A LAID BACK DAY.

We drove up the coast headed for Galveston. We stopped at a BUC EES, I think that is how you spell it. I saw a  huge billboard advertising genuine Czech Kolaches. Well, as y’all know by now, I’m a foodie. If I haven’t tasted it I gotta try it. They had sausage and jalapena, sausage, sausage and cheese and ham and cheese. Well, guess what a kolache is just a Czech name for a sandwich. These were not even good sandwiches. White, pasty bread, the sausage itself was good, but the cheese was Velveeta or its cousin. People must love them, but I’ve never been a sandwich person and these were  mundane. (They are eaten heated.)

We drove past miles of beautiful beach. Jim commented how nice it is that Texas has many beach exits for people to enter the beach. They didn’t allow private builders to gobble it all up and prevent the public from enjoying the beach like in Florida and many places in California. But it is January and people were swimming out there? I guess I have to try it, because the weather is warm enough.

We waited downtown for about three hours to get permission to park in a very crowded American Legion. We waited happily catching up on our reading, but the trees wanted to scrape the top, the place was busy and narrow. In the end, we moved 15 miles to the mainland  and found this friendly VFW, post 8248.

We had a couple of drinks and had fun visiting with Kathleen and Denise.  Denise told me about a new food to try. The Spanish call it barcoda. I won’t tell you what it is until we find and taste it. Hey, gotta keep up my reputation for trying new foods. Denise is the Commander of an American Legion Post and a member of this VFW. Fun gals. Kathleen is hoping to hit the road some day.

Since this is a short blog, I thought I’d tell you about a Port Aransas wedding. Weddings can be very personal. I once saw a wedding invitation posted on a light pole in downtown Murphys. I’m paraphrasing a bit, but it read, Sandy Bristow has finally gotten Ricky Sanders out of the bars and off the streets of Murphys. Come join us for the event at Murphys Park, etc. etc. with a picture of Sanders  with a lasso around his  neck and his new bride in a cowboy hat and boots.

I read about the Port Aransas wedding in the Coastal Bend’s Community Magazine. Because it was Halloween, it was a two day wedding. The setting was a Port Aransas Beach Lodge described as  laid-back and casual, nestled in the sand dunes with a commanding, panoramic view of the Gulf with awesome sunrises.  The day before the wedding,  gaiety started as the sun began to set. Guests donned their Halloween costumes and went off in rented beach carts for a fab dinner at LaPlaya. Afterwards, in full costume, they set off for the Salty Dog where they drank and danced . The next day, they hired a boat and went on a two-hour cruise. Entertaining land locked guests with the beauty of sky, sea and sun with dolphins playfully posing and following the boat enraptured them.  Back at the lodge, the guests enjoyed a scavenger hunt, a white elephant party and a final ceremony at sunset on the wharf. The dinner was a crab boil with champagne.

Sound like fun?  Wow!

FATHERS DAY

In the park, father’s were celebrating their special day by fishing.

A young daughter not quite sure she could see the point in it, stuck it out with her dad. It only takes one catch to make her a believer.

This dad told me he fishes with worms. He likes trout and trout like worms.  He called worms the “old-fashioned” bait.

Comparing this morning’s walk, with the one we took two days ago, was pretty amazing. Both sides of the river was lined with fishermen. Across from us, every 20  feet or so  sat a fisherman on a rock.

Catching  a rock is a problem.  He seemed unsure about how to get his hook unsnagged.  He needed the help of a dad or permission to get his shoes and pants wet.

How nice for a young boy to be  assisted by his “honorary grandfather.” The boy was excited and thrilled about  learning to fish.

These two anglers propped their poles in a V crotch so they didn’t have to hold them.  They looked a bit half-hearted about it. But, who am I to judge?

Now this guy is an entertainer. I think he entertained the fish right onto his line. He said, “Oh, if I’m gonna get my picture taken, I better take off my sunglasses.”  Which he did.

Within seconds he had his fish, and as I took more photos, he said:  “Okay, do I get royalties for my picture?  How about 60% for me and 40% for you since I did all the work?”  I told him absolutely a deal, because 60% of nothing is zero, just like 40% of nothing is zero.

