Northern California and Central Oregon Adventures

Hi there, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Friday, July 9^th, when we arrived at the Elks Lodge RV park in Carmichael, California, a suburb of Sacramento. Saturday we left the park about 10:30 to go out and run some errands and find a cache or two. We were able to get two new caches before we decided it was a little too hot. We drove up to Rocklin, about 10 miles north of Sacramento, to visit a Camping World store there. We needed a few RV parts and supplies that are easiest to find at a Camping World. After the store we went to a nearby restaurant called Wally's Cafe. It advertised Mediterranean food and had five stars on Yelp, which is unusual. It was a small place and the owner, Wally, waited the tables and served the food. The first thing you get when you sit down is a bowl of lentil soup, which was wonderful. We also noted that even the take out orders got a to go cup of soup. Jackie had the gyro plate, which was huge, she ended up taking half of it home. I had the steak wrap which was also one of the biggest and best I have ever had. For dessert we got a little Lebanese cookie. We ended up giving it five stars on Yelp ourselves. A great place to eat if you ever find yourself hungry near Rocklin, California. After lunch we started back south to go home. On the way we drove by the Roseburg Elks Lodge, which have never visited before, but it was closed. It was not a wasted trip, however, as we found that they have RV spots behind the lodge which, like Santa Maria, are full hookup, 50 amp, and they take reservations! Yea, no more worrying about whether we will get a spot in Carmichael when we stop in the Sacramento area. After we got home we just spent the rest of the afternoon and evening avoiding the heat by staying inside. The weather folks say the heat will break after Sunday, can't be too soon for me.

Sunday, July 11^th, I got the Sunday paper, which we read with our morning coffee. We left the coach about noon and drove to a restaurant a couple miles away to meet Jackie's friend Julie and her daughter Bella. Julie is the daughter of Kathy Yarbourgh, who also lives here in the Sacramento area, and with whom Jackie worked back in the 80's in the Coachella Valley. Jackie has known Julie since she was a pre-teen and stayed close. Julie is now a successful mortgage broker in Sacramento. We had a very nice lunch and spent a couple of hours catching up. We have not seen them in a couple of years. After lunch we headed back to the coach and spent the rest of the hot afternoon relaxing in the coach. I got some pizza for dinner and then we watched TV until bedtime. Monday Jackie went out for a girl's lunch with her friend Kathy. She got back around 2:00 and we went out to run some errands. We had to go back to Camping World to return some seat covers we didn't like, and also had to stop at an auto parts place to get wiper blades for the coach. Hardly ever use them, but the exposure to the elements ruins them after a few years. After our errands we relaxed in the coach for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Tuesday, July 13^th, we had lunch in the coach and then went out to do our laundry. We went to a laundromat just down the street that we have been to before. Withing 90 minutes we had all our laundry done and were on our way back to the coach. We got everything put away and made the bed, then just relaxed for a while, cooling off. About 6:00 we went into the Carmichael Lodge for Taco Tuesday dinner. The food was good, and inexpensive, and we had a nice meal and some nice conversation with some of the members of the lodge. After dinner we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the evening with the TV. Wednesday was another travel day. We packed up and left the Elks about 10:00 and began the 118 mile trip north on I-5 to Corning, and the Rolling Hills Casino RV park. We have seen this place, and it was a favorite of our friends Ray and Suzie Babcock, but we have never stayed here. We wanted to have at least a couple of days with full hookups. We had no sewer at the Carmichael Elks and will not have sewer at the Redding Elks. We got in early, about 12:30, and got set up for our two night stay. We decided to go out for a late lunch and went to a Mexican place called Casa Ramos. It had an interesting menu, with more of an emphasis on dinners rather than combo plates. Jackie had a dinner that had red chili, green chili and a chili relleno. It was really good, but also pretty spicy, which was OK. I had the red chili plate and it was good also. The service was good and we had a nice meal. The place seemed familiar, and later I checked back on our blog history and found that we went to a Casa Ramos in Chico, California, back in 2013, and, based on what I wrote, it seems they had much the same menu then. The family has about ten stores all in the north-central area of California. They have one in Redding and we may go back there next week. After lunch we found a geocache in Corning, then did a little exploring of Corning. It is not a big town, less than 8,000 population, and it calls itself the Olive Capital of the United States. Olive trees everywhere you look. After our exploration we went back to the casino and went inside to game a little. They had very few poker machines, which is our choice of slot machine, and they were VERY tight. After we both lost $40 we said enough and left. It is a nice enough place, but is currently undergoing renovation and expansion and is kind of a mess. They have a large casino, two hotels, a big truck stop, a golf course, and the large RV park. Kind of a one stop resort property. After gaming we picked up another cache near the casino, then went back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

Thursday, July 15^th, we went out after lunch to do some exploring and geocaching in Corning. Our first stop was a city park for the weekly farmer's market. It wasn't real big, maybe a dozen booths, only a couple of which were actually farm products. We did buy some really nice looking artisan sourdough bread and a little crumb cake, as well as a few veggies. It was interesting to note that even this small weekly market had a booth for giving Covid vaccinations. After the market we did some geocaching. We were able to get six new finds and no DNFs in the course of 90 minutes or so. After the caching we headed back to the coach and stayed in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Friday was another travel day. Today was a short trip, just 55 miles north on I-5 to the Redding Elks Lodge. We did stop for fuel on the way. When we arrived the RV park was almost empty and we got our choice of spots. We took the only spot that had parking right next to the coach for our car, which means we will be able to charge it after we drive it. We got set up for our five day stay here, had lunch and then left again to drive down to Anderson, about 7 miles south of Redding, to the UPS Customer Service Center to pick our mail, which we had sent from Pahrump. After we got the mail we stopped at a beauty supply place so Jackie could get some new nail polish, then we headed back up into Redding and went to a Great Clips so Jackie could get a haircut. While we were waiting for her turn to come up we did some grocery shopping at a store in the same shopping center. Once Jackie had her haircut we went back to the coach. About 5:00 we went over to the Elks Lodge for a cocktail. We had a couple of drinks since the lodge bought our second drink and had a good time talking to the bartenders and the members who were at the bar. Although we stay at the Redding Elks RV park all the time, this was the first time we have spent any time inside the lodge. We even got a couple of home grown tomatoes from one of the members who had brought some in to give away. We mentioned we were having scampi for dinner and could use a nice tomato, so he gave us two. After our drinks we went back to the coach, made scampi for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, July 17^th, we left the coach about 9:30 and started a 70 mile drive east into the foothills of the Sierra to the little community of Mineral to spent the day with our friend Peggy Bullock. Regular readers will know that we met Peggy and her husband Vernon on our Alaska trip back in 2009 and we have been close friends ever since. Although they traveled a lot in their motorhome, the Bullock's maintained their house in Mineral, what they call “the cabin.” When they bought the place in the 90's it really was a two room cabin, an old Forest Service cabin. However, over the years they expanded it into a two story, 3,000 square foot house. It is really a nice property and they live there in the middle six months of the year, before the snows come, since it is at 5,000 feet elevation. Mineral itself is very small, mostly a small store with a lodge and an RV park. The population is about 200 or so now.

We first came up to Mineral in 2013 when the Bullock's put on a 50^th Anniversary party. By this time we also knew a lot of their other friends, mostly RV people, so we took the coach up there and stayed a week in the RV park. The party was a huge success and they continued to host a big party in July. We missed the one in 2017 because we were traveling to the East coast and they didn't have one in 2018 because all of us, including the Bullock's and several of the other regular guests, were in Wyoming at an FMCA rally. In July 2019 Vernon died suddenly at home, just a few days before the annual party. At first the party was canceled, but Peggy and her kids decided to go ahead with the party as a celebration of life for Vernon, so we went up there again. The party in 2020 was canceled because of Covid, and Peggy had planned to have one this July. However, the house, which she decided to sell not too long after Vernon's death, went into escrow and they had to cancel the party because they had to clean out the house. We canceled our reservations at the RV park in Mineral, because it is a crappy park and a tough climb to get to it from the valley, but since or travel plans still had us in the Redding area in July, we stopped for a few days just to be able to see Peggy and also see the cabin for one last time before escrow closed.

We got up to Mineral around 11:00 and shortly after the three of us left again and drove to Lake Almanor, about 20 miles East of Mineral, for lunch. There is a really nice restaurant on the lake called Plumas Pines, and we like to eat out on the deck overlooking the lake and have lunch. We had a really great lunch, then drove back to the house and spent the rest of the day talking to Peggy. We have not seen her since we left Yuma in April. We had a great visit and will see her at least one more time before we leave Redding. We left the house and started back to the RV park about 4:30 because I didn't want to have to drive the mountain road back to the freeway with the setting sun shining in my eyes. We got back to the coach about 6:00, had a cocktail and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Sunday, July 18^th, I went out and got the Sunday paper, which we enjoyed with our coffee. After lunch we went out to a nail salon so Jackie could get a pedi and I could get my toenails trimmed. After the salon we did some geocaching, getting two finds and two DNFs before we decided it was too hot. We then went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon inside staying cool. After cocktails and dinner we watched TV and then went to bed. Monday we left the coach about 11:30 and went to In N Out for lunch. After lunch did a Costco run and then a Walmart run. We had to get enough vodka at Costco to get us through the next six weeks because we will be traveling in Oregon, Idaho and Utah, all of which have very high liquor prices. After our shopping we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day. Monday we spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing in the coach. About 3:30 we headed out for a planned BBQ at Peggy's son Matt's new house out in the country east of Redding. We had made a big salad and had a couple of nice steaks all packed. Just as we were getting ready to leave the RV park Jackie got a call from Peggy that the dinner was canceled. There is a large wildfire called the Dixie fire that is burning about 30 miles (as the crow flies) southeast of Mineral where Peggy lives. It is a big fire that is has been growing over the last few days. Up until today it was burning south and east, but the winds shifted and it is now burning more northeast. They issued evacuation warnings for the Lake Almanor area, including the Plumas Pines resort area where we had lunch the other day. Peggy decided that since the fire was burning more or less in the direction of Mineral, she would stay home and get her motorhome, which is parked next to the house, packed up, closed up and ready to roll at a moments notice in case they get an evacuation warning up there. She said Matt was coming up to help, so there would be no BBQ. Since we are leaving tomorrow we won't get to see Matt and his wife Roxanne's new place. We had the big salad we had made for supper by adding a little chicken to it and spent the night with the TV.

