Our Winter Travels Begin

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, December 3^rd, when we arrived at the Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio, California. We had just finished a three month stay at hour new “home” at the Escapees RV Park in Pahrump, Nevada and then an overnight stay in the high desert of California on our way to Indio. Our one week stay here in Indio starts our winter travels, after which we are scheduled in Yuma, Arizona for three months.

Friday, December 4^th, I had a 10:00 appointment at Palm Springs Ford to get the car serviced. After I dropped the car off I went into the dealership to talk to the finance manager about buying our car. We had leased our great little Ford C-Max from Palm Springs Ford back in December of 2017 and we have now completed our lease. We have until the end of December to either give the car up or buy it out. Since we love the car and it has been great, we plan on buying it out. Initially the dealership representative gave me the impression he wasn't interested in helping us out. Because the car is registered in Montana to our LLC, he said we had to deal with someone in Montana. The other alternative was to buy it here but pay California taxes because they wouldn't do another out of state delivery like they did when we leased the car. The reason did make some sense, the car actually belongs to the Ford Motor Company and the dealer would make no money off the deal, so he had no incentive to provide out of state delivery. After a while, and a few phone calls, he finally said that if I came back on Monday morning they would help facilitate getting a Montana dealer to do the paperwork for us. We shall see on Monday.

After the car was finished I went back to the RV park, picked up Jackie and we went to our old favorite restaurant, Cactus Jacks, for lunch. We had to go today because California is shutting down all on site dining again on Sunday. We got to see George Bishop, the owner of Jacks, as well as our friend Kevin, who is the bartender. We had a nice lunch and then drove to Costco to do some shopping. We wanted to get some things before going to Yuma because there is no Costco there. They do have a Sam's Club, which is OK, but some things we like at Costco. After shopping we went back to the coach, put everything away and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Saturday, December 5^th, we went out after lunch to do some shopping at Home Depot and then Walmart. After our shopping we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day and evening. Sunday our old friend Barry Cohen came over about 1:00 for a visit. Barry became my best friend when I moved here in 1998. Jackie had known he and his wife Colleen for many years and Barry and Jackie both went to Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. Although they knew a lot of the same people, they didn't know each other back in the 50's. Barry and Colleen became our best friends and even beat us to being full time rvers when they sold their condo in the early 2000's and bought a lot at what was then the brand new Outdoor Resorts RV Resort in Indio. We traveled with them a lot, first with the Palm Springs and Indio Elks lodge RV travel clubs, and later after we bought our coach and went full time. Colleen passed away of cancer back in 2013, but Barry continues to live in his motor home at the same resort, which is now called the Motorcoach Country Club. Barry used to own and operate a transmission shop in Cathedral City, but he retired and sold the place in 2012. He and Colleen had planned to travel more at the time, but Colleen got sick. Barry has not traveled much since then. It was really nice to be able to spend some quality time with him, as the past few years he has been busy working at a part time job when we visited the Coachella Valley. We had a nice dinner of burgers on the BBQ and visited until Barry left about 7:00. After Barry left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, December 7^th, Pearl Harbor Day. I left the coach about 8:30 and drove back to Palm Springs Ford in Cathedral City to work with the people there to buy out our completed lease on our car. I talked to a different finance guy today and he was very helpful. By the end of the day I had finished all the paperwork, gone to the bank and got the money, and our little Ford C-Max was now actually ours and fully paid off. Yea!!! The process took all day. After we got back home we had dinner, watched TV and went to bed. Tuesday was a stay at home day. I did go out and pick up lunch from one of our favorite Indio restaurants, TKB Deli. Like all restaurants in California, they have been shut down for all but take out and delivery, but they have an online ordering system that makes it very easy to order. This is only a sandwich place, but it has been voted Number One in the country by Yelp several times over the last five years. Other than that, we stayed home and did chores.

Wednesday, December 9^th, we went out after lunch and spent a couple of hours driving around the Coachella Valley, just to see what was new and/or different from last year. We didn't find too much, but had a nice drive on a very nice desert day. We went back to the coach, I spent a little time cleaning up so we can leave tomorrow, and we relaxed for the rest of the day. We did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Thursday was another travel day. We left about 10:00, heading southeast to Yuma, Arizona. The trip was about 156 miles and was, for the most part, pretty easy. Some of the California roads are crap, but there wasn't much traffic after we got out of the Coachella Valley. We arrived in Yuma at the Sunset Palm RV park about 2:30 because we had a time change when we came into Arizona. We got settled into our spot, where we will be probably until the first week in March. We got set up and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Friday, December 11^th, was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out around noon for lunch at our favorite taco stand, Las Cositas. Unlike California, Arizona still allows limited restaurant dining. The tacos were great. After lunch we went back home and I spent a couple of hours setting up our RV site with lights and decorations. I did the Christmas decorations first since this is the first time we have done Christmas in Yuma. Normally we are in Indio because the FMCA Western Area rally was always the first full week in January. This coming year the rally has been canceled, so we came to Yuma early. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach with the TV.

Saturday was a stay at home day. We awoke to a relatively rare sight for Yuma, thick fog.  Could hardly see down the street at 8:00, although it burned off by 10:00.  After lunch I spent some time getting out all the karaoke stuff and taking it across the street to the clubhouse. Our spot this year is directly across from the clubhouse at the park. Although at the beginning of this year we were staying in the park next door, I was doing karaoke every other weekend at this park. Both parks are owned by the same company. The recreation director was happy we were coming back and made sure that we got a spot in this park. Today was supposed to be the first day of karaoke, but Dottie, the rec director, told me not to be too surprised if no one came. She said the park is at least 25 percent off from last year in terms of the number of seasonal residents and the vast majority of the Canadians, who tend to be more active, are not able to come due to Covid restrictions in Canada. I went over at 3:00 to start karaoke, but the only ones who showed up were Dottie and her husband. We spent the two hours just talking and had a very nice visit. Dottie's husband Lavern is a woodworker and has made a number of guitars and other stringed instruments. He brought a couple of his lap slide guitars over and they were gorgeous. About 5:00 I packed everything up and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Sunday, December 13^th, we enjoyed the Sunday paper, which is now delivered to our doorstep. When we come to Yuma we subscribe to the Yuma Sun newspaper. For a small paper it is pretty interesting. After lunch we went out to the Yuma Marketplace, the big, outdoor shopping area on the east side of town. It was not nearly as busy as it has been in previous times, and there were only about a third of the usual vendors there. The empty stalls far outnumbered those still in business. Our friends Dan and Roxy were still there selling, but they actually live in Yuma pretty much year round. We spent a couple of hours walking around, bought a few things, then headed back to the RV park. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach with the TV.

Monday, December 14^th, we went out after lunch so Jackie could get a pedi. After her pedi we did a Walmart run. Once our shopping was done we went back to the coach and put everything away. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach, doing some chores and relaxing. Tuesday was a stay at home day. In the morning we did our laundry. It was very convenient to be parked right across the street from the laundry at the park. We were able to go back and forth without having to use the car. After the laundry was finished we spent the rest of the day relaxing. Wednesday I went to the jam session in the clubhouse about 1:00. There were about eight musicians there, most with guitars, but one with a violin and one with a mandolin. We had a great time, with each person doing a song, then moving to the next. Over the two hours each person got to do about four songs. I need to update my music lists to keep up next time. After the jam session we did a Fry's run to pick up some things we couldn't get at Walmart the other day. After Fry's we relaxed in the house for the rest of the day and evening.

Thursday, I spent some time in the morning working on setting up Jackie's new computer. To replace her old laptop she used to use on the kitchen table we got an “all in one” computer with a 24 inch screen, quite a bit bigger than her old 17 inch laptop. It was pretty easy to set up, especially since she doesn't have a lot of programs on her computer. She mostly does email, Facebook and games. I also worked some on a new tablet that I bought. Faster and with more memory than my old one, which will now become my music book. We stayed home all day, just working on stuff and relaxing. Friday was also a stay at home day. I spent a couple of hours working on the newsletter for the Full Timers Chapter of FMCA. I am the editor of the quarterly newsletter for the chapter. Jackie spent some time painting rocks. We spent the evening with the TV and went to bed.

