Skagit Bay Sunset #1…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort along the shore of Skagit Bay in La Conner, Washington. I’ve been here a number of times over the past years and always enjoy it here. It’s my favorite resort in the entire Thousand Trails system. My departure date is August 7th.

Mary is dealing with her over-flowing to-do list plate which can only be handled by herself. The construction of Mary’s rental continues along…slowly. She now is hoping to rejoin me by early September.  😦 Today at Mary’s location forecast is 106 degrees…that’s why I’m here!

The below photos were taken less than 100 feet from the motorhome…

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 a sunny and 75 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny and 84 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

 

 

 

 

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 material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2015

 

The Final Photos…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon RV Resort in Acton, California

Mary continues to be occupied with personal business. I am now not expecting to see her again until I arrive at her home in Murphys, California about the third week in April. It’s just the way things are and we just have to deal with it.

I’m now in what I’m calling my “pacing mode”. Last October I had cataract surgery at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, California. My surgeon wants me back in mid-April for a six-month post-operative eye examination. Palo Alto is only about 400 miles from my current location. So, in the meantime, I’ll “pace” my forward direction travels hoping stay in 65-75 degree temperatures all the while.

Recently I took about a 45 minute walk around the RV Resort and took a number of photos which I’ll share with you in the coming days. Today I show the final photos from this set.

First, a Google earth image of the park. The yellow outlines the resort boundaries, My site is the small yellow spot. This is not a real-time photo from Google Earth. The campground now is only about 50% occupied. This is a large campground set on 266 acres with 853 campsites. From north to south the parks is 1.5 miles…

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…

Brandy…an Alaskan Husky…

A squirrel watches me pass by…

One of the two laundry areas…

Watering the grass…

Pretty roof tile patterns…

And finally…a pretty butterfly…

To read about this resort, click this link…http://www.1000trails.com/getaways/california/soledadcanyon.asp

I have stayed here a number of times in the last 15 years.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

In other news..

It appears the weatherman is shifting to a lower gear. For the last six+ weeks the weather in the southwest has run 5-20 degrees above normal average with some calling it the warmest winter on record. Yesterday and today are about 10 degrees below normal. The forecast for the next six weeks or so is calling for 5-10 below normal. Hmmm…I guess that why it’s called an average. It sure was nice while it lasted.

Yesterday was a sunny/cloudy and 63 degrees. Forecast for today is mostly cloudy with showers around and 54 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. 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

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/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

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

The Swimming Pools And Hot Tub…

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon RV Resort in Acton, California

Mary continues to be occupied with personal business. I am now not expecting to see her again until I arrive at her home in Murphys, California about the third week in April. It’s just the way things are and we just have to deal with it.

I’m now in what I’m calling my “pacing mode”. Last October I had cataract surgery at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, California. My surgeon wants me back in mid-April for a six-month post-operative eye examination. Palo Alto is only about 400 miles from my current location. So, in the meantime, I’ll “pace” my forward direction travels hoping stay in 65-75 degree temperatures all the while.

Recently I took about a 45 minute walk around the RV Resort and took a number of photos which I’ll share with you in the coming days.

First, a Google earth image of the park. The yellow outlines the resort boundaries, My site is the small yellow spot. This is not a real-time photo from Google Earth. The campground now is only about 50% occupied. This is a large campground set on 266 acres with 853 campsites. From north to south the parks is 1.5 miles…

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…

Today…the swimming pools and hot tub which are closed during the winter season…

To read about this resort, click this link…http://www.1000trails.com/getaways/california/soledadcanyon.asp

I have stayed here a number of times in the last 15 years.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

In other news..

It appears the weatherman is shifting to a lower gear. For the last six+ weeks the weather in the southwest has run 5-20 degrees above normal average with some calling it the warmest winter on record. Yesterday and today are about 10 degrees below normal. The forecast for the next six weeks or so is calling for 5-10 below normal. Hmmm…I guess that why it’s called an average. It sure was nice while it lasted.

Yesterday was a cloudy/sunny with a showers and 51 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy/sunny with a shower and 61 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. 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

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/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

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

Millersylvania State Park – Olympia, Washington

Mary is at home tending to personal matters…home maintenance, family, friends, rentals, etc..  She has made her flight reservations to meet me July 29th in Bellingham, Washington.