Wednesday, July 21^st, another travel day. We had another short trip today, only 66 miles north on Interstate 5 to Weed, California. We arrived at the Friendly RV Park about 11:30 and had to wait about 40 minutes to get checked in. We had lunch while we waited. We finally got parked and got the coach set up for our two night stay. Although we only have 30 amp we do have sewer and it is not as hot here, under 100 degrees, so one air running will be OK to keep us comfortable. After we got set up we went out and spent an hour exploring Weed as we have never been here before. Weed is a small town of just under 3,000 population and is at about 3,500 feet elevation. It sits in the shadow of Mount Shasta, which rises over 14,000 feet just to the east of town. The town takes it's name from Abner Weed who founded the town in the late 1890's as a timber town. In the 1940's the town contained the largest lumber mill in the world. Although many of the old mills remain, most have closed or relocated and Weed has become a tourist stop on Interstate 5, which runs right through the middle of town. US Route 97, which runs north into and through Central Oregon, also comes off of I-5 in Weed and runs through town. We will be here for two days before we ourselves head up US 97 into Oregon. After our tour of the town we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, July 22^nd, we went out after lunch to do some geocaching. We were out for a couple of hours and got a half dozen new finds and two DNFs. In the course of our caching we went to the the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden. Peggy had recommended this to us when she learned we were stopping in Weed. The Memorial is on the northwestern slope of Mt Shasta, 13 miles north of the City of Weed, on Hwy 97. It is situated on 136 acres of land provided by the USDA Forest Service, which were replanted with tens of thousands of trees by countless volunteers. The trees are living tribute to those who have sacrificed their lives in war. The sculpture garden is considered a place for reflection & remembrance, healing & reconciliation and pays homage to all honorable veterans, in conflict and in peace. The Memorial was founded by a group of veterans in 1988. Today, the Garden is proudly sponsored & maintained by the Kiwanis Club of Weed/Lake Shastina. There are eleven different metal sculptures scattered around the grounds, all depicting some part of military life. There are also several other granite memorials on the grounds. It is a very inspiring place. We also stopped at a local souvenir shop and we both bought Weed tee shirts. Who can come to a town named “Weed” and not buy a shirt. We stopped at a local market, then headed back to the coach where we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing.

Friday, July 23^rd, another travel day. We left Weed about 9:30 and headed north on US 97, destination Crescent, Oregon. We crossed into Oregon after about 50 miles and generally had a good trip. It was fairly flat and not too hot, so overheating was not an issue. When we passed through the Klamath Falls area there was a lot of smoke from the Bootleg Fire, which is burning to the East of Klamath Falls. According to the news it is the largest wildfire in the country right now. We passed through the burn area where the fire started, and had the road block for a day or two, but the fire is now burning a dozen miles east, so it was not a factor in our travels. We arrived at the Big Pines RV park about 1:00 and got checked into our site. Although this park is in the middle of nowhere, it is a very nice park. We have a nice, level site with full hookups and 50 amps and even though we are in the trees, I was able to get satellite. We are at about 4,500 feet elevation, so it is a little cooler too, only 82 degrees when we arrived. We got parked and set up, and were going to drive into the nearby little town of Crescent, but when I unhooked the car I found the battery was dead. This is the third time in a year that we have arrived somewhere and had the 12 volt battery be dead. It is annoying and we will have to take the car to a Ford dealer when we get home in September. I was able to jump it from the coach and put the charger on, so we should be good tomorrow. We spent the rest of the day in the coach just relaxing.

Saturday, July 24^th, we left the coach about noon and headed out to have lunch and then do some exploring and geocaching. We went to a cafe, actually the only cafe, in Crescent called the Mohawk. It was a large old building and the interior was all wood plank and the walls were floor to ceiling with shelves containing the largest collection of collector whiskey decanters and Avon collectibles that I have ever seen. In addition, there were hundreds of taxidermy animals. Apparently the original owner was a collector. It was quite the collection. In addition, the food and service were pretty good. After lunch we went out to explore Crescent and the surrounding area. It is a small, unincorporated town of about 6,700 that was founded in the late 1800's primarily as support for the logging industry. The adjacent community of Gilchrist, population of less than a thousand, was founded in 1937 as a company town for the Gilchrist Timber Company. The town was sold and privatized in 1992 when the mill closed and was the last company owned community in Oregon. The area is now a tourist stop for the surrounding Cascade Lakes region of Central Oregon. We drove around a bit and did some caching, getting six new finds and a DNF in a couple of hours. After caching we went back to the RV park and stayed in the coach for the rest of the day.

Sunday July 25^th, was another travel day. We didn't leave Crescent until 11:00 because we are only going 66 miles north to Redmond, Oregon. We arrived at the Expo Center RV park about 12:30, but they wouldn't let us check in until 1:00, so we found a place to park in the Expo Center parking lot and had lunch. We have been to the Redmond Expo Center on a number of occasions as it used to be a favorite location for big FMCA Conventions. For whatever reason FMCA hasn't come back in at least five or six years despite it being a great venue. At 1:00 we got into the park and got set up for our two day stay. After we got set up we went out to do some shopping. We hit both the Fred Meyers store and the local Walmart for some supplies. One of the things I bought was a lithium battery powered portable jump starter so the next time the car decides to crap out with a flat battery I can jump it without running cables. After our shopping we went back to the RV park and stayed in for the rest of the day. Jackie made a nice chili relleno casarole for dinner and we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, July 26^th, we went out about 12:30 and went to a local Chinese place called Cindy's Chinese Garden. I had the orange chicken, Jackie had the kung pao chicken, both from the lunch menu. For $9 you got soup, rice, one egg roll and the entree, and there was a lot of food. We both took home leftovers which is unusual when ordering a lunch item. After lunch we did some geocaching, getting six new finds in a little over an hour. One of the caches was at a historic home near downtown Redmond which now belongs to an artist. There are all kinds of cool looking metal sculptures around the property. After our caching we stopped at Bi-Mart, which is a membership discount chain in the Northwest. It is not a bulk place like Costco, more like a tiny Walmart Supercenter, with everything from food to clothes and sporting goods. They sometimes have some pretty good deals and it didn't cost us anything to join a few years back and the membership never expires. We like to visit them from time to time. After shopping we headed back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the day. The park is really starting to fill up since the County Fair, which is at the Expo Center, starts this week. They had already spent most of the day putting up the rides for the carnival and it was starting to look like a fair. '

Tuesday, July 27^th, another travel day. Today we went 132 miles north to the Columbia River, which is the border between Oregon and Washington. It was raining lightly when we got up and we drove most of the way in a light rain. The rain cleared up by the time we arrived at the Corps of Engineers Park in Le Page, Oregon. This is a small park located on a little wedge of land where the John Day River enters into the Columbia. We have stayed here a number of times and it is a nice little park right on the river. Although we had reservations for a back in site, when we got there we learned there was a pull through site available. Turns out some of the pull through sites are first come, first served, so we took it. The biggest difference is that the pull through sites are parallel to the river, so when you walk out your door you are right on the riverbank. Very scenic and pleasant. The sites are nice, 50 amp with water. We are only here for three days, so not having sewer is not a big issue. We got set up and spent the rest of the day relaxing. The car battery was dead on arrival again, proving that it was time to replace it. I think I will try that the next big city we stay in later on in the trip. Where we are right now is very rural. We don't even have phone data service in the park, although the phone does still have one bar service. We had country ribs for dinner which had been cooking in the crock pot all day.

Wednesday, July 28^th, we left the coach after lunch to do some exploring and a little geocaching. We drove about 30 miles east on the interstate to the city of The Dalles, Oregon. The Dalles is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia river outside of the Portland metro area. The population is around 16,000. Our first stop was a city park right on the river where we just parked and spent a half hour on our phones catching up with internet stuff. We are so used to being connected 24/7 that it is hard to not be able to instantly access anything. We then did some caching, getting four new finds in about an hour. We drove around and explored the area for a bit, then drove to the Elks Lodge only to find it boarded up and abandoned. We had been to this lodge probably five years ago or so, but now it appeared closed. Jackie did some more checking on the web and found a site that said the lodge was still in existence but had moved in with the Dalles Eagles Lodge. We drove there and found the building had two signs, one for the Eagles, one for the Elks. We went inside and had a cocktail and chatted with the bartender who told us that both groups were on the verge of going out of business because of the pandemic and they met and agreed to move everything into the larger Eagles building and share costs. She said both groups are now doing well and the cooperation saved both. We were even able to get an Elks pin. During our exploring of the city I saw a Ford dealership and just on a whim stopped and talked to a service writer in the service department just to see if they could fit me in to replace the failing 12 volt battery in the car. I had stopped at a NAPA auto parts store to check on getting a battery, but it was a special order item. To my surprise the service guy said they could get me in tomorrow afternoon and the parts department had the battery in stock. The cost estimate was about $200 total, which is only about $20 more than what just the battery would have cost a NAPA. I made the appointment and we started the drive back to the RV park. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing in the coach.

