Back to work Thursday......

 7:15 am - Friday - November 18th - GNHS - 48° F, 35% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the south.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were watching our 7th Rincon Parkway sunset....one of our favorite dry camping spots ever......↴.

This Thursday through Sunday shift happens to be the weekend before Thanksgiving, so we did not expect to have much, if any rental acitivity, and we did not.  It is typical in any resort such as GNHS that the weekend before a major holiday is relatively quiet. Next week people will begin arriving on Tuesday, and Wednesday, and be here through Monday, and this place will be noisy, messy, and out of control for about 6 days, and that is the cost of working at a resort during the holiday season.

Since I had time on my hands I replaced some of the 3A batteries in the trackers, blew out a few air filters, and then got to the big task for the day.....remove the covers from the clutch housings on each Polaris and Kawasaki to blow out any accumulated dust.....if we don't the clutch belts will begin to slip, and make noise.  Typically, if we were renting all of them out 4 days per week we would perform this task once a week.  On the Polaris' there are about 8 screws which fasten the plastic cover to the clutch housing.....on the Kawasaki's there are about 16.  At any rate it takes about 30 minutes per clutch housing to remove the bolts/screws, then blow out the housing, and then re-install the cover.  I managed to get the four units we have rented the most (3 Polaris' and 1 Kawasaki) done in a little over two hours......  

The Polaris clutch housing

The Kawasaki clutch housing

.....I spent my last hour re-installing the shelf in TLE's office as it was beginning to sag.....I cut out a triangle of hard wood to provide extra support then attached it to the shelf and wall with two 3" wood screws.....

......by the time I finished it was 1 pm, and time to head for home......that did the trick, and eliminated the sag.  I know, those brackets are way, way undersized, but that was all I had on hand at the time.  On days when we have no rentals we knock off by 1 pm, as we do not rent UTV's after 1 pm, so no point in sitting around doing little, or nothing.

I spent the afternoon moving a few things around in the trailer, and otherwise making it appear somewhat more organized.  TLE had me grill a salmon steak on the Sea-B-Que, for which she provided a side of Risotto with broccoli, all which was chased by a glass of Savignon Blanc.   We played 6 games of Yahtzee after dinner, and then sat by the fire for about 90 minutes before heading inside to watch a recorded episode of  'Amazing Race'.  All in all it was a very nice day, and I wouldn't change one single thing about it.....

A subtle, but captivating sunset

Thanks for stopping by!

Nomadic complications......

 7:40 am - Thursday - November 17th - GNHS - 49° F, 36% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71° F.  On this date in 2016 Dr. Fabricant (Pacific Eye Institute) removed the post cataract surgery patch from my left eye.....for the first time in a few years I could see in vivid technicolor, and could read the eye chart down to the next to last line.....almost 20/20 vision again in my left eye......↴

I see you!

We awoke to high winds, which had gone on all night, to view the wind driven carnage in our 'lido deck'.....the pirate flag was down, and the sail sun shades, which we had disconnected from the patio awning so we could stow it, were draped over the umbrella and EZ-UP, the trash can from the office was laying next to the firepit, the artificial turf was rolled up near the rear of the coach......it was general chaos.  Within minutes TLE and I had restored order, I had put the flag pole back in its holder, and unclipped the sail sun shades from the eye bolts to which they were attached.

I received a call from Kyle late morning asking to switch the two rear tires on RZR #5 to the rear of RZR #2 (I had moved them a week ago as the rear tires on #5 were better than those on #2, and we were renting it that day), so he could replace all four tires on #2 with brand new tires later in the day.  I clocked in for about 30 minutes to get that done, then went back to what I was doing.....pretty much nothing since it was so windy outside.  

Since it was too windy to do anything, including take a ride in one of the RZR's I spent the better part of 3 hours setting up dental (TLE & I), cardiologist (moi), and dermatologist (TLE and I) appointments.  Trying to co-ordinate the appointments  so that they all fell on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of any week was a little complicated, but in the end it all fell into place.  We're scheduled to be at Dr. Urena's dental office in Los Algodones on November 28th, at my cardiologist (Dr. Mulvihill) down in Poway (near San Diego) on December 20th (we'll drive down the day before, and stay at a hotel then go to my appointment the next day).  Then, finally, on January 9th TLE and I will see our dermatologist (Dr. Jou) who is also in Poway at the same medical center.  We were hoping to get both the cardiologist and dermatologist appointments on the same day, but there were too many conflicts, hence two different days.

