Titan Missile Museum, Sahuarita, Arizona

Yesterday Mary and I took the Bronco about 10 miles south of our current Moose Club RV parking location. We went to the Titan Missile Museum which is located about 20 miles south of Tucson, Arizona. The site is an actual former ICBM launch site. It is the only one that has survived to become a museum. After the Cold War ended all the other 53 silos were destroyed per the SALT Treaty.

Here’s The official museum website link…
http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/

and here’s a Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_Missile_Museum

Here are a couple of Google Earth images. First a general site view…

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…

And then a closer view of the missile silo half-opened…

Under terrible photography conditions…harsh sunlight on a bright white light-colored structures and dimly lit interiors…we nonetheless ventured forth. Here are some of the photos that I took…

In the above photo all three underground components of the site can be seen. The middle is the access portal. On the left is the control center and crews quarters. On the right is the missile silo. The highest state of alert ever reached was on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On that day the launch keys were taken out of the safe and set on the control console desktop. They were not inserted into the control panel. This complex was built for a one-time only launch. None were ever launched.

We spent two hours here…one hour of which was a guided tour. Another enjoyable day of full-time RVing.

In other news…

More than 12 hours late with today’s entry. A 2.5 hour Verizon Internet signal outage early this morning…then another full day out exploring…then an evening meal at Moose Lodge #1964…the friendliest Moose Club in the United States where we are currently parked…and finally a little time to post today’s Blog entry this evening.

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

Finally…

In my last two Blog entries I’ve described frustrations associated changing out my defective modem here in our motorhome. The day before yesterday involved three hours of frustration. yesterday was an additional three hours of frustrations. During 1.5 hours on my cellphone with the router technician since it was not recognizing the new device…I took this self-photo…

You can see just how much fun I was having by the expression on my face! Since I had borrowed a short ethernet cable to use during the process…I had to sit in the passenger’s seat so I could connect to the router which can be seen of the shelf below the curtain. While there I had to balance the computer upon our large bread board atop my lap while the cellphone was on speaker so I had two hands to balance everything in addition to doing the typing associated with the functions.

You probably know a little about interfacing the modem and router. Download updated software, restart the computer, figure out new configurations, restart the computer. Nope…didn’t work…set a new configuration…can’t remember passwords, restart the computer. Etc……..

So…FINALLY…after six hours of frustrations…the system seems to have settled down and appears to be functioning correctly. When I began this process three days ago I was fearing that I was going to have this kind of experience. The system didn’t let me down. It was every bit frustrating as I was expecting. Hopefully it will be some time before I have to deal with a like matter in the future. Now to get back to my normal life. Today we expect to move the motorhome south  of Tucson, Arizona for a few days of seeing and doing attractions of the area.

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

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Coolidge, AZ

Yesterday we arrived and parked in front of the home of a friend of Mary’s about 20 miles north of Tucson, Arizona…

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…

Along the way we went through Coolidge, Arizona and took a ten-mile (one way) detour to go to the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Casa Grande in Spanish means Large House. You can read can read all about Casa Grande by clicking these two links…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Grande_Ruins_National_Monument
http://www.nps.gov/cagr/historyculture/index.htm

Here are some photos that I took…

To see the other 20 photos that I took, click this link…

https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/CasaGrandeRuinsNationalMonumentCoolidgeAZ

Pretty clouds just after sunset…

In other news…

If you are a regular follower of my Blog you know I normally publish about 5:30 AM. Today it’s about 1:30 PM…about seven hours late due to technical problems with my Verizon modem. More about this tomorrow.

And here’s something unusual…as I publishing it’s a cold and cloudy day…41 degrees and snowing!!!

Who needs it? Fortunately it’s a rare happening and hopefully won’t amount too much.

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

Superstition Mountains Museum, Apache Junction, Arizona

We’re still at the Golden Sun RV Resort in Apache Junction, Arizona where we will remain hanging out and visiting with friends. See my Blog entry for more information about this place… http://wp.me/pDCku-3wM

The day before yesterday Mary and I went to this museum for an enjoyable two-hour visit.. The Superstition Mountains lie east of our current location in Apache Junction, Arizona. This is what they look like…

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…

To read about the Superstition Mountains…click this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_Mountains

The legend of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine centers around the Superstition Mountains. Click the link to read about the legend.