Thursday, July 29^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and started back toward The Dalles. We had spotted a Mexican restaurant called Casa El Mirador that had good reviews. We had lunch, which was quite good, as was the service. After lunch we still had a little time before our appointment at the Ford dealer, so we stopped at the Fred Meyers store, which was only a few blocks from the Ford shop. We got the car into the shop a little before 2:00 and they got it right in. Within an hour they were finished and the bill was $203 and change and Maxie was all better. After we picked up the car we drove back to the park and spent the rest of the day inside. Friday was another travel day. We left the Corps of Engineers park about 10:30 and continued east on Interstate 84 to the City of Umatilla, about 75 miles. We arrived at the Umatilla Marina RV park, which is owned and operated by the City, about noon and they got us checked in. We park and did the basic set up, then got in the car and drove 30 miles north into Washington and the UPS Service Center in Kennewick, Washington. We had asked our UPS store to forward our mail and it had arrived yesterday. The UPS place was not open on the weekend, so we wanted to get the mail today. After we picked up the mail we stopped at the Firehouse Sub place for a quick lunch before heading back to to the RV park. After we got home we finished setting up for our five day stay here in Umatilla. We relaxed with the TV for the rest of the evening.

Our arrival in Umatilla marks about three weeks since we last published, so we are going to close out this episode and get it online. Until next time, remember the words of the great Dr. Seuss, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” See ya soon.

On The Road Again - Summer 2021 Travels Begin

 Hello again. Our last chapter concluded on Saturday, June 19^th, when we left our home park in Pahrump, Nevada after two and a half months and set out on our summer travels. Our first night was a one night stand in Dagget, a small town outside of Barstow, California. On Sunday, Father's Day, we again left early to try and beat the heat. We left Dagget about 8:00 and continued west towards Bakersfield, California. We had a little easier day because the freeway between Barstow and Bakersfield was not nearly as busy as I-15 was yesterday. As a result, I was able to drive a little slower to avoid overheating and we made it up the hill over over the Tehachapi pass without any serious heating issues. We did a quick fuel stop in Tehachapi and continued on to Bakersfield, arriving at the Bakersfield RV Resort about 11:00. This is a new park for us as the one we used to use on the east side of town no longer does nightly stays. We got checked in and parked and were able to get set up just before the temps got over 100 degrees. This is a nice park with good power, so both A/Cs are running well and we are able to cool the house. After we got set up we went out for an early lunch, going to a nearby Thai restaurant called Ocha Thai, which was excellent. We had a great meal. After lunch we did a quick run to a nearby Winco to pick up some things that Walmart just doesn't carry. After the grocery run we went back to the park and stayed in out of the heat the rest of the day. We had a light dinner, then watched TV until bedtime. We are in Bakersfield for three nights, so no need to get up early tomorrow.

Monday, June 21^st, we left the coach about 11:00 and went out to spend the day exploring Bakersfield. The heat wave was subsiding a little, today was supposed to be only up to 105 or so, and in the late morning, when we went out, it was not bad at all, still under 100 degrees. We started by doing some geocaching. We have geocached once before in Bakersfield, about three years ago, but we only got a few. We cached around the area of the city we are in, southwest Bakersfield, and were able to get ten new finds, and one DNF, in an hour and a half or so. We then decided to take a lunch break. We decided we would try some Greek food, so we found a place near one of the big shopping centers called the Panini Kabob and Grill. It took us a while to find it because the GPS was off, but we did and we went in. After we sat down and looked at the menu we saw it was VERY limited. A couple of kabobs, some salads, and some vegan dishes. We asked the waitress about panini's and/or Greek pita dishes, and she told us that they had reduced their menu because of the pandemic and didn't have any of those dishes currently. I told Jackie that there was nothing on the menu I wanted, so we politely told the waitress we were leaving and we did. We went two doors down to a place called Blaze Pizza, which it turns out is a fast food pizza joint. You go through a line, kind of like at a Subway sandwich shop, and custom build an 11 inch pizza, which they cook in a very hot oven in a matter of minutes. The pizzas are one price, no matter what you put on it, and they were actually quite good. We had a nice lunch, then went out and spent an hour or so driving around checking out the town. We stopped at the Elks Lodge, which we had also visited in 2019, and had a drink and chatted with some of the members. It was a very friendly lodge. After our drink we left and headed back to the RV park. We stayed in for the rest of the day, watching some TV until it was time to go to bed.

Tuesday, June 22^nd, we left the coach after lunch and drove to a local movie theater to take in a movie. Today we saw “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.” This was a horror/suspense film based on a true story about a young man who killed an acquaintance and then claimed that he was possessed by a demon at the time. I won't spoil the ending, but the movie was nicely done and quite scary. After the movie we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day inside. It has cooled down to under 100, but still pretty warm. We had some eggs and corned beef hash for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime. Wednesday was another travel day. We were packed up and on the road by 8:30 and at the time we left the temp was only 76. Yea! We continued west towards Santa Maria, California, near the coast. The trip was 120 miles and we made it without any heating issues. When we arrived at the Santa Maria Elks Lodge about 11:00 the temp there was 73. We got checked in, parked and set up, then spent the rest of the day relaxing. We are here for a full week and will be visiting Jackie's cousin Corey, who lives about 20 miles north in Pismo Beach.

Thursday, June 24^th, we had planned to go out and do some geocaching and then over to Pismo Beach to visit Corey. However, Jackie woke up this morning with what appears to be a bad head cold. She didn't feel like going out and also didn't want to go to Corey's because he is scheduled for some serious surgery in a week or so and she didn't want to get him sick. We stayed in for the day. I got a lot of office work done. Jackie spent most of the day on the couch. Friday Jackie was still feeling poorly, so we had another stay at home day. I did go out to the grocery store for a few things, but other than that I worked on travel planning all afternoon. We did some tacos for dinner and watched TV until bedtime. Saturday Jackie was feeling just a little bit better. She decided that she wanted to get out regardless, so we left the coach about 12:30 and went to In and Out for lunch. After lunch we drove up to Pismo Beach so we could at least visit with Corey for a little while. It was strange being in the house on the hill without Jackie's Aunt Donna. Corey looked good, although in a week or so he is going to have surgery to unblock an artery in his head, pretty serious stuff. It has been causing him to have small strokes. We spent a couple of hours catching up with him, then we left around 4:30 or so and drove back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening in the coach watching TV.

Sunday, June 27^th, was a stay at home day. I did get a Sunday paper in the morning, but other than that we stayed in. Jackie is still sick, so it was a quiet day with the TV. I made a pot of chili for supper and we watched TV until it was time for bed. Monday we stayed at home until about 2:00 when we left to try and take Jackie to an urgent care. Unfortunately they would not see her because she didn't have proof of a recent Covid test. The fact that she is fully vaccinated didn't seem to mean anything. After that we drove to nearby Nipomo to have dinner at Jocko's, our favorite steak house. We couldn't go last year when we were here because they were closed for Covid. We got there early and were the first one's in the door when they opened at 4:00. Corey also came and Jackie's other cousin Pia was supposed to come, but called and said she couldn't make it. We had a wonderful dinner, I had a huge rib eye steak, Jackie had lamb chops, and Corey had halibut. The meal comes with salad, sides, and dessert, so we had plenty to eat and still took leftovers home. We also had a couple of drinks and when it came time to leave the waiter told us that the manager, Ed, who is a friend of Corey's, was picking up the tab, the whole check! Talk about friends in high places. Needless to say the waiter made out as we left a nice tip for him. After dinner Corey went home and so did we. We watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, June 29^th, our last full day here in Santa Maria. It was also Jackie's aunt Donna's birthday. Donna and her late husband Barky had built the house that Corey is now in. Corey is her grandson and she left the house in Pismo to him when she passed a little over a year ago. We had a stay at home day again and Corey had planned to come over to our place in the late afternoon for dinner. He called in the afternoon and said he wasn't feeling well, so he decided to stay at home. We had a light dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed. Wednesday was another travel day. We left Santa Maria about 9:30 and started the 145 mile trip north and east to an RV park on Interstate 5, near Coalinga, California. We arrived at the Almond Tree RV park about 1:00 and got settled into our spot for a one night stay. We didn't even unhook the car. For the first time in a week we were hot again, although it was only 101, not 111 degrees. After we got set up we just relaxed for the rest of the day and evening.

Thursday, July 1^st, we left Coalinga about 10:30 and continued our trip to Fresno, about 70 miles. We arrived at the Fresno Elks about 1:00 and, due to a brain fart on my part, we didn't know what space we were supposed to be in and the park host was out and didn't have the information with her. Since we had an hour to kill we parked the coach in an empty spot, hooked up the electric so we could run the A/C, then went to Del Taco for a quick lunch. While at lunch I remembered where I had noted the number of our assigned spot, so we headed back to the Elks, moved the coach to our correct spot, then got our set up done. We are here for five days, hopefully visiting Jackie's cousin Stephanie and her family. Today we just stayed in and tried to keep cool. By bedtime it had cooled down enough to be comfortable and we went to bed. Friday we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to a nearby Mediterranean restaurant for lunch. Jackie had a gyro plate and I had a diced steak sandwich and fries. Mine was OK, Jackie said her gyro meat didn't have much taste. OK food, but probably wouldn't go back again. After lunch we got two nearby geocaches, then went to Costco for some supplies. After Costco we went back to the coach and tried to stay out of the heat for the rest of the day and evening.

