Is This Spring Time in South Dakota or Winter in Siberia?

We've completed 2 weeks at Crazy Horse and things are cool man.....real cool! In fact right now it's 32 degrees outside.....with winds blowing a constant 20+ mph......the snow flakes are blowing horizontally as we look out the window.......a forecast low of 28 with 1+ inches of snow tonight. Cool man! This is the 2nd snow since we've been here.

Wednesday we woke up with 2-3" of snow covering everything from our lawn chairs to the grill to the car....icicles hanging off the bottom of the slides. We were so excited we left the MH 3 hours before our scheduled start time at work and just drove around taking pictures. We drove a couple miles south of town and then turned off onto a small gravel road back off into the forest. We were taking pictures and saw numerous deer before stumbling across a little reminder from home.





We know from talking to everyone back in Florida that the temps are already into the 90's. When Joan and I were in Florida and it got that hot we always started looking for a swimming hole....the cooler the water the better. One of our favorite places was Rock Springs just north of Apopka. So here we are in South Dakota and wouldn't you know it......they have a Rock Springs too. Anyone interested in joining us for a little swim?











A couple days can make a huge difference this time of year..........Tuesday










Wednesday





Last week on one of our mutual days off we decided to go geocaching with Phil & Rudee We downloaded 7 caches into our smartphone c:geo app and headed out. We had pretty good luck, eventually finding 6 of the 7 caches; even after encountering a weird recurring issue. Phil &Rudee both use handheld GPS devices while Joan & I use our smartphones. We all had the cache GPS points loaded and at each individual cache all of our units directed us to within 5-10 feet of each other. But on all 6 of the caches we found none of them were at the designated location. At each site we would spread out and continue to search; and with 4 of us looking we would eventually find the cache. But each of the 6 were found almost 50 yards west of the original location. Really strange!





Notice anything strange about this location where we found one of the caches?










And some of the caches were so small. This one was inside the bottom of a metal gate post. It could only be seen by placing a mirror under the bottom of the gate and looking up inside the hollow post.







We saw some unusual sites as we drove around the area. One of them was this bicycle 'montage'?





Work at Crazy Horse has been fun. I'm feeling more confident with the narrative that I share with the folks who take the bus tour and Joan is working hard to get her feet into shape to withstand the all-day standing that's required in the gift shop.

My dad is showing signs of improvement including occasional recognition of friends and family and he is responding to some verbal questions with gestures. No oral communication as yet but he is getting better. Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.

That's it for now. Stay tuned. More to Come.

Remember That Drive North to Get to South? Well We Ended Up Going South and East Too!

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted and for those of you who have been sitting at your keyboard waiting for the latest entry I apologize. It's been really hectic. Joan and I left Lake Mead on Tax Day 4/15 headed for Custer, SD. We had a little over 2 weeks to travel 1000 miles before we were to begin work at Crazy Horse on 4/30. So we decided to take a little bit longer route, traveling short distances each day and basically trying to relax and enjoy seeing parts of Utah and Wyoming that we have never seen before.

There were lots of lizard petroglyphs

One of stops was Dinosaur National Monument. Pretty cool. Not only do they have lots and lots of dinosaur bones but petroglyphs and pictoglyphs as well. What's the difference you might ask.....pictoglyphs are painted on the surface of a rock or stone outcropping while petroglyphs are 'chiseled' or scratched into the surface of the stone. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

Then it was on to Flaming Gorge in northeast Utah. We had to climb a steep 2-lane highway reaching a little over 9,000' that felt a little challenging with a big 18 wheeler on my tail but after that the scenery and drive were really spectacular. We stopped at the Flaming Gorge dam and decided to take the dam tour. Our tour guide was a local who had lived nearby since she was a young girl. She did an excellent job of sharing with us about the dam and the local area filling in little details with stories of her exploits in her younger teen age years. The drive north towards Wyoming from Flaming Gorge is one that I would recommend to anyone traveling in the area. And for motorcyclists it would be especially neat with curvy winding roads and fantastic scenery.

