Wild Cards....

6:43 am - Sunday - January 14th - GNHS - 42° F, humidity 58%, wind 3 mph out of the east by southeast......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were enjoying another of many, many amazing sunsets at Cedar Key, FL....just magical.....↴ 

....good friends of ours made a calendar of the Cedar Key sunsets that year, which they sold for several years on Amazon.  They were there in Cedar Key for about 2+ months, so had enough sunset pictures for a few years worth of calendars.

You just can never tell about walkup business on a given weekend at GNHS.  With as many people in the park as we have this weekend you would expect, based on past experiences, several walkup customers on a Saturday, but we had ZERO this Saturday.  We did, however, have three advance bookings for all day adventures.....two 4 seat RZRs, and one 2 seat General.  We had them all on their way by 10 am.  Technically our all day rentals begin at 9 am, and end, now, at 4:45 pm (just before sunset), but after a night of partying many don't show up to claim their rides until closer to 10 am, or later.

Once our three bookings had left the 'barn' it was just a matter of hanging out the rest of the day hoping there would be no rescues, accidents, or mechanicals for the next 6 hours.  TLE took a couple more of our 1 mile walks during the day averaging 3.3 and 3.5 mph respectively.  I like to walk at a fast pace, but TLE is not always down for that so whatever speed we average is entirely up to her.

1st walk - 3.3 mph

2nd walk - 3.5 mph....TLE bailed on the post walk picture

I was able to watch most of the early afternoon NFL 'wild card' playoff game between the Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans in Houston.  It was a close game for most of the first half, but then the roof fell in on the Browns with Joe Flacco throwing successive 'pick six' passes giving up 14 points in just a couple of minutes.  Then there was the failed fourth and 2 attempt, which turned the ball over on downs to the Texans, who then scored again to make a close game (17-14 in favor of the Texans) a blow out at 38-14.  The Texans added another TD later in the game to go up 45-14, and that was the final score.

Our three all day rentals returned by 4:30 pm, and all seemed good at first until one of the renters admitted, after being asked if he hit anything, that he had bottomed the rear end out pretty hard.  Further inspection revealed a cracked skid plate, and a dent in the frame, which will have to be assessed by Polaris to determine if it is compromised and requires the replacement of that portion of the frame (very expensive), or just the cracked skid plate (about $200 + labor).  The other two had no issues.  It doesn't appear that the engine, or transmission were compromised, so the damaged skid plate did its job.

The second NFL 'wild card' playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the KC Chiefs was played in Kansas City were the game time temperature was -7° F, with a wind chill factor of -27° F.  The game was close for a while, but just like the first game, got out of hand quickly, with the final score 26-7 in favor of the Chiefs.  Hoping for more competitive games on Sunday.

TLE had me grill some shrimp skewers on the Sea-B-Que while she prepared grits with sliced tomatoes and avocados on the side.  A nice way to end the day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Back to work.....

 7:01 am - Saturday - January 13th - GNHS - 39° F, humidity 69%, wind 5 mph out of the east......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 61° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Cedar Key, FL enjoying another amazing sunset.....↴

For the first time in 6 days TLE and I reported for work at the COA office.  We had just one all day rental, but it was for two days (Friday and Saturday).  Our customers didn't arrive until around 10 am, but we had them out within 20 minutes.  Then it was just a matter of awaiting their return some 6 hours later.

We managed to take two 1 mile walks during that interim averaging first 3.3 mph, then 3.5 mph on the second....

1st walk around 12 pm

2nd walk around 3 pm

.....our all day rental returned around 4:15 pm without incident, which how we like them in the RZR rental business.  I quickly fueled up the 4 seat RZR, then washed it so our two day customer will have a clean RZR for Saturday's adventures.  Saturday promises to be a little busier as the park is about 60% full as I write.  We have three all day rentals today (Saturday), so the  prospect of walkup business is much greater than it was last weekend.

TLE had me BBQ Korean short ribs on the Sea-B-Que for dinner to which she added white rice, and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon....a very simple, delicious dinner.  Since I was busy grilling I neglected to get any sunset pix, but I'm sure it would have been nice.

And that was our Friday!  Thanks for stopping by!

Shattered repose....

