A lot of stuff......

A lot has been happening the past two weeks. About 4 months ago we started working on getting our mortgage with a large national bank modified. We had a 5 year interest only loan going with a pretty good interest rate that had about 2 years to go. We needed to get that refinanced and back on to a regular fixed rate mortgage, and if we could get the interest rate a little lower that would be great, too! Well, two days ago a large FedEx envelope from the lender arrived. Now, I know this lender is notorious for dragging their feet for months, and then saying "NO". I slowly opened the envelope and began reading the first page of the multi page document. It took several seconds for the obvious to sink in.....we had been approved, and the lender had lowered our interest rate to a wonderful 4.5%, and our payment remained the SAME!!! Well, today we had to get the documents notarized, copied, a cashier's check, and then FedEx it all back to Pittsburgh, PA so it arrives by Monday. OK, one thing off the long term check list that we will not have to worry about when we hit the road in the Fall.

This past weekend we rented out 5 of the six cabins, and then we (me) had to clean them this week to be ready for this coming weekend. Elaine had to go down to Orange County for a two day overnight meeting for her employer, so it was left to me to get the cabins cleaned, and the linens washed. I started at 8am on Wednesday and finished around 4:30pm. Wow...that was a long day. I have a whole new respect for the hard working men and women who clean hotel rooms. Surprisingly, only one of the 5 cabins required a lot of work...the tenants must have had a bunch of small kids. What a mess.

In about 10 days Elaine flies up to Oregon for her annual week long women's retreat in Cannon Beach, so I'll be baching it again, and it will be up to me to clean any cabins rentals that occur. Hmmm....how is that working out for me?

As the summer season grows closer the park is filling up more and more each weekend, and actually there are a lot of people still here through the week. It's fun to watch our neighborhood evolve into something new each Friday. Right now as I write the motorhomes and trailers are steadily rolling in. The kiosk stays open until 10:30pm on Fridays so all the weekenders can check in.

On our way back from getting all the mortgage paperwork done and sent off we got a call from our oldest daughter and agreed to meet her at Islands Fine Burgers and Drinks in Riverside for lunch. I love their fries, and their Big Wave burger is great with a wheat bun.

Well, that's it for Rancho Jurupa Regional Park today....sitting watching the San Antonio Spurs on the verge of losing their opening series to Memphis. My Lakers closed out the Hornets in fine style last night winning by 18, and it wasn't really that close.

Thanks for reading!

Vacation from our vacation...

Big Bear Lake with Snow Summit in the background

My brother called me a few weeks ago asking if we could join them at Serrano Campground on the north shore of Big Bear Lake, CA for a long weekend starting April 14th. Of course, we never turn down an opportunity to change the view out our front door, so I said "YES!".

We live at around 800' elevation in Rancho Jurupa. Serrano Campground is at 7,000' elevation. We would gain over 6,000' in elevation in less than 40 miles on State Route 18. I had been noticing the past 6 months that even on moderate climbs on cool days that my Detroit Diesel 6V92 was running hotter than it should. Normally on the flats the operating temp is around 180-182. On climbs it might get up to 195, but lately it was getting over 200, and once up to 220. I had been applying Simple Green degreaser to the radiator, but apparently I was not getting all the gunk off. Knowing that I would have to climb around 6,200' in less than 40 miles had me concerned, so this past Tuesday I applied a heated solution of Simple Green and water to both sides of the radiator several times washing it off each time with hot water. I saw a lot of particulate matter fall to the ground. I repeated the process again Wednesday and got even more off. On Thursday the temperature never got past 188! Big, big improvement.

We left home around 10am, and arrived at Serrano around Noon time.

Serrano Campground is a National Forest campground, but is administered by California Land Management. There are 4, or 5 loops. Only one loop, Snowberry, has full hookups. The rest of the loops are strictly dry camping. There is a bike path that runs from Serrano into Big Bear City. We rode this path a couple of times. The bike path ran along the lake providing great views.

We were assigned site 42, and my brother, Philip and his wife were in 41, right next to us. The campground was very quiet, and very well maintained.