On Easter we found ourselves in Casper, Wyoming and took a drive up into the mountains above the city. The elevation wasn't too high but there was plenty of snow with snowbanks of 6-10' along the side of some roads. And many of the houses and cabins were still snowed in with 3-4' of snow in the yards. Joan had come down with a bad head cold and we were thinking we might should drive straight on over to Custer and set up in our summer campground so she could rest. We'd still have several days to explore and we could take day trips to some of the attractions further north. As we were pondering next steps I received a call from my sister letting me know that my dad had suffered a stroke and was being taken to the hospital. That kinda' made our decision for us so we headed to Custer the next day. Joan was feeling a little better so on Thursday we decided to drive the car back to Florida. 34 hours and 2000 miles later we arrived in central Florida and spent the weekend with my mom, dad and family. By Sunday dad was no longer in critical care and it was just a matter of time until we got a diagnosis and prognosis for his recovery. On Monday we hopped back in the car and drove back to South Dakota.

On Wednesday we started orientation at Crazy Horse. What a spectacular place; we could not be happier with our decision to work here this summer. We've taken a couple of drives in and around the area and are very excited about the motorcycling opportunities and attractions that we'll be able to explore this summer. Joan is working in the gift shop and I'll be driving the bus that takes visitors on a tour of the property and to the base of the mountain. A job where they're going to pay me to talk......who a' thunk it!





We've already made new friends and met up with old friends in the few days we've been here. Jim and Barb of Jim and Barb's RV Adventure parked in our campground for 3 days and we got to sit down and spend some time with them. What a neat couple. We were really surprised about the number of similarities between their ideas and experiences and ours. We're really hoping to see them in the future.

And yesterday our friends Phil and Rudee of Workin' RVers arrived and are parked right next door. They worked Crazy Horse last year and enjoyed it so much they decided to return. Reading their blog about their experiences is probably the primary reason we decided to try Crazy Horse.

A View from Crazy Horse's Arm
back towards Visitor Center and
our campground

Crazy Horse from the base of the mountain

Just one of the roads we're
anxious to ride!

This may turn out to be a strange summer what with my dad's situation, but for now the family is doing well and we think we have a plan in place. And we'll appreciate you keeping my dad in your thoughts as we find out more about what the future holds.

That's it for now. Stay Tuned, More to Come.

So Let Me Get This Straight.....We're Going North to Get to South????? Dakota.....OK, That Makes Sense

Yes that's right....it's that time of year and Joan & I are headed North....to South Dakota. We are to report to Crazy Horse just outside of Custer on 4/30 to begin training. And to be honest we're a little.......anxious might be the right term. We have loved our time here at Lake Mead and plan to return to our Road Monitoring job here in October. But we are very excited about getting to Crazy Horse and experiencing something new. It's starting to get hot here in the desert, some days getting into the 90's and when the sun is shining down directly on you it's uncomfortably warm. However the high temp in Custer today is 26 with snow forecast for Wednesday & Thursday. We have made good friends and like the Boulder City community. New job, new location, lots of unknown. Well, that's just what this lifestyle is all about I guess. Wish us luck as we start our newest adventure.

Matt and his cousin Shelby

2 weeks ago Joan decided to take a little 'vacation' and fly back to Atlanta. A couple of months ago her nephew Matt experienced a small medical issue that resulted in his not being able to drive for several months. Matt is in his last semester of college and commutes 25 miles one way to attend classes. Joan's family jumped into action and various family members have been staying with Matt and his family, serving as drivers for Matt to allow him to graduate on schedule. Joan had a great time while she was there getting to see lots of her family.

2 of my favorite girls
Tristyn & Joan

She also got to explore the surrounding area in and around Matt's home even finding time to visit my new grand daughter Tristyn. I'm jealous.













