Solstice time.....

5:52 am - Saturday - June 22nd - LPG&RVR - 52° F, humidity 56%, wind zero mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 94° F.  On this date in 2022 TLE and I were heading home from Surprise Valley Hot Springs in Cedarville, CA and caught a view of Mt. Shasta in the distance....

We staged another 20 golf carts to begin Friday, and ultimately rented 24.  It has been a busy week at LPG&RVR.  Once again I was greeted by copious amounts of goose/duck leavings at the tee boxes for the third hole.  I don't think it was this bad this late in June last year.  I also raked all four sand traps.  All the while I was doing that I had the irrigation going at the Night Office, which required numerous trips by me to move the sprinklers throughout the day.  I think we've finally caught up with the watering there as there are just a few small brown patches left now.

It just occurred to me that I failed to remark about the the summer solstice, which came and went yesterday, or the day before, so the days will be getting shorter for the rest of the summer. The sun is setting at 8:39 pm now, but before you know it will be setting before 8 pm.  Time is marching ever onward.

We had a high temperature Friday of 90° F, and today, Saturday, it will be 95°, the hottest day this week.  I'm surprised at how well I'm handling the heat this summer.  Maybe it's because I continue to lose weight.  I kind of leveled out at 184 for a couple of weeks, but I'm on the move again, and down to 182 now.  My goal of 177 is just 5 pounds away now....I can't believe it.

After giving TLE her lunch break I mounted the 2 bag Husqvarna to do my weekly mowing around the tee boxes for which I am responsible.  I was only gone a tad over an hour.  When I left there were two golf carts in the CART RETURN area, but when I returned there were 18....doh!  I really don't like to tackle that many at one time, but it was what is was.  They were parked all the way across the parking lot almost to the dumpster, so I had to quickly rearrange them into three rows to clear the parking lot.  Within an hour I had them washed, and mostly put away for the night.  By the time I headed home around 3:30 pm there were still 4 outstanding.

Saturday is the annual tournament benefiting the Likely Volunteer Fire Department, so it will crazy around here all day.  Time to get those carts staged for the tournament.  Have a great day, and I will 'see' you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting busy.....

5:50 am - Friday - June 21st - LPG&RVR - 49° F, humidity 57%, wind 1 mph out of the northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 90° F.  On this date in 2020 we were overnighting at the Cabela's in Billings, MT.....

 The first day back at work after a long 4 day weekend is always a little tough, but I get into the flow pretty quickly.  It was to be a busy day, as Thursdays mean the driving range must be cleared of balls, and there had been a lot of people hitting balls since it was cleared on Monday, however, nothing can be done about that until 11 am, as that is the earliest we can close the range.  Once it is closed at 11 am, it doesn't reopen until 2 pm, giving DeWayne time to mow it.

On my first round of the course I found the goose/duck leavings have increased to levels not seen in a couple of weeks....doh!  I thought we were past this, but apparently I was premature in my expectations.  I also raked all four sand traps before returning to the Clubhouse.

Once there I turned the irrigation down at the Night Registration office lawn, and at the large grass area by site #30.  I don't think the water is on long enough at that grass area when it is watered automatically during the night.  I left those sprinklers on for 3 hours, so I hope that will be enough to get it green once again.

The group occupying the small pavilion left around 10:15 am, so I quickly retrieved the 3 bag Husqvarna, and mowed it.  We should have a new group arriving on Friday.  After that I headed out to the driving range to begin picking up the balls on the edges where the ball picker doesn't work too well.  By 11 am I closed the range, and hooked up our Club Car utility cart to the ball picker and began clearing the range.  I finished right at 12 pm, just in time for TLE to take her lunch break.

After lunch I moved the sprinklers down at the Night Registration office a few times, then turned off the sprinklers at the large aforementioned grass area by site #30.  I retrieved a Stihl string trimmer and did a little weed abatement around the Night Registration office for good measure.

By the time I finished with the weed abatement carts were beginning to return, and I spent the balance of the afternoon washing, and stowing almost 30 carts.....we rented all but 5 of our carts on Thursday....a good day for LPG&RVR.  In between each wave of carts returning I put on my marshaling hat and made a round of the course.  Had to caution some folks on hole #16 for playing with 5 people....we do not allow more than a foursome on each fairway.