Saturday we left the coach after lunch and did a Walmart run. After Walmart we headed back to the coach and stayed in the rest of the day and evening. Jackie is feeling slightly better, but still has a bad cough and hoarse voice. Sunday, Happy 4^th of July! I went out and got a Sunday paper which we enjoyed with our morning coffee. About 1:30 we left the coach and drove to Jackie's cousin Stephanie's house for the day. Stephanie's husband Ron was there, as were her mom Sue and all three of her kids. Ron is a construction electrician and usually works jobs that take him away from home most weekdays but since this was a holiday weekend, he was home. We didn't make it here last year, so it has been two years since we saw the family. Jackie had a great time catching up with Stephanie and Sue. Jackie and Sue grew up together in the Los Angeles area and Jackie watched Stephanie grow up. The three kids were in and out all day, but everyone seemed to be really happy, a great family. Ron did burgers and hot dogs on the BBQ and we had a very nice dinner. About 7:30 we left and headed back to the coach. We spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Monday, July 5^th, we thought we might go back over to Stephanie's today for a bit, but Jackie was still feeling poorly, so we just had a stay at home day. Didn't go anywhere or do anything. Tuesday was another travel day. We left Fresno about 10:30 and started the 140 mile drive northwest to Lodi, California. We didn't have to leave early because even though the day will be in the low 100's, we are just going up the Central Valley, so there are no hills to worry about. We made a fuel stop in Madera at a Love's truck stop and Jackie ran in while I was fueling the coach and picked up some chicken livers at the Chesters Chicken inside the truck stop. Yea! With $200+ worth of fuel we now had a full tank. We arrived at the Lodi Elks Lodge about 1:45 and got parked in our spot. The lodge now takes reservations, so we had a spot waiting for us and it is 50 amp, so we can run both airs and stay cool. We have stayed here several times in the past, but the last time we were here was in 2013. We used to have some old friends from Indio, Fern and Andy Leonardini, who had a house here and grew Zinfandel grapes in a small vineyard. They have both passed away in the last couple years so we are now just here as tourists. We are going to be here for three days, so hopefully we can get out and do a little exploring and caching. We got everything set up and then just relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had a pot roast in the crock pot all day while we traveled, so we had a nice dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, July 7^th, we left the coach about 12:30 and drove to another urgent care facility to see if Jackie could get checked out since she doesn't seem to be getting over the cough. This one was affiliated with the local hospital, which was part of the Adventist Health group. Over the years we have been to several Adventist facilities and always found them to be very helpful and pleasant. They did take Jackie right in, checked her out, did some tests and even a x-ray. The PA that she saw is fairly certain that it is a severe case of bronchitis, but is not yet pneumonia. She prescribed some antibiotics to take if she doesn't get better in a few days, as well as a cough medicine. We found an excellent Mexican restaurant after visiting the urgent care and had a great, if somewhat late, lunch. It is called El Pazcifico (that's how they spelled it) and had really good ratings. After lunch we went to the Walgreens and picked up Jackie's meds, then headed back to the coach. We had leftover chicken livers as a light dinner, then watched TV until it was time for bed.

Thursday, July 8^th, we left the coach about 11:30 and went out for brunch. Jackie was feeling a little bit better and hadn't coughed much last night. We went to a cafe called Lodi Avenue Grill which had really good Yelp ratings. Jackie had breakfast, an omelet, while I had a hamburger for lunch. The food was excellent as was the service. After lunch we did some geocaching, getting ten new finds, and two DNFs, in the course of a couple of hours. It started getting a little warm around 3:00, so we quit and went back to the coach. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening. Friday was another travel day. We were on the road by 10:30, heading north about 45 miles to the Carmichael Elks Lodge. Carmichael is a suburb of Sacramento. Jackie has some old friends who live here. We arrived at the Elks a little after 11:00 and there were two of the 50 amp sites empty. This lodge does not take reservations, which is the reason we wanted to be here early. I got into the one spot that has an open area next to it where we can put the car to charge it up. Yea. Good thing we got here when we did because within an hour the place was full. We got parked and set up for our five day stay here. It is going to be hot, but with 50 amp we should be OK. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing in the coach.

Our arrival here in Carmichael marks the three week point since we left our home park in Pahrump and also a good place to close out this episode and get it published. After our five days here in the Sacramento area we continue north for a couple more stops in California before moving up into Oregon. Until next time, remember to value your friends because they are the family you choose. See ya soon.

At Home in Pahrump - Part 3

Hi, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, May 20^th, while we were parked on our lot at the Escapees Co-op park in Pahrump, Nevada. Friday we left the park after lunch and drove to the laundromat to do our laundry. We got finished and were back at the RV park about 2:30. While we were working putting stuff away Jackie saw a Facebook post from another resident at the Escapees park saying that some people were at one of the other lots cleaning out the storage shed and giving a lot of stuff away. We went over there to see what was going on. We found that the member who had the lot had suffered a stroke a few months ago and could no longer live alone. His daughter and son in law were at the lot cleaning everything out of the storage shed and property so that it could be released back to the park for a new member. We did not know the individual that had lived there, but he was clearly an avid camper as there was all kinds of camping equipment as well as boxes and boxes of clothing and household items. The kids were very clear that everything was free, just take it away. We ended up making two trips with the car and got all kinds of good stuff, including a 10x10 pop-up canopy, a brand new hammock and stand, several nice tables, some folding chairs, and a lot of other stuff. I was also able to get a very nice portable 80 watt solar panel system for my son. We don't boondock enough to make it useful to us, but he does a lot of off the grid camping. After our “shopping” trip put the rest of the laundry away, had some dinner and watched TV until bedtime.

Saturday, May 22^nd, I spent a couple of hours cleaning up and checking out the stuff we got yesterday. I wanted to make sure everything was complete and workable, as well as to make sure there weren't any bugs or other critters in or on the stuff before I put it away in the shed. About 1:00 we went out to a late lunch to Terrible's Roadhouse where we both had the liver and onions again. This place has the best liver anywhere. After dinner we went back home and relaxed for a while. We had planned on going to our usual 5:00 karaoke at the Elks, but neither of our friends were going and the weather was cold and threatening rain, so we decided to just stay home and relax. We watched TV for the evening and then went to bed. Sunday was a stay at home day. Got the Sunday paper and had a relaxing morning. In the afternoon I did some chores and relaxed a bit. We had cocktails with Millie and later had a dinner of country ribs that had been cooking in the crock pot all day. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, May 24^th, we had another stay at home day. I did a few chores outside and did some office work. We had Millie over for dinner and Jackie made a chili relleno casserole with rice and beans. We had a very nice dinner and after Millie left we watched some TV until bedtime. Tuesday we went on a little road trip. We left the park about 10:30 and headed southwest out of Pahrump with the intention of visiting several little desert communities in nearby Nevada and California that we have heard people talk about, but we have never been to. We went south on SR160 for about 15 miles, then turned onto a local road called Old Spanish Trail. It purports to follow, at least partially, the route of the original Spanish Trail, an old 19^th century immigrant route westward. After about 8 miles we crossed the border into California and passed through a small, rural community named Charleston View. I use the term “community” loosely as it was mostly a few dozen scattered homesteads in the desert. The area has clearly been subdivided because there are a network of sand and gravel “roads” over several square miles, but not much civilization. It was another 26 miles to the California town of Tecopa, which was the ultimate destination of our road trip.

The town was established in 1875 as a rest stop on the Spanish Trail and the Mormon Road, which followed the same route in this area. It was originally called Brownsville, after the two Brown brothers who built the town. The site was picked because it was on the Amargosa River, which had fresh water, and also a number of nearby natural hot springs. After a few years the town was bought out and the new owner renamed it Tecopa, after a regional Paiute Tribal Chief. The population in 2010 was 150 spread out over an 18 square mile area. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries the area was known for it's gypsum mines, a mineral used for plaster. All of the mines closed in the 1920's and the area is now a tourist area, known for the hot springs and hiking and off roading opportunities. Since we first came to Pahrump in 2007 we have been hearing people tell us about the area and we have just never taken the time to visit. We spent an hour or so driving around, checking out the area. Near the hot springs there are a couple of what they call resorts, but they are pretty rural and rugged. A number of small RV parks, and a couple of restaurants, all of which were closed. Our original plan was to have lunch in Tecopa, but nothing was open today. They are apparently only open over the weekends. We also drove to China Ranch, which is a large date ranch in a deep canyon south of Tecopa. This too has been here since the early 20^th century. After our exploration of Tecopa we headed back towards Pahrump. We stopped in the little town of Shoshone, which is on the road that we generally use to come and go between Pahrump and Southern California. We stopped at the restaurant in town, called The Crowbar, for lunch. We have eaten here before and explored Shoshone in the past. After lunch we drove the last 25 miles back to Pahrump, stopping at the UPS store to pick up our mail on the way home. We got back home around 4:00, making our road trip about five and a half hours, and just under 110 miles round trip. We also did some caching during our travels today, getting nine new finds and no DNFs. This is the most caches we have gotten in over a year. After we got home we just relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, May 26^th, we went out after lunch and did a Walmart run. After shopping we headed back to the ranch and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Millie came over for cocktails at 5:00. The main topic of conversation was that the guy from Delaware that bought her American Eagle motor home had flown in on Tuesday and at 8:00 this morning had driven off in it on his way back to the east coast. Millie no longer has to worry about a very nice RV she could not afford, nor could she drive. She is now very happy in her paid off “cottage” trailer in a place that is very affordable for her. Yea Millie! After Millie left we had leftover country ribs for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime. Thursday was mostly a stay at home day. I went out about 2:30 and drove to my dermatologist so he could check a growth that popped out a month or so ago on the left side of my face. Since it had been six months since the last time I was in, he did a full body check but didn't find anything else. He looked at the growth and thought it could be a skin cancer, so he shaved it off for biopsy. The results will take a week or so and then we can decide how to proceed. After I got home we had cocktails with Millie and then leftover Mexican for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, May 28^th, we left the coach about 2:30 and drove to Walmart where I went in to the optometrist to get new glasses. Our new insurance through my Arizona State Retirement System includes pretty decent optical insurance. I had the exam and got new frames and lenses for less than $200, about what I would have paid in Algodones. This year is the first time in about 14 years we have gotten our teeth looked at and new glasses at a shop that was not in Algodones. Jackie did some shopping while I was getting my exam. After Walmart we picked up mail and then headed back to the ranch. Millie came over for cocktails and for dinner we did some hamburgers on the grill with baked sweet potato wedges. After dinner we watched TV for the rest of the evening. Saturday we went out about 1:00 for a late lunch. We went to a fish and chips place on the north end of town which we have not visited before. It was called Seattle Fish and Chips and was opened a couple of years ago by a Seattle transplant who owns a big seafood place up there. We had a big lunch, tried the calamari appetizer, which was OK, nothing special. I had a cup of their clam chowder which was not good. Very watery, no creamy taste, just fishy, and not much in the way of clams. I had the fried shrimp platter, the shrimp was very good, big shrimp nicely cooked. The fries were average and the cole slaw was dry and tasteless. Overall it was a fair meal at best, and very pricey. I understand we had a lot of food, including one beer, but the tab was just under $60, which is too much for fish and chips. After lunch we went back home and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 I left and went to the Elks for karaoke. Jackie was having tummy issues and didn't want to go. Len and Debbie were there, but Tom and Phyllis were out of town. The rotation was huge tonight, over 20 singers, so we only got three songs in in the four hours. After karaoke I went back home, watched a little TV and went to bed.