She got to go fishing a couple of times and caught lots of brim and a 7 pound striper. Joan's niece Shelby stopped by and joined in on the fishing expedition. Not to speak poorly about anyone but I'm thinking Shelby could use some direction. I mean here she is is visiting with steadfast Bama fans, while attending Auburn to become a veterinarian, all the time claiming to be a Florida State fan. How mixed up can you get?

Will & His Grandfather Tommy
(Joan's Dad)

A great big shout out to another of Joan's nephews Will who just graduated from Marine Corps Basic Training at Paris Island. Good Job Will.











While Joan was gone I made several trips back and forth between the campground and RV repair shop as the body work was being completed on our MH. You might remember that I had a small run in with a concrete barrier while driving to Utah a few weeks ago. The actual physical damage requiring part replacement was limited to a door 'skin' and a door hinge for one of the storage bay doors. Also a gasket between the rear cap and body of the MH was torn and had to be replaced. All told, the MH spent 5 days in the shop; I spent 3 nights in the MH at the shop and 1 night in a hotel while it was in the paint booth overnight. In all the shop painted everything below the slides from just behind the entrance door to the rear cap. Almost as much paint as it takes to paint an entire car. Everything looks great and we're glad to have that completed and be back in our home again.

Is this considered Dry Dock?

My last day of work was last Wednesday and involved about 40 miles of highway driving to get to our location, then another 80 miles of off-road driving before returning to the office. You just never know what you're going to find as you drive along the back country roads in and around Lake Mead. Along this particular path we were commuting across BLM roads to get into the park roads when what to my wondering eyes should appear. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of boats in Lake Mead. It's just unusual to see them 15 miles from the water in the middle of the desert! So if you know anyone interested in a little fixer upper, have them give me a call and I'll tell them where to look.

Well, that's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come!

A Little Nudge Here and a Little Nudge There

It's been a couple of weeks since our last post and we've had a little adventure.....some fun....some not so fun. Nothing serious mind you....just one of life's little nudges.

Before...

A couple of weeks ago we were given an additional task to perform while we were out and about our normal Road Monitoring jobs....graffiti removal. It seems as though someone just happened to carry a can of brown spray paint in their 4-wheel drive while they were exploring some of the back country roads in Lake Mead. This is the result.

...After

Our supplies on this day included some scrub brushes, water and environmentally friendly paint remover. After a good soaking, scrubbing and rinsing, the signs were almost as good as new. Just remember...we are trained professionals so don't try this at home!


I may have mentioned that I started playing softball on a Sunday Night Over 40 league. After a couple of weeks of playing I was introduced to some guys who manage a couple of 60's tournament teams. I was invited to 'stop by and try out' one Saturday morning, which I did....and what do you know....I was asked if I'd like to play in a Senior Softball Spring National tournament. After many micro-seconds of consideration I said YES! So last week Joan and I loaded up the RV and headed to St. George, Utah for the weekend.



We decided to go early and spend some time in Zion NP before the tournament started. We traveled on Wednesday and set up at Sand Hollow State Park. Early Thursday morning we left Sand Hollow taking a back road to Hurricane and Zion. We rounded a corner and were surprised by what we saw.......icicles.


It was only 46 degrees by our car thermometer, but it must have gotten much colder during the night for this to have happened.

We drove into Zion and went in search of a nice hiking spot only to find every trail head parking spot taken and dozens of cars parked along the roadway at almost every pull off. Oh yeah...it's spring break. Not interested in hiking in a conga line we regrouped and returned to one of our favorite drives near Zion, Kolob Terrace Rd just outside of Virgin. Much less traffic and the scenery is just as pretty. We pulled off at a lookout and had a picnic lunch before taking a short 3 mile hike.....beautiful scenery and beautiful company.