On Saturday we rode into town to find a bike shop where I could have my front hydraulic brake line bled to get out an air bubble that had developed causing the front brake to be useless. We found a shop called "Chains Required" and got the work done in about 20 minutes.

We waited outside the bike shop next to some unmelted snow from the storm last weekend that dumped about 12 inches of snow, most of which melted by this weekend due to warm weather all week.

Near the boat launch ramp on the east end.

Looking westward from the causeway at the east end of the lake

Work Camping

April 1st marked the end of our first 2 months as camp hosts, and fulltiming in our Newell, and of being camp hosts at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park. Both Elaine and I have continued in our full time jobs (mine a little less full time than Elaine's), and our part time jobs as camp hosts. After this Wednesday we will have donated 36 hours of office time, and numerous hours spent on readying the cabins for occupancy. Needless to say March was very busy with very little down time. Now that we have finished our office training rotation we will be devoting our monthly hours to the cabins full time. This is a good development as we will not be locked into specific office hours each month, and can spend time on the cabins when we choose as long as they are ready for occupancy as the reservations occur.

On April 14th we will take a vacation from our hosting jobs and head up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains at Serrano Campgrounds (http://bigbear.us/serranocampgrounds.html) for 4 days and three nights with my brother and his family. Then, the very next weekend my oldest son and his family plus a few of their friends have made reservations at Rancho Jurupa to spend Easter weekend with us.

Wednesday thru Friday of last week saw us hit with a heat wave where temps got into the mid 90's for the three day period, and then dropped 20 degrees by Saturday. Last night the lows got under 48 degrees....more the norm for this time of year.

We have been exploring Riverside by bicycle, and have found it to be a very charming city. Not far from Rancho Jurupa is a funky Mexican restaurant called Tio's Tacos. Great food and a very entertaining ambiance.

MAGICAL EVENING IN RANCHO JURUPA

Setting sun lights up Mt. Rubidoux

After an evening and early morning of rain we were treated to a great sunset tonight as we were taking our evening walk around the Cottonwood campground at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park. As the sun dipped just below the heavy cloud cover it suddenly lit up Mt. Rubidoux for just a few minutes.

Some of the darkest clouds I have ever seen, and not a drop of rain!

A beautiful sunset

After moving back and forth between site 215 and 257 for several weeks we have, at last, been granted special dispensation, and given a permanent spot, site 216. It is slightly longer than 215, and gives us enough room for the golf cart for which we are now responsible. We are approaching 2 months as fulltimers and are still loving it! We love watching the campground fill up on Thursday and Friday each week, and empty out Sunday afternoon. Each weekend has a different feel with all the different big rigs coming and going. This weekend we had a club of Fleetwood Bounder owners....I checked in most of them on Thursday during my office shift. Their club was called "La Bounders", of course.

This park is finally becoming popular as word of mouth spreads. The county employees do a wonderful job of keeping the grounds looking neatly trimmed, and virtually immaculate all the time. The grass gets mowed and edged every single week....a lot of work.

We are now permanently ensconsed on site 216....NO MORE MOVING!!!!

Over the past couple of weekends I was able to finish installing the flourescent lighting in the trailer. What a difference! With just the flip of a switch, a switch I installed, it looks like broad daylight inside the trailer now! Much easier to find my "stuff". I'll post pictures tomorrow. The great thing about this installation is that everything worked the first time. Usually electricity and I are strange bedfellows, but I am gradually becoming more comfortable working with both direct current and alternating current wiring.

