothes and then drove to the Pahrump Nugget Casino so we could see a comedy show. Jackie had noticed a flier last week when she and Helen had gone to one of the casinos advertising a free comedy show featuring Joe Machi, who had been one of the comedians on TV's “Last Comic Standing” a few years ago. We enjoy good stand up and remembered Machi as being pretty good, so we made reservations. We also invited some friends from the RV park, Regina and Richard Rubenstein.

They actually live full time in a small trailer at the park. Regina used to work for the park part time, but she now has a job with the local elementary school working in the cafeteria for a few hours every weekday. They are originally from Connecticut, but now live out here. We gambled for about a half hour then got in line for the show, soon joined by Regina and Richard. They opened the doors at 5:00 and we went into the ballroom and got good seats. The show started at 6:00 with the MC that told a few jokes and then a warm up act. I don't remember these guy's names and they weren't on the advertising, but the MC was pretty funny and the warm up act kind of died. Joe Machi finally came on and did about a 30 minute set. He was up and down, but overall pretty funny and we all enjoyed the show. It was nice to do something a little different for evening entertainment. Normally we would have been at karaoke at the RV park, but this was fun too. After the show the four of us went to Johnny's Taco Shop for dinner and had some pretty good Mexican food. We had a nice visit, a good show, a fun meal and then went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, October 13^th, we went out after lunch to run a few errands. I needed to go to the RV store to get a couple of parts, but found that they were closed, even though the sign said they should be open. Since that is the only RV store in town, I didn't get my parts. We then went out and checked a few more of our geocaches that we have hidden around town. One of them was missing and we had to replace the container, the other two were OK. We made a quick stop at Smith's for a couple things, then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Sunday, October 14^th, we read the paper and relaxed in the morning. After lunch I did one of the several major maintenance projects I have on my list. I removed the toilet from the bathroom and rebuilt it. As many readers will know RV toilets are quite different in operation than a house toilet. Most, including ours, are gravity flush using a minimal amount of water. There is a rotating ball in the bottom of the bowl that holds in the water and after a while the seals and ball get too covered in gunk to work properly, water leaks out and smells from the black tank come up. I have replace the seals a couple of times, but it was now time to do the ball too after 13 years. It took a couple of hours but I had already ordered the parts through Amazon, so it went pretty smoothly. The next step will be to repair the cracked pipe that leads from the toilet to the holding tank. I am working on getting the parts for that job now. After my repair job we just relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening.

Monday, October 15^th, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some errands. We stopped at a couple of furniture stores, the selection in Pahrump is pretty limited, to look for some new chairs for our dining table. We wore out all but one of the original five chairs long ago and have been using a couple of nice fold up chairs from Costco for the last couple years, but they are starting to get a little wobbly, so we decided to shop for some new ones. We didn't find anything that we really liked today. We then stopped at Albertsons and Walmart for a few things, picked up our mail, and then went back to the coach. About 6:30 we went down to the clubhouse at the RV park for Texas Hold'em. We like the two hour, $6 buy in friendly games they have twice a week. We both lost a few dollars but had a good time. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, October 16^th, we went out after lunch and checked on some more of our caches. We had to replace one that disappeared, all the others were in good shape. We picked up mail and Jackie got a new battery in her watch. We then headed back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 we went down to the clubhouse for “Taco Tuesday” and had a light dinner of tacos. We chatted with friends for a while then went back to the coach and watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday we again went out after lunch, ran a couple errands and checked on the last of our caches here in Pahrump. After we got back to the coach I put out a few Halloween decorations and changed the filters in the coach's water system. We had noticed that the water pressure was falling, which usually means dirty filters. About 4:30 we went down to the clubhouse for dinner. During the season the restaurant at the Winery next door caters Wednesday night wine dinners at the RV park. The food is usually good, not gourmet quality by any stretch, but pretty good. We have been to a number of them over the last couple years. They also provide wine for the dinner, a minimum of three glasses. Tonight's entree was Beef Stroganoff, which is one of my favorites. It is also a good chance to socialize with other people in the park. We had a very nice dinner, which was tasty, and a nice visit with some other guests, as well as the manager of the park and his wife, whom we know fairly well. After dinner we stayed at the clubhouse and played Texas Hold'em. We both did better than we did Monday, both of us making a couple dollars instead of losing. After cards we went back to the coach, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, October 18^th, we had mostly a stay at home day and did some chores. We did go out briefly after lunch so Jackie could pick up a copy of the MRI she had last week and we stopped at Walmart for a few things. After that we went back to the coach and spent the remainder of the day inside relaxing. Friday we went out about 12:30 to the local Chinese buffet Restaurant, China Wok. The food is pretty good and inexpensive with the senior discount. Our fortunes were good too, one of them telling us “you will soon come into a fortune” and the other “you will soon get an important phone call.” After lunch we ran a couple of errands including going to Home Depot for a few things I need to finish the toilet repair project on Sunday. After our errands we relaxed at home until about 5:30 when we went down to the clubhouse for Friday happy hour and karaoke. We had a great time and, with a fairly small rotation of only nine singers, I was able to do about six or seven songs. The party ended at 9:00 and we went back to the coach and watched some TV before going to bed.