Friday morning we headed to the Canyons Softball Complex in St George, a short 20 minute drive from our campground. Our team, LVSSA Raiders went 2-0 in the seeding games of our AAA 12-team bracket and finished #1 Seed. Good start.

Unfortunately Saturday didn't follow suit and we went 0-3. Oh well, still had lots of fun, got to meet some new softball buddies and I even managed to hit my 1st dinger of the year...a 3-run shot to center field. Man did that feel good! And I've been invited back to play with them in the fall when we return from Crazy Horse. What a deal.



Spring is definitely here in Lake Mead and everything is blooming. This week is Joan's last work week this spring as she is flying to Alabama to spend some time with her brother and his family before we leave Lake Mead. We got to drive a couple of our favorite roads, a new road we hadn't been on before and even got in a short hike.







Can you tell from this pic she needs some time off ?

L-R Chris, Leslie, Joan, Steve

Joan discovered that Leslie and Chris from RVNomads2too were staying in Boulder City and arranged for us to meet them for lunch. Chris is from Melbourne, FL and Leslie is from Boring, Oregon, the same little community where I played softball when Joan and I were working at Mt Hood. A lot of similarities between us as far as experiences and future plans, so I expect we'll be seeing more of them in the future.

Wax on, Wax off
It looked a lot easier in the movies Daniel-san
This scratch isn't coming out!

As for our not-so-fun adventure.....well on the way to Utah I managed to 'kiss' a concrete divider in a construction site on I-15. Just a little gust of wind...and when you're 8' wide in a 10' lane with concrete barriers on both sides...well I suppose you know what happens. A nice 4" wide, 30' long scratch down the side of the MH. No major damage, a new door skin, a new hinge and lots of paint and she'll be good as new.

That's it for now. Stay Tuned. More to Come.

More Adventure Than You Can Shake a Stick At (Or Should It Be Shake a Seed At?)

It's been a fun week here at Lake Mead. We had some adventure in our Road Monitoring job and we got to visit with some fellow RV'rs/Bloggers; got lots of pics and worked on a small RV maintenance job. I wrote a little story about it, like to hear it, hear it goes........(anyone remember Calhoun Tubbs from In Living Color?)

Since our return to Lake Mead after Christmas we had a slow 'leak' in one of the hydraulic jacks that level the MH. No fluid on the ground or on the jacks themselves; just a slow retraction of one jack over a short period of time causing the MH to lean and and move around a little as you walk through.

Behind this door awaits Adventure

I did a little research on IRV2 ( I love that site) and found several other RVrs that had experienced and resolved that very issue. After checking my MH owners manual I identified the model jacks on my unit, then checked out the manufactures website RVA Jacks. They have detailed schematics of the various model jacks they manufacture as well as troubleshooting guides and operational manuals for all models.

In their troubleshooting section they even discussed how to identify what may be causing a leak as well as detailed instructions on how to repair/replace the various parts of their system. All indications pointed to a problem with one of the 3 retract valves; either a faulty valve or something clogging the valve allowing hydraulic fluid to slowly seep back into the fluid reservoir.

A little cleaner with 2 of the coils & covers removed
and the top of the retract valve showing
(back row)

I called the manufacturer to order a new valve and spoke with a gentlemen that suggested I switch 2 of the valves with each other to ensure the slow leak followed the valve to the new jack leg. Then when I was sure the retract valve was indeed the problem I could order the new valve. Great Idea! I located the hydraulic reservoir and valve manifold behind the 'dryer' door on the driver side of the MH. After cleaning the area with a little WD40 I used a 1/2" wrench to remove the coil on top of the valve before using a 7/8" deep socket to remove the suspect retract valve and 1 of the other 2 retract valves. I cleaned both valves before swapping them and reinstalling them back into the manifold. I replaced the covers and coils, torquing them to specs (that was mentioned several times in the troubleshooting guide as well as by the tech at RVA). Then I extended all 3 jacks and re-leveled the MH.

The Culprit!