Upon my return to the Clubhouse I found another 8 carts ready for their spa treatment, and as I washed those more returned.  By the end of my shift at 3:30 pm all but 3 carts had returned, so I'll have them to wash Friday morning.  We'll be putting close to 30 carts out on Friday, and probably all of our carts on Saturday as the annual Likely Volunteer Fire Department Tournament is scheduled.

TLE was home by 5:20 pm....she drove herself home in one of the carts that didn't return until after I went home.  The park is about 90% full as I write, and will edge up to 100% by the 4th of July weekend, so we will be extra busy for the next 2 weeks for sure.

Thanks for stopping by!

The test......

5:53 am - Thursday - June 20th - LPG&RVR - 44° F, humidity 48%, wind 1 mph out of the east by northeast.......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 85° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I were helping wash the outside of the home of the owner of Seal Rocks RV Cove in Seal Rock, OR....

 I had an appointment to play a round of golf with Mower Mike (Mike Picot) and John Benner at 11:30 am.  Mike mows the fairways on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, so he is off Wednesdays.  John is one of the permanent residents here, but also consults on some of the big jobs done here each summer.  But, I get ahead of myself.

TLE and I took our 4th two mile out and back walk of our 4 day weekend averaging 3.2 mph for the course....

.....we were back from the walk around 10:30 am, at which time I did my workout to stretch out my back for the upcoming 18 holes of golf.  I've only played 20 holes so far this season, so playing 18 in one day was going to be the ultimate test of how well my lower back is doing.

After getting my back limber I headed over to the Clubhouse around 11 am to hit a few balls, and I mean a FEW. I didn't want to overextend my back before I even began playing the round.  Just wanted to be sure I could hit my driver, fairway woods, and a couple of irons.  After 10 balls I was happy with the results and headed to the first tee to meet Mike and John.

It was to be one of those days when one part of my game was working as well as it ever has, and that was off the tee.  I managed to hit 14 fairways with my driver....something I have never done, even when I was in my 20's and 30's.  They weren't always long, but they were straight, and a few went over 200 yards.  Wow....that was unexpected!  By the way, since last season I've been playing from the yellow tees, which are the shortest ones.  On Wednesday I played from the red tees for the first time since our first season here, so I am hitting the ball off the tee al little further than I have in the past.  I did manage to hit 2 of the 4 par 3's in regulation, too.

The rest of my game was kind of spotty, but I did manage to par 4 holes, and had a bunch of bogey holes, but there were a few where the score really mushroomed....lol.  I did hit my #7 fairway wood very consistently, also.  By the last 7 holes I was putting much better, and made a few long range putts to secure a par, and a couple of bogeys that could easily have been double, or triple bogeys.

The big news, however, is that I never thought of my back for one second over the four hours we played.  It did not bother me at all. In fact, as I sit here typing this morning I only have a little stiffness, but no pain.  That is a first for me.  It's been over 2.5 months since my fall at GNHS in early April, but I think my back is officially better, and I can begin to play golf more frequently than I have thus far this season.

We finished our round at 3:30 pm, bid our adieus, and headed for our respective homes.  TLE was busy in the kitchen when I arrived.  She also had a nice 'Clarke free afternoon', which she says she enjoyed, but I know she missed me....lol!

Well, it's the beginning of another four day work week, which will see us working Thursday through Sunday.  The temps are getting back into the 80's, and it appears we'll see some temps in the 90's over the next week.  Summer is finally here to stay....I think!

Thanks for stopping by!

Resurrected.....

8:58 am - Wednesday - June 19th - LPG&RVR - 62° F, humidity 21%, wind 1 mph out of the northeast....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 81° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I summited the 9,735' Mt. Tallac at South Lake Tahoe, CA.....

It was another cold morning Tuesday, and we didn't get out to do our 2 mile out and back walk until after 10 am.  We're getting consistent in our average speed hitting 3.3 mph once again....

....I originally had a haircut appointment for Wednesday at 9:30 am, however, I wanted to change it to Tuesday afternoon if possible, so I called Sheila at Kaleidescope to see what she could do.   She had a cancellation just before I called for her 1:30 pm slot, so I gladly took that.  We were in the VW just before 1 pm driving into Alturas.  We got to town around 1:10 pm, so went to do our Rite Aid shopping first, which didn't take long.  We returned to Kaleidescope at exactly 1:30 pm, and 20 minutes later I had paid, and we were out the door on our way to Holiday Market for our weekly shopping.  Amazingly, we were home just before 2:30 pm!

