I just realized this evening that we haven't been posting anything to our blog. An even greater misfortune is that we haven't been updating our journal which is a daily diary of our activities. Perhaps we're too busy? Or perhaps we can blame it on the fact that we now have electrical hookups, and we're surfing too much. But it has only been four days since the previous posting.
We're gradually getting things crossed off of our bucket list (our to do list). I did get a call back finally from Shurflo about our water pump problem. He asked if I needed it right away and I said "no, we are using a friend's pump!" His reason for asking was that he'd like to not send me a pump for about a month, after which he'll have a new version of the pump. (Of course, the new version will be better, more reliable etc.) I agreed to wait a month or more so that we can have the better pump. We hope it is better.
Yesterday, our renter from last year stopped in and returned our gate opener control. We had asked them about it and they thought they had turned it into the park. But they just found it and realized where it belonged. So we returned the one we checked out from the park. Now if we could only get the opener we have for our park in Casa Grande to do both gates! It has two buttons.
For those of you not following the weather, it turned bitterly cold Sunday night. Yesterday morning the low was 55 degrees and we turned some heat on in the motorhome. Tomorrow is to be a bit better. The high today must have been up to 80, which was just fine for us.
In the cool of the morning sunshine today, we decided to work on our black tank drain valve. (We emptied the tanks, then use the jacks to tilt the motorhome so that there is no drippage out of the tank. Then I can pull the valve to clean it. The problem is that the inside of the tank, drain tubing and valve pick up a layer of lime. The lime is rough and is like sand paper, which will eventually cut the valve seal. We noticed that the valve was dragging some, so we cleaned it before it ruined the seal. Interestingly, the lime problem is only in the black tank. The gray tank lining is smooth as silk, probably the result of the various soaps that we use.
One of the joys of being here for 2 weeks is that we can get our mail and have other things shipped in. We've ordered four LED lamp assemblies from Hong Kong, so we hope they'll make it also. The lamp is one of the best ones we've seen for light output. (It only has 120 LEDs.) The other benefit of the lamp is that the current draw is only 0.6 Amps, about one fourth of the other lamps.
One of the downers of getting our mail is all of the "stuff" we get from our Medicare provider. There were some major changes in our health insurance this year and we hope that we end up covered about the same way. I'm sure we'll have less coverage and it will cost more, all part of Obama-care. (Enough about politics!)
Gene
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
We're back in Paradise Park near Punta Gorda, FL
(This should have been posted last night.)
Yesterday was the last day we could stay free at Monument Lake, so we (like just about everyone else in the campground) bailed out. It was a decent drive to our park with a stop at the small town of Immokalee, which is a migrant and farmers' business community. English is rarely heard and the town is nearly over-run with semis hauling farmers' products now. We decided to do some exploring at the local commerical exchange for the growers.
The first problem was finding a parking place for the RV and car. Then I went to the market while Sandy stayed with the RV in case someone didn't like the way we were parked. I've never seen so much in the way of good garden product and it looked great. We decided to price a lug of grapefruit and when she told me $6 for the lug, I decided I could carry it back to the RV. (They may not speak much English, but they all know how to price the produce in American dollars!)
It was then another 20 miles on up the road to the next small town where we refilled the pantry. Sandy was able to get what we needed but she complained about the prices (not Wally prices). We finally reached Florida highway 74 and headed west to our park. What a refreshing drive, finally we had a tail
wind! (While heading north, we had a strong cross wind.)
Once in the park, we settled in and relaxed. It is always a great feeling at the end of the day to be able to park it, hit the automatic levelers, plug in the power cord and relax. Friday starts our list of "to do" items, which needs to be done in two and a half weeks. Already Sandy is complaining that she'll barely get used to living with connections when we'll pull up and head back to the world of boondocking.
Life moves on.