That was 6 days ago and guess what..........the MH is still level today. No slow leaks. Looks as though my problem was a bit of trash on the valve O-ring allowing the fluid to flow back into the reservoir. I'm telling you what....if you don't have IRV2 bookmarked on your PC you are missing out on a huge resource for the full and part- time RVer that has an interest in performing some of their own RV maintenance rather than going to the dealership with every issue. And my thanks to RVA Jacks for providing great support of their products.

No where to go but up!

Earlier this week we had a chance to revisit one of our favorite and more adventurous back country roads in Lake Mead; AR70a. This road is located near Kingman Wash just 2 miles into Arizona across Hoover Dam. AR70a is a short road that leaves the main road to Kingman Wash and straddles the spine of a mountain ridge while climbing several hundred feet in elevation before intersecting with AR70b which also straddles another mountain spine and returns to the main road.

As you drive either AR70 a or b there is almost no room to pull over or turn around because of the steep slope of the mountain on either side of the road. AR70b is rough and 4-wheel drive is recommended. AR70a is even rougher and I would recommend only attempting this one with a high clearance 4x4 vehicle. Bring a lunch because the view from the intersection of a & b is truly spectacular. You can see Kingman Wash Cove, Lake Mead, Boulder City, the new bridge at Hoover Dam, Fortification Hill; and on a clear day you can even see parts of Las Vegas. And if you follow the road a little further past the intersection there is an abandoned mining area that is interesting to explore.

We added another skill set to our resume; seed distributor. The park service has a plant nursery within the park. Native species plants are grown here and used to replant areas where desert plants may have been damaged or destroyed.

When the decision was made several years ago to build the new bridge across the Colorado River at Hoover Dam the park service combed through the area of the road realignment and harvested as many seeds of the existing plants as possible.

We get to go to the coolest places...
The temp in the nursery storage
room is kept at 40 degrees

The seeds were sorted and stored at the nursery to be used for future restorations. Our supervisor is also responsible for the nursery and she asked if we'd be interested in scattering the seeds near where they were harvested. Joanie SowsSeeds (kinda' like Johnny Appleseed) didn't hesitate with her answer....."Heck Yeah!" So we loaded up the back of our truck with buckets and buckets (28 to be exact) of seeds and off we went to check out several of the Approved Roads near the dam.

Joanie Sows Seeds and Joseph
Spreading Seeds. They're having too much fun

And everywhere we stopped throughout the day Joan could be seen throwing caution and seeds to the wind! Luckily, she didn't injure her knee like she did late last year throwing rocks. I guess the seeds were much lighter than the rocks.





The next day as we were driving one of the roads located about 10 miles south of town we ran across a disturbance where an ATV had driven off the approved road into a wash, then exited the wash onto an abandoned road bed. Joan began walking/recording the track on our GPS and after walking several hundred yards she exited back onto the approved road; but  not before finding an interesting discovery...an abandoned and burned car. Looked like a fairly recent model SUV, but every bit of plastic and a lot of the engine metals were burnt and melted. We called it into dispatch and we'll have to wait and see if the park service will be able to remove it without causing too much damage to the non-culturally cleared area.

Check out the grill. Can anyone tell what
year & model it is?

The park is huge; incorporating more than 2.5 million acres. And there are areas within the park boundaries that are private property. We spotted this car on private property buried in a wash almost 20 miles off the paved road. Guessing at the age of the car, we can only wonder how far was it to a paved road 50 or 60 years ago when it was left here? And what about the fate of the original passengers. Did the car break down and leave them stranded? For how long? Or were they caught up in a flash flood? Adventure whether you want it or not!