One thing most of us don't talk much about is "DUMPING THE TANKS". Now that we are living in our coach fulltime that indefinable pleasure presents its ugly head much more often, like at least every 7 days. Elaine said she was going to take a shower this morning and a little voice whispered in my ear...."you ought to check the gray tank...she won't like it if it backs up into the shower". So, I turned on the ignition and pushed the toggle switch down.....uh oh....over 3/4 full...time to dump. I ran out side, opened the hatch and quickly pulled the slide valve to the up position and listened as 100 gallons of gray water gushed into the sewer connection. As I listened to the last of the gray water gurgle into the hose another little voice said "whenwas the last time you checked the black tank, huh?" Well, I think that was 8 days ago....uh oh, better check that one too. Can you believe it was at almost 100% full, too? OK, pull the handle and let it out! I recently bought a new sewer hose made by Rhino Flex System.....what a great improvement over the old leaky hose. I know, you're asking why I am so excited about dumping 160 gallons of effluent? Whenever I can add something that makes it easier and cleaner I'm excited. The great thing about being parked in one place now is that I DON'T have to disconnect the sewer hose anymore...that was the nasty part.

After all that excitement Elaine followed me in her T-Bird to our mechanic where I dropped of the Expedition to check on a coolant leak, then she dropped me at my office and went on her appointed rounds for her job. She returned arround 2:30pm for a conference call, and we hit the road for our home around 4pm. Just another day in paradise!

Thanks for reading.......

Mt. Rubidoux from the top

The Entrance

I've lived in Ontario for 25 years and probably driven by Mt. Rubidoux hundreds of times on HWY 60 as we have been headed eastbound for one adventure, or another over the years. I have intended on more than one occasion to get off the freeway and walk to the top of Mt. Rubidoux, but, to my shame, I never have. I'm sure it is the same for many of my readers. You live in an area for decades and never explore the little treasures close at hand, or even the big treasures, for that matter. There is a local winery, San Antonio Winery, less than a mile from my home that I have never visited. In fact, there are 3 wineries in the area I have never visited, but I have visited wineries in Napa and Temecula numerous times.....why on earth is that? Well, I am determined to change that.

A view of Rancho Jurupa from Mt. Rubidoux

Today was one of those days. My grandson, Christopher, spent the night with us and I asked him if he was interested in hiking to the top of "that mountain over there"......Rancho Jurupa sits in the shadow of Mt. Rubidoux.....the entrance to the park is less than 3 miles from where we now live......it's NOW, OR NEVER!



I grabbed a couple of bottles of water, a hat and we got in the car and drove over to the park entrance arriving around 9:30am. I had no idea how popular this hike is...we had to park 3 blocks from the entrance and walk to the entrance. On our way up the very gradual 2 mile climb to the top we saw probably a hundred, or more people going and coming. The days was very clear, and we arrived at the top in less than an hour. There were numerous groups of young mothers pushing their babies in strollers to the summit, and then back down. There were also numerous cyclists making the roundtrip.



There are two things you can see from a distance when viewing the top of Mt. Rubidoux. One is the enormous cross at the highest point, and an enormous flag pole with the "red, white and blue" flying in the ever present breeze. The cross, up close, appears to be 80-100 feet high. You will see my grandson at the base of the cross in one of the attached pictures. The path to the top is very smooth asphalt. The grade must be 3%, or less. It is an easy hike, even if you are not in shape.





OK, one more local treasure visited, and checked off the list!

Cabin fever!

8:30am....Thursday morning:

OK, now down to business. It's about 8:30am today, Thursday, and at 11am I will report for my first official office duty. We will initially split our time between office duty and working on the cabins. Three of the 6 cabins we are to manage during our stay here are now ready for occupancy. They are fully reserved for the 4th of July weekend. There is some minor cleaning that we will be doing over the next 2 weeks, and we (Elaine and I) must also apply the sealer to the wood paneled walls within those 3 cabins. Initially we will be getting the bathrooms sealed as they will be subject to moisture.

We have been given a golf cart to assist us in our duties, so we are not burning gasoline running around the park. Speaking of the park.......I love how empty the park is mid week....it is like living in parkland. This is our view every single day!

These are 4 of the six cabins we are managing as part of our volunteer work here at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park.

Here is our cute golf cart complete with headlights, turn signals, rear and side view mirrors, and windshield wiper.

I'll post pictures later today of the cabins, and the interior.

7:55pm......Thursday night:

As promised, here are some pictures of the living/dinning area of cabin 6. Just beyond the front portion of the cabin is the kitchen which includes a microwave, stove, oven, sink, and coffee maker.