He laughed and offered to give me his fish.  And, I would have taken it, too, but I had “clean out the refrigerator” soup and salad on the menu in  preparation for my returning home.  Jim has many talents but cooking isn’t one of them.

Enjoying the day was what it was all about, even if you are fishing with your sister who went back to camp for something. Dad was sleeping in.

“I’m waiting for my wife.  She is finishing a book she is reading. I come here every year.”

We enjoyed the stroll.  I had a fishing pole in the motor home and hadn’t used it in two years. Jim talked me into donating it to the VFW yard sale back in Ajo.  It has been hot but we are plugged in and have air conditioning.  My time has been spent organizing  stuff to go home. My Navajo horse blanket and Shaman Stick will have to wait for the motor home to make a stop in Murphys next year. And, I read two wonderful books over this week.  Sarah’s Quilt by Nancy Turner, which has been compared to Lonesome Dove. And A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini who also wrote Kite Runner. This book is better. I hope father’s everywhere enjoyed their special day.

NAVAJO LAKE STATE PARK

Navajo Lake State Park, NM, is remote, far from any big cities;  a real respite for campers and travelers.  Huge wild lands with a campground siding a soothing river and a second campground seven miles farther near the lake.  No water hookups, a few electrical hookups.  With our solar, we manage very well without electricity as long as the sun keeps shining.  We like the luxury of electric when it is available.

I don’t believe cottonwood trees are native to the area;  they grow prolifically and get huge and beautiful.  Perfect for a campground except their propensity to crack and break in rough weather.

They are blooming and shedding at this time of year. The fluff flies everywhere and makes great nesting material for birds. Pretty, too.

Like most rivers, it dips and spreads; makes little islands. Anglers cast  in the shallows.

Near this friendly swimming hole, evidence of children having painted mud  petroglphys on a rock made us smile.

The trail is an easy walk through the brush and trees with nothing but a few lizards, ants and cottontails for company.

I talked to this man from Santa Fe. He told me he and his wife each caught two pan-sized trout yesterday, but his wife wanted to sleep in this morning.  We saw stream-side evidence of people using (fake) salmon eggs for bait. He claims he gets better luck with worms. And, he doesn’t care whether he catches a fish or not. He just enjoys being out and enjoying the river.  I like that  philosophy.

I spent most of the day packing a my suitcase with my art work “stuff” that I never work with while on the road.  All the best intentions set aside; there just isn’t enough time where I have space to work. I had a bag full of books that I didn’t want to discard.  And, remember those souvenirs of New Mexico for the totem? Two old hub caps from Route 66? Jim laughed, but  I got them in my suitcase.

A restful day.  We took an evening stroll, too, and I got a picture of these two cottontails.

 

And we had a colorful sunset, the first in  a long while.

 

CHANCE ENCOUNTER IN DEMING

Jim’s long time friend, who chooses to remain anonymous, introduced us to her two best friends, Mary Berg and Pat McKay.  Mary is a psychic and does individual readings. Once she was asked to help the local police department on a case of theirs. She is an upbeat, interesting woman to talk too.

Pat McKay, is the former wife of  Buck Duane Walker,  who murdered Muff and Mack Graham,  a couple living on their sailboat on the Island of Palmyra. Palmyra  is  located off the coast of Hawaii. It was a sensational case when it happened in the 1960′s and the book, The Sea Shall Tell,  was written about the event, and the capture and trial of Buck’s girlfriend,  Stephanie.   Pat was married to Buck for ten years, and knew him for 40 years.  He was a mesmerizing, clever, self-educated man and a psychopath. She visited him in prison, got to know his girlfriend,  Stephanie after the murders,  and even had a strange tie to Muff and Mack Graham, the two murder victims.   Pat’s family introduced  her aunt to date Mack before he met Muff. The Graham’s lived aboard their boat sailing the world over in much the same way RVers live on wheels, moving from one destination to another.

Pat  was grateful it was not she who sailed to Palmyra with Buck Walker. The book  was written by Richard Henderson and the attorney, Vincent Bugliosi who defended Stephanie.  Pat claims it was really Henderson who wrote the book. It was later made into a movie by the same name. Jim became quite fascinated by this case because he discovered  that Buck  Walker, while serving life in prison, wrote his version of the events that happened on the Island, under his father’s name, Wesley Walker.  Jim found his story interesting, well written and credible.