The museum presents historical details about the Superstition Mountains. Here are some photos I took while there…

To see the other 20 photos I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/SuperstitionMountainMuseum

Going to museums and understanding the history of the areas we visit is one of our very favorite things to do in our RVing lifestyle.

In other news…

Yesterday Mary visited a friend from the area. I spent two hours on the cellphone with Verizon troubleshooting our intermittent Internet signal, got the Bronco washed and spent a good part of the day reading.

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

It’s Been A Busy 58 Days…

since Mary left me to return to CA for two high school graduations, a family reunion and general business associated with her home and rental units. This time apart was part of our agreement when we got together approaching three years ago. She has left me several times…but this has been our longest separation since we’ve been together. I’ll meet her in Burlington this evening when she’ll arrive via the shuttle service from SeaTac Airport.

In the time she’s been gone…I’ve stayed plenty busy. I’m an ex-engineer and tend to do a lot of research before I undertake a project or commit to major financial expenditures. Here are some of the things that have kept me busy since Mary has been away…

Despite his working a 60 hour work-week at his place of employment in Monroe…I got my friend and cracker-jack mechanic Mike to put in 12 hours of preventative maintenance on my Ford Bronco II. I was his assistant and gofer. In this photo he is replacing brake pads and hoses as well as greasing the front wheel bearings…

Through friends of Mike I managed to meet a professional body man who put in 12 hours cleaning up the Bronco II very nicely…

I combined and upgraded Mary and my memberships in Thousand Trails RV Resorts into an elite Membership…

Upgraded our motorhome modem and router to Verizon 4G speed…

Bought a new Sony Digital camera…

Bought a new Sony Vaio computer…

Replaced a defective rear view camera on the motorhome…

And got video-interviewed by RVTravel.com…

So…I’ve not been bored while Mary was away. All of these above activities will hopefully contribute to a lot of many more enjoyable days and miles on the road!

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

609 Words About Modern-Day Customer Service…

It’s really hard to find! How’s that for a few words?

I’m lucky in so many ways. One on those ways is that I have little interface with the outside world…outside of my peaceful, quiet and serene RVing lifestyle world. I went paperless about one year ago and that appears to be working well.

But…every once in a while…I do have to interface with the outside world. And every once in a while…I need assistance…sometimes to file a compliant …more often than not…about poor customer service.

What ever happened to real customer service? It seems to me that…in today’s modern world…that when I seek some form of assistance…the person/company to whom I am making the request makes an instant evalation….is there any money associated to why this person is bothering me???? If not…customer service…never heard of it!

And don’t you just love those automated menu-answering systems that never seem to address my particular problem and won’t let you speak to a real-live human being…but instead justs keeps your going around in a never-ending circle?

And then…finally when you do get to speak to a real live human being…I wonder…with their personality and so-called assistance…which seems to be most of the time…no…you can’t do that instead of… of course..you bet no problem. How in the world did they ever get a job as a “Customer Service Representative”? They do not have a clue as to the meaning of the words! It seems like there’s a formula…the larger the company…the lesser the understanding of customer service. When you’ve got millions of customers…why care about one person and their tiny little problem(s)?

But…there are exceptions to this general rule. The old one-in-a-million trick!

Because of my reclusive life style…my major interface with the outside world is through either a cell phone or computer. Do you now that a mere six years ago…I had neither in my life? Anyways..both of these methods are through a company known as Verizon Wireless.

I’m happy to say that Verizon Wireless seems to understand the words customer service and…most of the times…not always…I’m satisfied with their attempt at customer service.

Now…ABOUT MY ONCE-IN-A-MILLION EXPERIENCE! If you are a regular follower of my Blog you know that in my last two entries I’ve described the physical process of shifting Internet Gears from 3G to 4G. Prior to the actual switching…there was lots investigation/homework to be done regarding what equipment choices to select.

Along the way I happen to connect with a delightful gal in Verizon technical support by the name of Peggy…and let me tell you…she is very knowledgeable…and just a hoot. This lady fully understands the words customer service! She could make millions teaching customer service…if anybody cared enough to want to learn about it.

Anyway…she has provided me with outstanding customer service…and you won’t believe this…she actually gave me her email address (they do not have individual phone extensions) so that I might contact her directly if I had any further questions/problems. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? It’s true! Now…when I have another question’problem…I send her a brief email and usually within a very few moments…she is back in touch with me! Fantastic! It almost takes my breath away!