I wanted to finish resurrecting Kathy's bike, so I changed clothes and headed out to the trailer to do just that.  When I left off I needed to remove the wheel axles, clean the races, and repack the wheel bearings with grease....here is what they looked like before.....

.....pretty crusty, right?  It took me the better part of an hour, but in the end they looked almost brand new when I finished.....

....all that remained was to reinstall the wheels on the bicycle, then the chain, which went pretty quickly.  It was the adjustment of the brakes that took most of the time, and that took another hour, or so, but I finally go them working properly.  In all I spent around 5 hours on this bike, and enjoyed every minute of it.  The gears shift smoothly, and the brakes stop on a figurative dime....you don't really want to stop that fast, or you might go over the handlebars....lol!....

....by the time I finished it was almost 5 pm, so I took a shower, then turned on the Sea-B-Que in preparation for the grilling of a New York steak we bought at COSTCO a long time ago.  We ate on the 'dining/gaming deck', and then played 6 games of Yahtzee.....

....I emerged the victor winning four of six games in this game which is based on 100% luck....lol.  By the time we headed indoors for the evening it was after 8 pm.  What a nice day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Another resurrection.....

7:47 am - Tuesday - June 18th - LPG&RVR - 48° F, humidity 50%, wind 1 mph out of the northeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 73° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were standing at the 45th parallel....half way between the equator and the north pole.....very cold....3 years earlier we stood at the same location, and it was very hot....

 The temperatures plunged back into the low 60's Monday, with the early morning low temp in the high 30's.  We didn't even venture outdoors until 10 am to take our second 2 mile out and back walk of the weekend.....how cold was it?......

.....yes, that cold....look at TLE....lol.....our pace, which coincided with the temperature was a brisk 3.3 mph......

....I'm pretty sure if TLE had really known how cold the walk would be she would have declined to walk until much later in the morning, but once committed she soldiered onward.

I was planning on golfing Monday, but with the constant breeze of 10 mph forecast for all day long, plus the wind chill factor, I opted to spend my time working around site #55.  Since we haven't used the 'viewing deck' one time this summer, and it appeared we would not be using it at any time in the near future, I moved the 5' x 7' piece of artificial turf over to the BBQ table area....

....I think the addition of the 'viewing deck' turf makes the BBQ station look much more inviting and useable.

A couple of weeks ago Kathy (office Kathy) asked if I would tune up a used bicycle she recently acquired, and I agreed.  I love bringing non functional bicycles back to life, and this bike was truly non functional.  The derailleurs were frozen in place so the shifters could not shift, the pedals would not turn, the bearings in the wheel axles were very stiff making it difficult to turn them, and the chain was very rusty.  Yup, you're right....a great candidate for a bicycle resurrection.....

....I spent about 2 hours taking the bike apart, and removing the chain so it could be soaked in WD-40 overnight.  I was able to get both derailleurs working and shifting again, and the pedals turning freely.  All that remains is to remove the wheel axles, and bearings, clean them, then regrease them, reassemble them, and the bicycle will be functional once again.  This is just an inexpensive Huffy bicycle, but I believe all bikes deserve a second life, and I love being the one to give this one that second life.  It's the first time I've had my Park bike stand out of its stowed position at the rear of the trailer since we arrived at LPG&RVR in early April.  If you have been following my blog for any period of time you know I love wrenching on bicycles, and have pretty much every tool needed to do so.  I've resurrected quite a few bikes in the 12+ years we've been living our nomadic life.

By the time I reached a stopping point with the bike it was after 4 pm, and it was getting cold again, so I closed up shop, and headed back to the warm confines of the Newell salon for the evening.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fathers Day.....

7:39 am - Monday - June 17th - LPG&RVR - 42° F, humidity 59%, wind 10 mph out of the north by northwest......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were dry camping on the banks of the Yellowstone River next to Yellowstone Hot Springs....love that place.....

 Other than the 2 mile out and back walk TLE and I took around 9:30 am Sunday I did not leave site #55 all day.  We managed a respectable 3.3 mph on our walk, then settled in to watch the fourth round of the US Open.  I set up the outdoor TV on the 'lido deck', turned on the TV on the 'dining/gaming deck', and the TV in the trailer.....