We enjoyed meeting Pat, and hearing about her interesting life.  She has written an as yet unpublished book about her life and how it intersected with the people who met their fate on the Island of Palmyra.   She met Jim’s friend while living in Mexico and they both moved to Deming.

It is interesting to meet someone who has a lot of  “inside”  information about the real life characters of a book you just chanced to read.  I can’t wait to read Pat’s book and will let you know on this blog when it is available. Sometimes you meet people who change your life. It was so for Pat McKay.

SETTLING IN

We woke up to a cute little bird sitting on our mirror, looking very fat and happy. After packing things in for travel mode, we moved a short distance to Golden Sun RV Resort. We looked in at the rec center, 8 pool tables, swimming pool and spa, a large exercise room, a huge library, a card room, ceramics room and many planned activities including  live music dances on Saturday nights. They have planned hikes, excursions, golf nearby and volunteers pick seasonal fruit for local food banks. They serve dinners and breakfasts every weekend.

Trade books,  stored in the Bronco, came out of hiding. Found two Anita Shreves and picked three new authors to try since the price is a simple trade.

Apache Junction’s post office is the biggest I’ve ever seen. I waited in line for twenty minutes to pick up one piece of mail. I got the scoop later in the evening from Nancy and Tom who shared a table with us at the Moose for their Friday night fish & Chips.

“I used to be a snowbird, said Tom. Now I live here.  Any business we have, we take care of  in the summer otherwise you wait in lines all over  town. The snowbird invasion.”  He chuckled. Locals love it and hate it. Great for business but, inconvenience comes with it.

Tom recommended several places to eat. He seems to know them all.

Today, I’ll contact  friends and relatives I hope to see.

 

Golden Sun RV Resort, Apache Junction, Arizona

We arrived here yesterday for a ten-day stay, during which time we’ll visit friends in the area.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Here’s a Google Earth image of the resort…

This is not a real-time image. If you look closely on the lower left you can see the image was made June 24, 1992, The units on the left and center are permanent mobile homes. Streets H, I and J are vacant because it’s June. Right now they are mostly full of RV’s like ours. We’re in site I-23 as indicated by the red “X”.

Here’s a photo of our site…

Looking north on I street you can see us as the fourth unit on the left…

After we got settled in, we took a walk around the park to acquaint ourselves with the place. They have a nice book-exchange library so we spent some time finding new books to read. Which then led us to inventorying our current book stash. Mary and I are both avid readers so we have a lot of books ready for exchanging as well as waiting to be read. Mary out-stashes me by a factor of 2 to 1.

Later in the afternoon we went to the post office to pick up the tabs for the motorhome which had been forwarded to us. Then a visit to my home VFW Post #7968 for a cool beer. In the evening we went to my home Moose Lodge #2039 for a meal.

The park is nice and clean with lots of amenities and activities. It’s also very conveniently located only about one mile from downtown Apache Junction. There are many parks like this one in the Apache Junction area. Many folks spend their entire winter in one warm and sunny location.

To read all about this resort, you can click this link…
https://www.thousandtrails.com/getaways/arizona/goldensun.asp

To see their photos of the place, click this link…
http://els.smugmug.com/RV-ing/AZ-Golden-Sun-RV-Resort-ELS/4160460_FkkxP#!i=256801088&k=UEFLT

The normal daily rate here is $34 a day. Because it is owned by Encore which also owns Thousand Trails RV Resorts of which we are members…we get to stay here for only $3.00 a day. Such a deal!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

THERE ARE BEARS OUT THERE.

Yesterday, in excerpts from Bill Dryson’s book, I learned that getting ready for the trail can be very expensive. Today, I want to impart information about bears in the woods. Dryson writes:

“Imagine, if you will, lying in the dark alone in a little tent, nothing but a few microns of trembling nylon between you and the chill night air, listening to a 400 pound bear moving around your campsite. Now, imagine reading a nonfiction book packed with stories…soberly related, just before setting off alone on a camping trip of your own into the American wilderness. …David Anderson, aged twelve, at 3:30 a.m. his tent was abruptly rent with a swipe of claw and the bear, driven to distraction by the rich, unfixable, everywhere aroma of hamburger, bit hard into a flinching limb and dragged him shouting and flailing through the camp and into the woods.”  (Before his fellow campers could give chase, David was dead.)