Below is the hallway between the kitchen and bedroom where a bunk bed is situated.

Below is a view into the bathroom (opposite the bunkbeds) and bedroom with queen size bed. Rental includes sheets for the beds, comforters, and bath towels.

The rate for the cabins is $80 per night with a two night minimum. All cabins have heating and air conditioning, along with a covered porch, and outdoor fireplace/bbq. The cabins are located directly across from the "front" lake. There are actually two fishing lakes here (which I didn't know until a few days ago). The back lake is located way in the back of the park, and is not visible from the main road in.

The County of Riverside stocks the lakes twice a month with trout during trout season, and then with catfish after trout season when it gets too warm for trout.

We are really enjoying our new home, and are beginning to take time to explore. Today was my first day working in the office, and all went well considering I was by myself for most of my 4 hour shift. I've got that cash register down!!!

Orientation

One of the many giant cottonwood trees in the park.

This one will give us great aftenoon shade this summer.

Elaine and I have been enjoying our first month here at Rancho Jurupa (pronounced hurupa). Up until a few days ago our only job was to move our coach every week, or so to a different spot while we wait out the advance reservations in the system. We've been meeting the various camp hosts as we move around the park, and when we pass through the check station re-entering the park each day, but so far we had not been assigned any office, or field duties.

When I was entering the park last Saturday after a visit to Home Depot, Jennifer asked if we could come into the office Monday morning at 6:30am for opening orientation (the procedure for opening the check stand each morning). We met Terri, a fellow camp host, just after she had opened the office and she showed us how to shut off the alarm, and went through all the procedures for getting ready to open at 7am. Usually, the first big rush of the day is all the fishermen lined up at the gate coming into the park to fish for the day. As they wait in line we must ring up their fishing ticket on the register, make change, sell bait, answer questions about when the lakes were last stocked etc. Fortunately, Monday was a slow day, and Terri was able to take us through the process slowly and we each were able to take turns taking care of our customers. Their computer program is very intuitive, and relies heavily on "touch screen" technology so it really is easy to learn. We spent a pleasant 2 hours with Terri, and then returned to our coach around 8:30am to begin moving our coach back to Space 215 where we will be until March 3rd when we must move back to 257 for a few days.

Space #215 - Our mostly permanent site

In addition, our detailing guys (Integrity Mobile Detailing) were coming at 10am to wash our coach, trailer, and two cars. I think that's the first time we have had them wash everything in one day, but with our cars now outside 100% of the time the get dirty faster. When we got permission for them to come in the park there was a lot of interest among the other camp hosts, and we provided a supply of business cards for them hoping others will begin to use them and help expand Integrity's business base. We really like these guys, and they do a good job.

After our "opening orientation" we were asked to meet with Jennifer the next morning (Tuesday) at 9:30am for general office orientation which involves checking in campers with advance reservations, and keeping track of how many people and vehicles in each site. Park rules limit the number of motorized vehicles to 2 per site, and a total of 6 people per site. Any additional motorized vehicles, and/or people must pay an additional charge. There was lot of information and no doubt I will need a refresher course. My 61 year old brain is full, and trying to absorb 2 hours of technical procedures in one sitting is a challenge, to say the least, but we are enjoying meeting all of our co-workers, and making new friends.

Well, I'm sitting here typing this journal entry and watching the ground fog evaporate as the sun peeks over Mt. Rubidoux to the east. What a great life we have, and we are so thankful for this new home and friends.

On Sunday two of our adult children and their significant others came for "Sunday dinner" around 3pm. We BBQ'd hot dogs and hamburgers, lit the portable fireplace and sat talking until almost 7pm. For the first time in a year, or so we set up the Camp Chef stove, which has a grill box that sits on two of the three burners so we can BBQ. It is a great system, and now we can just hook it up to on our onboard propane system. Elaine put up some decorative awning lights she bought a few years ago, but had not used yet, and added a lot of ambience to the evening.

Thanks for reading.......