Saturday, December 19^th, we went out after lunch and did some shopping. We went to the Dollar Store and then to Walmart for some supplies. After shopping we went home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. About 7:00 we went over to the clubhouse for a Christmas gift exchange party. There were probably 30 people there, all of whom brought a gift to share. It was the usual process, pick a wrapped gift from the table or steal one from someone else. It was a lot of fun, and in the process the host also gave away a bunch of dollar store door prizes. Near the beginning of the party a parade of decorated vehicles came through the park and we all went outside to watch. It was expected as it was the annual “Foothills Parade of Lights” which has been going on, and growing in size, for several years.

First of all one has to know that the Foothills is an unincorporated area of Yuma County that stretches east roughly from the Yuma city limits at the airport/Marine Corps base on both sides of Interstate 8 all the way to the mountains at the East end of the valley. This area is pretty much a retirement and snowbird community with dozens of RV parks and hundreds of individual lots set up initially for RVs or park models. The Parade of Lights has turned into a three night event where a bunch, over a hundred this year, of people decorate their ATVs and other vehicles with Christmas lights and caravan around on a designated route all through the Foothills area. We had seen in the paper several days ago that our RV park was one of the ones on the route. After they came in the park it was a line of vehicles that took almost 10 minutes to pass through our park. It was very entertaining and fun to watch. After the parade the party resumed and went until about 9:00. Jackie ended up taking home a nice coffee mug and some home made candies. I finished with a box of microwave popcorn, which is great because we like popcorn, and some chocolate candies. After the party we watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, December 20^th, was a stay at home day. We did some cleaning and other chores and just relaxed. I had a corn beef brisket in the crock pot for dinner and we had a nice meal. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed. We have been getting daily reports from our friend Peggy Bullock, who left Redding, California a couple days ago and started her five day journey to Yuma. She will be parked right next to us here at the park for at least a month or two and is supposed to be here Tuesday afternoon. Monday was a shopping day. We left after lunch and drove to the mall on the west side of town. We stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond and then at Target, getting some new bed sheets and a new trash can for the kitchen. After our shopping we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Tuesday, December 22^nd, we had another stay at home day. Peggy came into the park about 2:00 and got parked. This was the first time we have seen her since we were in Redding in August. She got parked and I helped her with the utilities hook up. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing while Peggy got organized for her two month stay. For the first time in a while we had cocktails on the patio, then Jackie did the traditional chili relleno “welcome Peggy” dinner. After dinner Peggy went home and we spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Wednesday we went out about 11:30 with Peggy to the taco stand for lunch. We usually end up here once every week or two. After lunch we went back to the park and I went to the clubhouse for the weekly jam session. After the jam session Jackie and I went to Walmart for a couple of things, then went back to the coach. Peggy and Jackie played some cards and I was in the den. We had leftovers for dinner and after Peggy left we watched TV until bedtime.

It has now been about three weeks since we published, so I will close out this chapter. Until next time, consider that when I publish this the new year, 2021, is only a week away and we can then look back on 2020. It was an interesting year. It was a unique Leap Year. It had 29 days in February, 300 days in March, and five years in April. See ya soon so we can all hope 2021 brings improvements.

At Home in Pahrump, Part IV

Hi again. Our last chapter concluded on Saturday, November 7^th, while we were in our home park in Pahrump, Nevada. Sunday was a stay at home day. Although the rain that we got on Friday was gone, the cold had stayed. I went out and got the Sunday paper in the morning and we spent the rest of the day doing chores and relaxing.

Monday, November 9^th, we left the park around 11:15 and drove to the Mountain Falls Country Club restaurant for lunch with the Lucky Rollers Escapees Chapter, which is the local chapter for the RV park. There were maybe a dozen or so people there and we had a nice lunch. We also met a couple of other couples from the park whom we had not yet become acquainted. After lunch we went into town to pick up mail and do a Walmart run. Once we were done with Walmart we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in. Tuesday we put a pot roast in the crock pot first thing in the morning. After lunch we went to the nail salon and had our toe nails done. I just get mine cut, Jackie did a full pedi. After the nails we stopped again at the mail store to pick up a package, then stopped at Walmart again. Jackie had to return a blouse she had bought yesterday because it didn't fit. We also had to pick up a small air fryer that we had ordered online from Walmart.

While we were picking up the air fryer in the back area of the store we saw a small refrigerator with a clearance sale sign. It was a 7.4 cubic foot studio apartment type refrigerator that was new but out of the box. It was on sale for $137, which was about half of what similar small fridges were selling for at Home Depot. We were shopping for a small fridge for our shed so we can keep beer, soda and ice outside for when we have people over. Since it was such a good deal, and, according to my measurements, would fit in our car, we bought it. It did fit, after some moving stuff around, but the hatchback wouldn't completely close. It was only about an inch too long, so I just tied the hatch down and we headed home. The fridge was small and light, so Jackie and I got out of the car and in the shed with no problems. We plugged it in and it worked. Yea! I put the interior of the car back together and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. We had a nice pot roast for dinner.

Wednesday, November 11^th, Happy Veterans Day. We had a stay at home day today. Our friend Len Forrest came over about 1:00 and we spent a couple of hours in the shed jamming on guitars. We had a good time. After Len left we just relaxed for the rest of the day. Thursday I went out about 6:30 in the morning to the dermatologist's office to have my second MOHS procedure. This is a procedure for removal of skin cancers where the doctor cuts out a sliver of tissue and sends it to a portable lab which has been set up in the office. It takes less than 30 minutes for the lab to determine if the tissue still contains cancer cells. If it does they take another sliver off and this continues until the sample is clear of any cancer cells. A couple of months ago they found two small cancers, one on my ear and one on my neck. They did the ear last month and today they did the neck. Fortunately for me, the piece they took showed no cancer, so they stitched me up and I was done in 45 minutes, albeit with a big hole in my neck. I have to go back in two weeks to get the stitches out, but other than that I am done until next year. After lunch we went to the clubhouse for a couple of meetings. The first was an open house held by several board members just to get input on things going on in the park. The second was a meeting of a committee I joined that reviews and recommends changes to the governing documents of the park. By 3:00 we were done and back in the coach, where we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Friday, November 13^th, yes, a Friday the Thirteenth in 2020! The horror! We went out after lunch to run some errands. We drove to the the edge of the desert so Jackie could collect a few rocks to paint, then did a Walmart run. After Walmart we went back to the coach, stopping at KFC to pick up dinner, and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. Saturday we went out for a late lunch at the Terrible's Roadhouse Casino and also stopped to get mail. After lunch we went back to the coach and relaxed until about 5:00 when we left to go to the Elks for karaoke. Karaoke lasted until about 9:00 after which we went home, watched a little TV and went to bed. Sunday we had the usual relaxing morning with the Sunday paper. From late morning into early afternoon we did our laundry here at the park. After the clothes were done we put everything away, made the bed, and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Monday, November 16^th, we were up early and on the road about 8:00, heading for Las Vegas so Jackie could go see her eye doctor. Although they have an office here in Pahrump, it is only open on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jackie's doctor has been off for a couple of weeks so their schedule has been upended and they have been changing a lot of appointments. Jackie's second cataract surgery is scheduled for this Thursday and they needed to do some measurements of her eye to determine the size of the lens needed and what adjustments to the laser are necessary to correct her astigmatism in the left eye. The appointment was an hour so, after which we went to a place called The Cracked Egg for brunch. Like the Omelet House, the Cracked Egg had a two for one ad in the Sunday paper and there was one of their places fairly close to the doctor's office. Jackie had an omelet, I had a pastrami sandwich. Both meals were very good. After lunch we headed back over the hump to home, arriving back around 12:30. Other than a run to the mail store, we stayed at home the rest of the day.