Sunday, May 30^th, I went out in the morning and got the paper, but other than that it was a stay at home day. Had cocktails with Millie at 5:00 and for dinner I made stuffed peppers. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Monday, May 31^st, Happy Memorial Day. Today was another stay at home day. We went over to Millie's for cocktails at 5:00 because she had a service guy over installing her washer and dryer. After cocktails we went back to our coach and did some steaks on the grill with scallops, BBQ pineapple and sauteed squash. A lovely holiday meal. After dinner we watched TV until it was time for bed.

Tuesday we went out after lunch for some gaming at the Saddle West Casino, one of the larger casinos here in Pahrump. We both lost $20, but it took over an hour to do it, so we had a good time. After our gaming we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. About 5:00 we went over to Millie's again for cocktails and dinner. Millie made some Italian soup and we had it with a salad and some dessert to finish the evening. After dinner we chatted for a while, then headed back to our place where we watched some TV and then went to bed. Wednesday we left the park about 10:00 and headed over the hump to Las Vegas for the day. We had lunch at the Omelet House, one of our favorite places for breakfast and/or lunch, then went to the Red Rock Casino to go to the movies. Today we saw A Quiet Place 2, a sequel to a movie we saw a couple of years ago. The premise of both movies is that Earth has been invaded by aliens, who look a bit like giant spiders and are extremely strong. However, they cannot see or smell but have extremely sensitive hearing. The only way for the few remaining humans to survive is to live VERY quietly. It had most of the same cast as the 2018 film and was a very good movie. After the movie we gamed for a half hour or so before heading back over the hill. We were home by 5:30, had our cocktails and watched TV the rest of the evening.

Thursday, June 3^rd, we had a stay at home day. Southern Nevada was experiencing a heat event with record breaking heat, so we just fired up the A/C and hunkered down for the day. Did some fish on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed. Friday we went out after lunch to pick up our mail and do a Walmart run. On the way we stopped at the Nugget Casino because we had seen an add in the paper for what they called a “Senior Expo” event at the Casino. It was back in the ballroom and was about had several dozen booths, but about 90 percent of them were medical related, either insurance companies, medical centers, hospice centers, or people selling medical products. We walked around, looked at all the booths, picked up a couple of goodies, but were done in a half hour. We spent the most time at a table set up by the campaign of a woman running for Sheriff here in Nye County. The candidate was there and I talked to her briefly and was not too impressed by her qualifications. The current Sheriff, who is also a woman, seems to be doing a pretty decent job. Jackie was talking to a lady working in the booth for the candidate because she looked familiar. Turns out she used to live in Palm Desert many years ago and hung out at a lot of the same bars and restaurants the Jackie did. This was at least 25 years ago, pre me. After the Expo we gamed for a half hour or so, then went and did our errands. After we were done we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Saturday, June 5^th, we picked up Millie about 1:00 and went to the China Wok buffet for lunch. I had won a free lunch in a drawing at the last MASA meeting we had here a few weeks back. We were going to our usual late Saturday lunch in preparation for karaoke at the Elks tonight. We had a nice lunch and went back to the park to relax and stay out of the heat. About 3:00 Jackie got a message from our friends Len and Debbie telling us that karaoke was canceled for tonight and would it be OK for them to come over for happy hour. We said sure and about 5:30 they came over. We sat and talked for an hour or so and had a good visit. They left to go home and we spent the rest of the night with the TV. Sunday my brother Russ and his wife Zen, who live in North Las Vegas, came up to spent the day with us. Regular readers will know that Russ is a craps pit supervisor at the Golden Nugget downtown and has lived in Las Vegas since the early 80's. We spent most of the day inside since it was still hot. We did take them over to the clubhouse at 2:00 for ice cream floats and introduced them to some of our friends here at the park. We did some burgers on the grill about 5:30 or so and they left to go home about 7:00. It was a nice visit with family. After they left we had our cocktails (they don't drink) then watched TV until it was time to go to bed.

Monday, June 7^th, we had a stay at home day. Did a few chores around the coach, but pretty much stayed inside as it was hot and windy. We did some carne on the BBQ and had Millie over for cocktails and dinner. The chicken was very good, but the beef carne was terrible. We bought it in Yuma at the Food City market, which caters to the Hispanics in Yuma, but the meat was so tough you couldn't eat it. Won't be going there again. After Millie left we relaxed with the TV until bedtime. Tuesday we left the coach a little after 10:00 and started over the hill to Las Vegas to run some errands. The first place we stopped was a telephone repair place. Jackie dropped her phone a while back and it appeared that the screen had cracked near the bottom. We have insurance on our phones and for a $29 deductible she can get a cracked screen replaced. She went in but when the repair guy looked at the phone he peeled off the protective glass and found that it was the protective glass that was cracked, not the phone. That too is warranted, but we have to contact the company that makes the glass. We stopped at a Best Buy which was nearby, but because the phone is more than two years old, they don't carry the protective glass anymore, we have to contact the company directly. After the phone adventure we went to the Cracked Egg restaurant for lunch. Jackie had breakfast, I had lunch. After eating we stopped at Great Clips so Jackie could get a haircut, then we went to Costco for some supplies. After we were done at Costco we went back over the hump to home. After we got everything put away we had cocktails with Millie, then after she left we had some dinner. We watched TV until bedtime.

Wednesday, June 9^th, we left after lunch and went to the laundromat to do our laundry. After the laundry was done we ran a few errands, picking up mail and doing a Walmart run. We then went home and put everything away. We had cocktails and then some chicken enchiladas for dinner. Today I called the dermatologist's office to check on the biopsy they took last week. The girl found my file and told me that it was just an irritated wart and that there was no malignancy and no need for further treatment. Yea! After dinner we watched some TV and then went to bed. Thursday was a stay at home day. Since I knew we are now free to leave Pahrump on our original date of June 19^th, I spent most of the day moving stuff in and out of the motor home preparing for the trip. Since our summer travels don't involve any long term stays beyond a week, we are not taking any of the lights or decorations and none of the musical equipment I use for karaoke. We are trying to lighten the load on the coach. For dinner we had leftover chicken enchiladas and then watched some TV until bedtime.

Friday, June 11^th, was mostly a stay at home day. We did go out in the early afternoon to go to the Dollar Tree to pick up a couple of things we needed. I also did some chores around the coach, including checking the batteries. The house batteries, the bank of four six volt deep cycle batteries, were fine except for a couple needing a little bit of water. However, I found that the trickle charger I have installed to keep the coach batteries, the big 12 volt batteries that are used to start the coach, was not working and the coach batteries were badly discharged. I put the battery charger on the coach batteries and am working to get them back up to full charge. My plug in charger is on the small side, so it will take a while to get the batteries back up. I am still not sure why the trickle charger isn't working and may have to replace it. We did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday, June 12^th, I did a few chores around the house. I decided to go ahead and replace the two large chassis batteries because I am having trouble getting them to go to a full charge. They are almost eleven years old, so I certainly got my money's worth out of them. Ironically, I bought the two new batteries at the same NAPA store here in Pahrump that I bought the other two at eleven years ago. We went to lunch about 1:00 at the Red Sky BBQ place. Great ribs and a full meal to take home for tomorrow too. After lunch I picked up the new batteries, but decided to wait until morning when it was a little cooler to change them out. At 5:00 we left and went to the Elks for karaoke. Since we are leaving next Saturday this will be the last time until September. We had a good time and by 9:30 we were home where we watched a little TV and went to bed. Sunday was mostly a stay at home day. Right after the morning coffee and Sunday paper I changed out the batteries and started the coach briefly to be sure everything was OK. I then drove back to NAPA to turn in the old batteries and get my core charges back. We went to the clubhouse for root beer floats at 2:00 and socialized a little bit. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the house. It is starting to get hot again and we are supposed to hit possibly record high temps during the next week. Good time to head to the beach. We had leftover ribs for dinner, watched TV and went to bed.

Monday, June 14^th, we picked up Millie and went to lunch at a local Mexican place which was new to us. It is called La Fonda and is out in the rural area just a couple miles from the Escapee's park. They have good reviews on Yelp and we have wanted to go there. It is a bit of a dump aesthetically, but the food was decent and reasonably priced. I had the machaca and eggs, which was good, but not as good as what I have had in Yuma. I also had a ceviche appetizer which was outstanding. Jackie and Millie both wanted chili rellenos, and ordered them, but the waitress came back and told them they didn't have any. Boo! Two demerits. Jackie had street tacos, which were OK, but not outstanding. Millie had a chimichanga which had too much rice and beans and not enough meat. All in all, it was a 3 for us at best. After lunch we dropped Millie off at home and ran some errands to Walmart and the UPS store to pick up mail. After we got home we relaxed and stayed out of the heat for the rest of the day. We just did some pot pies for dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday was a stay at home day. I had a meeting in the morning with one of the committee's I serve on here at the park, but it only went about 45 minutes. I spent a little time after lunch doing some more clean up of the lot, getting ready to leave on Saturday. For dinner we did a meat loaf on the BBQ, which is something I had never tried before and wouldn't have on our old, small BBQ. Our new big grill has a temperature indicator with which I can figure out what the heat is and it makes it easier to use it as an oven. The bottom line, the meat loaf turned out great. After dinner we watched TV and went to bed. Wednesday was to be the hottest day of this hot spell, so we had a stay at home day. I did go outside and work on clean up for about 30 minutes, which just about finished the job. By the time we leave on Saturday we won't have much to do. We spent most of the day inside in the air conditioning. At one point in the afternoon we had a momentary power glitch, which I think was from outside the park, which shut down the air conditioners for just a half second. Long enough for them to stop, but not long enough to initiate the safety pause before restart. The rear a/c restarted just fine, but the front one was now blowing warm air. I shut it down for about two minutes, then started it up again, but it was still blowing warm. I was afraid that the power glitch had damaged the compressor. Just as I was starting to really worry, the compressor started again and it started working as it should. Yea and Phew. The issue is that when an a/c compressor shuts down and then immediately tries to start again there is the possibility that the pressure still in the system will not let the compressor start. It is possible for this compressor lock to blow out one of the lines, but fortunately for us it didn't and the when the pressure went down it restarted. We had leftover meatloaf for dinner then watched some TV before going to bed.

