Good news!

 5:56 am - Tuesday - May 12th - LPG&RVR - 55° F, humidity 26%, cloud cover 23%, wind 5 mph out of the southeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 87° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were touring Valley of the Gods in Southeast Utah....

.....near Goosenecks State Park with Glenn and Laureen (TLE's sister).

We had a slight break in the 'heat' Monday with temps dipping down to 83° F, but for me it was not noticeable.  The morning was mostly windless while I spent the first 90 minutes of my day clearing the driving range after a very busy weekend with many, many balls being hit into said driving range.  On Tuesday we are hosting the annual High School tournament for Northeastern California, so we need all the range balls we can muster in our large 55 gallon barrel for the young guys to hit in the morning, plus it is time to mow the range.

I staged 10 carts initially, and we rented close to 20, so Monday was a good day.  Many of the carts were rented to golf teams who had arrived a day early to play the course in advance of the tournament Tuesday.  Just before lunch I mowed the large Gazebo grass area, plus buddy sites 49 and 50.  I then gave TLE her lunch break, then after lunch I mowed the employee sites, washed carts, and washed/dried the range balls.  By 3:30 pm only 7 carts had returned, so I'll have a bunch to wash and stow first thing Tuesday.

We received good news Monday.....our employers have hired a person to work opposite me beginning Thursday.  Up until now, as you know, Claude, TLE and I have been staging carts on our days off, giving Kathie a lunch break, and washing/stowing carts in the afternoon, so all that will end, and we can go back to regularly scheduled programing for the rest of the summer.  I met Steve, and talked with him for about 15 minutes about the job.  I think he'll fit in very well, here, but only time will tell.  So, for now, we are once fully staffed.

I was off work by 3:30 pm, and in the shower by 3:40 pm.  As is my habit, I took a nap, then returned at 4:50 pm to wash and stow the final electric cart, and then take TLE home.  Just one day remaining now in our second four day work week.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day....

 6:01 am - Monday - October 11th - LPG&RVR - 45° F, humidity 31%, cloud cover 31%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.....partly cloudy this morning with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2018 we were workamping in Maine....

....at Smuggler's Den RV Park in Southwest Harbor, ME.  It took me the better part of an afternoon to get the trailer and RV into that site!

Mother's Day (Sunday) began quietly, and slowly, but by the end of the day we had rented 13 carts.  After staging the first 10 carts I decided I needed to mow as many of the RV pull through sites as possible as it had been over a week since they were last mowed.  The 2 bag Husqvarna is out of action right now, so I used the larger 3 bag Husqvarna.  I don't like to use it because the three bags fill up with grass after 3, or 4 sites, and the trailer into which we dump those three bags can only hold 6 bags of grass, so then I have to pull the trailer out into the local pasture to dump the grass.  This adds about 15 minutes per load to the time it takes to mow the 15 sites, plus the small gazebo.  The bags on the '2 bag' Husqvarna have been removed, so there is no need to dump grass, saving loads of time.  At any rate I managed to get 9 of the full hookup, pull through sites, all 5 of the water/electric sites, and the small gazebo mowed before lunch time.

While TLE was at lunch I handled a few phone calls, and sold three 9 hole rounds of golf, so I stayed relatively busy.  After lunch it had gotten into the high 80's, and my body was having none of it.  It takes me about two weeks of warm weather to acclimate properly, and I am not there by a long shot.  I spent the afternoon watering grass, made around of the golf course to see how the tee boxes for which I am responsible are looking, and they can go another day, or two.  By the time 3:30 pm rolled around 7 of the 13 rented carts had been returned, washed, and stowed, so I'll have six to wash and stow first thing Monday.  

By 3:40 pm I had finished a nice hot shower, and was taking a nap in my recliner.  Around 4:50 pm I headed back to the Clubhouse to retrieve TLE, and put away the 5th electric cart so it can be recharged overnight.  The restaurant was open for Mother's Day dinner serving lobster and steak as the entree.  Normally they do not serve dinner on Sunday evenings, but this was a special occasion.  They had a good turnout from what I could see.  By the time TLE and I headed home the tables inside the restaurant were full of patrons, and the alfresco area on the deck was beginning to fill.  TLE and I thought about joining everyone, but we were tired, and decided to have a quiet evening together.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mother's Day Eve.....