It was only 57° F at 9:30 am, so we were both bundled up against the cold, breezy day for our walk

.....the 4th round of the US Open began with Bryson DeChambeau at 7 under par, and a host of others at 4 under par, including Rory McIlroy.  It was really a day for Bryson to make pars, and see if the others could catch him, and that is what he did for most of the day, but with 5 holes to play Rory had reached 8 under par, and Bryson was at 6 under par.  It appeared the tournament was Rory's to win, however he bogeyed the next hole, and Bryson birdied it so pull even at 7 under par.  They both committed bogeys a couple of holes later to remain tied at 6 under par.  Then came the 18th hole....all Rory had to do was make a 3' 9" putt for par to remain tied, and head into a playoff with Bryson, but he missed the putt, and Bryson made his to win by one stroke.  I still cannot believe Rory made 3 bogeys in the last 5 holes, and I'm sure he cannot either.  At any rate Bryson DeChambeau is the winner of the 124th US Open at Pinehurst #2.  In the end there were only 8 players under par after 72 holes.

The US Open ended around 4 pm....we had the salon TV on at 7 am, so 9 hours of US Open coverage watched by TLE and I Sunday.  By 10 am TLE and I were inside watching the US Open for the rest of the day as it began to get breezy, and chilly.  The winds got up to 20 mph in the afternoon, and never really abated all night long.  Thankfully, they were in the 8-10 mph range during the night, so we slept quite well.

As I write it is still windy, but will only get to around 10 mph today, however, the temp has dipped into the low 60's today, again.  We'll be back in the 90's by next weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Father's Day Eve.......

7:48 am - Sunday - June 16th - LPG&RVR - 44° F, humidity 40%, wind 1 mph out of the north....crystal clear, blue sunny skies today with a forecast high of 73° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were riding our Terratrike Tadpole Recumbents on the Fish Lake Bike Path near Spokane, WA.....

 Father's Day Eve (Saturday) was  an above average busy day at LPG&RVR.  In all we rented 30 golf carts, and I spent the entire day Marshaling around the course.  It was a bitterly cold June 15th, and for the first time in weeks I wore my winter jacket again, along with gloves, and a watch cap.  I didn't take the jacket off until around 2 pm, and then only for an hour.  Based on how many people I saw on the driving range there will be a ton of balls to clear come Monday, a day which will not see me working.  Our next work cycle is Thursday through Sunday.

In all I think I made 7, or 8 rounds of the course.  Had to encourage a couple of foursomes to speed up their play, or allow the faster groups behind them to 'play through'.  Others had to be reminded to keep the carts out of the brush, and on the grass.  Generally, however, everyone behaved themselves, and I was able to spend time talking with our customers.  There were no motorized tools being employed by me on this day.....a kind of idyllic Saturday for me.

In the first round of the weekly putting contest I was ahead by 1 point with one hole to play when my worthy opponent sank his putt to tie me after 5.  We went to a one hole, one putt playoff, and he ended up closer to the hole than I.....doh.  Almost got out of the first round.

Since I was out in the first round I returned to washing and putting away more carts, and ended at 5 pm with just 3 carts sill outstanding.  By 5:30 pm TLE and I were on our way home to begin our four day weekend.  The weather will continue to be very cool through Wednesday, and then begin to warm Thursday, getting into the 90's over the weekend.

As many of you must know, this is the weekend of the U.S. Open.  I haven't been able to watch much of it as I've been working for the first three rounds, but we will be off work Sunday, and be able to watch the entire 4th round.  Out of the entire field there are only 7, or 8 guys under par beginning the 4th round....a typical U.S. Open.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cooling trend....

5:51 am - Saturday - June 15th - LPG&RVR - 47° F, humidity 58%, wind 4 mph out of the north......partially cloudy today with a forecast high of 69° F!  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were heading north from Henry's Lake, ID towards Livingston, MT.....

This week Friday was really our 'Thursday' in the 4 days on, 4 days off work schedule.  I still had some mowing, and trimming left over from Thursday, but before that could happen I needed to make my first round of the course.  On this day I raked all four sand traps, and they are really looking great.  I cannot take any credit for the lack of weeds in each trap this year.  That credit goes to Lynn (wife of mower Mike) who works mornings on days I'm off work.  She likes to weed, and that is fine with me....lol!  Once again, thank you Jesus, there were very few goose/duck leavings at the #3 tee boxes.