You may wonder why we are driving down to Poway (139 miles each way) for these appointments, and that would be a valid question.  When I had my heart attack back in May of 2019 we were living at Ramona Oaks RV Resort just west of Poway, so that is how I became connected to Dr. Mulvihill.  We developed a good relationship, and became friends.  Dr. Jou practices in the same medical center on the same floor, and I went to see him about the basil cell carcinoma on my right ear so I could get a referral to a MOHS surgeon, and he also found, and removed the stage zero melanoma on my chest.  I like him a lot, I trust him, and, again we have a good relationship.  I really don't want to have to start over again with new doctors, so I have stuck with both of them.  Changing doctors doesn't really make any sense anyway because of our nomadic lifestyle....no matter where we travel, we'll most likely always be a long ways from any doctor we choose.....no point in moving from doctor to doctor, and we are almost always in SoCal once a year anyway.  Besides, it is a chance to get away for a couple of days, and we love Poway.

After all that phone work I was ready for an appropriately long nap.  The winds continued to howl all afternoon, but by 6 pm they had abated somewhat so TLE and I went outside around 7 pm to sit by the fire....we'd been cooped up all afternoon, and it was time for a little fresh air.  The night sky was filled with a trillion stars, and the light breezes were very balmy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mecca bound.....

 8:24 am - Wednesday - November 16th - GNHS - 60° F, 18% humidity (lowest it has been since we arrived), wind 20 mph out of the north......wind began blowing around 6 pm last night, and is still blowing over 20 as I write.....the Santa Anas are here again)....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71° F.  On this date in 2016 I was on my home after have cataract surgery on my left eye.....TLE stopped off at the local In 'N Out Burger (9 am in the morning) to get me my breakfast.....lol.......↴

There were no surprise UTV bookings on Tuesday.  We ended up taking another walk before the forecast Santa Ana winds would arrive getting in a 1.35 mile loop walk around the park.....

Our post walk picture

....I took care of a few chores, then we decided to drive into Mecca to do a small shopping at the local Dollar Tree store, and then a local Mexican market (El Super Toro Loco #4), which had quite good produce according to TLE.  We managed to get everything we needed without driving all the way to La Quinta.  After a quick stop at the local Post Office we headed over to the ARCO Travel Center to get a couple of Frappuccinos....a Mocha for me, and a Pumpkin Spice for TLE, plus I bought one of their lunch sandwiches (Pesto Turkey with Provolone cheese on ciabatta bread....yum!).....they have the best sandwiches!......

....on the way back we stopped off at Salton Sea Recreation Area, which has a Visitors Center, and nice bathrooms (I needed to use the bathroom).....it was actually nicer than I expected....I don't know why, but it was.....

Kind of a mid century modern motif

....we were home by 1:30 pm, at which time I changed into my pool clothes and drove over to the hot springs tubs in the Mule.  I really was in need of a soak, and this was the perfect anecdote.....

Got another pair of  polarized sunglasses.....I know, I've got a sunglass problem....I think I've got 5 pairs now.  To be fair, these were free...I only paid $6 shipping and handling....I'm a sucker for those Instagram ads....lol.

I never tire of this view

.....I love Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays as I have the whole place to myself.  I turned on the Etta James channel on Pandora, and listened to some Rhythm and Blues while I soaked for about 45 minutes (which included a lap in the pool) before returning home, at which time a nap was in order.

The plan for dinner was for me to grill another steak on the Sea-B-Que, but the aforementioned Santa Anas came up, and it was just too windy to grill, so TLE cooked it using her cast iron grill pan.....the steak actually came out pretty good, but there really is nothing like the sear the Sea-B-Que applies at 450° F.

There was no 'lido deck' action Tuesday evening due to the winds, so we watched the recorded 2.5 hour season premier of Yellowstone, and then a Hallmark Christmas movie before heading off to dreamland to the sounds of gusting winds.  Oh, by the way, we had to stow the patio and window awnings, and take down the sail shades for the first time since we arrived.

Thanks for stopping by!

The unexpected......