Yesterday I drove the motorhome 125 miles from Seaview to Millersylvania State Park about 10 miles south of Olympia, Washington.

Here are some photos I took along the way…

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…

Southwestern Washington is very scenic…

The Town of South Bend…

Washington is called the Evergreen State because of an abundance of evergreen trees…

Entering the state park…

On the way to my campsite..

Here it is…

And the usual dinette window photo…

I lived in Olympia from 1980 to 1995. While here I’ll be visiting with old friends. My departure date is June 24th.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Yesterday was a cloudy/sunny day at 65 degrees. Forecast for today is cloudy/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 our approximate location in the State of Was. 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

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 2014

Harlingen, Texas – Day 11

Mary is at home in California enjoying the holidays with her family. She has made her airline reservations to join me here at Harlingen, Texas on January 3, 2013.

The motorhome is parked at Tropic Winds RV Resort and is scheduled to be here until January 10th. While I await Mary’s arrival on the 3rd, I’ll be seeing some local attractions, performing repairs and preventative maintenance on both the motorhome and Bronco, plus thoroughly cleaning both vehicles.

Yesterday I drove the Bronco the about one mile to the Iwo Jima Monument here in Harlingen, Texas. You can read about this monument by clicking this link…
http://www.mma-tx.org/About-Us/The-Campus/Iwo-Jima-Monument/

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 on the grounds of the Marine Military Academy, at over 100 feet high, this monument is really impressive. Of the six men raising the flag…only three survived the Battle of Iwo Jima…

The most famous of the surviving three men was Ira Hayes…a Pima Indian from Arizona immortalized in a song sung by Johnny Cash which you can view by clicking this YouTube video link…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8

You can read about Ira Hayes by clicking this Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Hayes

Directly across the street, I also visited the small museum which you can read about by clicking this link…
http://www.mma-tx.org/About-Us/The-Campus/Iwo-Jima-Museum-and-Gift-Shop/

While there, I viewed a 32 minute video about this battle which some have called one of the most savage and costly in all of World War II. The 36-day (Iwo Jima) assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. What a shame that most young people today haven’t a clue of the price paid for their freedom today

If you have forgotten the details of the battle, you can refresh your memory by clicking this Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima

Enjoying a wide variety of museums is another joy of the full-time RVing lifestyle!

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

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures 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

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

STONE DRUM RESTAURANT

We leave Jiliang on the bus. Scenic villages, cows, horses, yaks and donkeys over-laden, hauling goods on the road.  Many children hanging drying baskets of  corn or grain outside. Terraced gardens and fields follow the river. We look back at the snow capped Himalayan peak marveling at its beauty and that we were there.

We stop at Stone Drum Town, a Naxi village for lunch at the Stone Drum restaurant. In the courtyard are many tables filled with Naxi people.

Except, none of them are eating lunch. They are playing majong, dice, dominoes, or cards as though it is a holiday.

The faces are animated and noticeably, none are young. Vicki claims this is very unusual and asks around. She learns that a government official is due in the village and will speak to the elders today. They are waiting for him while we lunch.

The eating area was separated from the courtyard by a curtain of chili peppers.

I managed to get two  pictures of the open-air restaurant kitchen, the cooking area…

And the pantry. I didn’t see a refrigerator, but they must have one. This is an inland village and the only place we ate that didn’t have fish on the menu. Service here is more casual than city restaurants and the foods simpler but still delicious.

It was a photo bonanza for us, the magnificent faces, the interplay at the tables, the rapt concentration on their games.

I saw two men smoking an opium pipe.
They were very attentive when their speaker arrived. What is he saying, I asked Vicki. “Oh, just  lot of government propaganda. We all laughed. Same as home!

We had fifteen minutes to walk around and stretch our legs before getting back on the bus. Wanning tried to talk with this bent over little man. She speaks Chinese but couldn’t understand the language  even with the help of another Chinese  fellow.

Again, the Naxi were not the least bit shy about having their pictures taken and indicated to me they wanted to see the results; obviously familiar with digital cameras.

This fellow wanted to sell me a stool he had made.  I could only take a picture.

After we loaded into the bus, this woman was seeking to sell trinkets through the windows. Vicki called her a beggar and told us it is very unusual to find a beggar in a remote village like this one. Vicki didn’t want us to buy from her and the bus drove off before any transactions could be made. We are headed for the airport to take us to Kunming.  More tomorrow.