Upon my return to the Clubhouse I retrieved one of the Stihl string trimmers, and got all four employee lawns trimmed, as well as 4 of the back in Meadows sites, which I had mowed the day previous.  I then finished mowing site #20 (there was a tent on the grass Thursday, which had to be moved before I could finish).  Next up I mounted the 2 bag Husqvarna and mowed around the putting green, as well as the tee boxes for hole #10, then went up the hill to mow around the small Gazebo as a new group was due to arrive early afternoon.  By that time it was 12 pm, and time for TLE's lunch break.

The temp only got to 82° F Thursday, which was a nice change.  After lunch I headed out to mow around the rest of the tee boxes for which I am responsible (3, 15, 16, 17 & 18), and was back at the Clubhouse around 2:30 pm with just an hour left in my work day.  There were 15 golf carts in need of their daily spa treatment.  I was able to get them washed, and stowed within 40 minutes.  Just as I was putting away the last of those 15 carts 4 more returned, and I was able to get them washed, and put away by 3:30 pm.....19 carts in 60 minutes.  We rented close to 25 golf carts Friday, so I'm sure there will be some to wash Saturday morning.

Having that 90 minutes to take a shower, and relax before retrieving TLE form the Clubhouse is always nice, and I'm pretty sure there was a short nap thrown in for good measure.  Only one day of work left before we begin another 4 day weekend, and the temp will be back in the high 60's....we're in the middle of a 'cool' wave, as opposed to a heatwave, for which we are all grateful.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hump night.....

 5:52 am - Friday - June 14th - LPG&RVR - 50° F, humidity 71%, wind zero mph out of the northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 82° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I had just arrived in West Yellowstone, and were having dinner with good friend Art Young, who helped us get our jobs working at one of the Yellowstone General Stores....

The park is much busier, and more people are playing golf earlier on a daily basis, so TLE  and I are leaving for work at 7:30 am now so she can have the office open earlier, and I can get carts staged earlier before our first customers arrive before 8 am for their early tee times.  I staged 10 carts to begin with, and that was pretty close....we ended up renting 13 carts in all, and all but 3 of them were back by my quitting time at 3:30 pm.

The goose/duck leavings continue to diminish on the #3 tee boxes....another sign that summer is arriving.  I only had to rake the sand trap at the 15th hole as the others were in good condition still, not showing any signs of human encroachment.....

Spied a large jack rabbit at the #5 tee boxes enjoying the shade

....the day was filled with more irrigation down at the night registration office, and the large grass area in the parking lot, some mowing down in the Meadows sites, dragging the cart paths between holes 9 and 18 and the Clubhouse, between the 2nd and 11th holes and the tee boxes at #3 and #11, and between the 4th hole, and the 5th tee box.  

Since it was Thursday I needed to clear the driving range, and was able to do so in about 40 minutes, garnering just 2.5 gallons of balls to be cleaned.  After that I cleaned one set of our loaner golf clubs, and then gave TLE her lunch break.

After lunch I made put on my marshaling hat to make one round of the course, then returned to begin washing and stowing golf carts.  The day went by quickly for me, and soon I found myself heading for home at 3:30 pm.  I returned at 5 pm to pickup TLE, and we were both home for the evening around 5:15 pm.  We call the night between the 2nd and 3rd days of our work shift 'hump night', and now we are on the downside of our 4 days of work.  Life moves pretty fast here at LPG&RVR.

Thanks for stopping by!

Power play.....

 5:58 am - Thursday - June 13th - LPG&RVR - 50° F, humidity 58%, wind 1 mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 89° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were enjoying coffee at Moonhouse BrewHouse in South Lake Tahoe.....

Wednesday was forecast to be the hottest day this week at 91° F, and there was a lot to do at LPG&RVR.  I staged 10 carts to begin the day, and we ultimately rented 16....not bad for a Wednesday.  After making my first round of the course where the goose/duck leavings were very sparce (fingers crossed the geese are migrating north now), and raking two of the four sand traps I turned on the irrigation for the Meadows sites hoping to get the water all the way through the first 3 tent sites this time.

Around 9 am we had a scheduled power outage for this part of Modoc County.  We had received an email from the power company on Tuesday advising the power would be out from 9 am to 1 pm, so once it went off I could not do any other irrigation as there would be no electric pump to pressurize the large water tank for LPG&RVR.  The meadows sites are irrigated directly out of one of the ponds, so that went on without interruption.

With nothing better to do for four hours I mounted the 3 bag Husqvarna and began mowing grass....the parking lot grass, the group area, all 4 employee sites, and 6 of the full hookup pull through sites.  Since there was no power in the office TLE and I decided her lunch break would be from 1 pm to 2 pm, so after I had finished with the mowing I dumped the grass clippings in the pasture, and then put on my marshaling hat for an hour.

