A Study In Perseverance…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails South Jetty RV Resort in Florence, Oregon. I’ve been here several times before. I plan to depart from here June 5th. I’ll slow my pace and spend most of June along the Oregon coast. Then into the State of Washington for the summer.

Mary is dealing with her over-flowing to-do list plate which can only be handled by herself. I’m hoping she will be able to rejoin me sometime after July 4th.

Today’s subject…A Study in Perseverance…

In today’s header photo, I showed Leonard Knight’s perseverance. While mine is not so dramatic, it nonetheless is perseverance.

I’m in my 20th year of retirement and also full-time RVing. I enjoy many ways of spending my retirement time…travel, photography, reading, walking, visiting museums, listening to music, meeting people, working on the motorhome and Bronco, enjoying peace and quiet,…and Spider Solitaire.

I’m not one to play computer games…but I love a challenge and Spider Solitaire provides that! In addition, the brain muscles need work…just like other body muscles.

When I first started playing the game several years ago…I played 1,804 times before I won my first game. I need to mention, the game comes in three levels of difficulty…and of course, I always play the advanced version.

I bought my current computer in August, 2011 and had to start a new cycle of Spider Solitaire. So, after almost 4 years and 14,538 tries, I finally won my 1,000th game. This means, on average, I am now winning once every 6.87 games.

I keep track of my playing records in a separate file…in hundred game segments. My win record is a high of 19 wins in 100 games. The below photo shows I once lost 164 times in a row in my current cycle. I’ve won 5 games in a row several times.

If you enjoy a challenge, you might like Spider Solitaire. It is found by following this chain…start>all programs> accessories>games.

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…

Yesterday was a cloudy/sunny day at 64 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy with a shower and 57 degrees.

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

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

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…

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

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 500 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 material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2015

ON THE WAY TO SLAB CITY.

Our friend, Randy Vining was parked, along with us, at the Quechan Casino parking lot. I love his blog, that often includes his friends Wayne and Glen. I finally got to meet them. Glenn is a full timer at 44 years old, and produces music with his computer for Hollywood TV movies. Wayne writes a spiritual blog. These guys engaged in some serious philosophical discussions while here. We didn’t see much of Randy, but he came to wish us farewell.

Headed for the Slabs, which I hadn’t visited since 2008 or 9, we crossed a long stretch of desert. New, on the roadside, what looked like saw horses tied together, are barriers to protect ATV riders from accidentally jumping up onto the roadside and injuring themselves.

Pretty dunes mark our route on highway 8 West, and then later highway 115 West. We passed through the biggest town around here, Brawley, and then the smaller town of Calapatria, population about 7,000 if you include the 4,000 inmates in their prison.

Calapatria has a flagpole 184 feet tall. Their claim to fame, so to speak. The city is 180 feet  below sea level, so their flag will always fly above sea level. We tend to think of them being out in the middle of nowhere. But, high school girls were happily chatting about boys and school and seem very content with their place. Who are we to judge?

Just before you get to the slabs, or Slab City, is the famous Salvation Mountain built by Leonard Knight, who if I’m not mistaken, can no longer attend his mountain. The place is famous all over the world. Movies, books and television programs have been made about his place, but Leonard never changes. He was bullied in school and didn’t get much education. His car broke down at this spot and he considered it a message from God and began building his message of love of God. Interesting guy. Couldn’t find my pictures of him.

The last time we visited, Leonard was having trouble with vandals stealing his meager funds from him. He was sleeping, then, in one of his vehicles. He built a warren for himself since then.

He would paint over the same areas, over and over again because the desert sun fades the paint. The mountain can be walked on and is solid. The construction to the right was in the beginning phase on our last visit. Love IS universal, he has that right. He is a kind and gentle soul. The place was done with donated paint, much of it lead paint.

And, then, Slab City. This is an old military guard station at the entrance to the city, since it was once a military base. I was trying to explain Slab City to my brother on the phone. He has never been, nor heard about it. He is in a rest home because one of the side affects of open heart surgery is blindness. His vision is impaired; he can’t read or even see television clearly. He is suffering from gout and can’t go home. Misery city for him, but I can read to him about Slab City on the phone later today. 

The information kiosk is nearby. Randy loves the slabs, and speculates, “Can a random group of people organize themselves into a form of government?”  The answer is yes. They have rules, they live together and work together but do not trammel on another person’s rights. An interesting experiment. Randy has found, in his travels, other places that work that way, none quite as big as the slabs.

The kiosk has a message board, and gives you the identification for their radio station.

Under plastic permanent announcements.

Travel N Pals have a sign. I wanted to buy a newspaper, now called a newsletter. It was once a one-pager for ten cents. Linda, the editor wasn’t home, but I bought one from her neighbor, Sandi Andrews. A three-pager for $3. Maps, the zip code, where services are located, events at the slabs, dates and times, and the hot news, a guy bit by a rattle snake made it. A well done little paper.

You can hardly read this message from Linda, but live music under the stars at the Range, which is what you might call a night-club.  No music on Mondays, but the stars last night, with no light pollution?  Magnificent diamonds envelope you,  an experience you only get in places like this. Gorgeous.

We were supposed to meet Jim’s friend, Leo Perth, but he was MIA. Jim called his cell and his home in Oregon and did not get an answer. Hopefully we will find out he is okay. More on the slabs tomorrow.

 

 

Salvation Mountain

Jim says:

Salvation Mountain is located at Slab City, U.S.A. deep in the desert of southeastern California. Leonard Knight (age 79) is the creator and builder of Salvation Mountain which helps make Slab City a most unusual place. His Salvation Mountain has been featured in magazines and television documentaries from all over the world.

Here are two links to acquaint you with Salvation Mountain…

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

http://www.salvationmountain.us/

Here are two YouTube videos with Leonard Knight…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGRPKZ9yRA

In this second video Leonard is the slender fellow, clean-shaven with the light-colored cowboy hat…What a hoot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj76MSJOIgY

I stopped by to visit with Leonard upon my arrival at Slab City two days ago and caught him in his noon-time siesta. I didn’t disturb him…

Leonard Knight tells his life story in this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Knight

When I departed Slab City yesterday morning at 8:30 AM, I stopped to see Leonard but he wasn’t there. Probably gone for breakfast in Niland.

In other news…
I closed out my Panama or Bust website a couple of months ago. So I stopped at Hi-Tech signs in Brawley, California and had the signs on my Bronco changed to reflect the change on where folks can order my books.

Here’s the before sign…

Here’s the after sign…

Then a stop at Costco for gas and food supplies in El Centro, California. I then decided to travel on to Yuma, Arizona. More later…

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.