Gene
Yesterday was the last day we could stay free at Monument Lake, so we (like just about everyone else in the campground) bailed out. It was a decent drive to our park with a stop at the small town of Immokalee, which is a migrant and farmers' business community. English is rarely heard and the town is nearly over-run with semis hauling farmers' products now. We decided to do some exploring at the local commerical exchange for the growers.
The first problem was finding a parking place for the RV and car. Then I went to the market while Sandy stayed with the RV in case someone didn't like the way we were parked. I've never seen so much in the way of good garden product and it looked great. We decided to price a lug of grapefruit and when she told me $6 for the lug, I decided I could carry it back to the RV. (They may not speak much English, but they all know how to price the produce in American dollars!)
It was then another 20 miles on up the road to the next small town where we refilled the pantry. Sandy was able to get what we needed but she complained about the prices (not Wally prices). We finally reached Florida highway 74 and headed west to our park. What a refreshing drive, finally we had a tail
wind! (While heading north, we had a strong cross wind.)
Once in the park, we settled in and relaxed. It is always a great feeling at the end of the day to be able to park it, hit the automatic levelers, plug in the power cord and relax. Friday starts our list of "to do" items, which needs to be done in two and a half weeks. Already Sandy is complaining that she'll barely get used to living with connections when we'll pull up and head back to the world of boondocking.
Life moves on.
Gene
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Winding up our stay
Today has been our last full day here in the Monument Lake Campground and also our stay in the Big Cypress Swamp Preserve. Did we do a lot? I'm not sure but the time flew. Did we learn anything? Yes, duck (really duck) when there is a mangrove branch coming your way in the canoe. Were there a lot of birds and alligators? No, the water is too high so the alligators are not congregating at the large watering holes and it is too warm so the birds are still up north!
This morning Sandy and I served pancakes to the other two rigs here using our electric griddle and the Honda generator. It worked fine until we ran out of gas. Thankfully, we had more in the jug! It was really a shake down test for our outing in about 3 weeks.
Our biggest challenge has been trying to burn the green fire wood we picked up on our first day here. It will burn, but not willingly. One needs to have a bed of coals to boil the moisture out of it first. Thankfully, a late arriving couple from Ft. Meyers brought us some dry oak, so we've had success getting the bed of coals ready. The local oak is even reasonably straight and splits well with the splitting maul I have along (If I can hit the log.) Another fellow told me that I must have a non-standard handle because he also has trouble hitting the log.
The weather here has been either fantastic or the pits depending upon how you want to look at it. The last 3 or 4 days have been somewhat windy with intermittent very light showers. On the other hand, we ought not to complain, as they told us on the TV tonight that a year ago, the early morning temperature was in the mid 30s. (For the last week, the night time low has been in the low 60s and the highs have often just hit 80. We can handle that.)
We've spent each evening solving the world's problems sitting around the camp fire. There have been a few mosquitoes, but they haven't bothered us too bad. Perhaps the smoke from our green wood has helped control them. (When the sun goes down, Sandy heads for the motorhome and does not fight the few bugs around.)
We've had 4 rigs here for the last two weeks and tomorrow we head in 4 different directions. One couple headed home yesterday to Fort Meyers, Florida to spend Christmas with the children. One of our party is heading for a campground in Everglades National Park with a trip to Key West eventually. Another member is moving a whole 7 miles to another campground. (This campground starts charging $16 a night tomorrow and he is moving to another campground here in the preserve that is free until January 6th. It is classified as a "hunting camp", with no bath house with flush toilets.) To close it out, we're heading to our RV Resort Park 100 miles north of here where we'll be living in luxury with water, electric and sewer connections Plus we have paved streets and neighbors every 30 feet on both sides of the road. What a switch from our style here. (I should add that we have to go 50 miles for groceries here verses only 25 miles from our resort park.) Life can be tough at times!
We've had a wonderful time here at the Rendezvous with our Escapee friends.
