A Late Afternoon Walk Up St. Thomas Indian Mission Hill

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 21st year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at the Paradise Casino in Yuma, Arizona. I was expecting to leave here recently, but I’ve changed my mind. I currently have reservations at Thousand Trails in Palm Desert, California, February 13th. Between now and then???? For the moment I remain in Yuma.

 

 

I just love the ability to change plans at a moments notice. As I tell everyone…All my plans are firmly etched in Jello!

 

 

This blog was first posted in January, 2014…

 

 

Since I’ve been coming to the Yuma area for a number of years during the Winter, I’ve explored the area pretty thoroughly. Rather than re-visit each place again, I’ve decided to show photos I’ve taken in the past. All these places are within about a one-hour drive from Yuma.

 

Yesterday I decided to take a late afternoon walk up St. Thomas Indian Mission Hill about 1/2 mile away. Just a casual walk to take some random photos. Here are some that I took…

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos.

 Yesterday was partly sunny and 69 degrees. Forecast for today is partly cloudy and 65 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Arizona. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2017

Taholah, Washington

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

My RVing lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Oceana RV Resort in Ocean City, Washington. I’ll be here until July 2nd.

 

Two days ago I drove the Bronco about 20 miles north of my current location to Taholah, Washington, the capital of the Quinault Indian Nation.

 

Here are three links that will help you to know more about them…

http://www.quinaultindiannation.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinault_Indian_Nation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinault_people

Here are some of the photos that I took…

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…

Located at the end of Washington Highway 109 it’s quite remote on the coast…not an easy place to get to…

The first indication that I had crossed on to the reservation was this sign…

Where I had stopped at a bridge to take the next two photos…

A few miles later I was in Taholah. With a population of only about 800, there is little to see and do. Here’s a small Veterans Park…

And a small Memorial Park…

Here’s the center of town…

The small museum was closed….

My visit there was short. Because the population is so small and everyone must know everyone, I stuck out like a sore thumb. The people just stared at me like I was an alien and no one spoke to me. I gave me an eerie feeling…not very welcoming. Because it is somewhat remote, I suppose they see few tourists. In all my travels it was a most unusual feeling!

To see the other 15 photos that I took, click the below photo…

Taholah, Washington

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

 Yesterday was sunny and 67 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 69 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 600 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2016

ARE YOU RELATED TO GENGHIS KAHN?

My great-grandmother started this quilt when she was 94 years old. It was her first time to use an electric sewing machine, her eyes were weary, and the quilt is very poorly sewn, and was unfinished. My mother handed it to me, and I asked my quilt guild friends at one time, could it be rescued? Their answer was, only keep it if it has memories for you. I’ve finally hemmed the border and yarn tied it, nothing of beauty, but useable. Quilters have many homilies about working on quilts, a lot of nostalgia induced from working with saved scraps of material, parts of your children’s clothing, Aunt Elsie’s wedding veil or a favorite blouse or dress. As I worked some magic crept in. I thought of the few encounters I had with her. She spoke a jumble of French mixed in with her English. I could see her beautiful smile when she picked up my older sister’s first child, and hugged her. She would touch my cheeks with soft, soft hands. I traced her work closely with my hands and thought about her. It crossed my mind that she touched this quilt, handled it, and it has never been washed. Could a person feel the DNA from a past great-grandmother?  Silly, I suppose but I got emotionally involved with this homely quilt.

My mother’s family was French. When she did an extensive genealogy, she found out that there was some American Indian blood in her family, which explained the hawk nosed Indian features of some of my uncles.

Speaking of features, when I was growing up, my dad used to call me his “little Mongolian” because I had very slanted, Asian looking eyes. One of my brothers and my oldest daughter have that same feature, except, as we aged, our eyes have become more occidental.

Now, a genealogist I know, red-haired and blue-eyed, had serious burns and went to a plastic surgeon. He told her, I see you have Asian or African background from the way your scars rope.

She told him it couldn’t be, she had traced her ancestry into the 1600’s and had a clear view of who she was.