 6:12 am - Mother's Day - May 10th - LPG&RVR - 46° F, humidity 23%, cloud cover 31%, wind 4 mph out of the southeast.....partly cloudy this morning with a forecast high of 87° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were in South Lake Tahoe....

....at Classic Cue for brews and fish tacos....best in the Tahoe Basin.  The view this morning....

Saturday it was back to our 4 day workaday life.  It was a busy day in the park with over 25 golf carts being rented.  All that being said, my job is relatively stress free compared to TLE's office job where the only break she gets is when I give her a lunch break.  The morning went quickly, and soon it was time to do just that.  I had barely sat down when the phone rang....one of our golfers had experienced a tire blowout on the 7th tee, so I had to shut the office, retrieve a jack, tire iron and wheel to change that tire.  Amazingly I was back within 25 minutes....some days things just go your way.  As it turned out the Schrader valve had popped out of the wheel rim causing the tire to go flat.  We'll get that fixed on another day.

When TLE returns from her lunch break I only have 2.5 hours left in my day.  Of the 25 carts we had rented 12 returned before 3:30 pm, so I'll have 13, or 14 to wash first thing Sunday.  We had 42 putters signed up for the weekly putting contest.  Sadly, I exited in the second round again.  I putted well, but my 2nd opponent putted just a little bit better.  By the time I was finished putting TLE was ready to head for home, so we did.  I hadn't eaten all day, and was starved, so TLE made me an open faced steak sandwich with some Au Jus dipping sauce....OMG, that really hit the spot!

I did spend time during the day watering around the putting green, the parking lot grass, and the large grass area down at the 'Night Office', but otherwise my entire attention was on the Clubhouse area staging carts, and washing carts.  It was, by and far, our best day this season so far, and Mother's Day promises to be just as big not only for the golf course, but the restaurant, which is flourishing by the way.

Thanks for stopping by!

Day four of the four day weekend....

 6:01 am - Saturday - May 9th - LPG&RVR - 41° F, humidity 28%, cloud cover 13%, wind 1 mph out of the east.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies this morning with a forecast high of 83° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I had just arrived at Goosenecks State Park....

All by ourselves initially

Glenn and Laureen's 1984 Newell on the left

.....we were traveling with Glenn and Laureen (TLE's sister) that summer.  They were a few hours behind us, but eventually arrived in the afternoon.  The view this morning....

Our final day of our four day weekend began a little after 7 am.  We still had a few more things to do to finish our 'lido deck' setup, and we got a little more done adding another camp chair, and the 'smudge pots' (tiki lamps) to ward off the mosquitoes, which have arrived this year earlier than normal.  I received my first mosquito bites in over 8 months.  I did not miss those irritating little creatures one iota...lol.

Around 9 am I drove over to the Clubhouse to practice my putting, and found the putting green to be a little faster than a week ago.  They are almost up to the speed I prefer.  I putted for almost an hour (without any mosquito bites) before heading back to site #55, at which time I pulled out our outdoor TV for the first time since last September to watch a little golf while I relaxed in one of our anti gravity chairs.  That is when I got my first mosquito bite of the season.

TLE gave Kathie her lunch break Wednesday and Thursday, so I fell to me to give her one on Friday.  Considering it was a Friday it was not super busy in the office.  There were no phone calls, just two checkins, and one couple playing golf.  It appeared we had rented around 10 golf carts Friday, but only one had returned when I left to return home at 2 pm.  I returned again at 4:30 pm to help Claude wash and stow the 8 carts which had returned, so I will have two more to wash Saturday morning when TLE and I return to the workaday world for four more days.  

TLE arrived at the Clubhouse around 4:40 pm to get the register tray from Kathie, while Claude and I relaxed on the deck enjoying a glass of Sangria.  Once TLE was ready we headed home for a late dinner.  TLE made her wonderful Chicken Verde Enchilada Casserole for dinner, which we consumed alfresco on the 'dining/gaming deck' with Claude.  By 7 pm it was beginning to get cool outside, so we bid our adieus to Claude, and headed inside for the evening as our outdoor lighting was coming to life....