 7:36 am - Tuesday - November 15th - GNHS - 52° F, 38% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 72° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were in Sparks, NV sampling a flight of brews at Great Basin Brewing Company......↴

After 4 days of work it was time for a day off, so we slept in to around 7 am, and were sitting watching an English Premier League match around 9 am between Tottenham and Leeds when my phone rang. It was Cal (GNHS owner) advising we had a 'booking' and the people were walking down to the office.  Wait, what?  We had no bookings the last time I checked late Sunday evening.  I looked out the window of the Newell and saw people standing by the office door, so I walked out to see what I could do for them.  They said they had a booking for three ATV's (one 2 seater, and two 4 seaters).  Of course we had nothing of the sort on the website, plus we are closed on Monday.  I could tell by their accents they were from Australia, or New Zealand (I can't tell the difference), so they had come a long way to be disappointed.  As it turned out they had booked the ATV's thru GNHS back in June before they began their 3 month trip to the USA, but they (GNHS) no longer rent ATV's, so what to do?

After a few back and forth conversations with Bob and Casey they decided to honor the pricing Cal had quoted back in June....there were 4 adults, and 5 children, and they were from Gold Coast, Australia.  We had their paperwork done within 45 minutes, and sent them on their way around 11 am for their 4 hour ride....

....we had made tentative plans to take a ride ourselves Monday, but that, obviously, went by the wayside.  We clocked out around 11 am, and came back on duty around 2 pm. In between we finished watching the soccer match (Tottenham came from behind in the final 10 minutes to win 4-3), took a 1.2 mile fast paced walk, then I puttered around in the trailer for a while.

A few days ago I received a new watch I had ordered off an ad on Instagram.....it only cost $36, but the watch face is totally digital....you can change the face to one of 7, or 8 options.....very cool.  Plus it keeps track of your heart rate, # of steps you take each day, blood pressure, and blood oxygen level, along with numerous other options like notifications when you receive an email, phone call, or text.  Most of the 'smart' watches I've seen are square, and uninteresting....I like this one because it looks like a chronograph, even though it really isn't.....lol...it's not even waterproof.....

....I like the blue face, because that's my favorite color, but you can change it to black, or green (why I don't know), or even this one.....

....or even this one....there are many options, but these three are my favorites....it's like three watches in one....lol......

.....I cannot tell you the brand name, but I'm sure it is made in China.  All that being said, I am impressed with the quality of the case, and bracelet, as well as its functionality....pretty nice for $36.....

Heart rate above, and blood oxygen below

At the top of 'Snob Hill'....nice view across the Salton Sea towards Ocotillo Wells

....the two families returned just before 3 pm, and I spent the next 2.5 hours cleaning them, fueling them, and putting them away before closing the office, and walking 30 paces home around 4:30 pm.  Even though Monday was to have been a day off, it worked out well, because we had no rentals on Sunday.  By the time I showered, and changed into casual clothing it was time for dinner.....Street Tacos, and Margaritas....yay for my team!  TLE and I spent about 90 minutes on the 'lido deck' after dinner playing 'Phase 10'....TLE won in a landslide, but I had fun anyway.

This past weekend we had a neighbor who brought his own flood lights to light up the palm trees in his site.....I neglected to post the pictures I took, but it was so impressive I thought I would post them now....

.....now he's got me rethinking my entire lighting scheme.....LOL....I don't think TLE would let me do that.

Thanks for stopping by!

The middle of nowhere.......

7:31 am - Monday - November 14th - GNHS - 50° F, 49% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the southeast....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71° F.  On this date in 2013 we awoke near Lone Pine, CA with a view of the morning sun hitting Mt. Whitney.....a few hours later we would return home to see our kids in SoCal for the first time in 21 months after beginning our fulltime adventure February 1, 2012.....↴ 

You never know what a Sunday in the UTV rental business will bring.  Last Sunday we had two rentals, but this Sunday we had none, and frankly, I was a little glad for that as there were a number of tasks I had set on the back burner to do when there was time.  TLE needed a shelf in the office to stack the GPS tablets upon, I needed to screw in a 2 x 4 behind the Starlink router so it would not fall off its precarious perch, and she needed the power strips mounted differently upon the wall next to her desk as the way I had quickly installed them initially resulted in an unsightly mess of charging cords (for the tablets) and power cords (for the printer, and computers)....

I had a nice piece of hard wood, and a couple of brackets laying around (the brackets for about 10 years)....it turned out nicely.

You should have seen it before I redid it....I know there are a lot of cords there, but it is all low voltage stuff.

Now the Starlink router will not fall in between the front 2 x 4 and the wall, like it has done once already

......while I worked on those three tasks TLE, using my recently purchased CLR, cleaned the water spots off of the small wind deflectors on each of the UTV's, and they now look a lot better!