Saturday, October 20^th, we went out after lunch to a little light gaming. We went to a couple of casinos and played the nickel poker machines. We didn't do too badly, we were out about two and a half hours and I only lost $15 and Jackie came out about $50 to the good. After the gaming we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. Today marks three weeks since we started this episode of the blog, so it marks a good time to get it closed and published. We still have about six weeks left here in Pahrump, so look for another couple of chapters before we leave. By the way, our friend Helen in Massachusetts bought some of the Mega-Millions lottery tickets for us since Nevada doesn't have a State lottery and also doesn't allow either of the multi-state lotteries to operate here. So, if we win a piece of the expected $1.6 billion jackpot, expect the next episode to be published from a cruise ship somewhere on a round the world cruise. Until next time remember the words of author and playwright Kenneth Branagh. “Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don't get so worked up about things.” See ya soon.

A Brief Foray Back into California to Close Out the Summer

Hi friends, our last episode concluded on Wednesday, September 5^th when we finally arrived back in California, stopping at the Redding, California Elks Lodge and meeting up with our great friends Peggy and Vernon Bullock. Thursday was a chores day for us. We left the coach about noon and drove south to Anderson, about ten miles, to get our mail from the UPS Service Center where we had asked to have it forwarded. We first wanted to get lunch and we had identified a Chinese place that had great Yelp ratings, however, when we found the place it was closed. We went to another Chinese place, also with high ratings, and found it to be a small take out place, kind of like a Chinese version of a taquaria. We finally settled on a place called Peacock Chinese which was right off the freeway in Anderson. It was a nice enough place with good service. The food was plentiful and not overly expensive and was good, just not great. It lacked a bit of flavor.

After lunch we went to the UPS center, only to find it still closed for lunch. We went out and located a geocache near the center, and by the time we got back it was open. We got our mail, which came by UPS, and we also got a package from Amazon with our Folger's low acid coffee that is getting hard to find in stores. We ordered it from Amazon, never thinking that Amazon now uses the U.S. Postal Service for a lot of it's deliveries, not just UPS. Fortunately for us, someone in the UPS Service Center must have seen the name and looked and their computer to see that we also had a UPS package delivered that same day. They accepted the mail package, even though they probably shouldn't have. Even the clerk in the service center was surprised that the two packages had been sitting on the shelf side by side. After we had our mail we drove back up to Redding and did a badly needed Costco run. With our summer travels we had pretty much exhausted our supply of meat in the freezer. The one thing we didn't need, surprisingly, was vodka. We still have one full case from the stock that we took on board before we left Las Vegas back in June. After Costco we went back to the coach and unloaded everything and got it all packaged up and put away, most of it in the freezer.

By the time we were done it was late afternoon and we decided to just stay in for the rest of the day. About 5:00 we had the Bullock's over for cocktails and then we did a BBQ for the four of us. Jackie and the Bullock's all had lamb chops which we had bought today at Costco and I had a nice rib eye steak since I don't care for lamb. We had a great meal and talked until about 8:00 when they went back to their coach and we watched some TV.