One of the blogs that we follow is Travel Bug. A few days ago we got a call that the blogs'............ (owners?writers?subjects?what is the correct term?) Susan and Bob were going to be stopping over in Lake Mead this week. They checked into Lake Mead RV Park and we drove down to meet them in person. We chatted for a little while sharing RV stories before heading back to our MH with an invitation for them to call us if they had any spare time during their visit. A short while later we got a call that they would like to stop by and learn a few new games. So over they came and we broke out Golf, Liars Dice and Qwirkle. Joan and I had a fun time and we think they did too. Susan and Bob were great reinforcements of our opinion that the vast majority of the people living this lifestyle are fun to get to know and really enjoy what they do!

As I look back over the last year, I think about all of the people we've introduced to the game of Qwirkle. I know we've given about a 1/2 dozen games to friends as Christmas gifts. And we know of at least 3 couples that went out and bought the game after we introduced them to it. I wonder if Joan and I could become Qwirkle Consigliere? Maybe we could make you an offer you couldn't refuse.

That's it for now. Stayed Tuned. More to Come

Kisses, Abandoned Mines, Flying Lizards, Baby Bighorn, VIP and Great Colors. What a Day!

Valentine Day has come & gone and we are no worse off for the eating of endless chocolate. Our lips are just a little bit chapped though......if you know what I mean!

A couple of days after Valentine Day we joined several of our co-workers and drove out to Anniversary Mine for a hike through The Narrows. Wandering Wingers Dave & Maxine were staying out at Stewarts Point so they decided to join us as we explored the area around the mine and slot canyon. We drove into the park to Mile Marker 16, then drove about 2 miles along one of the Approved Back Country Roads to a large wash.

We Snuck this Pic over the fence blocking
the entrance to the closed mine

The wash is several hundred feet wide and about 40-50' deep. We drove down into the wash and then followed the wash further into the park. There are several old mines in and around the wash as well as being bordered by active mine sites on both sides. Here's a peek at the inside of one mine I 'borrowed' from Dave's blog.

So if I go in here, do I end up over there?

Several of the group checked out the entrance to mine as well as 2 small tunnels outside the entrance to the mine, probably used as a rail- or walk- way along the face of wash. Farther down the wash it narrows into a slot canyon, which everyone was interested to hike. We had gone out early, so we had the slot canyon to ourselves on the way in.


And when we got to the far side we saw a small group of big horn sheep, including several babies. I'm glad we went early as we had 2 groups already hiking the narrows as we left and several groups hiking towards the narrows as we drove out of the wash.




Joan is always keeping her eyes open and checking out the surroundings. Looking up into one of the mesquite trees she noticed something unusual. Flying lizards? No, more like lunch. A *** lizard impaled on a mesquite thorn; more than likely placed there by a shrike.






Speaking of lunch, our group split up after leaving the mine; some of them had to go to work; others to recuperate from the morning's activities. We were all feeling a little sketchy after the hike.




We invited Dave & Maxine to join us for lunch. There is a smal chiiniese restaurant in nearby Logandale called VIP that we have enjoyed several times that we thought they would enjoy. And we were right (found out subsequently they revisited VIP a couple days later).  After that we stopped by their boondocking site to chill out and watch the late afternoon color.

Aside from our normal day to day activities, I've been very busy working with a realtor back in Florida. While we were in Florida at Christmas we visited friends and family, had our physicals, visited our rentals and met with our financial advisor (you have to do that kind of thing even though it's no fun). He suggested we consider selling one of our properties.

The house Joan & I lived in prior to going full time still has a mortgage and due to the current housing market is still worth quite a bit less than the original purchase price. We've been fortunate that we've had it rented the entire time we've been on the road; however the rent we've been able to get doesn't cover the mortgage, escrow, HOA & management fees. I don't see the market changing any time soon so we decided it was time to cut our losses and try to sell the house. So if you're interested in a nice townhouse in central Florida overlooking the 9th green at a great golf course, let me know.

Next on the list.......Income Tax......yuck!

That's it for now. Stayed Tuned. More to Come.

PS...Thanks for reading. As of last week stats indicate we've had over 40,000 page views. Who'd a thunk it?