Tuesday, November 17^th, we had pretty much a stay at home day. I did go out to pick up some parts to adapt our coach's propane system. In the past we have run low on propane in the coach while parked somewhere we couldn't get propane. I wanted to install a “add on” system where I could use an external propane tank, the 15 or 20 pound size you use for BBQs, instead of the coach's onboard system. I ordered the parts on Amazon and was installing it, but I found after I got everything hooked up, I had a leak in the original hose that led from the coach's tank valve to the coach pressure regulator. The hose is 15 years old and the rubber had gotten very hard. I suspect that in taking it on and off I cracked the hose. I was able to hook up the external tank that I also bought today without any leaks, but our onboard tank is currently not connected. I know where I can get a hose made tomorrow. Late in the afternoon the RV service guy I called came to check on our front air conditioner/heat pump. It worked fine a few days ago, then yesterday it wouldn't run. He got up on the roof and found that the motor that runs the fans was bad. Good news is that the motor can be repaired so we don't need a whole new A/C yet. The bad news is that it is an old unit and parts are hard to find, according to the service guy. He is going to try to find one before we leave, otherwise I will have to wait until we get to Yuma in a couple of weeks. The good news is that the heat is gone, so we don't need the A/C and we can get by without the heat pump now that I have the propane fixed. About 6:00 we left the coach and drove to Terrible's Roadhouse Casino for dinner. Tonight was two for one baby backs. We met Dick and Millie Duffin there and had a very nice meal. After dinner we stayed and gamed for half an hour or so, then headed back to the coach for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, November 18^th, I went out in the morning and ran some errands. I gassed up the car, got some cash from the bank, picked up mail and went to a propane company to get a new hose made for our onboard propane tank. After I got back to the coach I put on the new hose and checked for leaks. Finding none, I declared that project complete. About 2:00 or so we went to the Pahrump office of Jackie's eye doctor for a checkup. It didn't take long we were back home. We spent the rest of the day in and around the coach. Thursday we left the park about 12:30 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas so Jackie could get her left eye cataract surgery. She had a 2:00 appointment, but the doctor was running way behind and she didn't go into surgery until after 3:30. She was done around 5:30, and of course, it was dark by then. We did a quick drive through at In N Out so she could get something to eat, then headed back over the hill, getting home around 6:30. We spent the rest of the night in the coach.

Friday, November 20^th, we left the coach about 11:00 and again headed to Las Vegas. Jackie needed to go to the eye doctor for the next day check up and because of the delay in her surgery we couldn't go to the Pahrump office, which is only open on Wednesday and Thursday. We stopped at a Greek restaurant called the Big Greek for lunch before her appointment. The food was quite good. I had a steak gyro because I don't care for lamb, and it was excellent. After lunch we went to the doctor, finishing up around 3:00. We headed back over the hill, getting home around 4:30. About 5:30 we went over to the clubhouse for bingo. I won part of one shared pot, Jackie didn't win anything. After bingo we watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, November 21^st, Jackie went at 10:00 to a meeting of the park's Election Committee, on which she volunteered to serve. I had a meeting at 1:00 of another of the park's committees, a By Law Review Committee. This park is run by volunteers and the Board of Director's has a couple dozen or more different committees made up of residents who assist in operations of the park. After our meetings we went out and ran some errands, going to the mail store and stopping at the Dollar store so Jackie could get some cheap reading glasses. Her “new” eyes work good at distance, but she still needs help with close up. About 5:00 we went to the Elks for karaoke. We had the usual crowd, except that neither of our friends, the Forrests or the Howells, were there. A little before nine we were done and headed home. We watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, November 22^nd, I got the Sunday paper and we enjoyed a relaxing morning. After lunch we did a Walmart run, returning an air fryer that didn't meet our expectations, and picking up a few items. After shopping we headed back to the park. We stopped and visited with Millie and Dick at their coach for a half hour or so before going back to ours and spending the rest of the day and evening inside. Monday was a stay at home day. Did a few chores, played some games and had a relaxing day. Tuesday I had another committee meeting at 10:00. This one was for the grievance committee. This is the committee that reviews issues that might come up between two residents of the park and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors, who have the final say. After lunch we ran some errands. The little refrigerator that we bought at Walmart a couple weeks ago, and thought we got such a great deal on, quit working! So much for buying cheap. We loaded it into the car again and took it back. Fortunately, Walmart didn't have any issues, just checked the serial number to be sure I was returning the same unit, then refunded our money. We picked up mail and then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Wednesday, November 25^th, was a stay at home day. I spent some more time taking down decorations and storing equipment for our departure next week. Thursday, Happy Thanksgiving! Today was a cold and windy day. We had another stay at home day, except for a quick run to the local Family Dollar store to get a new bottle of propane. Typical to run low on propane when it is cold and you need the furnaces. Jackie did a great Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us. We had turkey breast, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. Yum! After dinner we cleaned up and spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Friday morning we left about 10:30 and drove to the health center, where our primary physician's office is, to go to the pharmacy there and get our flu shots. We had held off getting them because we didn't want the possibility of any minor side effects, like a fever, to interfere with Jackie's eye surgeries. However, being the Friday after Thanksgiving, the place was closed except for the urgent care, which doesn't do flu shots. We went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day at home. I did some more clean up in the early afternoon and about 3:00 our friend Len came over and we jammed with our guitars for about 90 minutes. After Len left, about 5:30, we had dinner and relaxed with the TV the rest of the night.

Saturday, November 28^th, we had pretty much a stay at home day. About 1:30 we left and drove to Red Sky BBQ for a late lunch. As usual, we had the full rack of baby back ribs, eating half and taking the other half home. After lunch we picked up mail and then went back to the coach for a while. Around 5:00 we left again and went to the Elks for karaoke. It was a little smaller crowd, so we got to do four songs each. Our friends Len and Debbie were there. Tom and Phyllis didn't come because Tom was not feeling well. We were done about 9:00, after which we headed back home and watched a little TV until bedtime.

Sunday, November 29^th, we had pretty much a stay at home day. I did go out and get a newspaper in the morning and we relaxed with the paper. I spent several hours in the afternoon taking down decorations and getting our lot cleaned up for our departure on Wednesday. Everything we are taking is now stored under the coach and we are getting close to being ready to head for Yuma, via a week in the Coachella Valley. Monday we were up early and on the road by 9:30, headed for Las Vegas for Jackie's last eye doctor appointment. She is getting the final checkup and clearance on her left eye after cataract surgery. The doctor told her she is doing well and said see me next year for a follow up. After the eye doctor we stopped and had lunch, breakfast for Jackie. We then stopped so Jackie could get a haircut, then headed back over the hump, arriving back in Pahrump before 3:00. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing in the coach.

Tuesday, December 1^st, our last full day in Pahrump. We did some chores, checking things on the coach and doing a Walmart run and picking up our mail. Wednesday was a travel day. Today we went about 180 miles from Pahrump to Victorville, California. We stayed in a park we have never been in before, called Shady Oasis. The park is an old KOA that has gone private. Had it not been late in the day we might have just gone in, looked, and left. The park was old, poorly maintained and appeared to be almost all “full time” folks who can't afford to be anywhere else. We did stay because it was just for one night, and everything was fine, but we wouldn't come back again. Normally we stay down the road in Hesperia at the Elks, but with the virus stuff we weren't sure the Elks would be open. Thursday morning we left the park around 10:30 and continued on 120 miles to Indio and the Indian Waters RV Resort. It was a very stressful two and a half hours. Traffic was terrible, with big trucks everywhere, traffic tie ups, accidents and construction. In addition, the Santa Ana winds came up and the last 80 miles I had all I could do to hang onto the coach. By the time we got to Indio my tummy was in knots. We got checked in and set up for our one week stay and just relaxed and chilled out for the rest of the day. At least the weather here is nice, in the low 70's today.

Our arrival here in Indio marks the beginning of our winter travels, a week here in Indio and two or three months in Yuma. It also marks a good place to close out this chapter and get it published. Until next time, ponder the words of author and radio host Bernard Meltzer. “A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” See ya soon.