....thanks for stopping by!

She's alive!

 7:21 am - Friday - May 8th - LPG&RVR - 51° F, humidity 39%, cloud cover 12%, wind ZERO mph.....mostly sunny today with a forecast high of 78° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were overnighting at Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming just south of Cheyenne....

Buffalo Burger

....they have an onsite restaurant called Bison Restaurant and Terrace where we ate that night.  The view this morning....

Yes, we have our Beetle back!

TLE and I slept in until after 8 am Thursday...that hasn't happened in a long time.  As we were rising TLE mentioned she heard my phone 'buzzing' a few minutes earlier, so I retrieved it and found I had a voice mail message.  The message was from Junior at Junior's Automotive where we had left our beloved VW Beetle on Wednesday to have the compression in each cylinder checked, and a pressure test on the colling system to be sure there was no damage from the sudden loss of coolant back in late March.  Additionally they were going  to diagnose that loud rumble/vibration I was hearing.  In about 20 seconds Junior brought joy to my life when he advised the vibration was being caused by a broken motor mount resulting in the right side of the transverse engine resting on the frame thereby causing the rumble/vibration.  Wait, what?  That's all it was?  Total cost.....$289...I mistakenly reported yesterday that it was $268....oh well, close enough, right?

I quickly relayed the information to TLE, and a few other local friends.  I cannot imagine a better outcome than the problem being something so innocuous, and easy to repair!  I was expecting the car to be out of service for at least a few days, if not a week, but it was fixed less than 24 hours after we left Junior's Automotive.  A local friend, Rich Samko, had offered to give me a ride into town Thursday if the car was ready, so I called him to let him know I would take him up on his offer.  He advised he and his wife, Patrice, were going into town around noon time, and would pick me up at my site.

In the interim I spent time 'tacking' down the artificial turf with spikes to keep it flat in case of wind.  The wind can pick up the ends and fold them over on occasion.  Then I retrieved one of our camp chairs, and one of the anti gravity chairs, and set up our propane firepit to finally complete our 'lido deck' setup for this season.....

....Rich and Patrice arrived to pick me up around 12:10 pm, and we were at Junior's about 25 minutes later.  While I was waiting for them to arrive I took a couple of pictures of the Warner Mountains, and Eagle Mountain specifically.....

......as promised the VW was ready for pickup, so I paid my meager bill, jumped in the VW and drove over to Dollar General to pickup a few things for TLE.  The car ran just like it did before the unfortunate demise of the turbo water pump.  I made two more stops at NAPA and ACE Hardware to get a few things, and was home by 2 pm.  The Beetle ran flawlessly all the way home.  So, after 6+ weeks of wondering what was wrong with our car we now know it was something minor, not major, and now life can return to normal.

TLE and I headed over to the Clubhouse to have dinner.  We ordered their Mahi Mahi fish tacos, and were not disappointed.  Claude joined us and ordered their Meatloaf, which he loved.  DeWayne was also there, having their Meatloaf, so we had a nice group for dinner.  After dinner TLE and I adjourned to Claude's 'lido deck' for adult beverages, a fire, and conversation....a great way to end the day....

....thanks for stopping by!

How bad is the damage?

 8:43 am - Thursday - May 7th - LPG&RVR - 62° F, humidity 32%, cloud cover 4%, wind 1 mph out of the south by southwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 79° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I were working at Seal Rocks RV Cove on the Central Oregon coast....

enjoying another Coastal Oregon sunset.  One of our favorite workamping jobs!  This RV park had it all....ocean view, cool summer time temperatures, and great managers.  The view this morning....

We were up Wednesday a little earlier than normal on day two of our four day weekend so we could drive our 2001 VW Beetle into Alturas to be checked over by Junior at Junior's Automotive.  As you will recall, about 6 weeks ago the turbo water pump broke causing a massive coolant loss in just a few minutes as we were driving back to TWW on the north/south arterial dirt road.  I was able to order the new turbo water pump and install it myself, and the engine seemed to run fine, however, there was this loud rattle/rumble which had not been there before.  Of course, my mind took me to dark places where a bearing had gone bad, or perhaps the turbo did not survive the coolant loss.  I was expecting engine failure, or at best a large bill to replace the turbo.  Everyone here recommends Junior's Automotive, so that is where we headed around 8 am Wednesday morning.  Claude had a doctor appointment at 10 am, so this worked out perfectly.