Friday, September 7^th, we woke up to find that the winds had shifted and were now coming out of the north, carrying all the smoke from the wildfire burning just 20 miles or so north of Redding. This is the fire that is burning up the canyon through which the Sacramento River, Interstate 5 and the main railroad line all run north and south. The freeway was closed in both directions on Wednesday when the fire started, only a couple of hours after we had passed through the area. When I first woke up this morning I got dressed to go for my morning walk, but when I went outside I could barely see across the parking lot because of the smoke. The smell was overwhelming and you could even taste the ash in the air. I decided to skip my walk. About noon we went out with Peggy and Vernon to do lunch at a little Mexican place across the river that they liked. The food was OK, but not outstanding. Peggy and Vernon had some errands to run, so after lunch Jackie and I did a Walmart run and then went back to the coach to hide out from the smoke.

We had already made plans to go to visit Peggy's son Matt, and his wife Roxanne, for dinner, so around 5:00 we left and drove to their house. The winds had shifted a little and the smoke had cleared a little bit, but it was still pretty ugly out. They live about five miles north of the Elks Lodge, just outside the city limits. They have a very nice house and quite a bit of property. The wildfire that ravaged the area around, and the fringes of, Redding about four weeks ago, had caused Matt and Roxanne to be evacuated from their house for a few days. Fortunately the fire stayed quite a ways south, so they didn't have any damage in their area. We were originally going to have hamburgers on the BBQ at Matt's, but Peggy and Jackie got to playing cards with Roxanne, Matt's daughter Trinity, and Roxanne's son Carver, and time got away from them. Matt ended up calling Round Table for pizza and we all had pizza for dinner. We stayed until about 8:30 and then drove back to the Elk's lodge. We watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Saturday, September 8^th, the Bullock's came over for lunch because we had almost a full pizza left from last night's dinner. We warmed it up and all had pizza for lunch. After lunch the four of us went out to do an hour or so of driving around some of the area burned last month during the Carr fire, which devastated a huge area. This fire burned over 225 thousand acres, much of it inside of Redding or in nearby suburbs. Nearly 1,100 homes were destroyed, along with dozens of business and hundreds of out buildings. In addition, eight people lost their lives as a result of the fire. We toured just a small area to the northwest of the Elks Lodge and saw hundreds of burned homes. After looking at some of the fire damage we stopped at a grocery store so Peggy could get a few things. We then went back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The Bullock's came over about 5:00 for cocktails and their daughter Katie also came to visit. We talked and then Jackie served a nice dinner of chili relleno casserole. We had a great dinner and a nice visit. They left around 7:30 and we just watched some TV until bedtime.

Sunday, September 9^th, I went out and got the Sunday paper and we relaxed for the morning. Peggy and Vernon left the Elks around 9:00 to go out on an outing with their kids somewhere in Northern Nevada. We were going to go out today and do our laundry, but the winds shifted again overnight and the smoke was thick in the air. We decided to just stay in all day and stay out of the smoke. We played some games, watched some movies on TV and just had a relaxing day. Monday was another moving day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:00, heading about 175 miles south to Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento. The smoke was thick again this morning and driving south on Interstate 5 we didn't get out from under the smoke until we were nearly 100 miles south of Redding. We also noted on the Internet that the Highway Patrol finally opened Interstate 5 north of Redding, with one lane north and one lane south. This 40 mile stretch had been closed since last Wednesday when the Delta fire started. We arrived at the Carmichael Elks Lodge around 1:30 and found that they had lots of sites open. We got parked, signed in and set up, then just relaxed for the rest of the day. It was hot, mid-nineties, but no smoke! Yea!