At Home in Pahrump, Part III

Hello again, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on October 20^th, while we were still at our home base in Pahrump, Nevada. Since moving into our own space at the Escapees RV Park we have been enjoying the slightly cooler Fall weather.

Wednesday, October 21^st, we left the coach about 11:30 and went out to lunch at a relatively new tamale restaurant which was conveniently located right next door to Jackie's ophthalmologist. She had an early afternoon appointment and we decided to try the tamale joint. It turned out to be a great idea because the tamales were wonderful. Their menu is pretty much limited to various tamales, a few burritos and some chips and nachos. Between us we had one of each of the four main varieties of tamale, pork, beef, chicken and green chili and cheese. They were all good, although I thought the beef was the best. After lunch we went to the ophthalmologist's office for Jackie's appointment. She was here a couple weeks ago and learned that she has cataracts, with the right eye being especially bad. Today was for another exam and to schedule the surgeries. Because we had plans to leave Pahrump the last week of November they made room for us on the schedule as early as possible. Jackie's right eye will be done on the third of November. We have to go to Las Vegas for the surgery. That is election day, but we have already submitted our early ballot, so we don't have to worry about missing anything. The second eye will be done two weeks later. It is not inexpensive. Medicare covers a minimal surgery with a simple lens that only provides clear vision, but doesn't correct for any astigmatism, which Jackie has. To get the laser surgery, which does provide better results it is about $3,000 per eye out of pocket. We are going to discuss the options. After the appointment we drove up to the Wine Ridge RV Resort, where we used to stay all the time, to visit with Paul, the manager of the place. We also went into the park and visited briefly with one of our RVing friends, Jim Woolridge, who just recently got into town with his wife Paulette, for the winter. After our visit we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day and evening.

Thursday, October 22^nd, my brother David's birthday. He is the most far flung of the clan, living with his family in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We had a stay at home day. Did some chores and considered Jackie's upcoming cataract surgery. After we talked we decided that it was best to go ahead and have the laser surgery done and pay the extra money. The results will be better and there is less risk involved. We called the doctor's office and told them of our decision. Other than that, we just stayed in the house and relaxed. Friday we were up and out of the coach about 8:30 and headed to the doctor's office to get our blood drawn for our upcoming annual physicals. You can't have anything to eat or drink, including coffee, before a blood test, so we always go early. After getting our blood drawn we went back to the coach and relaxed and had our coffee. After lunch we went out again, going to the UPS store to pick up our mail. We had a couple of packages as well. One was a new heated mattress pad. When we took our old pad to the laundry the other day we noticed after we got home that the fabric was coming apart in a number of areas after going through the washer and dryer. The pad was over ten years old, so not totally unexpected. We put the new one on the bed, tested it and everything was good. We also got a case of Konrico Wild Pecan Rice, which we get on Amazon. Back in 2017 we were in Abbyville, Louisiana, west of New Orleans, and we visited the Konrico factory at the suggestion of our friend and fellow full timer Mike Neighbours, and fell in love with their Pecan rice. It doesn't have actual pecans in it, but it is a type of wild brown rice that has a wonderful taste and aroma. Since then we have twice ordered a case, which is six boxes, so we always have some on hand. It goes especially well with fish and other seafood. For dinner, of course, we had fish on the BBQ and Konrico Pecan rice. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, October 24^th, we left the park around 1:30 and drove to Terrible's Roadhouse, a small casino and restaurant, for lunch. The Terrible's company used to own and operate three of the casinos here in Pahrump, but about five years ago they sold out to the company that bought the Pahrump Nugget, Golden Group, and now Golden Group owns all but one of the large and medium sized casinos in town. Terrible's reopened as the Roadhouse, several years ago, but it is a much smaller operation than they had in the past. They do have a great restaurant and we had a nice lunch. After lunch we went home and relaxed for a while, then left again around 5:00 to go to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie, and Tom and Phyllis were there also. There were a lot of people for the first rotation, but after that was done a lot of the people left, leaving the usual crowd. We were able to get three songs in for the night. About 9:00 we were done and headed home where we watched some TV and went to bed.

Sunday, October 25^th, I went out first thing in the morning and got a Sunday paper. About 8:30 I left to go to a local gun shop to meet the owner who is also a shooting instructor. For my Federal concealed carry permit, which I can get because I am a retired law enforcement officer, I have to qualify with a weapon once a year. I have worked with this same buy for about six years now to do my qualification and get my paperwork signed off. The Nye County Sheriff's Office issues the actual permit. Now that I have my qualification paperwork I can go down to the Sheriff's Office a couple days before my permit expires at the end of the month and get a renewal. After my qualification I went back home and we stayed in for the rest of the day. The weather guys were predicting high winds from early Sunday afternoon to late Monday night as a result of a cold front moving through. That will also drop our high temps from the mid 80's into the high 40's and night time temps close to freezing. They were right about the wind, which started about noon and was gusting in the 40 mph range. I put down the flags and some of the decorations that I thought might fly away. Monday was a stay at home day. We still had very strong winds and dust and the temperature has dropped into the 50's during the day. This is all supposed to be short term so it made for a good day to just stay inside, do a little admin work, and just relax.

Tuesday, October 27^th, we left the park about 1:40 and drove in Las Vegas to run a few errands. The first stop was a discount pharmacy to pick up the prescription eye drops that Jackie needs to use before and after her cataract surgeries. There were three prescriptions that totaled a little over $100, and based on my earlier research, that was a bargain. The retail price for just one of the tiny bottles was over $500. After picking up the prescriptions we went to the Omelet House again for lunch. Again a lot of really good food with leftovers for later. We then went to a Jewelry store that was having a “buyers event” for diamonds and gold. Jackie wanted to have them give her a bid on the diamond ring she got from her mother. We were disappointed in the amount offered, so we took the ring back and left. We then stopped so Jackie could get a haircut and while she was doing that I went to Costco and gassed up the car. After her haircut we were on our way back over the hump, getting home around 3:30. We relaxed for a while, then around 6:00 we left and drove to the Elks Lodge for a Lodge Meeting. Normally we don't go to many lodge meetings, but tonight our friend Tom $$$$ was being initiated into the Elks and I was his sponsor. The meeting was long and we finally got out about 9:00. After we got home we watched some TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, October 28^th, we left the coach about noon and drove to the local office of the Ophthalmologist that is doing Jackie's eye surgeries, to resign some of the consent papers and to pay for the first eye. We had to redo the paperwork because Jackie decided to go with the laser surgery. After talking to the doctor we did a Walmart run and stopped for mail. After that we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the day and evening inside. Thursday we left the park about 11:00 and drove to our doctor's office so both of us could have our annual checkup. We got in fairly quickly and both of us saw our primary care doctor. Other than the occasional aches and pains I didn't have any thing to talk to the doctor about other than renewing my prescriptions and telling him about my skin cancer stuff. Jackie also didn't have much to ask except for telling him about her headaches she is still getting and some other minor stuff. We were in and out in less than an hour. After the doctor we went to the Japanese steak house here in town, OhJah, for lunch. We both had hibachi, with Jackie getting salmon and I got beef. The lunch was really great and very filling. After lunch we went back to the park and spent the rest of the day at home. Thursday I spent an hour in the morning with an online webinar regarding the health insurance coverage that is available from the Arizona State Retirement System. I have been drawing a pension from the State of Arizona's Public Safety Personnel system since 1992 and starting in 2000 I have a second, smaller pension from the State Retirement System, which is separate. In the past I have received the material on health coverage and was not impressed with their offerings. They were generally much more expensive than what we could get on our own. This was especially true because I have lived out of Arizona since 1998. Their out of state offerings were dismal. However, they now have a United Healthcare Medicare Advantage plan specifically for retirees who live out of state or travel a lot. It is a PPO plan, unlike most advantage plans, which are normally HMO's with limited networks. I am pretty certain, after a lot of investigation, that we are going to switch and save a lot of money next year.