6:58 am - Friday - January 12th - GNHS - 40° F, humidity 61%, wind 3 mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal clear, blue sunny skies today with a forecast high of 59° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were staying at the Elks Lodge in Indio for a few days.....↴ 

Alas, Thursday began as another day of repose for TLE and I, and then, without warning,  the winds  began to blow out of the north like a hurricane at 8 am as if someone had just casually flipped a switch to the 'ON' position. We had to immediately spring into action to lower the sail shades, umbrellas, the dining canopy, and then remove the fabric from the metal framework of said dining canopy.  Within 7, or 8 minutes everything was secure, and we scurried back into the warm confines of the Newell salon.  The wind event lasted just 5-6 hours before abating around 2 pm....one of our shorter wind events, but it pretty much scuttled any plans I had for projects involving me being outdoors, and most certainly for any plans I had of taking another soak.  I guess we should be grateful the proverbial switch was not flipped at 3 am, instead of 8 am when we were already awake.  Even without the two wind events this week it has been a little breezy, and chilly most days, so I've only had one soak in the last week.

I did, however, dress warmly, steel myself against the north wind, and take a solo 2 mile out and back walk down Mineral Hot Spa Road around 11 am.  Upon return I did my toning workout, then retired once again to the warm, non windy confines of the Newell salon until around 3 pm when I took another solo 1 mile out and back walk.  I averaged 3.5 mph on the 2 mile walk, and 3.3 mph on the 1 mile walk.  By the time I took the final 1 mile walk the winds had abated considerably, and it was much more pleasant.  TLE does not enjoy walking in the wind so she utilized her portable 'stair stepper' in the kitchen for her morning workout.

Looking west on Mineral Hot Spa Road....you can just see the Salton Sea in the distance

The large water tank which supplies fresh water to GNHS

We do have RZR bookings Friday for one all day rental, two all day rentals on Saturday, and 1 all day rental on Sunday, so we will be somewhat busy the next three days, with the possibility of walkup business.  The park is only moderately busy this weekend, so we'll see how that goes.

I did manage to get outside around 5 pm for the latest Chocolate Mountains/sunset pictures....

.....very subtle, but worth memorializing.  The sun is setting around 4:57 pm now, so the daylight portion of our days is getting longer day by day since we passed the winter solstice a few weeks ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kindred spirits....

8:02 am - Thursday - January 11th - GNHS - 56° F, humidity 38%, wind 21 mph out of the north by northwest.....north winds with partly cloudy today and a forecast high of 63° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I awakened to about an inch of snow on the ground...just our second snowfall of the winter at the Grand Canyon east entrance (Desert View)......↴

.....in our almost 12 years of vagabonding it is the only winter we have spent where it snows, and it was the last.  Once is enough, but it was a unique experience to which we adapted pretty well.

(Had to stop writing for about 15 minutes as those pesky north winds have returned, and we needed to lower the sail shades, close the umbrellas, take down the red wall, lower the dining canopy, and actually remove the fabric it is blowing so hard right now.  It was like someone flipped a switch to the 'ON' position.  One second our flag was hanging limp, and the next second it was blowing 22 mph)

Wednesday was a beautiful, sunny, crystal clear day with amazing air quality, and clarity.  We took the first of two walks around 10:30 am, the first one being of the 2+ mile variety, out to Coachella Canal Road and back......

.....we managed to average 3.2 mph covering 2.12 miles in just under 40 minutes.  Now that we know our fitness has increased to the point where we can walk fast if we wish we have decided not to push it, and just enjoy the walk.  We're still getting exercise, but it is easier on our joints.  The overnight low was around 39° F, and it was still just barely over 50° F when we began our walk at 10:30 am, so we bundled up accordingly with watch caps, jackets, and gloves.

After our walk we each did separate toning workouts, then convened back to the Newell interior for a lunch consisting of baby carrots, sliced radishes, and celery with peanut butter, and a glass of V8 for moi.  Our post Christmas weight loss continues, and with all the walking (we've covered over 30 miles walking since Christmas) we are sleeping better, and experiencing fewer aches and pains.  I think we're doing pretty well for 74+ years of age.  I definitely don't feel 19 anymore, but I definitely do not feel my current age, either.

We took our second walk of the day, this time a 1 miler, around 3 pm, and continued to average 3.2 mph....a good, steady pace full of laughter, and good conversation.  I am so blessed to have TLE in my life, especially during these nomadic years of our life.  We are kindred spirits, who like the same things, enjoy living in a small space, and living in rural America.....  

....since it had warmed all the way up to 58° F by 3 pm, so we ditched the watch caps, but still wore gloves, and jackets.