Tuesday, September 11^th, Patriot's Day, a day we will all remember in sad detail. We went out after lunch and did our laundry. After everything was done we went home and put everything away, then left again around 5:00 and drove to nearby Folsom and the Cliff House of Folsom restaurant. We went there to meet with one of Jackie's old friends, Kathy Yarbourgh and her husband Bill. Jackie was great friends with Kathy back in the 80's when they both worked in the Coachella Valley. Jackie has also known Kathy's daughter Julie since she was little. Julie, her significant

other Kevin, and their daughter Bella Bliss also came to dinner. We got there a little early and started a cocktail before the other five arrived. We had a great dinner and spent a couple of hours talking and catching up. We usually try to stop any time we are going up and down through California, but because of our travels back east last summer we were last here in July of 2016. After dinner we found our way back home in the dark, no easy feat in a strange city, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Wednesday, September 12^th, we went out after lunch and did few geocaches, getting four new finds, including a milestone, find number 9,300. After caching we went back to the coach, cleaned up a little, and then drove over to our friend's Curt and Sharon Minard. They live only about a mile from the Elks in Carmichael. They invited us to dinner and also invited some other mutual friends, Dave and Karen Van Egdon. Both of these couples are RVing friends that we met through Peggy and Vernon Bullock. They all belong to a Central California RV club, the Gold Panners. We had cocktails and talked for a while. Sharon served some great snacks, and then a wonderful meal of lasagna and salad. We had a wonderful time catching up with these folks, who we also had last seen almost two years ago, although we do keep up with both couples through social media. We talked after dinner until about 8:30, when we went back to the coach and watched some TV before going to bed. Another great evening with friends. Thursday we decided to just have a stay at home day. Did a few chores and just relaxed.

Friday, September 14^th, another travel day. We left Carmichael about 10:00 and started south towards Fresno, about 175 miles. Although the weather was great, the rough California freeways and the very heavy traffic, especially big trucks, made it a long and stressful trip. Nonetheless, we made it safely to the Fresno Elks Lodge about 1:30 and got parked. We had made reservations and it was a good thing because the only open spot was the one reserved for us. As soon as we got plugged in and the basic set up done we left and went to a nearby Mexican restaurant, Plaza Ventana, for a late lunch. The food was pretty good, with only a couple minor complaints. After we ate we went back to the Elks and finished getting set up for our four night stay here. After getting set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day. We are here primarily to visit with Jackie's second cousin Stephanie Kopf and her family, another of our regular Central California stops.

Saturday, September 15^th, we left the RV park about noon and drove to a nearby In N Out burger restaurant for lunch. It has been three months since we had one of our favorite lunches, so we really enjoyed it. Oddly, when we pulled into the In N Out, one of several in Fresno, there was a big, gray Prevost bus parked on the street and the only writing on it was “In N Out USA” in orange letters. We thought maybe it was the owner of the chain, a young woman who is the granddaughter of the founders, or maybe an inspection team from the corporate office in Los Angeles. I asked one of the young clerks inside when I picked up my food, but he wasn't aware of any official visitors. Come to find out, it was a bus full of what appeared to be Japanese tourists who had been eating in the restaurant. Since we didn't realize it until they left, we weren't able to ask any of them, although they all seemed to only be speaking in Japanese. I guess we will be left wondering.

After lunch we went out and did a couple hours of geocaching, getting ten new finds, and one DNF, before deciding to stop. This is an active caching area with lots of caches, but most of the ones we got were by one caching team and they were all very clever and interesting caches. Although we really are about the numbers, we do like when a cache owner puts some thought into the design and placement of a cache. After we were done with caching we did a Walmart run. The closest Walmart to the Elks was a Supercenter, but it was one of the most uninviting Walmart's we have been to in a long time. A smaller than usual building made it very crowded because of the size it was organized completely differently. Finally, it had way more than it's fair share of what we call “Wall Martians”, the odd looking people you occasionally run across when shopping. We got our stuff, then went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Sunday, September 16^th, I went out and got the local Sunday paper and we had our normal, relaxing Sunday morning. After lunch we went out and did a few geocaches, getting six new finds. About 3:00 or so we drove over to Ron and Stephanie's house. They had driven down to Malibu yesterday for a family wedding, which was the reason we didn't visit them yesterday. They drove back today and texted us that they were now home. Home is different from where it was almost two years ago when we were here to visit. They moved from the rental house they had lived in for a number of years and finally got their own house in a brand new subdivision in a county area about five miles south