About 2:00 we left to go have a late lunch at Red Sky BBQ. We wanted to do a late lunch because we are going to the bingo session at the Escapees park at 5:00. After lunch we stopped for mail and a couple things at the store, then went home. We stopped briefly at the lot of our friends Dick and Millie Duffin, who came in yesterday after their summer travels. They have been at the Escapees park for several years and were the ones that finally convinced us it would be a good plan for us too. At 5:00 we went to the clubhouse for the bingo. Normally I am not a big bingo person, but since we are new here I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the other residents. It was only $6 a person for a couple hours of bingo and Dick and Millie were also there. That made it easier for us to get to know who's who, because they have been here a while and know a lot of the residents. Oddly, Mr. Not Crazy About Bingo (me) won the first game for $16. Jackie won the last game, but she only got $4 because she had to share the win with several others. After bingo we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, October 31^st, Happy Halloween, Boo! We pretty much stayed at home all day. We had our leftover ribs for late lunch and I spent some time in the shed setting up my sound equipment for a sort of singing and guitar studio. We did leave the coach a little before 5:00 and went to the Elks for karaoke. There was a little lighter than usual crowd and we got four songs in for the night. Our friends Tom and Phyllis were there and Len and Debbie came in later. They were in costume, having gone first to the Halloween party at the Wine Ridge RV Resort, our old hangout. However, although they a DJ there, they were only playing dance music and were not doing karaoke, so they left and came over to the Elks. We went until a little after 9:00 when we left and headed back to the coach. We watched a little TV, changed the clocks back for standard time, and went to bed. Sunday we had our usual Sunday paper morning. We also did some chores and housekeeping, getting ready for our little get together with friends tomorrow. After lunch we went out and did a Walmart run. After we got back we spent the rest of the day just relaxing.

Monday, November 2^nd, we had a little get together at our place. Around noon our friends Len and Debbie, Tom and Phyllis, and Dick and Millie, all came over to spend the afternoon. For the most part we sat on the patio and talked and had a light lunch of various foods brought by the guests and us. For an hour or so Len and I sat in the shed and played guitar together and had a really great time. It has been a long while since I have been able to jam with someone. Everyone packed up and left just before sunset, around 4:00 or so. We cleaned up and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Tuesday, November 3^rd, we were in the car and on the road by 9:00, heading into Las Vegas for Jackie's first cataract surgery. Today they did the right eye, which was the worst. The surgery was at a contract surgery center in south Las Vegas and they were very efficient and nice. The got her in quickly and within two hours she was being wheeled out to the car, a little groggy, but otherwise OK. We stopped at a restaurant for a quick lunch, then headed over the hump to home, arriving around 2:00. Because she had been lightly sedated for the procedure Jackie spent the afternoon on the couch in and out of sleep. While Jackie was resting I went over to the UPS store and picked up our mail. We had our new prescriptions from our annual checkup and also my new electric guitar. I have always wanted to try an electric guitar and found a nice one on sale at Guitar Center, the same place I bought my acoustic one about six years ago. After I got back to the coach I just relaxed and watched over Jackie. She seemed to be doing well and went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up until about 10:30 watching election results, but when it became clear there was no way a winner was going to be declared nationally for at least a day or two, I went to bed.

Wednesday, November 4^th, was a stay at home day. Jackie was feeling better and her eye, which had still been very dilated when she went to bed last night, was now normal and she was marveling at how well she could see with that eye. I did a few chores and spent some time in the shed tuning my new guitar and trying it out. I am really happy with it. Our friend Len, who also plays guitar, came by about 4:30, just to see the new guitar and play it for a minute. He left after a half hour or so. We did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner and watched TV the rest of the night. For the second night in a row the election is still up in the air and no decision has been made. Thursday we stayed around the coach until about 3:00 when we went to the eye doctor's office for Jackie's first follow up exam. They told her she was doing fine and to just keep up the drops and be careful not to get water in her eye. She has to come back again in a week for another checkup. The next surgery is two weeks from now. After the doctor we went to pick up mail and stopped at Home Depot for some things. We then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.

Friday, November 6^th, we had a stay at home day. I did a few chores but we mostly relaxed and watched the dumpster fire, that is our national election, play out on TV. Saturday we went over to the clubhouse about 8:45 for a Board of Directors meeting. Today was supposed to be the Annual Membership Meeting of the non profit corporation that operates our Escapees park. Like any corporation, profit or otherwise, they are required to have an annual meeting of the members. However, due to the Corona issue, they felt that there was no way they would get a quorum of members, which would be over 93 of the 182 members. In addition, even they did get a quorum the current Nevada health regulations would prohibit a meeting that would include close to 180 people, since generally in most cases the term “member” for the park really means a couple. So, they simply held a regular Board Meeting, did the Board business, announced the results of the election, and introduced the new Board. The new Board then met, elected their officers and the meeting was over.

They also closed out the Silent Auction, which had been going on for over a week. As new members of the park we thought the silent auction, which was a fund raising event put on by the Silver Seekers, a committee that handles entertainment and the operation of the Clubhouse, would be fun. There were lots of nice things donated by people in the park, and we had our name and bids on a number of the items. We found out that there was one member of the park who was known to use this event as his Christmas shopping time, and bought over half of the items. Everyone else who tried to bid was basically just a shill for the committee to build up the bids so they would make money. I also suspect, but can't prove, that the committee is in on it and allows this person to be the last one to be in the room before the bid sheets are picked up. This guy took 66 of the 103 items. Sure, the Silver Seekers made money, but the fun of the auction was gone and we certainly won't be participating next year.

After the meeting we went home and relaxed for a while before going out for a late lunch at the Pour House, a bar and ten pin bowling alley, that also has a pretty decent Indian restaurant. Although Jackie likes Indian food, I am not crazy about it, but fortunately, they also have the best pizza in Pahrump, so that's what I get. After lunch we went back to the coach for a while before leaving again to go to the Elks for Saturday Karaoke. We had the usual crowd, including our friends Len and Debbie, and Tom and Phyllis. By 9:15 we were done and headed home where we watched a little TV and went to bed.

This marks nearly three weeks since we published and we have about another three weeks here in Pahrump before we leave to head south for a few months. So, we will get this edition finalized and online. Until next time, appreciate the words of Lily Tomlin. “I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” See ya soon.

Still at Home in Pahrump

Hi there, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter ended on Thursday, October 1^st, while we were in our new home base lot at the Escapees RV Park in Pahrump, Nevada. Friday was a stay at home day. We spent an hour or so putting up Halloween decorations around the lot to get into the “spirit” of the season. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing around the coach.

Saturday, October 3^rd, we went out about 1:00 and went to Mom's Diner for lunch. We also stopped and picked up mail and stopped at Albertson's for some stuff we couldn't get at Walmart the last time we went. Lately most Walmarts are looking like they are going out of business because the shelves are so empty. They need to look at their corporate logistics division and see what the hell is going on. We have seen it all over the country, and it not just because of the Covid thing, we saw it a year ago. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while before leaving again around 5:00 to go to the Elks for karaoke. The usual crowd was there and I got to sing three songs while Jackie got to play the slots for a couple hours. We were done a little before nine, went home and watched TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, October 4^th, we decided that our freezer inventory was getting low enough that we had to do a Costco run. So we left the coach about 11:00 and drove to Las Vegas. We stopped first at the Omelet House in Summerlin for Breakfast. They have a really extensive and great menu. I had a corn beef hash omelet that was wonderful. Jackie had an avocado and shrimp omelet that she liked a lot too. After breakfast we stopped at a Great Clips so Jackie could get a haircut. We then went to Costco, gassed the car for the first time in over a month, and went in to shop. $400 later we had lots of stuff in the car and headed for home. We were back by 2:30, put everything away, and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Monday, October 5^th, was the first day of the Beat the Odds Chapter rally here in Pahrump. This is an