A number of people came by during the four hours we were open to inquire about future rentals, but there were no UTV's rented this day.  We were off by 1 pm, changed clothes, and headed over to Bombay Beach to have a late lunch at the Ski Inn (4.5 stars on 171 reviews).  A number of the locals had recommended we eat there, and it is only 6 miles from GNHS, so why not give it a shot?

We arrived a little after 2:00 pm, both ordered their Beef Dip (with onion rings), then headed out to their very large alfresco dining area....talk about funky!.....

....we both ordered draft brews....for moi a Modelo Negra, and TLE a Mango something, which she really loved.  Just based on the over the top funky ambiance we would award 5 stars, but the food definitely lived up to the ambiance, so we gave them a well deserved 5 star review....not bad for an eatery literally in the middle of nowhere.  So, we've eaten out twice here in the middle of no where and been quite surprised both times by the quality of the food.  And, speaking of middle of nowhere, who would expect to get blazing fast 5G cell coverage there?.....

After enjoying a leisurely lunch punctuated with great conversation we headed out to take a short tour of Bombay Beach.  Not at all surprising to us the funkiness continued.....

......there are a myriad of funky metal sculptures all around town....everyone seems to support, and participate in the funkiness that is Bombay Beach.

We were back home around 3:15 pm, and as one might expect after each of us downing two pints, I took a long nap.....and as one might not expect, TLE also took a longish nap, longish for her, anyway....lol.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rescue me!

 7:26 am - Sunday - November 13th - GNHS, CA - 49° F, 49% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the west by northwest......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71° F.  On this date in 2010 (which also happened to be a Sunday) TLE and I had just finished a bicycle ride from Anaheim to San Diego over two days with good friend Terri Dickerson (met in college)....waiting to board the Surfliner train back to Anaheim........↴

Rescue Me by Fontella Bass

Saturdays are usually our busiest day for UTV rentals, and this Saturday did not disappoint.  By 11 am we had rented two 4 seaters, and one 2 seater.  I spent some time blowing out air filters......

......and I had barely just finished putting two newer rear tires on one of the Polaris RZR's when we rented that one......

....about 45 minutes after the party of four left for their 6 hour ride we got a call from them that the check engine light had come on, and that the RZR was in 'limp' mode, meaning it would not go over 6 mph....doh!  So, here I am just a week, or so into my new job, and I am going on my first rescue....doh!  

The people were about 20 miles into their ride, so it was not like they were just around the corner.  After consulting with Casey via phone we decided I would take the last 4 seater we had out to them, and exchange RZR's, then I would get the check engine light RZR home as best I could....20 miles at 6 mph is a long ride.  At any rate, I found them after a 40 minute ride, made the exchange, then began to figure out what was wrong with it.  I checked the oil, which was a tad low, but certainly not the reason for the check engine light.  I next went into the RZR computer system to find out what code, if any resulted from the check engine light, and got this number......

.....now, let's be frank....I have not idea what this number means, but it is meaningful to someone, somewhere, so I called Kyle and gave him the code.  He said he would call Kawasaki and find out what it meant.  In the mean time I decided to start the Kawasaki and begin the long trek home at 6 mph.  Within about 2 minutes the code cleared, and disappeared from the display so I pressed the gas pedal to see if it would go faster than 6 mph, and what do you know?  It ran normally, and soon I was cruising at 45 mph.  After about 5 miles the check engine light came on again, and I was back in 'limp' mode, but in about a minute the code cleared again, and I was off to the races once again.  The RZR ran just fine the last 15 miles home, and I was back a little after 1 pm.  During my drive home Kyle had called Kawasaki and found out the code meant there was a misfire, so we've either got a bad spark plug,  or wire. Kyle will dig into that on Tuesday.

I know there will be other rescues to be made over the next 4 months, and some will be more complicated than this one, but at least I've got one under my belt, and I was able to find the customer pretty quickly...fortunately, they were right on the trail they should have been on, and I didn't have to spend any time searching for them.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning all three 4 seaters, and two of 2 seaters.  By the time I fueled up the last 4 seater, and put it away it was almost 5 pm....that was a long day, but a very rewarding day.  All of our customers left happy, and that is the most important thing.  TLE and I are gaining confidence day by day in our abilities to run this operation, and are enjoying being, essentially, our own bosses.

After dinner (Tomato Cream soup and cheese toast) TLE and I retired to the 'lido deck' to play 6 games of Yahtzee, then spent another hour sitting by the fire.....

.....a great ending to a great day.  I wonder what excitement Sunday will bring?

Thanks for stopping by!