east of the Fresno airport. We arrived at the house and the whole family was home, Stephanie, the oldest boy Tyler, the next oldest Bryce, and their daughter Maddie. Ron was out getting their dog from “doggie daycare” when we arrived, but home shortly with Tucker, a very large, but nice looking and friendly Rottweiler. We sat and talked, catching up after not seeing the family for a couple years. Ron is still working out of town, now in San Francisco as an electrician. He is currently on a job renovating a hotel downtown. He stays in the bay area during the week and drives home on the weekends. Ron went out and got some pizzas for dinner and we had a nice family dinner with them We left about 7:30 because Ron had to get to bed since he gets up about 3:00 a.m. on Mondays so he can get to work on time. We drove back to the Elks, then watched a little TV before going to bed.

Monday, September 17^th, we had mostly a stay at home day. Stephanie, who works two hours a day over the lunch period at Maddie's school, came by the coach after she got off work. She and Jackie sat around for an hour or so talking and then decided that we needed to go to Sam's Club. Stephanie doesn't have a membership, but she could in on ours, so we drove to the Sam's Club which is only a few miles north of the Elks. We spent an hour or so in Sam's, getting most of the stuff that we hadn't been able to get at Costco last week. We then drove back to the coach and Jackie and Stephanie sat and talked for another hour or so. Stephanie left around 5:00 and we just relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

Tuesday, September 18^th, another travel day. We were packed up and on the road about 10:00, heading southwest to Santa Maria and the Elks lodge there. The trip was about 174 miles, much the same as the last one, but the roads were generally better and there wasn't as much traffic. All in all it was a pretty smooth drive. We arrived at the Santa Maria Elks about 1:30 and got parked in one of their full hookup spots. Full hookup, 50 amp sites are $25, quite the bargain considering what we have been paying at regular RV parks lately. Regular readers will know that the reason we come to the Central Coast so often is that Jackie's Aunt Donna, who is 93, lives in nearby Pismo Beach with her grandson Corey. Donna is Jackie's last relative from that generation and she has always been very close to her. We got set up and had expected that Corey was going to come over, along with John Perez, another of Jackie's younger cousins, who is visiting with Corey for a few days. John and Jackie are also quite close. However, Corey called and said that some things had come up and that they would not be coming over today and would see us tomorrow when we go over there. We had dinner and then relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening. We are going to be here in Santa Maria for nine days, the longest we have been anywhere since Gillette, Wyoming back in July.

Wednesday, September 19^th, we left the coach around 2:30 and drove to the Santa Maria KFC to pick up a bucket of chicken for dinner at Donna's tonight. The KFC in south Santa Maria is the only one in the area. We then drove over to Pismo Beach and met Corey and John at Scotty's bar, Corey's hangout when he gets time off from caring for Donna. We had one drink and talked, then drove up to the house. Jackie's cousin Judy, who goes by Pia, was already at the house. Pia lives in Grover Beach, the next town south of Pismo. We all sat around and talked, catching up since we last saw most of the group back in May. We haven't seen John for over a year. Pia didn't stay long and left before we had dinner. About 6:30 we warmed up the chicken and fixings and had a nice dinner. We left about 8:30 and headed back to the Elks, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Thursday, September 20^th, we left the coach after lunch and went out to do some geocaching, getting seven new finds and two DNFs in a little under two hours. About 3:00 we drove to Pismo and Donna's house where we had another nice visit. Donna, Corey and John were there. Pia had said she would try to come over, but she never did. We left about 4:30, drove back to the Elks and then just relaxed for the rest of the evening. Friday we went out after lunch and did a Walmart run. After Walmart we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day doing a few chores and relaxing.