I was a little lazy Wednesday evening, and didn't make outside to photograph the Chocolates, or the sunset.  It was just very chilly, and uninviting outside.  We've actually had to run our electric heaters in the evenings until we go to bed as it begins to get quite chilly in the Newell salon, especially when the high temp of the day is only 58° F, and is a tad breezy.  We have been running them every morning for an hour, or two the past month.

The park is still a ghost town, but late Wednesday a few rigs arrived, so maybe the weekend will be busy.  Friday's arrivals will tell the tale.  Nevertheless, we are enjoying our 6 days of not work, and working hard at being more active, and losing unneeded pounds.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hiatus.....

 8:48 am - Wednesday - January 10th - GNHS - 42° F, humidity 53%, wind 3 mph out of the south by southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 60° F.  On this date in 1978 my father, Arthur Ray Hockwald, passed on at the tender age of 54....an amazing, wonderful, good, bigger than life man gone too soon.....he would have been 100 years old this year......still miss you every single day Dad!

....and on this date in 1985, exactly 7 years later, my third daughter, Sharon Suzanne, was born......

TLE and I took a day off from walking Tuesday....we've walked lot of miles in the past two weeks, and it was time for a one day hiatus.  Instead we drove into Mecca to do a small shopping.  There is a Family Dollar store there, and a lovely Mexican market with wonderful produce.  But I get ahead of myself.

Before we left for Mecca we put the 'lido deck' back together for the first time in a couple of days.  As you will recall we took down the sail shades, the 'red wall' on the popup, and our umbrellas due to the 20+ mph north winds on Sunday.  We've gotten to where we can take everything down, and put it all back up in about 10 minutes (10 minutes each direction, that is).  Next I washed the VW for the first time in a month, or so.  There is nothing like driving a clean car.

The drive into Mecca (we left a little after 10:30 am) was beautiful, and uneventful....just  as we like it.  Within an hour we had all of our purchases stowed in the hatchback of the Beetle and were on our way back home where we arrived about 12:30 pm.

On the drive I discovered one of our window washer nozzles wasn't putting out any water when I attempted to clean the windshield, and the other was putting out a very weak spray, so when we returned I popped the hood open, and took a look.  Well, the problem was pretty obvious.  The barbed connector one of the nozzles had broken, and the hose was no longer attached.  I don't have any extras, so I'll have to order a new one off Amazon, and fix it when it comes in the mail.  This is the second time I've replaced this nozzle, so I'll order more than one this time.  By the way, has anyone noticed that almost everything Amazon ships the last few months is via USPS?  Until recently it was almost exclusively via UPS, at least to Likely, CA and Niland, CA.

Nothing more to report about Tuesday except I took two long naps, which surprised me as I have been sleeping quite well the past couple of weeks....probably all that walking I'm doing....who knows?  I love those naps that seem to come out of no where.  You know, you're watching a YouTube video feeling quite alert, and the next thing you know you're waking up 30 minutes later....lol.

My right knee continues to heal, and most of the time now I don't even think about it, so that's a good thing.  It's funny how when you are in the middle of something like that and every movement hurts, it is on your mind 24/7, and you begin to think it will never get better, then, within a few days, it all changes for the good, and you're suddenly thinking about it less than 1% of the time.  At any rate, I'm grateful to be on the mend, and able to walk with TLE again.

About 4:45 pm (the sun is setting much later now) I went outside to get a picture of the Chocolates, and the setting sun.  It appeared it would be an ordinary sunset.....

Chocolates light display - normal

Sun setting...normal....nothing going on here, but keep your eye on that cloud bank above the western horizon

.....not much happening, right, so I went back inside. Just a few minutes later I looked out the salon window to see this, and hurried back outside......↴

And then this happens!

....the cloud bank above the western horizon begins lighting up a tad after 5 pm, well after the had sun set.  To think I almost missed that!

Thanks for stopping by!

WOLVERINES!

7:46 am - Tuesday - January 9th - GNHS - 35° F, humidity 79%, wind 5 mph out of the east by southeast.....the north winds have abated, and order has been restored.....forecast high for today is 60° F. On this date in 2013 TLE and I were having breakfast and coffee at Kona Joe's in Cedar Key, FL, and yes, they did serve Kona Coffee.....↴

By Monday morning GNHS was once again a ghost town.  The COA office will be closed until Friday the 12th, so TLE and I are going to have 6 days off work in a row...woohoo!  We began our day taking a 1 mile out and back walk, our 17th of that variety since we arrived at GNHS this winter.....we slowed it down a bit to 3.3 mph.....