FMCA Chapter that we have belonged to for a number of years. They have two rallies a year, one in the Fall in Pahrump and one in the Spring in Laughlin. A couple of years ago they did both rallies in Laughlin, but have come back to Pahrump this year at the member's request. Although it is a rally, there are not a lot of organized activities this year because of the Covid crisis. We went over to Preferred RV Resort about 10:30 to register for the rally. The rally is at the RV park, but we are the only one's who are actually from Pahrump, so we decided to not bring the coach over. After registration we went back home for most of the rest of the day. At 5:00 we went back over for a happy hour with the group. They didn't have any food, because no wants to be sharing, but we did all sit around outside in our lawn chairs and talk and drink for about 90 minutes. After the happy hour we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Tuesday, October 6^th, was the day of the slot tournament for the Beat the Odds Rally. This is really the heart of all their rallies and is a main feature. The tournament was at the Pahrump Nugget Casino, which is right across the street from Preferred RV Resort where most of the rally people are staying. The Nugget had six slot machines set up in one area, with nice Plexiglas shields between the machines. They looked like fairly new, electronic machines. There were, I believe, 27 people playing in the tournament, each of which paid $50 when they registered for the rally. Since the Casino doesn't take any cut, that makes for quite a prize fund for the Chapter to dole out at tomorrows banquet. The tournament was set up with two five minute sessions and there were five groups of people playing in each of the two sessions. The new machines were nice as they displayed the players name and had a display of all six scores as the session went on, and also had cool “1^st Place, 2^nd Place, and 3^rd Place” flashing signs on top whenever a player reached one of those positions. Lots of lights, lots of noise, lots of excitement. I was in the second group in both sessions and Jackie was in the third group of each session. I finished in third place in both my sessions, so I should have a good score. Jackie finished last in her first session, but second in the second session. We won't know all the scores and where we placed until tomorrow at the awards banquet. The last time we were with this group they paid money out down to at least half the group with the smallest prize being the $50 entry fee being refunded. After the tournament was over we left the casino and headed back home. About 4:30 we left again and drove to the Symphony Restaurant, which is located in the Pahrump Winery. The Winery, in turn, is located on the same property as the Wine Ridge RV Resort, which is where we have always stayed when we came to Pahrump. Had we not gotten our lot in the Escapees Park this summer we would be at Wine Ridge right now. We were there for an impromptu dinner set up by the wife of the Beat the Odds President for anyone who wanted to come. Symphony is considered probably the best fine dining in Pahrump, and we hadn't been there for a while, so we said we would go. They had tables for four set up to ensure compliance with all the Covid protocols and we sat with two people we knew from the Chapter, but didn't know well. We had a very nice evening with some really good food. I had a porterhouse steak that was tender and cooked perfectly, Jackie had blackened Mahi Mahi, which was also good. Oddly, we were at a winery, but couldn't drink because the place recently lost it's liquor license over some mix up when the place was sold a couple years ago. After dinner we went back to the coach and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, October 7^th, was a stay at home day for the most part. We did a few chores around the coach, but mostly just relaxed. About 3:30 we left to run a couple of errands and then go to the Pahrump Nugget for the Beat the Odds closing banquet. We went an hour or so early so we could do some gaming, then at 5:00 we went into the banquet hall for cocktails. About 6:00 they served dinner, the usual banquet food, salad, a plate with portions of chicken and pork along with a potato and veggie. Cake for desert. The food was OK, nothing special but good. After dinner they awarded the prizes for the slot tournament. They paid down to 13^th place and based on the scores they announced for the lower places I missed being in the money by just a couple of points. Oh well! In past Beat the Odds rally they have always had a Bunco tournament on the third day and awarded prizes for that too, but the clubhouse in the RV park was closed and it is hard to “social distance” in Bunco because you are always up moving from table to table. As a result they had no Bunco. Boo Hoo! After the prizes were given out we chatted with people briefly, then headed back home about 7:30. We relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Thursday, October 8^th was an early and busy day. I was up about 5:15 a.m. because I had an appointment at the dermatologist's office to have one of my small malignant skin cancers removed. The appointment I had a couple weeks ago they did three biopsies and two turned out to be small cancers. Today they did the one on my right ear. Regular readers will know that this was the one that popped up when we were in Northern California and Oregon during the summer. Today they did what is called a Mohs procedure. Basically the doctor comes in, takes a little more tissue from the site of the biopsy and gives to a mobile lab that is set up right in the doctor's office. They check it for cancer cells right away and if there are still cancer cells the doctor brings you back into the room and shaves a little more off. I only had two bites before they said I was clear. They bandaged my ear up and sent me home with some prescriptions for infection. Next month I get the same procedure for the one on my neck.

I was done and headed back home by 9:00. At 10:00 we were in the car headed for Las Vegas so Jackie could go see her neurologist about her headaches and get the results of the EEG from last time. We stopped for breakfast at the Omelet House again, then went to the doctor. It was a short appointment, the doctor told her the EEG was normal, and with all the other tests she has had, CT's, MRI's and such, there is no physical abnormality inside her head and there are no other treatments other than time. He said the brain has to get over the shock of the blow to the head. After the appointment we started back towards home. We did stop along the way and pick up four geocaches before we headed over the hump. We were back home by about 3:30 and spent the rest of the day and evening in the house.

Friday, October 9^th, we left the coach about 10:30 and drove to the China Wok buffet for another free lunch put on by MASA, the emergency services insurance we have. We had to listen to the same 30 minute sales pitch we have heard a dozen or more times, but got a free lunch at the end. After lunch we ran some errands, the mail store and Walmart. After shopping we headed home. I did a few chores and then relaxed for the rest of the day. About 5:00 we went to the Elks for karaoke. Normally on Saturday, they changed it to Friday this week because the Elks had an event on Saturday. It was the Elks State President's visit. Saturday we left the coach about 10:30 and went to the outdoor events area of the RV park for a meeting of the local Escapees Chapter, the Lucky Rollers. Although mostly made up of members in Southern Nevada, it represents the entire state. We had a half hour business meeting and then had a lunch hosted by the Chapter. I was the official cook, making a whole bunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and brats. We had a good time getting to know some more of our fellow park residents. About 1:00 we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the day and evening.

Sunday, October 11^th, we had the usual coffee and Sunday paper in the morning. About 1:00 some friends of ours from the RVing world, Geoff and Johanna Matthews, came up to visit. They are also full timers and have been staying in Las Vegas for the last month or so. They are leaving in a few days and wanted to see us before they left. Geoff and Johanna were vendors at a lot of FMCA events and we got to know them first through that. They sold the satellite business they had, but are still vendors, now for a health insurance company. They also belong to several FMCA chapters of which we are also members, including the Full Timers and Overland Trail Blazers. We sat outside and talked for quite a while. Since they have never been up here, we also took them on a little driving tour of both the Escapees park and the “highlights” of Pahrump. About 6:00 we did some burgers on the grill and had a nice dinner. They left around 8:00 and headed back to Las Vegas and we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Monday, October 12^th, we left the park about 10:30 and drove again to the dermatologist's office for a follow up on some cysts that Jackie had asked about a month ago at our checkup. It was also supposed to be a follow up appointment for me regarding my biopsies, but I already have that info and have had one of the cancers removed already. Jackie got in and the doctor looked at the cysts and said they had shrunk to nearly nothing and, in his opinion, it would be an unnecessary surgery to remove them unless and until they flare up. So Jackie didn't have anything cut out today. Yea! After the appointment we went back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day. I did a few chores, relaxed a bit and Jackie did some rock painting. Tuesday was a stay at home day. We did a few chores around the house and did our laundry at the park's laundromat. After the laundry was done we just stayed in for the rest of the day.