“…while my wife slumbered peacefully beside me, I lay saucer eyed in bed reading clinically precise accounts of people gnawed pulpy in their sleeping bags, plucked whimpering from trees, noiselessly stalked as they sauntered unawares down leafy paths. People whose one fatal mistake was to smooth their hair with a dab of gel, or eat juicy meat, or tuck a Snickers in their shirt pocket for later, or have sex, or even, menstruate, or in some small way, pique the olfactory properties of the hungry bear. Or inadvertently round a bend and find a moody male bear blocking the path.”

Herrero (the author of the book Dryson is reading entitled Bear Attacks: Their Causes And Avoidance) recounts the indestructibility of grizzly. But, Dryson also learns that if he is to be pawed and chewed by a bear it would be Ursus americanus.  Black bears, with as many as 700,000 in North America,  are agile cunning, immensely strong and always hungry. Herrero researched and found only twenty-three black bear killing of humans  from 1900 to 1980. But, there were twenty-five non-fatal attacks per year from 1960 to 1980. (Black bear picture from People-First website, no attribution given for photographer.)

Herrero then outlines the avoidance strategies for black bears that are just the opposite from grizzly.  Playing dead is futile, a grizzly will lose interest in a limp form, but a black will continue chewing . It is foolish to climb a tree because black bears are adroit climbers and you will simply end up fighting the bear in a tree. To ward off an aggressive black bear, Herrero suggests making a lot of noise, banging pots and pans, throwing sticks and rocks and “running AT the bear”.  Then adds, of course this could merely provoke the bear. Dryson concludes that no one can tell you what to do. Bears are unpredictable.

I have had two encounters with bears in my native Michigan woods, as a child. Scared hell out of me. Three of us slept with our sugar and milk for our cereal near us, food  planned for the next morning’s breakfast. The bear mowed over our improvised log structure for that bit of cereal and sugar. I learned how fast I could run.

The second encounter was a bear standing and looking into the window of our cabin while we slept. It woke us instantly and wildly awake. A male, he went from window to window, seemingly unruffled by the presence of humans on the inside with a gun. We were ruffled.

I hadn’t given much thought to bears since then, even though one has recently been on my property robbing the garbage cans of my tenants. I explained to them they have to quit leaving cat food out at night in an automatic feeder. And, not to toss any food garbage out until the bear quits coming back. It worked after four visits. I’ve taken to freezing my meaty garbage and only put it out on dump day. I’m beginning to rethink walking the Appalachian Trail. I’ve re-arranged goals before. I guess I could be called Greenhorn, Buttercup, sissy. Yup!  But, I have yet to contact Hilda. Gotta do that!  If other people survive…surely I will too.

The Best Courtroom Drama Book I’ve Ever Read…

If you are a regular follower of my Blog…you will know that I’ve been an avid reader all of my life. About five years ago I developed an interest in the genre of courtroom drama and have since read all of books written by the most famous authors including Grisham, Turrow, Martini, Margolin, etc and others not so famous.

Yesterday I just finished the best courtroom drama I’ve ever read. It’s by Vincent Bugliosi, the attorney who prosecuted Charles Manson and wrote a book entitled Helter Skelter about that trial….which I have also read. The book I’m sharing with you today is even better. While most of the above named authors write fiction…this book is a true crime story…it actually happened.

If you  enjoy reading about the intricacies of courtroom strategies…you will enjoy this book.

Here”s a Wikipedia link to give you all the information about this book…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_the_Sea_Will_Tell

Enjoy!

Through the magic of Google Earth….here’s a view of Palmyra Atoll…A tiny little island 1,200 south of Hawaii…where this event happened. Click on the photo to enlarge it…

While researching information for this Blog…I ran across this interesting item. The man accused of the murders…Wesley “Buck” Walker…who spent 22 years in prison…was paroled in 2006 and died of a stroke at the age of 72…while in prison wrote his own book…Palmyra: The True Story Of An Island Tragedy…to tell “what really happened”. Here’s the link to his website…

http://www.palmyramystery.com/web1/Page_1x.html

I just ordered the book and will report back to you after I’ve received it and read it. Later…

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://stores.lulu.com/panamaorbust

How Do Full-Time RVers Keep Busy?