The power came back on at 12:55 pm....thank you power company for being punctual, and keeping your word!  As a result of the phones being down for four hours the phone rang a lot during the time TLE was gone to lunch.  Between the phone ringing off the hook, and customers buying golf paraphernalia, or paying for a round of golf I was busy for the entire 60 minutes.

Once I was back to work at 2 pm I only had 90 minutes left in my work day.  I began washing golf carts, and running down to check on the Meadows sites to see how the irrigation was coming along. It was doing well, but I had to leave it running until 7:30 pm to get the water all the way through the three tent site areas, which are adjacent to the 10 Meadows sites.

By 3:40 pm I had washed and stowed 10 golf carts leaving me with 6 to wash Thursday morning.  I returned a little after 5 pm to pick up TLE and ferry her home for the evening.  The heat didn't really bother me Wednesday, and that is encouraging.  It will begin to cool for the next 10 days before getting back into the 90's later this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Better than expected.....

 6:05 am - Wednesday - June 12th - LPG&RVR - 48° F, humidity 58%, wind zero mph out of the northeast.......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 91° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I rode our bicycles for 6 miles on the Carriage Roads in Acadia NP, then headed to Atlantic Brewing for some brews.....

The temps began to warm again on Tuesday, and they will be in the high 80's and low 90's through Friday, then cool down once again.  We were out walking around 9 am Tuesday completing our 2 mile out and back walk in around 36 minutes......

.....I haven't played golf in a while, but my lower back is feeling the best it has felt since my fall back in early April, so after our walk I stretched my back, got dressed, and headed over to the Clubhouse to get a tee time, and play at least 9 holes.  The course was not too crowded so we began on the 10th hole.  The first couple of holes were a little chaotic, but by the 3rd hole I was hitting the ball pretty well.  on the 12th hole I hit the best drive I've hit on that hole ever leaving just 60 yards to the green.  I then hit a beautiful pitching wedge to the green, but 3 putted....doh!  

Again, on the 13th hole I hit another great drive, and another great pitching wedge from 90 yards to the green, but 3 putted again.  Usually my putting is much better than that.  Next ame the 14th hole, a long par 5.  I hit another good drive, and was across the creek with a 5 wood on my second shot.  I kind of messed up my third shot, but put my fourth on the green with another great pitching wedge shot.  I managed my first 2 putt for bogey. 

On the 15th hole, sharp dog leg right, I hit my usual 4 iron, cutting across the dog leg, to about 90 yards from the hole.  I hit another great pitching wedge into the green, and 2 putted for par.  Next up is my favorite hole on the back 9....the elevated 16th tee box.  I hit a nice, high 7 iron which landed just off the green on the left side, then pitched onto the green, and 2 putted for bogey.  I hit another good drive on the 15th, par 5, then a 5 wood to within 100 yards of the hole.  I hit another amazing pitching wedge, but 3 putted for bogey.

Finally, the 18th hole....a short par 4.  I hit a beautiful, high drive leaving a 75 yard shot into the green, which I executed once again with my faithful pitching wedge, then 2 putted for par.  My back was still feeling good, so we headed directly to the 10th tee box again, where I hit my best drive on that hole in sometime.  I hit another good 5 wood to within 50 yards of the hole, then pitched on, and 2 putted for bogey.

After that hole comes the par 3.  I hit a 7 iron which landed softly on the green, and rolled to within 7 feet of the hole.  I just missed my birdie, but got my par.  By that time my back was beginning to get a little sore, so we called it quits and headed for the Clubhouse.   Nice to end with good results on the last 5 holes.  Frankly, I'm a little surprised I played as well as I did considering I've only played 20 holes this year, but I'm encouraged by my back, and my game, nonetheless!

After all that activity it was time for a nap.....thanks for stopping by!

Killer deal Monday.....

7:23 am - Tuesday - June 11th - LPG&RVR - 59° F, humidity 40%, wind zero mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 90° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were at Bodega Brew Pub in La Crosse, Wisconsin.....Oatmeal Stouts all around, please....

 I love it when you wake up on a Monday and realize you STILL have two more days of your 4 day weekend remaining....sweet!  There was another 2 mile out and back walk in which we averaged 3.3 mph, while simultaneously burning 350 caloric units, and gaining some 76' in elevation.....