Wednesday, October 14^th, we stayed at home until about 2:00 when we went out to run some errands. We went to the UPS to pick up mail and a package first. The package was a compact temporary spare tire, what they call a “donut tire”, for the car. Ford, in it's infinite wisdom, decided that they would no longer put spare tires in their smaller cars, opting instead for a little 12 volt compressor and a bottle of tire sealant. As regular readers will know, this summer we picked up a nail while geocaching near Goodyear, Arizona, and because we had no spare we had to have a tow truck come out and take the car to a tire store. We had tow coverage, but it was still a pain in the you know what. Since I have been looking for a reasonably priced spare and finally found one on Ebay for less than $200. Now at least we can put on the temporary spare and drive to a repair facility.

After the mail we did a quick Walmart run, then went to the Pour House, which is a bar and restaurant that specializes in Indian food. I don't like Indian food, but they also have the best pizza in Pahrump, so I was OK too. Jackie had an Indian dish that had lamb, beyond that I don't know, but she liked it. I had a pizza which was as good as I remembered from last year. On the way home after our late lunch I got a text from my son, Roy Jr., that he had checked in to the Escapees park. Last year Roy, who is in his late 40's, decided to simplify his life, he sold his condo in Phoenix, bought an older Class A motorhome, about a 34 footer, and hit the road. He spent all summer working as a camp host at several Forest Service camps and loved the life. The camps, which were near Flagstaff, Arizona, have closed for the winter so he decided to come visit us for a few days before probably going back to Phoenix for a bit.

After we got home he came over and we spent several hours talking and catching up. He told us that the company he worked for already told him they wanted him back in Flagstaff next summer, and were also pitching him a winter job at a State park in central Alabama. He hasn't decided on that yet. He was tired from his drive from Flagstaff, so he went back to his coach about 7:00. We didn't have a dinner, but we did give him the left over pizza which made him happy. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Thursday, October 15^th, we went to the clubhouse about 9:00 for the monthly meeting of the park's board of directors. There was a lot of information about what they were doing to upgrade and maintain the park infrastructure. The meeting lasted about 90 minutes, after which we went back to the coach and took our showers and such. About 1:30 Roy came over and we talked for a bit. We then went out in the car to try and get a couple of geocaches, but the ones we went to were off the beaten track so we decided not to try. Roy then got a phone call from the company he works for about a potential job in Alabama this summer. He needed to think about the offer and make some calls, so we went back to the park and dropped him off at his coach and we went back to ours. About 4:00 he came back over and we sat and visited. He decided to not take the Alabama job since it didn't pay much and was almost 2,000 miles away. We later cooked some pork chops on the grill and had them with sweet potatoes. Roy went home about 7:30 and we relaxed with the TV the rest of the evening.

Friday, October 16^th, we went out about 1:30 or so with Roy to run some errands and do some geocaching. We were able to get four new finds in about an hour. It took a while because there are not many caches left in the Pahrump area that we haven't already found, so the unfound ones are a ways apart. After caching we went to Smith's for some groceries. We needed a few things that Walmart was out of and Roy needed some groceries too. After shopping we stopped and picked up mail, then headed back to the coach. Jackie made chili relleno for dinner and Roy went home about 7:30. After Roy left we watched TV until bedtime. Saturday we went out, with Roy, to a late lunch at the Lakeside Casino cafe. After lunch we went back to the coach and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 we left to go to karaoke at the Elks Lodge. Roy didn't want to go with us because we would probably not be home until after 9:00 and he has a dog that needs frequent walks. In addition, he wanted to go to bed early because he is leaving in the morning and heading down to Arizona. He travels longer days than we do and will do the almost 300 miles in one trip. He is headed to Congress, a small town northwest of Phoenix, where there is another Escapees RV park. We went to karaoke and sat with our friends Len and Debbie. We had the usual crowd and long rotation, I got to do three songs, but it was fun as always. About 9:00 we were done and headed home. After we got home we watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, October 18^th, we had the usual Sunday morning paper and coffee. When I went out to walk Roy went with me and we had a nice chat while we walked. About 10:00 he came over and said goodbye and told us that he had made reservations at the Escapees park in Congress, Arizona and would be going there today. He also left us a gift of a couple of packages of marijuana gummies that he bought at the weed store here in Pahrump. Marijuana is legal for recreational use here. Jackie has used marijuana a little bit many years ago, I have never used it at all, although I have said several times that I might give it a try now that it is legal in so many places. We spent the rest of the day in the house doing chores and relaxing. I did go out and fly my drone a little for the first time in many months. About 5:30 Roy texted that he got to Congress OK. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Monday, October 19^th, we went out after lunch to run a few errands. We went to the post office and then went to the early voting polling place to drop off our ballots. Nevada has had early in person voting for a number of years now, but this year they legalized the practice of sending a mail ballot to every registered voter, not just those who requested one. We filled out our ballots and sealed them up, but I was not comfortable putting them in the mail, so we took them directly to the polling station and dropped them in the sealed box there. So now, we have voted. Turn off the political ads. We did a Walmart run for some supplies and then picked up our mail at the UPS store before heading back home. We spent the rest of the day in the coach. Tuesday we went out after lunch to the laundromat in town that we used to go to before we came to the Escapees park. We had to do our queen size comforter, some blankets, some pillows and some other big things that really wouldn't go into the standard size top loader machines here at the Escapees. It took a couple of hours and we were all done. We went by the UPS store and picked up a couple of packages and then went back to the coach. One of the packages was a new sound bar for our living room TV and I spent another hour or so getting it set up and working. We spent the rest of the day in the coach.

We are now about three weeks since the last time we published. We still have a little over a month to go here in Pahrump before we head out to Arizona. Until next time, enjoy this little quote about our Covid “hunkering.” “Hunkering down and quarantining has helped me understand why dogs get so excited about something moving outside. I just barked at a squirrel.” See ya soon.

Another Couple of Weeks at Home in Pahrump

Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Monday, September 14^th in our “home” of Pahrump, Nevada. When we arrived here in Pahrump on September 1^st we were able to finally park at our new home base, the Escapees Co-op RV park, Pair-A-Dice. We were on the list for almost two years and our name finally came up last month. Yea! We now have a spot we can come and go from as we please without worrying about reservations.

Tuesday, September 15^th, was a stay at home day. We got some chores done including re-covering a couple of our dining room chairs with faux leather. Wednesday we went out after lunch to do a couple of chores. We first went to the UPS store and picked up our mail. One of the things in the mail was some papers from our private membership park near Banning, California, Silent Valley. We first bought into Silent Valley in the summer of 2004, a year before we sold the house and went full time. We were drawn to it because a number of our RVing friends in the Indio Elks RV travel club were members. The dues at that time were around $500 a year and for that you got up to 120 days of camping at no cost. And, it was a really nice park with lots of amenities. It really is a good deal money wise if you get to use it. However, the dues are now over $700 a year and we are getting to Southern California less and less. In the last two years we were only there for one month. It was no longer cost effective. When we got our spot at the Escapees we knew that we would now be even less likely to spent time there, so we decided to try and find someone to take over the membership. Because it the membership involves a deeded undivided interest in a leasehold, you can't just stop paying dues and drop out. That creates credit risks and problems. You have to find someone to take over your interest.

Fortunately for us, Silent Valley for the last couple of years has been seeing increased interest from younger people and within a month of putting a notice on the Silent Valley Facebook site we had a couple of nibbles. One finally decided and went up last weekend and signed the papers to take over our interest in the park. The papers we got today were our release and transfer of the interest in the park to the new people. We had to get them signed and notarized and then return them to Silent Valley, which will relieve us of our responsibility for the dues. Yea! Perfect timing. The monthly amount we will be paying at the Escapees park is only about $10 more than we were sending to Silent Valley each month and we can use the Escapees park year round if we want. Life is good. The UPS store, which does do notary work was really busy, so we went to our bank and they did the notary for us. And, it was free. Yea! We also stopped at the medical center and made appointments in October for our annual check ups and prescription renewals. After our errands we headed back to the coach, stopping at KFC to pick up dinner. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach.