I recently ran across this Blog entry and thought you might enjoy it…

http://fulltime-rver.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-do-full-timers-keep-busy.html

Then I got to thinking about myself and Mary and what we do to keep busy. Sometimes…like last year…we were on the go a lot on our 17,000 mile round trip around the United States…through 29 states. We are history buffs so we visited MANY museums and historical sites. Each region also has its own varieties of music and foods which we fully explored.

This year we are just kind of hanging out in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I like to spend my summers in this area because it’s so scenically beautiful…the air is fresh and clean…the climate is very agreeable…seldom too hot or cold and the people are very friendly. Speaking of people…there are always lots of them to be met along the way.

We also stay busy getting our moderate exercise and we are both avid readers and do lots of reading. Mary brought along some of her projects that she never seems to find time to do at home…like her current project of doing her China journal…which she visited in 2006…and now finally has the time to work on it. I always have routine preventive maintenance and technical things to investigate or repair awaiting me. Then there is computer time doing our Blogs and research and keeping in touch with and visiting our families and friends. I like to play Spider Solitaire on my computer as it is a great exercise for my brain as well as hand/eye coordination. I recently took a “how old is your brain” test online and it told me I my brain was equivalent to a 46 year-old person. I would have scored younger except Mary distracted me while in the middle of one of the tests. 

Bottom line is…we are never at a loss of wondering what to do. If all else fails there is always a good book waiting to be read. Did I mention that we are also both avid photographers?

Why is a good book and an RV very much alike? Because both of them can take you to many wonderful places.

So…please do not worry about us being bored with our RVing life. It just doesn’t happen.

In case you have not seen it…here’s our card…

For a couple of seventy year-olds…we are getting along just fine.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust

Yesterday Was A Disappointing Day…

Fortunately in only a very small way.

I drove my Bronco II about 20 miles from my current camping spot at Thousand Trails Thunderbird RV Resort in Monroe, Washington to the 3rd Street Bookstore in Marysville, Washington. If you are a regular follower of my Blog, you know that I’ve been an avid reader all of my life and I’m always on the lookout for a good book to read.

I’ve bought many a book at this bookstore over the years. Whenever I’m in the area I always stop here to look for books. Things have changed since my last visit two years ago… first of all they’ve re-arranged the front entrance area. The checkout area used to be to the left rather than to the right as in this photo…

The bookstore seemed to be even “fuller/more full” of books from my last visit…

I was there only a short while. The upstairs floor, which I did not make it to yesterday, has books haphazardly piled all over the floor making it very difficult to walk around. You sometime have to step on books to get where you want to go.

The reasons my yesterday’s visit was so short are two…first of all I’m currently looking for books from only three specific authors. I already have everything they had in stock…so I came away with no new books.

The biggest disappoint though was they have changed their pricing policy from $1 for a used book to one-half the original price. In the past an originally priced book say of $8 was $1…now it’s $4.

Don’t feel bad for me about this because I do not. Fortunately my very favorite book store in the United States…The Book Barn in Niantic, Connecticut has over 350,000 books in stock. They keep a running list of titles I’m looking for and I call them whenever I’m ready for a refreshment of books waiting to be read. For a very reasonable fee…they ship my books to whatever address of wherever I happen to be at that time. And…all of the regular paperbacks remain only $1.00!

I realize things are constantly changing and into each life a little rain must fall…so I’m okay with yesterday’s disappointment. Speaking of rain…there was none yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 70 degrees…right at the mid-point of my desired temperature range of 65 to 75 degrees..with a delightful gentle breeze. The very kind of day of why I so love the beautiful Pacific Northwest this time of year.

Speaking of beautiful…while in Marysville yesterday…I saw this building mural which I believe is new since my last visit. I do not recognize the specific scene…but in general…it represents the beauty of this area. With this beautiful scenery and a beautiful day like yesterday…life is good. I’m so lucky to be a full-time RVer!

Oh…another reason not to feel bad for me…I still have 33 books waiting to be read right here in the motorhome.

Why are a good book and an RV much alike????….because they both can take you to beautiful places! A bad day of RVing…beats a good day at work!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust