Opening Day.....

 7:41 am - Sunday - April 16th - LPG&RVR - 38° F, 51% humidity, wind 60° F......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 60° F.  On this date in 2022 we had just finished our basic 'lido deck' setup here at LPG&RVR......↴

Saturday was opening day here at LPG&RVR, and considering how cold it has been since we arrived, it was a perfect sunny, 64° F day for such an event.  When we awoke there was just one new RV in the park, but by late afternoon there were about 15 RVs.  I staged the 5 Club Car electric carts at 7:30 am, and added one additional Club Car gasser just after 2 pm.  In all 6 carts were rented, and 20 golfers enjoyed a laid back day of golf.

Once the carts were staged I headed out to deploy all of the 'CARTS' signs at each hole which tell our customers which direction to proceed around a green to get to the cart path, and the next hole.....

Love to sit and take in the views from green #15

Came upon this herd of deer on the 12th fairway

Giving 'office' Kathy her lunch break at 1 pm

....most of the cart paths are to the left of each green, but there are two (#3 and 16) where you can drive either to the left, or right to reach the next cart jpath, and 3, or 4 more where the path is to the right of the hole.  I wasn't in a rush to get all the signs out as the first golfers did not tee off until close to 10 am as there was still frost on the greens until then.  I just took my time enjoying the beauty of the golf course.

When I got back  to the Clubhouse I spent about 90 minutes helping Dennis (owner) and Mike (mows fairways) deploy the rest of the picnic tables to each site (around 40), then headed out to the tee boxes at hole #3 to remove duck and goose droppings.  This is always an issue the first part of the season until all the geese and ducks migrating north pass through on their way further north.  They love to leave their signatures on #3 tee boxes as there are two ponds flanking the tee boxes where the geese and ducks feed.  I managed to get the tee boxes cleared just before it was time to head to the office to relieve 'office Kathy' for her lunch break at 1 pm.  We have two Kathy's in the Clubhouse.....'office Kathy', and 'café Kathy' who runs the restaurant.  We also have two Mike's here.....'fairway Mike' (mows fairways), and 'marshal Mike' (marshals on the golf course).

After 2 pm I cleaned and put away two of the Club Car electrics, and managed to get the sand trap on hole #18 raked before it was time to head back to the Clubhouse just before quitting time at 4 pm.  While I was out raking the sand trap Walt and Theresa arrived....Walt would normally have been working opening day, and my first work day would have normally been this Wednesday, but I filled in for him Saturday.  I will be off work now until Wednesday, and I'm hoping TLE and I can make progress setting up our campsite.  

By the bye....we've decided to remain in site #55.  TLE decided she likes our setup here with the passenger side of the Newell facing the RV sites down the hill from us, so I ordered more Rhino Flex sewer hose to be able to reach the sewer connection without running the hose right through our 'lido deck'.

The golf course, considering how much snow they had this year, and how cold it was (sub zero numerous times, and in single digits for weeks on end) is in exceptional condition for this time of year....time to get out and play a few holes!

Thanks for stopping by!

Orientation......

6:19 am - Saturday - April 15th - LPG&RVR - 28° F, humidity 66%, wind 2 mph out of the3 south by southeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 63° F.   On this date in 2017 TLE and I were walking around Santa Cruz, CA and having a late lunch at Lúpulo Craft Beer House.....↴

.....the view this morning...↴

Surprisingly TLE and I were awake far too early Friday morning considering we are retired folk, and had no schedule to keep.  Probably because we were in a different, but certainly not new place.  I know my mind was full of swirling thoughts about how we were going to set up our site this year, and whether we might decide to move from site #55 down to site #51 which is basically level compared to #55, and there is no grass there to be watered, or mowed.  Anyway, we both woke up talking about just that as the dawn slowly made itself known at Likely Place Golf & RV Resort.

I had gotten up to use the bathroom around 4:30 am and turned on all the heaters as the temperature was sub 30° for the third successive day, so by the time we actually got out of bed the Newell interior was substantially more compatible for human life.  For the first time in almost a year we also have the electric heater in the water bay on making sure all things liquid remain liquid.

After completing, and posting my latest missive TLE and I walked down to site #51 to check it out, and both came to the conclusion within a few minutes that there would be less work involved to move there, however, that move cannot take place until we have received our new Trailer Valet XL (handles up to 10,000 lbs, and 1,000 lbs tongue weight.  The old Trailer Valet was only good up to 5,000 lbs total trailer weight, and 500 lbs tongue weight.  With our trailer it was right at its advertised limits in each category, so I wasn't too shocked when it folded like a cheap suit on Thursday.  It served us well for 8 years, but it is time to upgrade to a unit that will not be at its weight limits.  I ordered the new XL version, and hope to have it late next week, at which time we will make the move down to #51.

Since we will be in our current orientation for at least a week I strung together every length of Rhino Flex sewer hose we own to reach the sewer connection, which is about 40' away, so we can dump our tanks on Sunday, and drain off our almost full gray water tank immediately, if not sooner.

Around 10 am TLE and I walked over to the office to get our individual sets of LPG&RVR keys, and to pickup Club Car #20 for another Summer season.  Opening day is Saturday (15th), and since our counterparts (Walt and Theresa) have no yet arrived I will be working with Kathy (TLE's counterpart) on Saturday deploying golf carts, and even doing some course Marshalling.  It is still kind of Winter here, so the grass is not growing, and there are zero balls on the driving range to retrieve, so it should be a relatively easy weekend.  TLE will spend time on Saturday getting reacquainted with the computer system, etc.

Well, it is Saturday as I write, and I need to be at the office staging golf carts in about 30 minutes so I will bid you all adieu until tomorrow....thank you most sincerely for stopping by!

A couple of glitches......

 7:03 am - Friday - April 14th - LPG&RVR - 25° F, 69% humidity, wind zero mph out of the west by southwest....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 55° F.  On this date in 2012 TLE and I were in Savannah, GA visiting Colonial Park Cemetery......↴

It was very cold Thursday morning....cold enough that I turned on the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 block heater so it would start easily around 9 am when we planned to depart the Elks Lodge.  The last time it was cold enough that I needed to put on gloves to stow the Starlink dishy, and our shore power cord was here at the Elks Lodge last April on our way to LPG&RVR.  That day it was snowing....it was just plain cold this year.

By the time 9 am rolled around the sun was out in full force, and even though the temperature was only just hitting 36° F, there was no wind, and the warmth of the morning sun made the difference.  We had reinserted the VW, and were on our way by 9:10 am northbound on Kimmerling to Highway 88 eastbound, which would deliver us back to US-395 northbound.  In a little over an hour we were just north of Reno and re-entering Northern California where we will be residing for the next 6 months.

As is often the case on this stretch of  US-395 there were very few cars going north, or south.  Most of the traffic we experienced was of the semi truck variety, and it was very light.  The drive was just as beautiful as always, and there was the added beauty of all the snow on the local mountains, plus bodies of water large and small where none had been the year before.  There was a lot of standing water on each side of the two lane highway, as well as out in the pastures....it is going to be a wet Spring.  At any rate, the drive was mostly uneventful, however there was one small glitch as we passed through downtown Reno.

Our Newell has two chassis heaters (heaters which derive their heat from the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 engine coolant).  One of those heaters keeps the water bay warm on super cold days like Thursday, and the other heats the driver and passenger area.  I had both of these heaters running from the moment we left the Elks Lodge, but the chassis heater TLE and I rely upon to keep from freezing suddenly stopped working as we were passing through the interchange with I-80.  The inside temp suddenly went from 'aren't we quite comfortable' to 'let's hang some meat in here uncomfortable' in just seconds.  There was really no place where we could safely pull over to check it out so TLE got my jacket and helped me put it on while I was still driving.  We knew there was a Rest Area about 30 miles north of our position, so we decided to stop there and troubleshoot the chassis heater issue....

Almost to the Rest Area

......the Rest Area is just after Honey Dry Lake comes into view, but it was no longer empty.....in fact it was completely full.....just like Owens Dry Lake on Monday.....

Honey Dry Lake is no longer 'dry'

....we pulled into the mostly empty Rest Area, parked in one of the truck lanes, shut down the engine, and while TLE went outside to take a picture of Honey Dry Lake I opened up the fuse panel which controls most of the 12 volt stuff at the front of the coach.  The fuse for the driver/passenger chassis heater is #13, and it looked intact, so I twisted the glass cylindrical tube fuse a couple of times then flipped the switch for the heater.  What do you know?  The fan came on, and order was restored....

2nd to last summit

A lot of standing water in the Madeline Plains

Last summit before Likely, CA

.....with the chassis heater once again putting us back in 'aren't we comfortable' range we continued ever northward.  Around 12:45 pm we crested the last summit (Sage Hen Summit) and began our descent to Likely, CA, and Jess Valley Road where we made a right turn, and within 1/2 mile we saw the LPG&RVR sign.....

We can see Likely, CA in the distance

Jess Valley Road

Almost there!

.....we covered 730 miles in three days of driving with only one minor glitch, and now we were back 'home' once again for another summer consisting of 4 days of work, and 4 days off to golf, or do whatever we wish.

We returned to our familiar site #55 where we spent last summer.  We had some ideas of how to set up our encampment differently this year, and this is the tentative result.....I'm not sure it will stay this way, but we'll see.  While we were moving the trailer into its position our trailer valet gave up the ghost after 8 years of faithful service.....the second glitch of the day....

It is not supposed to be bent like that

.....we were about 4 feet from where we wanted it, so I had to call our boss, Dennis Tate, and ask him to bring his pickup over and help us move the trailer the final 4 feet.  Once that was done we then attempted to back the Newell into our space the traditional way so the utilities (sewer, electric, water) would be on the left side, but the site was very unlevel in places making it almost impossible to get the Newell level with out contorting it to its extremes, which never works out very well.  In the last couple of weeks the owners laid down a new layer of gravel, and releveled most of the sites, including ours, but it is not level now where we need it to be level for our new orientation.  So, in the interim, until we can get a bucket of gravel delivered to our site to fill in the low spots we had to park the Newell with the driver side facing the street.....

The left rear of the coach is way far away from the utilities, as you can see.

....while we actually like this orientation the best, we are far too far from the utilities, and would need about 50' of sewer hose to reach the sewer connection, which is not very practical in the long run.  We had planned to be mostly setup by late afternoon, but the glitch with the Trailer Valet, and our site being unlevel stalled our plans, so the rest will be done over the next few days once we get enough gravel to fill in all the low spots, and can back the Newell into its permanent summer position.

Thanks for stopping by!

The interlude....

 6:28 am - Thursday - April 13th - Elks Lodge, Gardnerville Ranchos, CA - 31° F, humidity 55%, wind 5 mph out of the east by northeast.....partly cloudy today in the Carson Valley with a forecast high of 53° F.  On this date in 2020 my mother, Virginia, passed on to the next life at tender age of 90....she is missed........↴

After a whirlwind drive over two days to reach Minden, NV we took a day off from getting up early and moving to our next destination.  Before we drop anchor at LPG&RVR for 6 months we needed to stock up on COSTCO and Trader Joe stuff, plus do a 'big food shopping' at the local Smith's.  We had plans to meet good friend from College, Terri Dickerson, at 12:30 pm for lunch, so we were in the VW by 9 am to take care of the 'big food shopping' first.  

By the time we finished, got home and put everything away (that takes about an hour all by itself) it was going on 11:30 am, and we needed to be on the road again by 12 pm to meet Terri at the local Chili's for lunch.  TLE did the most of the driving on Wednesday as I was ready to be just a passenger after driving over 524 miles Monday and Tuesday.  We arrived just before 12:30 pm to find Terri exiting her car......good timing.....she is very punctual...lol....

....I am a creature of habit when it comes to Chili's, and ordered their 'Old Timer Burger'.  TLE is always trying new things, but when I find something I like at a restaurant I pretty much always order that same menu item every time.  The last time we saw Terri was 1 year and 3 days earlier, so we had a lot of 'catching up' to do as one might expect.  The conversation continued non-stop for over an hour, and it was as if no time had passed.

After bidding our adieus to Terri we headed directly to Trader Joe's, which was just across the parking lot from Chili's.  I like their store brand, Finlaggan Single Malt Scotch, so I bought 4 bottles to last me a few months until we return to the Carson Valley for TLE's cataract surgeries....yup....I've had mine done, and now it is her turn.

We were back at the Elks Lodge around 3 pm, and before we knew it the sun was sliding down the western slopes of the mountains which separate Minden from the Tahoe Basin.  In just a couple of hours we will continue our journey northward, hoping to reach LPG&RVR around 2 pm at the latest.  Then begins the time consuming process of setting up our 'lido deck', and the rest of our encampment for the next 6 months of stationary living.

On a side note we are very happy with our four new Michelin drive tires....they are much quieter than the 8 year old tires we had removed.  Those tires had a very aggressive tire tread, and would give off a audible 'whine' as we rolled down the road.  The new Michelins are quiet.  We originally got the last set of tires as we were planning to do a lot of boondocking, which we did over those intervening 8 years, and wanted the benefit of better traction in loose, sandy soil, which they provided, but it is time for a smoother, quieter ride.  I believe we should even see slightly better gas mileage.

The temps we will be encountering upon arrival at LPG&RVR are running about 10° lower than here in the Carson Valley, and about 45° lower than GNHS....it is still late Winter/early Spring up there.  Opening day for the golf course is 4/15 this year, but we're wondering how many hardy souls will be out playing golf in 48° temps.  The forecast shows possible snow showers this coming Monday.  You may remember that it snowed 8 times between April 12th and the end of May last year in Likely, CA.

Our two day Carson Valley interlude has come to and end, so it is time for me to close today's post, and get ready to haul anchor for the final 205 miles of our northbound odyssey on US-395.....stay tuned for more great pictures of scenery along the 'Mother Road'......thanks for stopping by!

Back to winter......

7:33 am - Wednesday - April 12th - Gardnerville Ranchos, CA (Elks Lodge) - 48° F, humidity 42%, wind 5 mph out of the south....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 60° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were hiking a slot canyon near Kanab, UT.....↴

.....the view this morning (Gardnerville Ranchos, CA at the Elks Lodge).....↴

After 9 hours of sleep I was feeling fresh, and read for another day of driving the Mother Road (US-395) north to Likely, CA.  We slept with every single window open Monday night, and by 6:30 am it was quite chilly inside.....just the way we like it.  After turning on a few heaters the interior was hospitable in a few short minutes.  You know, I've used that expression (few short minutes) for years, and for the first time this morning I'm wondering from where did that expression originate?  Aren't all minutes created equally, and composed of exactly 60 ticks of the second hand?  Is it that the minutes seem, or feel shorter?  Hmmmm....these are the random thoughts going through my mind on a beautiful Wednesday morning, but I get ahead of myself.

After typing and posting my daily missive TLE and I walked a few short blocks (there's that 'short' thing again) over to Erick Schat's Bakery, in business since 1907, for some pastries and coffee.  As you know, we don't usually eat breakfast, but on special occasions such as being a few short blocks from Erick Schat's Bakery one must indulge oneself in some wonderful pastries, which are best enjoyed early in the morning.....

.....being able to sit in direct sunlight, with long sleeve shirts, and without the shade of a market umbrella was so nice.  We lingered over our coffee's and pastries for almost an hour before making the walk back to the Newell.

Within 30 minutes of our return to the Newell we were rolling our wheels once again, grateful we would be enjoying some of the best views anywhere on the lower 48....

Approaching the first summit of the day....Sherwin Summit

Discovering Crowley Lake is still frozen on April 11, 2023

First rest stop of the day at the Crowley Lake Vista Point

Approaching the 3rd summit of the day....Conway Summit

....our next rest stop was at the top of Conway Summit looking back at Mono Lake.  If you have been following us for any length of time you know that we always stop at this vista point whether going south, or north to take a picture.  My parents began this tradition way back in the 50's, which TLE and I have kept alive all of our married life.....

April 11, 2023 - the entire landscape is covered in snow

April 9, 2022 - no snow down there, and very little on the mountains

This is TLE's Mono Lake Vista Point picture taken through a window of the Newell....it was too cold for her to go outside

.....the miles and the summits passed by quickly, and soon we were passing the next to last summit...Devil's Gate Summit, and heading for the long, winding Walker River downhill into Walker, CA.  All that remained was one more summit before Minden, NV..... Simeh Dimeh Summit, which we crested around 1 pm.

Before we reached the Tahoe/Douglas Elks Lodge in Gardnerville, we stopped at the local Maverick fuel station, which almost always has the best prices in the Carson Valley, to top off our diesel tank.  In all we took on 107.5 gallons at $3.59/gallon at a cost of $387.  Almost double the amount we took on at Kramer Junction the day before for just $87 more (we paid $5.39/gallon there).

By the time we finished at the Maverick and drove the last 5 miles of the day arriving at the Elks Lodge around 2 pm I was beat....155 miles covered, and 5 summits.....it felt like 250 miles...lol!  Time to relax for a couple of days.

We had planned to got out for a late lunch at our favorite local micro brewery, Shoe Tree Brewing, but the wind had begun to blow ferociously right after we arrived, throwing a lot of dust into the air, so we decided to just stay put at the Elks Lodge.  In just two days we have covered 523 miles, averaging just over 260 miles per day.  Our last day of driving (Thursday) for the next 6 months will be about 206 more miles.

My mind is still overflowing with the spectacular wintery views we enjoyed along this stretch of US-395.  I cannot remember the last time we saw this much snow in this area in April.  The level of snow looks more like December, or January.....definitely not April.  In just two days we went from early summer weather to winter like conditions, but that is the beauty of being able to change your view without going through escrow!

Thanks for stopping by