Thursday, June 17^th, I did a few outside cleanup chores in the morning and after lunch we went out so Jackie could get a pedi. While she was getting a pedi I went and picked up mail and a couple of other chores before going back to get her. After the pedi we went home and relaxed out of the heat. Yesterday and today set records for heat in Las Vegas and it was only a few degrees cooler in Pahrump. Millie came over for happy hour and stayed for dinner. We had KFC, which we all love, and had a nice dinner. After Millie left we cleaned up and watched TV until bedtime. Friday I finished up the preparations outside for our departure tomorrow. We left the coach about 11:30 and drove to Terrible's Casino to meet our friends Tom and Phyllis Howell for lunch. They have been traveling the last couple weeks, in Northern Nevada and Colorado. They are back in town for a week or so to take care of a few things and then they are gone again. We had a nice lunch and caught up. After lunch Jackie and I gamed a little, then we headed home. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and trying to stay cool. We spent the evening with the TV and headed off to bed.

Saturday, June 19^th, now officially “Juneteenth”, a new Federal holiday. Today was a travel day for us, the first in over two months. We got an early start and were out of the park and on the road by 8:30, but it was already hot. We stopped for fuel in town, then headed south and west towards Barstow, about 145 miles. We arrived at the Desert Springs RV park in Dagget, a little town just east of Barstow, and got checked in. It was 111 degrees and the electric at this park was a little weak, probably because it is a rural area and everyone in the park was running air. I had trouble keeping things running until we went with just one A/C, then it stayed on. We were able to cool the front of the coach enough to make it livable, and we just relaxed and stayed in. When it was time for bed we switched and put the back air on and ran it all night.

We have now left Pahrump for our summer travels, which should take us through California, up into Oregon, then Eastern Idaho and Utah, then back to Pahrump around the first of September. This episode is a little longer than most, but I wanted to wait until we left town to break and get it published. Until next time, remember, you can’t make everyone happy. You’re not an avocado. See ya soon.

At Home In Pahrump - Part 2

Hello again, welcome back to our story. Our last chapter concluded on Friday, April 30 while we were enjoying our first few weeks back home on our lot at the Escapee's CO-OP park in Pahrump, Nevada. Saturday, May Day, we left the park about 1:00 and went out to have a late lunch. We went to Ohjah, a Japanese steak house here in Pahrump. The food and service were very good, but it is kind of a high end restaurant, so you don't get as much food as you might expect. I had scallops and they were excellent and served with both soup and salad. Jackie had the special, which was a shrimp and avocado sushi roll. She said it was quite good as well. After lunch we picked up mail and then went back home, thinking we would relax for a bit before karaoke at the Elks. However, we got a call from our friend Debbie Forrest that tonight's session had been canceled. Not sure why, but that left us to relax for the night. We did watch the Kentucky Derby on TV in the late afternoon and it was great to see a sporting event with real people in the stands again. Yea! We had happy hour with Millie and after she left we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Sunday, May 2^nd, we had a stay at home day. I did go out in the morning for the Sunday paper, but other than that we stayed at home. We went to the clubhouse at 2:00 for root beer floats. They also had put a jam session on the calendar, but like last week no one showed. We had cocktails with Millie at 5:00, then had some lasagna for dinner. Monday was also a stay at home day. I helped our neighbors assemble a new gazebo they had bought. We bought their old one for our yard a few weeks back. Did a few chores around the house, but basically relaxed. We had cocktails on our own and did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Tuesday, May 4^th, Star Wars Day! (May the Fourth Be With You) We left the park about 11:00 and headed over the hill to Las Vegas to see a movie in a theater for the first time in over a year. Our first stop after getting to Las Vegas was to stop at a restaurant called Distill, which was in Summerlin, on the west side of the valley. This is a local chain with about eight locations in the Vegas area. They have a very interesting menu with some unique dishes and this one makes the third different location we have been to in the last few years. After lunch we went across the street to the Red Rock Casino which had a Regal theater inside of it. We were about an hour early so we did a little gaming while waiting for the movie time. I lost about $20 and Jackie lost $10, but we had fun for an hour. After gaming we went into the theater and saw the movie Nomadland. This was a surprise winner at the Oscars this year, both best picture and best actor prizes. The movie starred Francis McDermand, but had very few other professional actors. The movie was about the people who call themselves Nomads, living in small trailers and vans, mostly off the grid and just going from place to place and working when they can. They are full time Rvers like we are, but with a lot less income and a lot less RV. I would put them somewhere between homeless and Full Time Rvers. There were a lot of locations in the movie that we have been to, including Quartzsite, which has a lot of screen time, and several areas in the Dakotas, like Wall Drug and some of the National Parks up there. Almost all of the characters in the movie were actual Nomads playing themselves and it was an excellent movie. It was somewhere between a drama and a documentary. After the movie we headed back over the hill, getting home about 6:30, and relaxed in the coach for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, May 5^th, Feliz Cinco de Mayo! We left the park with Millie and drove to Johnny's Mexican restaurant for a nice Mexican meal. They were not as busy as we thought they might be, but service was still a bit slow. The food, however, was great and we had a nice meal. After lunch we stopped at a Family Dollar store because Millie needed some things. We then stopped and picked up our mail before heading back to the park. We did find a few new members for our Flamingo family at the Family Dollar. We also got a nice new garden flag from Suzie Babcock in the mail. It is a light blue flag with some flamingos on it and it is personalized with “The Holts” which is really cool. We spent the rest of the day in the coach doing some chores and relaxing.

Thursday, May 6^th, we left the coach about 1:30 and went into town to do our laundry. After the laundry was done we stopped and picked up mail, then headed back the RV park. After we got everything put away we relaxed for a while. Millie and her son Gordon came over for a late happy hour visit. Gordon had flown in from Utah today because he was pretty sure he had a buyer on the hook for Millie's motor home, which she is selling because she has no intention of traveling. She has relocated to a large trailer on her lot. These buyers flew into Las Vegas this morning from the East Coast just to see the motor home, so they are certainly committed. They won't make a final decision until tomorrow. After Millie and Gordon left we had dinner, then watched TV until bedtime. Friday we went out after lunch to run some errands. We stopped at Home Depot to price some stuff, then stopped at the community center to walk around the annual craft show. After that we did a Walmart run and then went back to the RV park. We put everything away and relaxed for a bit, then Jackie did a nice Chinese meal for us and Millie. It had been planned previously, but became a celebration event because Millie had closed the deal on her RV and they were coming back in a couple of weeks to pick it up. We had a great meal, with some ice cream for dessert, and after Millie left we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Friday, May 8^th, we went out about 1:30 for a late lunch at the Pour House, which, despite it's name, is an Indian restaurant. Jackie likes Indian food, me not so much. However, they also make a killer pizza, so it's win win for both of us. We had a great lunch then went home and relaxed for a while. About 5:00 we left and went to the Elks Lodge for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were not there, Len was having a reaction to his second Covid shot. Tom and Phyllis were there as were most of the rest of the regulars. I got to do the usual four songs and we were done about quarter to nine. After we got home we watched a little TV then went to bed. Sunday was a stay at home day except for going out in the morning for the paper. We did a few chores and just relaxed for the day. We had a pot roast for dinner which had been cooking all day in the crock pot. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.

Monday, May 10^th, we went out to lunch with Millie to the Mountain Falls Country Club restaurant about 11:00. Today was the monthly “dine out” with the members of the Escapees chapter here in Pahrump. There were three tables full of people, the biggest crowd we have seen yet at one of these. We had a nice lunch and some nice conversations with other people who live in the park. After lunch we went back to the RV park and I did some chores around the coach. We had happy hour at 5:00 but didn't have any formal dinner since we were full from lunch. We watched some TV and went to bed. Tuesday we left the coach about 10:30 and went to the dentist. In January we changed our medical insurance to a plan offered by the Arizona retirement systems since it was much less expensive than what we had. We were also able to sign up for a dental insurance plan, the first one we have had since we retired. Other than for a couple of minor emergencies like a chipped tooth or loose crown, we have not been to a dentist in the States in about 14 years. We have had all our work done in Algodones, Mexico, outside of Yuma. With the new insurance the amount we actually pay is in line with what we were paying in Mexico, so we can now go when it is convenient, rather than once a year when we are in Yuma. We both had exams and x-rays and Jackie has no issues. I have a couple of things, a tooth with a broken root that needs to come out, some modifications to my dentures, and a new crown. All of that is scheduled for September when we come back. Jackie didn't get her cleaning as the office was way behind and after a 90 minute wait Jackie said she was leaving. They gave her another appointment for tomorrow. After the dentist we went home. Our friend Tom Howell came over with his pick up truck and took me to Home Depot so I could pick up the new lattice material for our patio. It comes in 4x8 sheets that wouldn't fit in our car. After we got back I did a few chores and we relaxed. We had cocktails with Millie and then had leftovers for dinner. We watched some TV in the evening and went to bed

