America The Beautiful

The terrible accident we survived happened five months ago today, May 27th.

About 10 days ago I got to feeling well enough to finally stop wearing my elastic chest bandage, taking ibuprofen and icing my chest twice daily. My right rib cage remains slightly swollen and somewhat tender to the touch. I need to maintain a constant  awareness not to physically over exert myself. I remain with a constant mild burning sensation in my right rib cage area. I’m wondering when, if ever, it will finally leave me.

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. Some believed to be related to after effects of the accident.

If you missed the Blog entry about the accident, here’s the link. If you want to understand the full scope of the accident you’ll need to read the Blog entries for the following several days…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

In the meantime, I’m in my second day here at Sumner Lake State Park in New Mexico.

We have a brief cold front moving though the area. Yesterday’s high temperature was only 48 degrees so I stayed inside most of the day playing with the computer and came up with this 1:58 minute video. It was 30 degrees at 5:00 AM this morning.

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 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

Enjoying our beautiful country is another joy in the life 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

PLASTIC BAG BAN

I celebrate every gift I get. This one is a biggie. I believe  Berkeley, CA was the first city to ban plastic bags in grocery stores. San Francisco followed.  Coastal North Carolina did the same. Now, Seattle follows Bellingham, WA  but their ban does more.

The Seattle City Council passed a broad ban on plastic bags Monday, outlawing them not just in grocery stores, but in department stores, clothing stores, convenience stores, home-improvement stores, food trucks and farmers markets.

The bill goes further than bans in other cities, which have largely banished plastic only groceries and sometimes drug stores. Customers in Seattle will still be able to get paper bags from retailers, but for a 5-cent fee.

Monday’s bill exempts customers on food assistance and other government benefits from the bag fee. The city will also make free or reduced-cost reusable bags available to poor people.

The ordinance applies only to single-use, checkout bags, and not to produce, bulk-ban and dry-cleaning bags. Plastic bags for take-out restaurant food are also still allowed, because they help protect health and safety while transporting hot food and liquid.

Read more:

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Plastic-bags-banned-in-Seattle-2412950.php#ixzz1h5V777oN

I shop with my own bags and my little grocery store, Sierra Hills Market,  will reward you with a $25 gift certificate, for using your own shopping bag. People who use their own bags are allowed to mark their name and phone number on a small paper by the checkstand and put it in the draw box. I’ve won the certificate, once. I regularly see about four others using their own bags.

A chain grocer in nearby Angels Camp tried the “recycle” your plastic bags idea. The container was always stuffed full of plastic bags and was emptied regularly in the dumpster. The bags are cheaply made, tear easily, don’t hold much and the only person I ever saw taking recycled bags on their way into the grocery store was-ME.  It just doesn’t change habits.

“A study a few years ago “found that the inks and colorants used on some bags contain lead, a toxin. Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they’ve been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.”

So, I celebrate it as a gift to our common environment. I’ve seen pictures of animals entrapped and dying from plastic bags drifting into their environment. And, just a reminder, there is a huge glob of plastic bags the size of the state of Texas in the ocean vortex where water circulates and keeps  miles of  plastic  afloat.  Other countries have banned bags in some cities.  Mexico City, twelve towns in Australia, Rangoon, Burma, Five major cities in India, London, Rawanda, the whole country is bag free.

It seems to me this is an opportunity for college students across the country to collectively  push for plastic bag bans in their communities. Hey, they know how to solve the deficit.  Over and again, they have proved to be smarter, and more effective than our do nothing government.

RV Trip Favorite Photos #113-117

Jim says:

While Mary and I are taking care of business here at her home…there is little “new stuff” to Blog about daily. So I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite photos from our recent 298 day, 16,000+ mile RV trip around the United States.

Since scenery and people snapshot-type photos require little special photography skills…and being limited by the abilities of my digital camera…I none the less took some photos that I really liked. They are presented in no special order of favoritism.

Today’s photos were taken at the Cherokee, North Carolina May 6, 2010……

In other news…
72 degrees yesterday. Filled motorhome propane tank and checked all fittings for leaks.

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.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel And Then Back To Reality!

Jim says:

We’ve just completed six days in RVing Heaven.

Yesterday we drove 50 miles and completed our second day on Skyline Drive. It was the end of 305 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway and 105 miles on Skyline Drive. Six days of delightful weather, beautiful scenery, low-speed limits (45 on the Blue Ridge Parkway and 35 on Skyline Drive), no speeding drivers, no trash along the roadways, winding, curvy, up and down roads at elevations reaching 4,000 feet through the states of North Carolina and Virginia.

About 32 miles from the end we passed through Mary’s Rock Tunnel with only inches to spare.

and then…about one hour later…we were back in reality…90 degree heat…traffic congestion…traffic lights…trucks…speeding drivers…exhaust fumes…trash along side the roads…YUK! Oh well, it was great while it lasted.To see the other 10 photos I took on our last day in RVing Heaven, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/51510#

We ended up parking at the large and beautiful Moose Lodge #829 in Front Royal, Virgina. Mary has friends from the Washington, D.C. area, about 60 miles distant, coming to visit today so we will spend tonight here as well.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

Blue Ridge Parkway – Day 2

Jim says:

Yesterday we drove 120 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Shortly after starting our day we crossed from North Carolina into Virginia.

High was 65 degrees and some occasional rain showers. We spent the night at a Moose Lodge about one mile off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke, Virginia.

Here’s four photos…

It looks like fog,but in reality we are 3,000+ feet elevation and driving in the clouds. It got so bad at times that I had to slow to 20 mph and use my emergency hazard lights.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is VERY hilly and curvy. It’s rare to be able to see one mile in advance.

The old Mabry Grist/Saw Mill is the most photographed site on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

There are no traffic lights on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This is a temporary light to control one-lane traffic during bridge repairs.

Here’s the official government website link…
http://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Parkway

Today we’ll continue in a Northeasterly direction on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY, A GRAND IDEA

The 479 mile long Blue Ridge Parkway celebrates its 75th birthday this year. It connects the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Its Mission is to preserve the natural scenery and resources along its rural Southern Appalachian way as well as provide recreational opportunities for the public. Built with public road workers and public contractors during the Roosevelt New Deal when people were out of work during the Great Depression. It was the first parkway to recognize the new American pastime of leisure road trips.  Probably looked a bit like this car club we saw as we drove down from the ridge’s crest.

The parkway not only provided leisure for travelers, and helped preserve a rural  way of life along with rare endangered animals, plants, frogs, fish, flowers and birds, scenic easements restricted development while  allowing the continuation of traditional agriculture. We now recognize something so unique and valuable to all of us.

Old wooden split rail fencing still stands along the parkway as it offers natural beauty and long views into the rolling hills.

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Wayside stops, turnouts, bridges of stone, and campgrounds were built originally by the CCC. Now maintained by the National Park Service.
The stops have information, gift shops, wild flower walks, hikes and the quiet we learn to expect from nature.

The best part is the estimated financial impact on the counties and states the parkway passes through, estimated at 2.3 billion dollars yearly. A notable achievement.