Segue forward to DNA ancestry testing which is very popular and affordable right now. The plastic surgeon was right. She knew there was a family story that the grandson of Genghis Kahn, Kublai Khan had invaded their Polish village in the 1200’s. From the British Royal Museum, she got a map of Khan’s conquests and sure enough, their village of Besko was invaded. Kahn pillaged and burned his way across much of Asia and Europe, killing the men and impregnating as many women as he could. They say now that one out of 200 men are related to Kahn. Hmm!  Interesting. Maybe my Dad knew something I didn’t and I could be related to Genghis Kahn.  Guess it is time to get a DNA test.

See what can happen to you when you connect with the past through an old quilt?

 

Espanola, New Mexico – Day 6

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues.

The motorhome is still parked at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Airee #3695 in Espanola about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. The weather has started to turn cooler, so I’m planning to depart this morning.

Yesterday I drove the Bronco about eight miles to visit the Oke Weenge aka San Juan Indian Pueblo located along the Rio Grande River. This was where Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Onate established the first capital of New Mexico. Other than that there is nothing particularly spectacular about modern-day Oke Weenge.

You can read about Oke Weenge by clicking this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27ke_Oweenge

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…

Enjoying historical places is another joy of a full-time RVer!

 If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

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

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado – Day 1

Yesterday we drove the motorhome the about 20 miles from Cortez, Colorado to Mesa Verde National Park. In the process we gained 1,300 feet and are now camped at 7,500 feet elevation. The afternoon temperature yesterday was 79 degrees…much better that the previous afternoon’s temperature of 89 degrees.

This map of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico helps show our current location.

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…

This is our campsite…

Shortly after our arrival here yesterday at about 1:30 PM, we had a visitor…

This park is so huge we decided not to start our sightseeing until today. It’s a 15 mile drive just to get to the visitors center and the cliff dwellings another 7 miles beyond that. We expect to spend two days exploring the park and depart here on Monday.

In the meantime, in yesterday’s Blog entry I promised to show you photos of Indian singers and dancers we enjoyed Thursday evening…

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

MONTE WOLFE REVISITED

Last night, a friend of mine offered to share some information he has worked on about Monte Wolfe.  I’ve known Mark for some time, but what I didn’t know about  Mark Bonar was his  long history of interest in the reclusive Hermit, Monte Wolfe.  Since I’d written about Wolfe in the 1980’s,  Mark  came by with materials and we enjoyed an evening of ruminating about Wolfe. Mark had the good fortune of living in Calaveras County in the 1950’s.  His then father-in-law, Paul LaTeer had met Monte and later wrote stories about Monte and influenced Mark and his family to engage the vast, mountainous arenas and rivers that Monte called home. I promised Mark I wouldn’t write anything from our interview until I passed it by him, first.

For those who don’t know the legendary Monte Wolfe story,  I’ve provided two  links  to my  blogs of 2009 as an introduction to Monte Wolfe.

http://marysramblins.blogspot.com/2009/03/disappearance-of-monte-wolf.html
http://marysramblins.blogspot.com/2009/03/monte-wolf-legend.html

Wolfe spelled his names two ways, sometimes as Wolf and sometimes as Wolfe. Mark uses Wolf with an e and thus this blog is consistent with that spelling.

Wolfe lived like an Indian, surviving completely in the wild with no services. He didn’t have a totem, that I know of, but on a recent walk, I took a picture of a neighbor’s totem that I’d like to share today. I’m always looking for ways to display my amazing pile of junk and this totem  inspired me to build the bottle fence I’ve promised myself.  I only save bottles and jars that are embossed with writing or insignias of some kind, or that have unusual shapes. Anyway, here goes. Don’t tell me. My kids have already informed me that I’m weird.  And, they ought to know.

You  might note that the top of this totem is made of  carved wooden feathers.

What else can you do with rusty tools and broken pieces of tile?

A true totem has a face.

Two faces, optional.

Since I’m part Indian, and I approve, three and four faces are also appropriate.

I also took a picture of a chicken coop.

My brother, Norman, told me he will come back in the spring and build me a chicken coop. (But, what I really want is a totem.)