Wednesday, May 12^th, we went back to the dentist for Jackie's cleaning about 11:00. This time she was done in a little over an hour. After the dentist we went to Mom's Cafe, a local favorite, for lunch. After lunch we picked up our mail then went back to the RV park. I spent about three hours in the patio installing part of the new panels of plastic matrix. I got the two large windows on the West side cut and fitted in, as well as the smaller panel between them. It was getting hot, so I quit for the day. I still have four panels to cut and fit, then I have to put the trim pieces back on. I should have the project done, except for painting, by the end of the weekend. Yea! We had Millie over for cocktails, but inside because the patio is “closed for construction” at the moment. After Millie left we had a light dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

Thursday we picked up Millie about 10:30 and drove to the China Wok buffet for another MASA presentation. It is a sales pitch for an emergency services insurance plan that we joined as lifetime members in 2007. However, they always invite current members to come to the presentations and they provide a free lunch, so here we are. After the presentation we went to a local nursery because Millie and Jackie were both looking for plants to use a decorations. We didn't find anything they wanted. Then we stopped at a Family Dollar store because Millie likes to shop there and needed some things. We then went back to the coach. Since it was close to 3:00 when we got home I decided to not do any work on the patio today. We didn't have any happy hour, although we did have our 5:00 cocktails in the house since the patio is under construction. We didn't have any dinner because of the big lunch and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Friday was a stay at home day. I started working again on replacing the lattice in the patio area about 9:30 and quit about 2:30. All of the new lattice is cut and mounted in the window frames. The hard work is pretty much done. On Sunday I will remount the trim pieces on the inside of the frames and the project will be done except for some paint. We have to get the paint from the CO-OP office since the sheds belong to them they control the color and type of paint. We spent the rest of the day inside, having dinner on our own and watching TV until it was time for bed. Saturday we left the park about 1:00 and went to Red Sky BBQ for a late lunch. As usual, we both had baby backs, with enough left over to take home for dinner tomorrow. After lunch we did a quick stop at Home Depot to pick up a few things I need to finish the patio project, then picked up our mail. We then went home and relaxed for a couple of hours. At 5:00 we left and went to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Tom and Phyllis, and Len and Debbie were there. So were a lot of other people, with the biggest crowd we have seen yet this season. I got to do three songs and Jackie got to sit at the bar, visit with people and gamble. We left a little after nine, went home, watched an hour or so of TV and went to bed.

Sunday, May 16^th, was a stay at home day. I went out in the morning for the Sunday paper which we read with our coffee. After lunch I spent a couple of hours working on the patio project. I finished putting all the inside molding back on the windows and now the only thing left is a little Spackle and paint. After I finished that project I relaxed for the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Millie and then had our leftover ribs from Saturday for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. Monday we left the coach about 2:30 and went to the Ophthalmologist for a check up on my eyes. For the last six or seven years I have had an issue with viscous floaters, mostly in my right eye. The last time I went for a checkup on my eye health was five years ago. Floaters can be a sign of retinal issues, but not always. The doctor gave me a good checkup and told me the floaters were still there, both eyes but more in the right. There was no sign of any retinal problems like bleeding or detachment, and, although I do have cataracts developing, he said they are still mild and don't need any attention right now. After the eye doctor we went home and I spent the rest of the day inside because he dilated my eyes and I couldn't go out in the daylight without discomfort. We had dinner and then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, May 18^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. We did a Walmart run and picked up mail, then stopped by the bank for a bit. After our errands we headed back to the park where we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with Millie at 5:00, then I did some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed. Wednesday we left the park about 10:00 and went to the Intermountain medical facility to see our GP doctor for our annual physicals. We had the wrong time on our calendar and arrived an hour early, but it worked out as the doctor was called to come to an early afternoon meeting and was canceling any appointments who had not yet arrived. They actually managed to get us in a little early so we don't have to come back. Kismet. Both of us went through the routine exams, tests and questions and the doc reviewed our labs. Both of us are in pretty decent health for our age and the doctor wasn't upset or concerned about anything. We got our prescriptions renewed for the year and hopefully won't need to come back until next Spring. After the doctor's visit we went to the new winery in town, Artesian Cellars, for lunch. Jackie had eaten there with Peggy a month or so back, but I have never been there. We both had a nice roast beef paninni and a glass of wine and enjoyed the lunch. They have a very limited menu, especially for my tastes, but the sandwich I did have was excellent and we will probably be back, just not too often. After lunch we headed back to the RV park and stayed in the rest of the day. We had cocktails with Millie and then did some fish on the BBQ for dinner. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, we left about 11:30 and went to nail place to have our toes done. Jackie gets a full pedi, I get a trim. After our nails we went next door to the Thai place we like, Chatthai, but it was closed. The note on the door just said they were closed for a while. It is a family owned and operated place, so likely some family thing. We then went to a Chinese restaurant called simply China. The restaurant has been there for a couple years, but we never have made it there. Turns out the food and service are pretty good. Great food and plenty of it, just the way I like it. After lunch we went to Smith's to pick up a couple of things, then headed back home. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. For happy hour we drove over to Millie's because her son and daughter in law were there for an overnight visit. We had met Gordon a couple of times in the past, most recently about a month ago when he came to help Millie sell her motor home. After cocktails we went back home and had leftovers for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

We are now a little over three weeks with this chapter, so it is time to close it out and get it published. Until next time, remember that a friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are. Stay safe and see ya soon.

At Home In Pahrump - Part 1

Hi there, welcome back. Our last chapter concluded on Thursday, April 8^th, when we arrived back home at our lot in the Escapee's Park in Pahrump, Nevada. Peggy, who is traveling with us for a while, was able to get one of the rental lots at the park and will be here a few weeks.

Friday, April 9^th, I spent a few hours in the morning working on setting up decorations and stuff around our lot. We went out for a late lunch to the Chatthai restaurant. Peggy, who had taken a fall on Tuesday when we were leaving Yuma, was still hurting, so after lunch we dropped her off at the urgent care so she could get looked at. I went back later and picked here up and took her back to her coach. Nothing broken, just sore. We spent the evening with the TV and then went to bed. Saturday was also a set up day, I put out the decorative lights around the lot and pretty much finished setting up the outside stuff. We did a Walmart run in the afternoon, then came back and had a pork loin for dinner. After Peggy left we spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Sunday, April 11^th, was a stay at home day except for me going out in the morning for the newspaper. We got some chores done and generally relaxed around the house. We had green chili with rice and beans for dinner, using the leftover pork from last night. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Monday we left the coach about 11:00 and went to the Mountain Falls Country Club with Millie and Peggy for lunch. This was the monthly dine out with the Lucky Rollers Escapee Chapter, which is a separate club from the Pair-a-Dice RV park, although most of the members are also residents. We had a very nice lunch, then went back to the park. We relaxed for the rest of the day and I also did a few small chores. We had happy hour with Millie and Peggy, but didn't do any dinner because of the big lunch. After happy hour we watched TV and then went to bed.

Tuesday, April 13^th, Jackie and I went out about 2:00 so Jackie could get a pedi. I also got my toenails trimmed. Peggy was supposed to go with us, but she hurt her foot this morning and didn't want to go with an open wound. After the nail appointment we picked up our mail and did a quick Walmart run before returning back to the ranch. We had cocktails with Peggy, Millie had another engagement. After happy hour we did some steaks on the BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and then went to bed. Wednesday was pretty much a stay at home day. We did go out in the late afternoon to pick up our mail. We also stopped at the used appliance store near the park to look again for a refrigerator for the shed. We found a really nice looking, nearly new, 18 cubic foot Whirlpool top freezer for $350, basically half price. It was another $50 for delivery, since we couldn't fit it in Maxie. It will be delivered at the end of the week. We had happy hour with our little group at 5:00 and then dinner with us and Peggy. We did some hamburgers on the grill and had them with coleslaw on the side. After Peggy left we spent the night with the TV.