Saturday, September 22^nd, Happy Autumnal Equinox, also known as “Fall.” As of today the days will be getting shorter until the official beginning of Winter in December. We left the coach about 11:30 and drove to one of the movie theaters in Santa Maria to see a matinee. We saw The Spy Who Dumped Me, with Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis. It was, of course, a comedic farce about a couple of clueless friends when one of them inadvertently gets hooked up with an international spy. We like these kinds of movies and we enjoyed this one. It won't win any Oscar nominations, but it was pretty funny. After the movies we drove to Arroyo Grande and we both got haircuts. Jackie gets hers done about once a month, I usually go about six months between cuts. After we got our hair cuts we stopped in at Trader Joe's, which was conveniently right next door, and got a few things for the freezer. We then drove to Donna's and spent a couple of hours with the family. About 5:30 we headed back to the coach, had dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Sunday was a stay at home day. I got the paper in the morning and then spent most of the day doing office work. The Elks had a Family Day picnic on the grass field behind our coach, so we listened to the kids playing all day.

Monday, September 24^th, we left the Elks about noon and went to Costco for a few things. We got gas in the car and then had lunch at the snack bar. We then did our shopping and returned back to the coach. About 4:00 we left again and drove to Nipomo for dinner at Jocko's with family. Regular readers will remember that we call Jocko's the best steakhouse in the country and we try to come here at least once during each visit. We met Corey, John and Pia there and the five of us had a cocktail and then a wonderful dinner. Jackie had her usual lamb chops and I had my usual rib eye steak. The food was excellent, the visit with family great, and we had leftovers for lunch tomorrow. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Tuesday, September 25^th, we went out after lunch to do our laundry and run some errands. We got the laundry done and then stopped at Lowes and Walmart for a few things before returning to the coach. We unloaded everything into the coach and then left again to drive to Donna's for a visit. John had left this morning so it was now down to just Corey and Donna at the house. We had a cocktail and visited for a while, then left around 6:00. We stopped at Juan's Cantina in Oceano, a pretty good local Mexican place, and had a nice dinner. After dinner we went home, put everything away from our chores this afternoon, and then relaxed with the TV until bedtime. All of the new TV shows, and returning shows that we already watch, are starting to record this week, so we will have a lot of TV to watch. Wednesday we went out after lunch and stopped at Office Max for a couple things. We then drove over to Donna's to visit for a couple hours and say our goodbyes for now. We are leaving Santa Maria in the morning. After our visit we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Thursday, September 27^th, we were packed up and on the road about 10:30, heading east. Our ultimate destination is Laughlin, Nevada, about 400 miles east. We are going there for a five day stay including a rally with one of our FMCA groups, Beat the Odds. This is a small chapter that only has two rallies a year, Spring and Fall, both now in Laughlin. As the name would imply, it is primarily centered around casinos and gambling. Our first leg, for today, was about 140 miles to Bakersfield. We arrived at the RV park in Bakersfield around 1:00, got registered, parked and set up then just relaxed. This is a one night stay, so we didn't even unhook the car. Friday we were on the road for stage 2, 150 miles to Newberry Springs, a small town just east of Barstow. We arrived at the RV park around 1:30, got registered and parked, only to discover that there was no power to the pedestal. The maintenance people came and checked, and after some looking discovered that one of the large fuses for the main supply to the park had blown. This was something that could only be fixed by the power company. It was just over 100 degrees and they had no idea how long it might take to fix, so we got our money back and backtracked 15 miles to an RV park in Dagget that we have been to several times before. They had a spot for us, so we got set up and again just stayed in for the rest of the day.

Saturday, September 29^th, we left Dagget around 9:30 and continued east on the final leg, 170 miles to Laughlin. We arrived at the Riverside RV park just before 1:00, got registered, parked and set up. We will be here for five days, with the rally actually starting on Monday we have a couple of free days. After we got set up we just rested for the rest of the day.  Our arrival here in Nevada, our home state, is pretty close to marking the end of this summer's travels. When we leave here next Thursday we will be heading to Pahrump for a two month stay at our “Home” park. Therefore, this also represents a good place to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time remember that your bed is that magical place where you suddenly remember all the things you need to do. See ya soon.