I was so moved by her level of customer service I actually went out of my way to identify her supervisors so that I could send them an email message about her outstanding customer service.

Whew…as you can tell…I was really moved by my experience with her. Peggy…thank you…you are truly one-in a-million! You’ve made me a very happy camper! 

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

Shifting Internet Gears…Part 2

The new router and associated cables arrived yesterday about 12:30 PM. By 4:30 PM everything was installed and appears to be running fine. Why are these things never easy? Four hours and 3 phone calls to the router store just seems a bit much. Anyways… the job is done.

In the below photo you can see both routers. The new 4G router (top) is just slightly larger the out going 3G router (bottom).

I installed the new 4G equipment in the same location as the out going 3G system.

Here’s a photo of the out going 3G system installation…

And here’s a photo of the new 4G system installation…not much difference…

So…with the new system…we now have 4G speed capability and a new 10 gigabyte a month plan. Verizon gives 14 days to return the modem in you are dissatisfied with the new purchase. I’ll be giving the new system a good workout over the next 12 days to ensure all is well.

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

Shifting Internet Gears…Part 1

Modern technology is very interesting. In our motorhome we can wander just about anywhere and still have Internet and cell phone service.

In the below photo you can see our current set up velcro-ed to the passenger-side wall in the motorhome.  Plugged into a 12 volt DC source is the Cradlepoint (upside down) Router which is about the size of a deck of cards. The router allows both Mary and myself to be online at the same time with no wired connections. Plugged into the router is the smaller Verizon 3G USB760 modem. The USB760 modem is plugged into a Wilson Amplifier (not shown in this photo). With these three rather small devices we have a secure 3G Internet and cell phone service.

Our current Verizon 3G service provides 5 gigabytes a month for $59.95 per month…the largest service plan available for 3G service. We’ve had no system problems since I installed it in November, 2009.

However, when Mary is traveling with me…both of us Blogging and doing other Internet stuff…we are more frequently finding ourselves bumping up against the 5 gigabyte monthly limit before our month has passed.

In December 2010, Verizon introduced the much faster 4G service and for only $20 a month more…we can get a 10 gigabyte monthly plan. 4G is still very new and only available in major metropolitan markets…where we seldom get near with the motorhome. However…the 10 gigabytes is most attractive to us, so we have decided to shift Internet gears. The 4G speed is not the motivator…it’s the 10 gigabytes a month.

The shifting gears began yesterday with the arrival of our new Verizon 4G Pantech UML290 Modem. If 4G is available… it latches on. If it is not available…it reverts to 3G. In the below photo…the new 4G modem (top) is somewhat larger than the 3G modem (bottom). Being as it has to be able to handle both 3G and 4G…I guess that’s understandable.

So, I spent yesterday afternoon getting the new modem up and running.

OF COURSE… the new modem will not work in our current router…as well as the 12 volt DC power cord or the adapter cable to connect to the Wilson amplifier. All three of those items are scheduled to arrive today via Fedex….and when they arrive I’ll work on getting them all functioning properly…hopefully!

You can read all about it in…

Tomorrow’s Blog: Shifting Internet Gears…Part 2.

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

Thousand Trails Horseshoe Lakes RV Resort, Clinton, Indiana

Jim says:

Yesterday we drove the motorhome about 175 miles to arrive safely at Thousand Trails Horseshoe Lakes RV Resort, Clinton, Indiana. Another hot and humid day. We’ll hangout here through the Labor Day weekend.

Since we are running ahead on our Verizon Air Card usage, we chose this site so that we can use the Thousand Trails internet signal (which originates from the Adult Lodge) instead while still in our motorhome.

We are only a few miles from the border of Illinois.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.

Adams County Historical Museum, Decatur, Indiana

Jim says:

Yesterday was a scorching 92 degrees so Mary and I spent most of the day hiding out in our air-conditioned motorhome reading, napping and watching a movie. When did leave for about an hour to go to the Adams County Historical Museum, a stately old mansion with lots of historic relics from this area.

Because we are running ahead of average daily use on our Verizon Air Card, you only get one photograph today of an iron-wheeled tricycle.

Here’s the Adams County Historical Museum where you can see more photos…
http://www.adamshistorical.com/

Today we’ll move about 50 south to Union City, Indiana where tomorrow we’ll attend a Workhorse Chassis Factory Tour, We have a Workhorse Chassis on our motorhome.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.