Thursday, April 15^th, was supposed to be tax day, but because of the plague the government put it off for another month. Not that it matters much to us, we filed and got our refund over a month ago. Today was pretty much a stay at home day. I did the paperwork for out planned improvement projects, including a patio slab, landscaping the front yard, and doing some repairs to the covered patio. I got them submitted to the park for approval by the various committees. We had cocktails at our place, but then went over to Peggy's for dinner. She made her penne pasta dish, which was wonderful. After dinner we went back to our place and watched TV until bedtime. Friday we left the coach about 10:30 with both Millie and Peggy, and drove to the China Wok Buffet for lunch and a presentation by the Medical Air Transport Services (MASA) representative. MASA is a company along the lines of an insurance company, but legally different. They are intended to provide payment to any sort of emergency medical transport, ground ambulance, helicopter ambulance, fixed wing ambulance travel for long distances. They also are supposed to provide assistance when you are hospitalized away from home, like returning your RV and car, transporting next of kin, that sort of stuff. The program for seniors is a one-time purchase, which provides coverage for life. We bought our coverage in 2007, shortly after starting our full time lifestyle. Whenever they put on these presentations they always invite existing members as well as new people. We particularly wanted to go today because after 14 years we were disappointed in the way MASA handled Millie's affairs in Yuma when her husband Dick died in the hospital of Covid. They didn't do a thing for her, none of the things we always assumed the program would do. After the presentation we brought up these issues with Chuck, the representative we have known for years, and both he and the other representative that was there, seemed to be genuinely shocked at what happened. They talked to Millie and promised to look into the matter to see why things went the way they did. Now we will just have to wait and see. We did get a nice Chinese buffet lunch after the presentation. After lunch we headed back to the RV park because our new, at least to us, refrigerator was scheduled to be delivered. They showed up about 2:30, unloaded the fridge and put it in the shed for us. Looking more closely at it, it is clear that it is essentially a brand new fridge that was “scratch and dent” sidelined. There were deep scratches on both the left and right side of the cabinet that most people who buy new would reject. For us it is a spare fridge in the shed, we really don't care as long as it works. We are very happy with it. We did have happy hour with the four of us and Belle, but no dinner because of the big lunch. After Millie and Peggy left we spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Saturday, April 17^th, we went out about 1:00 with Peggy for a late lunch at Red Sky, our favorite BBQ restaurant. We had a great meal of baby back ribs with leftovers sufficient for another meal later. After lunch we picked up our mail and then headed back to the RV park. We relaxed for a couple of hours and then Jackie and I went to the Elks Lodge about 5:30 for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were there and the rotation was a little smaller than it was back in the Fall of last year. I got to do four songs and we got out just before 9:00. After karaoke we went home, watched a little TV and then went to bed. Sunday I went out in the morning and got a paper and we relaxed for a while. In the mid-afternoon we took a drive to the Home Depot store to look at BBQ grills. We have had a very nice, but small, portable Weber BBQ in the coach since 2006. It was set up many years ago to work off of the large internal propane tank of the coach so I didn't have to deal with the little one pound propane cylinders. We wanted a full size BBQ for the lot since we will be spending longer periods of time there. We ended up with a very nice, and very large, BBQ that has four regular burners, a special searing burner, and a stove type side burner. Since it came broken down in a box, it fit in the car, so we brought it home and I spent a couple of hours putting it together. Now we will be able to easily cook for more than just two people when necessary. We had cocktails with the group and then we and Peggy had leftover ribs for dinner. After Peggy left we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Monday, April 19^th, I had a committee meeting in the morning that lasted a couple of hours. This morning the renters that had been on the lot next to ours left and Peggy made arrangements with the office to move over to that lot to be closer to us. I helped her get packed up and then set up again when she moved. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the coach. We had happy hour with the group, but Jackie and I had dinner on our own. After dinner we watched some TV and went to bed. We did get approval today for our projects on our lot, including the concrete slab and some landscaping work. Tuesday we were up early and out the door by 8:30, going to get our annual blood tests done. We have doctor's appointments for our checkup and prescription renewals in a few weeks and needed to get the testing done. After our tests we drove to Johnny's, a Mexican restaurant here in town. Peggy met us there and while we were there our friend Len came in. We had also seen him earlier at the medical center waiting to go in for an MRI on his hip. He came and sat with the three of us and we all had breakfast. After eating we went back home, then in the afternoon we took Peggy and did a Walmart run and picked up our mail. After Walmart we went back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. We had cocktails with the group and then we and Peggy had dinner. We had a pizza that we had bought at Walmart. After Peggy left we watched TV and went to bed.

Wednesday, April 21^st, I drove Jackie to her eye doctor about 10:30 for a followup to her cataract surgery from last year as well as an issue with dry eye. The doctor said her vision was perfect and gave her a prescription for a drops to treat the dry eye issue. After the doctor we went home and then Jackie and Peggy left to go to lunch at a place here in Pahrump called Artisan Cellars, a winery themed restaurant. I stayed home and did a few chores around the coach. After lunch Jackie went to Walgreens to pick up her prescription and called me because she was in shock. It turns out that the medicine she was prescribed had a co-pay of $105 and a retail price of almost $2,800!! She got the meds, but I don't know how the average middle class person without good insurance could possibly afford those prices. After Jackie got home we relaxed for bit, then had happy hour with Peggy. Millie was busy with other stuff. After happy hour we did some fish on the new BBQ for dinner. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Thursday, April 22^nd, we were going to have a stay at home day, but after lunch we decided to go out and run some errands. We stopped at a jewelry store to drop off a ring, picked up our mail, and checked on one of geocaches which had recently had some Did Not Find (DNF) reports. The cache was where we had placed it, the cachers just didn't find it. After our errands we decided to go to one of the local casinos, the Pahrump Nugget, for a little gaming. Other than Jackie at the Elks Lodge while I did karaoke, this would be our first gambling since coming back to Pahrump. I was playing deuces wild on a nickel triple play poker machine and after a half hour or so I hit a natural royal flush for $200! Yea. About five minutes later I hit four deuces for another $50. At that time I was still playing with my original stake of $20. After about 15 minutes I used up my original stake and cashed out the $250. Jackie, who was playing the same game then cashed out with over $60. We were happy and celebrating our wins and got back in the car to head for home. That is when Jackie realized she didn't have her wallet in her purse. Yikes. Panic time. We went back in the casino and walked around all the area that Jackie was in, which wasn't really that much, just three machines in the same general area. No wallet. She tried security and the players club desk, but no one had turned it in. She gave one of the security guards that had been helping us our business card and we sadly went back to the car to drive home and start calling credit card companies. Half way home the phone rings and it is the security guard telling her that they had her wallet and it seemed to have everything still in it. We turned around and headed back and Jackie picked up the wallet. It did, indeed, have everything in it, including some cash. The guard said a lady turned it in saying she found it on the floor next to a machine she was playing. Jackie tipped the guard $20 and we headed back home, happy again!!! We had happy hour with our little group and then we and Peggy did some burgers on the BBQ. After Peggy left we watched TV and then went to bed.

Friday, April 23^rd, we did have a stay at home day. I did some chores and maintenance work around the coach and spent some time practicing guitar and playing games. We had happy hour with the group and after happy hour we had a meat loaf for dinner at our place. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed. Saturday we left the coach, with Peggy, about 1:00 and drove to Terrible's Roadhouse casino for a late lunch. On the way we stopped at Millie's to meet her son Chris and his wife, who came for the day to pick up some of the stuff Millie is trying to clear out of her motor home and take it back to Utah. We got to the Moonshiner cafe in the casino and all three of us had the liver and onions, which is really good here. After lunch we went back to the RV park and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Jackie and I left again about 5:00 and drove to the Elks for karaoke. Our friends Len and Debbie were there, and our other good friends Tom and Phyllis were also back from their trip to Florida. We have not seen them since we left Pahrump in December. We had a great time at karaoke, got to do four songs, and we were on our way back home by 9:00. We watched a little TV and then went to bed.

Sunday, April 25^th, we had a stay at home day. I went out in the morning for a paper and then spent a little time in the morning getting a crock pot full of chili colorado ready to cook. We did a few chores and went over to the clubhouse at 2:00 for root beer floats and what was supposed to be a jam session, but no one else showed up. We had our floats and went home. We did go over to see Millie's new “home”, a large trailer that her son bought in Florida and had shipped out here. It is 40 feet long and very nice inside and out. I think Millie will be very happy. Now, she just has to sell her motor home. We had happy hour with the group and then Peggy and us had chili colorado for dinner, along with rice and beans. A very nice dinner, and sadly, the last with Peggy for while as she has decided she needs to head home to help with the efforts to sell the house in Mineral. She will be leaving in the morning. After Peggy left we watched some TV and went to bed.

Monday, April 26^th, I was up about 7:30 and helping Peggy get unhooked, packed up and ready to travel. She was on the road by 8:00, heading to Mineral, California with a few stops along the way. About noon one of the concrete contractors I had called came out to give us a bid on the concrete slab we want to put on our lot between the coach and our shed and front yard. The good news is that he estimated it would be around $2,000, a little less than I had anticipated. The bad news is that he is backed up at least 8 weeks, which means he couldn't get it done before we leave for the summer in June. I have another coming out on Wednesday. The rest of the day was pretty much stay at home. We walked over to Millie's after lunch and I moved her motor home out of her lot and onto another lot a few doors down. She had made arrangements to use this empty lot for a few days while she transitioned from her motor home to her new trailer. Some other friends of hers at the park then moved her new trailer onto her lot and started to get it set up for her. We had cocktails with just the two of us for the first time in a long time. We had leftover chili colorado for dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.

Tuesday, April 27^th, we were on the road about 10:00 headed over the hump for our first trip to Las Vegas since coming back to Pahrump a few weeks ago. Our first stop was a restaurant called the Omelet House, which has become our favorite Vegas breakfast place. They have about 45 different, and sometimes exotic, omelets on the menu. I had the corn beef hash omelet, Jackie had the avocado and shrimp omelet. After lunch we went to a Great Clips and both got haircuts. Once the haircuts were done we went to Costco to stock up. It is nice that we now have the shed on our lot to store things, we can stock up on paper products at Costco and save money. After spending a bunch of money at Costco we headed back over the hump, getting back home just before 4:00. We got everything unloaded and put away, then relaxed for the rest of the day. It was too windy and cold for cocktails outside, so we stayed in. We also didn't have any dinner because of the big, late lunch.

Wednesday, April 28^th, we went out after lunch to run a few errands. We picked up our mail and stopped at Walmart for a few things. After we got home I did a few chores and generally relaxed. We spent the rest of the day in the house because the wind was still blowing hard. Thursday, April 29^th, we went out after lunch to run some errands. We picked up mail and stopped at Walmart to return some windshield wiper blades I bought yesterday. They didn't fit on our car,despite the fact I bought the one's the book said was correct. We stopped at Albertson's and bought some steaks and country ribs that they had on sale, then went to Home Depot to shop a few things we might be using in our projects around our lot. Our final stop was the NAPA store where I bought the correct blades and the desk guy even came out and installed them for me. Yea! We went back home where we relaxed for the rest of the day. We did a couple of the new steaks on the BBQ for dinner, watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday, April 30^th, we had a stay at home day. It was quite warm outside today, so we stayed in and did some light chores. We did settle on a contractor to put in our patio slab. Neither of the contractors we had bid could get the job done before we left for summer travels in June, so we picked the less expensive bid with a start date in September, when we get back to Pahrump. We did some pork chops on the BBQ for dinner, watched TV and then off to bed.

We are at the end of the month and a little over three weeks, so it is time to close out this episode and get it published. Until next time, consider these words by author W.H. Auden. “We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.” See ya soon.