Gene
This morning Sandy and I served pancakes to the other two rigs here using our electric griddle and the Honda generator. It worked fine until we ran out of gas. Thankfully, we had more in the jug! It was really a shake down test for our outing in about 3 weeks.
Our biggest challenge has been trying to burn the green fire wood we picked up on our first day here. It will burn, but not willingly. One needs to have a bed of coals to boil the moisture out of it first. Thankfully, a late arriving couple from Ft. Meyers brought us some dry oak, so we've had success getting the bed of coals ready. The local oak is even reasonably straight and splits well with the splitting maul I have along (If I can hit the log.) Another fellow told me that I must have a non-standard handle because he also has trouble hitting the log.
The weather here has been either fantastic or the pits depending upon how you want to look at it. The last 3 or 4 days have been somewhat windy with intermittent very light showers. On the other hand, we ought not to complain, as they told us on the TV tonight that a year ago, the early morning temperature was in the mid 30s. (For the last week, the night time low has been in the low 60s and the highs have often just hit 80. We can handle that.)
We've spent each evening solving the world's problems sitting around the camp fire. There have been a few mosquitoes, but they haven't bothered us too bad. Perhaps the smoke from our green wood has helped control them. (When the sun goes down, Sandy heads for the motorhome and does not fight the few bugs around.)
We've had 4 rigs here for the last two weeks and tomorrow we head in 4 different directions. One couple headed home yesterday to Fort Meyers, Florida to spend Christmas with the children. One of our party is heading for a campground in Everglades National Park with a trip to Key West eventually. Another member is moving a whole 7 miles to another campground. (This campground starts charging $16 a night tomorrow and he is moving to another campground here in the preserve that is free until January 6th. It is classified as a "hunting camp", with no bath house with flush toilets.) To close it out, we're heading to our RV Resort Park 100 miles north of here where we'll be living in luxury with water, electric and sewer connections Plus we have paved streets and neighbors every 30 feet on both sides of the road. What a switch from our style here. (I should add that we have to go 50 miles for groceries here verses only 25 miles from our resort park.) Life can be tough at times!
We've had a wonderful time here at the Rendezvous with our Escapee friends.
Gene
Monday, December 12, 2011
Taking a peek at the Everglades
A group decision today said that we'd head for Shark Valley 25 miles east of here to see the gators and what else they had. So we piled into 2 vehicles and headed east after lunch.
Shark Valley is a tourist information area for everyone interested in seeing the Everglades. However, since today was Monday and most tourists are weekenders, it was very quiet today. Our first observation was that the tourists forgot what the day was and they all stayed home. (Shark Valley was nearly deserted by the tourists and by the alligators.) The speaker said that the alligators are still around, but since it rained two days ago, the alligators are still dispersed with the high water. We also realized that the quantity of birds was really down. Again the birds are dispersed because of the warm weather. So we'll have to see them another day.!
It is late and I'm tired, so again a shorter than normal blog. Have a nice day.
Gene
Shark Valley is a tourist information area for everyone interested in seeing the Everglades. However, since today was Monday and most tourists are weekenders, it was very quiet today. Our first observation was that the tourists forgot what the day was and they all stayed home. (Shark Valley was nearly deserted by the tourists and by the alligators.) The speaker said that the alligators are still around, but since it rained two days ago, the alligators are still dispersed with the high water. We also realized that the quantity of birds was really down. Again the birds are dispersed because of the warm weather. So we'll have to see them another day.!
It is late and I'm tired, so again a shorter than normal blog. Have a nice day.
Gene
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Going for groceries
It has been a couple of days since the last update and this time, there is real reporting to do. We're fine and enjoying some real Florida sunshine and warm temperatures. It turned cold last night and today the morning temperatures were in the mid 60s, (cold). But on Thursday, it starts to warm up (to the low 80s).
Yesterday was Sandy's day to push the keyboard while Gene went canoeing on the Turner River here in the swamp. All went pretty well although I do have a few deep scratches on my scalp. (I lost my hat when I apparently was using my head as a battering ram as we went under one of several low tree limbs. It did hurt.)
We were on the water for 5 hours, of which 2 of them were in a very narrow channel that was carved out of a mangrove forest. The route must have been laid out by a drunken sailor, as at times making the turns with the canoe was a challenge. On the return, we used our hands on the brush instead of using the paddles. In our group of 5 canoes, no one tipped over although we had a very close call! The channel depth was from 18 to 48 inches, so there was no real danger.
We were planning to have a fire last night to relax a bit. Unfortunately, the wood we picked up is still TOO green and would not burn. However, this morning almost all of the wood in the fire ring is gone. I think it turned to charcoal and smoldered all night. At least for tonight, we have some dry ends that didn't burn!
Today we went to Naples, Florida for groceries and to do our laundry. Naples is a classy city, very neat and it looks to be expensive. We found a laundromat for that duty and then the Walmart. We didn't go to the nearest one, as we called in a a prescription refill to one 6 miles up the highway. (There are 6 Walmarts in the Naples metropolitan area. )
Gene
Yesterday was Sandy's day to push the keyboard while Gene went canoeing on the Turner River here in the swamp. All went pretty well although I do have a few deep scratches on my scalp. (I lost my hat when I apparently was using my head as a battering ram as we went under one of several low tree limbs. It did hurt.)
We were on the water for 5 hours, of which 2 of them were in a very narrow channel that was carved out of a mangrove forest. The route must have been laid out by a drunken sailor, as at times making the turns with the canoe was a challenge. On the return, we used our hands on the brush instead of using the paddles. In our group of 5 canoes, no one tipped over although we had a very close call! The channel depth was from 18 to 48 inches, so there was no real danger.
We were planning to have a fire last night to relax a bit. Unfortunately, the wood we picked up is still TOO green and would not burn. However, this morning almost all of the wood in the fire ring is gone. I think it turned to charcoal and smoldered all night. At least for tonight, we have some dry ends that didn't burn!
Today we went to Naples, Florida for groceries and to do our laundry. Naples is a classy city, very neat and it looks to be expensive. We found a laundromat for that duty and then the Walmart. We didn't go to the nearest one, as we called in a a prescription refill to one 6 miles up the highway. (There are 6 Walmarts in the Naples metropolitan area. )
Gene
Monday, December 5, 2011
It is 80 degrees out and NICE.
It is just plain hard to get too excited about anything around here today or even the last week. It is in the 80s and we're loving it. Perhaps a bit windy, but we're not about to complain. For you folks north and west, we're sorry to hear about your troubles. Just hang in and it will improve.
I didn't realize that it has been 4 days since we have posted a blog. I guess when we're having fun, the priorities get switched around. The first day on site was a work day. 3 of us fellows put the chain saw in a pickup and went about 10 miles to a pile of wood. The bad news is that I think it is too green to even burn, but we'll try it anyway.
Saturday was spent at the visitor's center attending some history seminars. I didn't learn that much, but the seminars were well done and informative, especially for anyone who hasn't spent much time in the area. But it was a good refresher for us. Sunday night we went on a night walk on a observation boardwalk. I hate to say it, but at my age, walking in the dark is a challenge, at least to go in a straight line. We had no problems, but we were aware of different environment. There was very little wildlife seen or heard. But the lead ranger gave a good tutorial as we went.
Tomorrow we're going to check out a museum in Everglades City. Then to a sandwich shop for lunch followed by another museum near by. On Wednesday, I'm going on a 5 hour canoe trip. We have been told to bring a change of clothes in case we roll the canoe. I also understand that the path is not always very wide or tall, so we may have a few battles with the brush on the way.
That is about enough for one report. Our solar panels seem to almost do a good job. About every other day, we need to run the generator an hour in the morning. The downer has been a couple of days with a heavy cloud cover. But we're doing well otherwise.
Have a great day (we are!)
Gene
I didn't realize that it has been 4 days since we have posted a blog. I guess when we're having fun, the priorities get switched around. The first day on site was a work day. 3 of us fellows put the chain saw in a pickup and went about 10 miles to a pile of wood. The bad news is that I think it is too green to even burn, but we'll try it anyway.
Saturday was spent at the visitor's center attending some history seminars. I didn't learn that much, but the seminars were well done and informative, especially for anyone who hasn't spent much time in the area. But it was a good refresher for us. Sunday night we went on a night walk on a observation boardwalk. I hate to say it, but at my age, walking in the dark is a challenge, at least to go in a straight line. We had no problems, but we were aware of different environment. There was very little wildlife seen or heard. But the lead ranger gave a good tutorial as we went.
Tomorrow we're going to check out a museum in Everglades City. Then to a sandwich shop for lunch followed by another museum near by. On Wednesday, I'm going on a 5 hour canoe trip. We have been told to bring a change of clothes in case we roll the canoe. I also understand that the path is not always very wide or tall, so we may have a few battles with the brush on the way.
That is about enough for one report. Our solar panels seem to almost do a good job. About every other day, we need to run the generator an hour in the morning. The downer has been a couple of days with a heavy cloud cover. But we're doing well otherwise.
Have a great day (we are!)
Gene
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Monument Lake Campground and loving it
Today was moving day and we went a whole 120 miles, from our RV Resort park near Punta Gorda to Monument Lake Campground, on highway 41 or the Tamiami Trail or we're in the Cypress National Preserve or we're just on the north edge of the Everglades National Park or 20 miles east of Everglades City. But let it be said that we have lots of room, it is quiet and the alligators haven't bothered us at all.
We had a pleasant drive here and an even better one when our friends from the Pow-Wow arrived (very late) to tell us that they had two blow-outs this afternoon on the interstate. It was not a good day for them, but no one was hurt and road service took good care of them.
We stopped in Immokalee for my B-12 prescription and took care of that little issue. We had stopped earlier to top off the pantry stocks so that we'd have enough food for the next two weeks. We're parked in what used to be the group camping area. However, they have changed the rules and will only let us have one RV per picnic table. So far we're okay.
But I dare not complain, as we also asked about a campfire on the ground, which they said no, no! The local host said he'd see if he could find a fire ring for us, which I doubted if it would happen. However, 2 hours later, in comes a maintenance worker with a brand new campfire ring with a grill on top. Now my problem is to get some firewood. The host has told us where there was some available, so we'll check it out in the morning. I have the chainsaw along plus a splitting mall and a wedge. We're going to have a fire!
We're mighty happy to be here, especially when we hear about the winds in California and the cold air in Colorado and Iowa. We have been blessed to be here, with a predicted low next week to be 68 each day. (I can handle that.)
Gene
We had a pleasant drive here and an even better one when our friends from the Pow-Wow arrived (very late) to tell us that they had two blow-outs this afternoon on the interstate. It was not a good day for them, but no one was hurt and road service took good care of them.
We stopped in Immokalee for my B-12 prescription and took care of that little issue. We had stopped earlier to top off the pantry stocks so that we'd have enough food for the next two weeks. We're parked in what used to be the group camping area. However, they have changed the rules and will only let us have one RV per picnic table. So far we're okay.
But I dare not complain, as we also asked about a campfire on the ground, which they said no, no! The local host said he'd see if he could find a fire ring for us, which I doubted if it would happen. However, 2 hours later, in comes a maintenance worker with a brand new campfire ring with a grill on top. Now my problem is to get some firewood. The host has told us where there was some available, so we'll check it out in the morning. I have the chainsaw along plus a splitting mall and a wedge. We're going to have a fire!
We're mighty happy to be here, especially when we hear about the winds in California and the cold air in Colorado and Iowa. We have been blessed to be here, with a predicted low next week to be 68 each day. (I can handle that.)
Gene
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