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

Unusual Sights At An Unusual Place…

I’m still at Slab City deep in the Southern California desert. It is one of the most unusual places in the United States. I’ve been here numerous times and written a number of Blog entries about this place. If interested you can look in my archives in December of past years. You can also enter Slab City in your Internet Search Box to get a feel for this place. As always you may click upon a photo to see and enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Unusual is usual for Slab City. Today’s Blog entry is a small example. While on a short walk yesterday I saw…

A large boat for sale in the middle of the desert…

This pontoon boat had a large for sale by owner sign on the other (shady) side. If you enlarge this above photo you will see a for sale by owner sign in the window. It’s literally an RV on pontoons and someone was living in it. I wonder if he’s had any prospective buyers look at it here?

Here’s another unusual sight. I’ve never in my life seen an un-welcome mat…

More unusual sights include the day before yesterday’s sunset…

And yesterday morning’s sunrise…

and last night’s sunset…

Yes indeed, Slab City is a most unusual place.

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

Why Would I Back-Track 85 Miles???

In just one word…TRUST!

Yesterday I back-tracked 85 miles from Winterhaven (across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona) to Slab City at Niland California. My solar power system is not getting the job done and I’ve returned to Solar Mike to fix my problems…because I trust him.

Here’s a Google Earth view showing my back-track. Yuma is identified with a Y and Slab City with an S. You can click on the image to enlarge it and click on it once again to make it even larger…

Yes, I could have bought new solar stuff from someone I do not know in Yuma. I used to work with Solar Mike’s father before I met Mike for the first time in January, 1996. Here’s the link to the Blog entry when I had our current solar panel and inverter installed on our current motorhome in December, 2009…
http://wp.me/pDCku-6Q

He is the only person I have ever bought solar items from for my three different rigs in my 17 years as a full-time RVer. I trust him not to try to sell me expensive and un-needed solar components. I know he will do right by me for both the right equipment and prices.

When I had the one solar panel put on in 2009, I knew at that time it was marginal. But we figured we try it and see how it worked out. Solar items can be pricey and we could always add more. In the last two years we’ve been plugged into electrical shore-power a lot and have managed to get by when on solar power.

However…now to my problem. In the next two years we will see very little time plugged into shore-power as we begin an almost two-year circumnavigation around the United States. Click this link to read about that upcoming adventure… http://wp.me/pDCku-2W9

In addition to little plugged-in time…our storage batteries from which we get all of our living electrical power are approaching the end of their useful life span. I had Mike test them about a month ago and for their age were just okay. So I decided to test them. I’ve not had shore power in the last month…which mean I’ve been operating just on our coach storage batteries.

Low night-time temperatures have a negative effect on battery power and I’ve finally decided this problem needs to be rectified before heading out on our circumnavigation. So yesterday I drove back to Slab City to have Solar Mike fix our problem. I have an 8:30 AM appointment with Solar Mike for tomorrow morning. Like most RVer’s problems…it will be fixed by a little bit of time and a some $$$’s.

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

Why I No Longer Read Or Watch The News…

I last listened to or read the news back in 1998. I just got tired of all the negativism. I’m not sure why journalist find it necessary to look for the negative and ugly things in life…but most seem to do.

Here’s a great example I stumbled upon a couple of days ago on the Slab City Yahoo Group. I arrived at Slab City yesterday. Before reading on see my Blog post from yesterday at http://wp.me/pDCku-2XZ

Slab City is a deserted military base from World War II. It’s one square mile on the desert floor, three miles east of the small town of Niland on the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea. All the structures had been removed and only the concrete slabs remain…hence the name. RVers discovered this place back in the late 1960’s.

When I first came here in January of 1996 there were about 5,000 RV’s within the one square mile. Because of difficult economic times in recent years…the numbers have fallen off. Last year there were perhaps only about 500 RV’s.

My rant against the news media today is because of the following recent video about Slab City from CBS News…

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7391717n&tag=strip&mid=5538

My complaint is that the correspondent found it necessary to emphasize the trash and danger, rather than the good things to be found at Slab City.

Here’s the link to my Picasa Web Album photos showing Niland and Slab City during my visit in 2006…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/NilandSlabCityCA

This CBS video totally misrepresents Slab city. The truth is that it is like a small city. Three miles away in downtown Niland, RVers have access to water and a dump station.  Some folks live there year-round despite the 120 degrees in the Summer. Some RVers spend from October to March there. A water truck comes by with deliveries…a propane truck does likewise. You can get a newspaper delivered…heck…UPS even delivers there.

Many of the people who live at Slab City actually choose to live there and actually like it! I stopped here to visit friends on my way to Yuma, Arizona. I only was there for one day this time, but in the past I’ve spent weeks at a time here.

HOWEVER…I must confess that this year the Slabs seemed to have more trash than I’ve seen in recent years. In talking with my RVing friends there, they tell me a of true “homeless element” appears to be settling in at the Slabs and that some appear to be inconsiderate of others regarding trash disposal. What some regular RVing Slab folks do is…when going in to Niland for groceries, is put their trash in the trash cans outside of the grocery stores (there are two grocery stores in town). There is even a Slab City resident who will pickup your trash and haul it to the landfill a couple of miles away for $0.50 a bag. Perhaps the economic times will bring more of a “homeless element” and the Slabs will further change. That remains to be seen. I can even see how a CBS news crew…with their good paying jobs…can look down their noses upon the unfortunates. I still do not forgive them for accentuating the negatives instead of the positives that can be found at Slab City.

Thank you CBS News for reminding me of what I’m not missing by reading or watching the news any longer. It’s a good thing you do not have to rely on me for your livelihood. GET OF OUT THE GUTTER CBS NEWS…LITERALLY!

Regardless of how CBS News chose to present Slab City…I really like the place. As a matter of fact many folks do! If you have the chance to visit there…you should not pass it by. You’ll especially like Salvation Mountain. Click this link to see my report on this unique piece of Americana that I wrote on December 18, 2010…
http://wp.me/pDCku-106

Late breaking news about Salvation Mountain…click this link…

http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-this-life-well-lived.html

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

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.

Slab City, California

Jim says:

Yesterday I drove the about 75 miles to arrive at Slab City. It’s located about three miles out into the desert from the small city of Niland, CA on the southeastern shore of the Salton Sea which is about 35 miles long. It is a most unusual place! Most of the drive was on California Highway 111 which is essentially atop of the San Andreas Fault.

The Slab City area in Southeastern California as see by Google Earth.

Known as Camp Dunlap during World War II, RVers found it in the 1960’s. I’ve been stopping here for the last 15 years.

Here are three links to help you get a better understanding of this most unusual place!

http://www.militarymuseum.org/CpDunlap.html

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

http://homeiswhereweparkourhouse.com/adventure01/panoramas/slabpan.html

Here’s everything you could want to know about the Salton Sea…

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

Finally here is a link for a YouTube Video that will give you a good look at Slab City…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuv1BXEi_w

Before I leave you, I want to share three photos with you…
Two days ago morning sunrise at Thousand Trails RV Resort in 1000 Palms, California…

Last night from the eating area window of the motorhome at Slab City…sunset over the Salton Sea…

And finally out in the desert with no light pollution from street lights, etc…a 3/4 moon…

It’s so nice to get away from city noises, sirens, etc…all I could hear last night in the far off distance was the sound of a diesel train horn and an occasional coyote howl …so peaceful!

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.