....I followed that up with another toning workout, and had intended to head next head over to the hot pools/tubs for a soak, but it was too windy, and cold for that, so I puttered around in the trailer, then dumped the black tank, then made a minor repair to the locking mechanism on the bay door which gives us access to the water bay.....all that before noon.  We really wanted to spend more time outside, but it was just too windy, and cold.  Instead, I spent time indoors catching up on some of my YouTube channels. 

Around 2:30 pm TLE and I took our second 1 mile out and back walk averaging 3.2 mph this time.....

Yes, TLE really did walk with me, but wasn't interested in the traditional post walk picture either time

.....Monday was also the day of the NCAA National Championship football game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies.  After Michigan's first two possessions it appeared it might become a blowout, but the Huskie defense made adjustments, and the score at half time was just 17-10.  The third quarter began with each team kicking a field goal to make it 20-13, and it remained that way until late in the 4th quarter when Michigan drove the length of the field for a touchdown to go up 24-13, and then quickly intercepted Washington, running the ball back to their 15 yard line.  Within a few plays it was suddenly 31-13, and the game was out of reach for Washington with just 4 minutes to play.  The final score remained the same, and for the first time in a number of decades Michigan was the National Champion once again.  My son, Chris, and I have been Wolverine fans for a long time, and it was great to see Jim Harbaugh finally return their program to being competitive nationally.

Just before the beginning of the game at 4:30 pm I headed outside to take the daily (well, almost daily) sunset photo for posterity's sake....

Thanks for stopping by!

Twelve consecutive.....

8:19 am - Monday - January 8th - GNHS - 47° F, humidity 31%, wind 12 mph out of the north by northwest (actually no wind at all right now)....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 61° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were boondocking with friends Steven and Linda Dempsey.  Steven is a world class photographer, and the following pictures were taken by him one evening.....↴

.....on another evening he took portraits of those sitting around our group campfire....

Moi

Michael Vaccari

Liz (Mary Trancucci)

TLE

There were no rentals booked for Sunday, so TLE and I deferred to Hunter to open the office for a few hours in case there was any walkup business, and as it turns out he did get one 2 hour rental around noon time.  That makes it 12 consecutive days we have had at least one rental...a new COA record.  I would say close to 1/2 of our rentals this year are people coming from offsite (not staying here at GNHS), so that means our advertising is working to some degree.

When we awoke Sunday morning the wind was beginning to blow hard out of the north so we rallied ourselves, and headed outside to lower the sail shades, and lower the red wall on the pop up dining canopy.  Just as we began it started raining, and then hailing....doh!  By the time we scurried back inside we were both quite wet, but we got the job done.

Within an hour the rain/hail/thunder had stopped, and I took a walk....TLE doesn't like to walk in the wind, so it was a solo 2 mile walk for me.  I hit my highest mph/hour at 3.7 on the walk...about the fastest average I've had in a few years.  Back in 2015 when we were courtesy parked behind our daughter's home in Riverside, CA TLE and I used to hike the trail to Mt. Rubidoux, and would average between 3.8, and 4 mph, which was fast.  We were only 65 then, so I don't have any illusions about duplicating that speed at 74, but who knows?  The knee feels great, and I'm losing weight....so far we've both lost around 6 pounds since December 26th....

Look at those flags blowing....straight out of the north

.....I wanted to do another soak, but it was too windy and cold, so I'll wait until Monday.  In the mean time I did another 'toning' workout, then headed inside to watch some NFL football, and later the final round of the PGA tournament in Maui, which, by the way, was a barn burner.  About half way through the final round there were upwards of 10 people who had a chance to win, but ultimately it was Chris Kirk's day, who finished at 29 under par.

Around 2:30 pm I took my second walk of the day, by myself again, and did the 1 mile out and back walk this time, still averaging that 'blistering' 3.7 mph I did in the morning.  As I passed by the entrance to 'Snob Hill' I could see that the Sunday vacuum had done its job.....

....GNHS is now officially a ghost town once again, and except for the sound of that north wind, it would be a quiet night devoid of the sound of RZRs, and dirt bikes running to and fro, and hither and yon.

We were treated to a somewhat muted sunset, but beautiful, nonetheless....

Thanks for stopping by!