....soon after our return from the walk we changed clothes and headed into Alturas for our weekly shopping.  We don't always stop at Grocery Outlet (kind of a bigger version of Dollar General, but much more organized, and less chaotic), but we did this day, and found several killer deals (you just never know), including a 5' x 7' piece of artificial turf for $32, and EXTRA LARGE (twice as large in diameter as the green ones) pool noodles for $4 each.  We put pool noodles on the support arms of our patio awning so if we hit our heads upon them it will not leave a mark, or hurt more than our pride.  The old greens ones were purchased back in 2020, and after 4 years of UV exposure were a lot the worse for wear.  I wanted a piece of turf to place between the rear of the coach and the front of the trailer so I may walk to the trailer with bare feet.....

.....we recently purchased, on Amazon, a 3' x 9' (27 square feet) piece of the same turf for almost $60, so getting this 5' x 7' piece (35 square feet) for 1/2 price was a killer deal!

We were home by 12:30 pm with our spoils, and by 1:30 pm everything was put away.  I spent time in the trailer puttering around before the heat of the day arrived, then retired to the air conditioned interior of the Newell for the balance of the day.

Around 5 pm I lit the Sea-B-Que in preparation for the grilling of a wild caught sockeye salmon steak TLE purchased at Grocery Outlet for $17.....another killer deal! We'll get two meals out of that one for sure.  TLE added  sides of spinach and rice, and a bottle of Sterling Sauvignon Blanc...the final of those killer deals....got it for $6.99 at Holiday Market...usually goes for $15+. 

We were going to eat dinner on the 'dining/gaming deck', but it was still too warm at 5:30 pm, so we ate inside, then watched 'The Fall Guy' starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt (2024) on Amazon Prime.  Usually we would prefer to watch a movie of this type (action) on the big screen, and it is playing at the Niles Theater in Alturas this week, but they are only open Fridays and Saturdays, and we work those days this week.  IMBD gives the movie 7 stars out of 10....we would be closer to a 6.  Was it entertaining, yes, but I would not watch it again.

After the movie ended at 8 pm we did go out to the 'dining/gaming deck' to play a few games of Backgammon to wind down our evening.  TLE bested me two out of three games, but they were mostly close.  I managed to come from ahead in two of the games to lose on the last couple of roles.  TLE has a knack for rolling doubles on the most inopportune times....lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

'Lido deck' day......2 month 'anniversary'......

8:01 am - Monday - June 10th - LPG&RVR - 60° F, humidity 54%, wind 1 mph out of the north by northwest......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 87° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Salem, Wisconsin at an RV park near the La Crosse River.....parked in parkland....

 I had one goal Sunday, and that was to watch as much of the final round of The Memorial Tournament as possible.  It is held annually at a golf course designed, and built by Jack Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest golfer ever to play the game.  Jack, and his wife Barbara host this tournament each year, but I get ahead of myself.

The temperature dropped into the low 50's overnight, and a lower high temperature for Sunday of just 81° F.  We've run the A/C the past few days as temps hovered in the high 80's, and low 90's, but on this day there would be no A/C, and no heaters.  This was the first day since we arrived 2 months ago that neither heat, nor A/C were required at any time during the day, or night.

We were up a tad before 7 am, and by 8:30 am we were beginning our 2 mile out and back walk, the 20th installment of this season.....

.....we've been stepping up our game the past couple of walks, and averaged 3.4 mph again, finishing the 2 miles in just over 35 minutes.  Kind of nice to take a walk wearing a t-shirt (moi) for a change.

Once we were back I turned on the outdoor TV to begin watching The Memorial.  Scottie Scheffler began the day with a 4 stroke lead at 10 under par, and would need every stroke of that lead to finish on top at the end of the day.  The average score on Sunday was 75, or 3 over par....it was that tough!  As they finished the 72nd and final hole Scottie was at 8 under par (2 over par for the day), and Colin Morikawa was at 7 under par (1 under par for the round).  That is Scottie's 5th victory in his last 8 appearances, and I believe there was a second place finish over that stretch, as well.  

During the afternoon I took a couple of naps whilst ensconced in my anti gravity chair, but that was the extent of my activity, other than the 2 mile walk and dumping the black tank, for the day.  Spending the day in the cool confines of our 'lido deck' made it a perfect Sunday for me, and with my boy Scottie playing clutch golf down the stretch to win, made it even better.

Thanks for stopping by!