We arrived at Junior's a little after 8:30 am and after reiterating the circumstances around the turbo water pump failure he advised he would do a compression check in each cylinder, pressure test the coolant system, and determine what was causing the rattle/rumble sound.  With that we got in Claude's GMC pickup (I called it a Chevrolet by mistake) and headed to the east side of town to the Stockyard Cafe (4.6 stars on Yelp on 53 reviews) located at the Modoc Auction Yard......

....for breakfast to kill some time before Claude's doctor appointment.  We've never eaten there before, mainly because they are a breakfast place, and we don't really have breakfast anymore, but it was a nice change of pace.  The food and service were excellent!

Our next stop was the Alturas Medical Center where we parted ways with Claude to walk over to Modoc Family Optometry to set our annual eye exams which will be June 1st, and then walked a block over to Holiday Market....

....to do our weekly shopping to restock our fridge, freezer and pantry.  Holiday Market is employee owned, and I think there are 16 Northern California stores in the chain.  The one in Alturas is a very nice store, and very well stocked.  We finished shopping around 10:40 am, but Claude was not done with his appointment so we hung out in front of the store (in the shade) awaiting his arrival.  The appointment went on longer than he expected, and he was not able to retrieve us until 11:20 am.  No problem....we're retired...we've got plenty of time.

We made another quick stop at Grocery Outlet, and were on our way home a little after 12 pm, arriving home without incident a little after 12:40 pm.  TLE put away the groceries then headed over to the Clubhouse to give Kathie her lunch break (we're taking turns), and I took a nap.  All that remains now is to find out the financial damage for the VW Beetle, and how long it will take to fix it.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. - Quick update....heard from Junior about an hour ago about the VW.  He said the problem was a broken motor mount causing the engine to ride on the frame causing the loud rattle/rumble vibration sound.  Total cost to repair....$268...wait, what?  In my mind I thought it would be more like $2,680.  Nothing financially catastrophic?  As I write the VW is ready for pickup.  Bad news....I spent 6 weeks worrying about nothing...doh!

Filling in.....

 6:44 am - Wednesday - May 6th - LPG&RVR - 45° F, humidity 44%, cloud cover 4%, wind 2 mph out of the southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 78° F.  On this date in 2013 We arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.....

.....to work at the Indy 500.  We parked in a field on the north side of the Speedway where they had 30 amp electrical pedestals set up for workampers.  Worked 12 hours per day for 16 days up to and including the race.  The view this morning....

The freshly washed Beetle

Right now we do not have a person to work opposite me on the days I am off work, so Claude, TLE and I are filling in until we do have that person.  On days I don't work Claude is staging golf carts, then TLE and I are taking turns giving Kathie a break for lunch.  Around 4:30 pm Claude and I head over to wash, and stow the carts which have been rented, and returned.  Tuesday was the first day of that experiment, and it worked well.  Claude staged the carts, I gave Kathie her lunch break, and Claude and I returned at 4:30 pm to wash the carts....took about 30 minutes to wash and stow 12 carts.

During the day I took time to wash the VW Beetle for the first time since the turbo water pump broke.  We're driving it into Alturas on Wednesday to a repair shop to have the coolant system pressure checked, and the compression on each cylinder checked to sure the engine is okay.  I am hearing a loud rattle, or rumble that wasn't there before, so I am concerned the turbo may be fried.  I hope not as that is an expensive repair.  At any rate, We'll leave around 8 am to make the 20 minute drive into town.  Claude will follow in his extra cab Chevy pickup, and bring us home.  They'll have to have the VW overnight.

The rest of the day I washed the front of the Newell down to remove the road grime, and bugs which accumulated since we left Bishop, and then I was pretty much done for the day.  When I arrived at the Clubhouse at 1 pm to give Kathie her break the restaurant was busy with lunch customers, which is what we want to see.  The phone rang a lot during the hour I was there, but that was the extent of the work.  I was home a little after 2 pm, and then took a long nap.  It was a typical first day of our four day 'weekend'.

Thanks for stopping by!