Thursday, September 17^th, we walked over to the clubhouse for the park's monthly Board Meeting. The park has a nine member board of directors that is responsible for management of the park and it's assets. The meeting was fairly well attended, with most of the more or less full time residents in attendance. After the meeting we stayed for panel discussion with the candidates for election to the board later in the year. Four of the seats on the board are up for election. After the meeting we went back to the coach and pretty much stayed in for the rest of the day. I went out for a quick run to the post office to mail the papers back to Silent Valley, I wanted to get that off our plate as quickly as possible.
 

Friday, September 18^th, we left the park after lunch and went out to check on some more of our own geocaches. We checked four of the caches that are in the far northern part of the Pahrump Valley. After checking caches we went to Walmart for some supplies, then headed back to the coach. We stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Saturday we went out for a tour of the Escapees park courtesy of Charlene Darling, the wife of the current park Board President. She was very nice and took us around to all the different facilities and explained things. The park has a very nice Quonset hut with all kinds of tools, metal and woodworking, hand tools, lumber and supplies, all of which is available to any owner. They also have a vehicle maintenance pit, which would be handy if I still did my own car service, along with a wash rack and air pump station. It was a very informative tour. About 1:00 we left and went to the Lakeside Casino, which is just down the road from the park, and had lunch in their cafe.  They have pretty good food at a reasonable price. After lunch we stayed and gamed for an hour or so. I broke even and Jackie lost $20. We then checked on a couple more of our own caches that are in the southern part of the valley. We went back to the coach and relaxed for an hour or so, then at 4:30 we left and drove to the Elks Lodge for karaoke. Tonight was the first karaoke in about six months, but most of the people there were familiar to us from last year. Lots of good singers. The KJ had some problems with his equipment which slowed things down a bit. I guess after not doing it for six months it takes a little time to get everything right again. While I was in the back room singing and chatting with our friends Jackie went to the bar and played poker on the slot machine. She ended up winning $100! More than made up for what she lost earlier in the day. We left about 9:00, the first time we have been out after dark in a long time. After we got home we watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, September 20^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove out to the north side of town to a second hand store we like to visit from time to time. It is called Building 160 and has a little bit of everything. We didn't find anything that we couldn't live without. After that visit we went to Home Depot to pick up a couple of things and look at some stuff for our yard later in the year. I bought an 8 foot ladder, which just barely fit into the car, and a few other little things for projects around the lot. After shopping we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the coach. Monday was a stay at home day. I got some chores done, put a florescent light fixture in the shed, washed the car, and did a few other little things. Jackie spent some time with her new rock painting hobby. Other than that we spent the day and evening relaxing.

Tuesday, September 22^nd, the first full day of Fall. I spent some time in the morning working on creating a few new geocache containers so we could put a few more caches out around Pahrump. After lunch we went out to scout some new locations for caches and found two likely spots. Once both caches are physically placed I will submit them to the online reviewer for approval. Once they are approved and published other cachers will be able to come find them. After driving around for a couple of hours we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Wednesday we left the coach around 12:30 and drove to the Red Sky BBQ restaurant, one of favorite Pahrump eateries. We both had the full rack of ribs, eating half and taking half home for dinner tomorrow. After lunch we checked on our mail and then did a little more scouting of the area for potential geocaches. We found another good spot and set a cache there to be activated later. After our touring we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day inside.

Thursday, September 24^th, we stayed at home for the most part. About 2:00 our friend Regina Rubinstein came over to visit. She and her husband Richard live in an RV park less than a mile from the Escapees park. We first met them during our times at the Wine Ridge park. Regina loves karaoke and we have spent many hours at karaoke parties with she and Richard. She now works as a cafeteria worker at a middle school here in Pahrump and she stopped by after work for a quick visit to see our new digs. After Regina left we went out to do some work on one of the three new geocaches we are putting out. Before a cache can be published on the caching site it has to be approved by a volunteer reviewer. The reviewer had some concerns about one of the caches and we had to change it a bit.

Speaking of our new caches, one of them is one I have been thinking about for a couple of years and finally got around to getting it hidden and written up. It is called Binion's Treasure and it is located adjacent to what was Benny Binion's ranch in what is now central Pahrump. Benny Binion is known for the fact that he opened Binion's Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in downtown Las Vegas in 1951. Benny went to prison in 1953 for tax evasion and ultimately lost his gaming license, but except for a brief period in the early 1950's, the casino remained owned and operated by members of the Binion family until 2004. At the time the ranch was built Pahrump was a general store at the end of dirt road. The ranch also remained in the Binion family until 2019 when the property was sold for $1 million. Since the 60's there have been consistent rumors that Benny Binion had buried millions of dollars worth of silver, rare coins, and other valuables on his property in Pahrump to avoid having to pay taxes. Dozens of people have been arrested over the years excavating or otherwise prowling the Binion property in search of the alleged buried treasures. None of Benny's alleged treasure has ever been found. The Binion ranch was quite the local legend her in Pahrump.  After our drive to the new cache we went back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Dinner was the other half of yesterday's BBQ ribs from Red Sky.

Friday, September 25^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove into town to do a Walmart run and check our mail. After Walmart we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day inside. The smoke from the California fires is still pretty evident here in Nevada, so we don't spend a lot of time in the afternoon outside. Still too warm and a little too smokey. All three of our new caches were activated this morning and within a couple of hours all three had been found by one of the local geocachers. Saturday we went out about 1:00 for a late lunch. We first stopped at a new Thai restaurant not too far from the RV park, but they were only doing take out. We then went to an Indian restaurant in town that has great food, but they weren't opening until 3:00. We ended up at Chat Thai, one of our favorite places and had a great meal. After lunch we went back to the coach and relaxed for a couple of hours. About 5:00 we left again and went to the Elks Lodge for Saturday night karaoke, meeting our friends Len and Debbie Forrest, and Tom and Phyllis Howell. Both couples are into karaoke and we have known both of them for years from our stays up at Wine Ridge RV park. It was a big crowd, with a long rotation, but I got to do three songs and listen to a lot of other good singers. Jackie spent some time at the bar slot machine, but didn't make any money tonight. We left around 9:00 and went back to the coach. We watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, September 27^th was a stay at home day. My brother Russ and his wife Zen came up to visit, arriving around 1:00. They live in North Las Vegas and Russ works at the Golden Nugget Casino in Downtown Vegas. We had a very nice visit. They usually come up once or twice when we are in Pahrump, but this is the first time at the new home base. I took Russ on a little tour of the facilities and he was impressed, especially with the workshop building. We spent most of the visit just sitting and talking. We had not seen them since about this time last year. About 6:30 we served dinner, lasagna and garlic bread. They brought an apple pie which we had for dessert. They left around 7:30 and drove home. We spent the remainder of the night with the TV. Monday was also a stay at home day. We went to the laundry room here at the park before lunch and started our laundry. We were all finished by 1:30 with clean clothes and bedding. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing.

Tuesday, September 29^th, we went out after lunch to do a Walmart run. We also stopped for mail and I stopped by the Sheriff's Office to pick up my paperwork for my concealed carry permit renewal. After our errands we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. Wednesday was mostly a stay at home day. We go out mid afternoon for an appointment that Jackie had with an ophthalmologist. She has been having more and more difficulty seeing clearly since the beginning of the year and wanted to get a good, medical grade exam on her eyes. The doctor told her that she does have cataracts in both eyes and will need to have surgery to take out the cloudy lenses. We have to go back in a couple of weeks to figure out what level of surgery to have, how much it will cost, and when we can get it done. After the doctor we headed back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, October 1^st, another month in history books. Today is the third anniversary of the mass shooting in Las Vegas so that was what the local news channels were all covering. We went out after lunch to get our toes done. I just get mine cut, Jackie gets a full pedi. After the pedi we did a Walmart run and also stopped at the Dollar Tree for a few more Halloween decorations. After we got home we just relaxed for the rest of the day.

The beginning of the new month marks a good spot to close this chapter out and get it online. Until next time, think about this. You may be a poor driver if your GPS says, “in 500 feet, turn left and stop the vehicle. I’ll be getting out.” See ya soon.