Roll over Beethoven......

7:16 am - Christmas Eve - December 24th - GNHS - 53° F, humidity 95%, wind 3 mph out of the south by southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 64° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were walking down Mission Inn Blvd. in Riverside, CA enjoying the Mission Inn Christmas lights......↴ 

For the first time in quite a while we had a rental booked for Saturday morning, so we were up, dressed, and on the job by 8:30 am.  While we were getting the one 4 seat RZR ready for its customers we had another walkup customer arrive to rent one of our 2 seaters for 6 hours. We also had a call from another potential customer who said they would be there around 9 am for an all day rental, but they never arrived.  

As the 2 hour RZR rental departed with its four occupants I turned to TLE and Hunter and said...."That guy is going to roll that RZR"....I just had a feeling.  When they arrived back at the office 2.5 hours later (30 minutes late) they had, indeed, rolled the RZR.  I mean completely rolled it!  Both sides, the roof and roll cage were damaged, and the left rear drive shaft was broken....that is going to be expensive!  I wish I had not been right, but there was just something about the guy driving.....so a 2 hour rental for $365 turned into $3,000+ damage (he is only responsible for the first $3,000 in damage), and at least $3,500 loss of use ($500 per day times 7 days as we are booked solid for the next week), so at least $6,500 out of pocket.  He apparently was trying to do a 'donut' on the way back from the bat caves.  I tell people every time a rental goes out that if they try to do a 'donut' the WILL roll it, and I have never been wrong yet.

Prior to the departure of the 2 hour rental we actually had all 8 RZRs back in service for the first time since we arrived, and within 2 hours we were back to 7.  The 6 hour rental went well, and I was pretty sure it would.  The couple were repeat customers from last year, and nothing went wrong then either.

The six hour rental came back about an hour early, and other than being a little muddy was in good condition, so I fueled it up, and then washed the mud off before it became concrete, and put it away.  It was about 3:30 pm when we closed the office, and I was tired.  My knee faired quite well after a lot of walking around, and being on my feet all day, so I've got that going for me.

I managed to get a picture of the setting sun around 4:25 pm....

....nothing too spectacular.  All that is left to say is MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

Thanks for stopping by!

Number five is the charm....

 3:59 pm - Saturday - December 23rd - GNHS - 64° F, humidity 69%, wind 2 mph out of the east....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 64° F, which has been realized.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were winging our way home from Nashville to see our kids for Christmas......↴

Friday was the 5th day since I aggravated my knee injury, and I was determined not to spend all day inside for a change, but to take time to walk around outside and see if the stiffness in my knee would begin to lessen.  I would go outside at least once an hour to do just that, and it worked.  By the end of the day, which included another hot tub soak, it was much better.  I was so happy I actually jumped for joy....TLE did not find that very amusing.  She can be a stern nurse.

The forecast rain never materialized, although it smelled like rain many times throughout the day.  We heard it rained quite hard over at Ocotillo Wells (west side of the Salton Sea), but we never got a drop at GNHS.  In spite of the heavy cloud cover all day we got a beautiful sunset, and even a little light on the Chocolate Mountains....

....the sunset began modestly.....

....but slowly evolved into one of our more beautiful sunsets this winter....

....it went on for almost an hour....those are the sunsets I love!

Thanks for stopping by!

House arrest is over....

 7:56 am - Friday - December 22nd - GNHS - 62° F, humidity 89%, wind 4 mph out of the east by southeast....heavy cloud cover, and occasional rain today with a forecast high of 63° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were visiting the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY.....another bucket list item crossed off the list.....↴

I really think that's her color

My favorite Corvette body style

When your body is hurting hours seem like days, and days like weeks, but for me Thursday was only the fourth day since I reaggravated my knee injury from a few weeks ago.  Life kind of comes to a screeching halt when you can't get out of a chair, stand up, or walk without pain.  Every day since last Sunday I've sat down at my laptop workstation each morning to type my latest blog entry, and my knee hurts the entire time.  Finally, this morning, Thursday, I am sitting at my laptop pain free.  That, for me, is a big change, and very encouraging.  Each day has seen slow, but steady improvement, but being able to sit here typing without pain for the first time in 5 days is a really big, noteworthy improvement, hence I am making note of it....lol.

After applying first ice, then heat to my knee Thursday morning I ventured outside to feel the sun on my face, and enjoy just standing there without pain....maybe a little discomfort, but no pain.  Walking up and down the entry stairs to the Newell, or trailer is still an adventure, but that is getting better, too.

Around 12:30 pm a change of scenery, for me, seemed in order, so TLE and I drove over to the Sunset Grill at Fountain of Youth for lunch.  Each time we visit FOY we discover something new.  For instance, Thursday we discovered they have a barber shop right next to the restaurant.  I think I will visit them today (Friday) to get a trim before Christmas.  After lunch we were walking up to the grocery store to buy a few things when we noticed the barber pole....very cool!

As I mentioned yesterday, rain was forecast for Thursday evening by the weather guessers.  Frankly, at the beginning of the week the guessers forecast rain for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but each day it changed until Thursday they said it would rain all Thursday night, and into Friday night.  Well, that hasn't happened, either.  We got sprinkles during the night, and it was still sprinkling when we awoke this morning (Friday), but it has stopped again, and now we can see some blue sky in the distance.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just observing how difficult weather prognostication is around the Salton Sea.

We were back at GNHS around 1:30 pm, and by 2:30 pm I was walking down to the hot pools/tubs to take another soak.  We've only been here a tad over 2 months and I think I've soaked more this season, than all of last season combined....

Filling up the tub

.....a beautiful afternoon for a soak!  I hung out there for around 45 minutes before draining my tub, and walking pain free back to the Newell.  

Alas, there are no pictures of the sunset, or Chocolate Mountains lit by the setting sun for Thursday.  Just lots of cloud cover portending the eventual sprinkles we got last night.  TLE and I watched the 'Survivor' finale (recorded Wednesday night....it was a 3 hour show, and we didn't want to stay up to 11 pm), which ended being the closest vote ever.  TLE and I both thought Dee, or Austin would win, and ultimately the final vote was 5-3 in favor of Dee.

Thanks for stopping by!

Is that rain on the roof?

7:22 am - Thursday - December 21st - GNHS - 57° F, 70% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the south......cloudy today with a forecast high of 67° F, and rain later today through Friday.  On this date in 2017 we awoke to snow on the ground at the Grand Canyon.  It was 18° F when this picture was taken......↴

By Wednesday morning my right knee was feeling much better, and I was able to walk without a limp for the first time since Sunday.  Getting old is not for the faint of heart.  When I was 19 I would have gotten over something like this in a few days, but at 74 it is taking weeks, not days.....ugh!

Even though my knee was feeling better I decided to place myself under house arrest for a third day, and that made TLE happy.  I alternated between ice and heat most of the morning, and then around 12:30 pm I walked, without limping, down to the hot pools/tubs to take another soak.  The water in the tubs was coming out around 120° F, so it took around three 5 gallon buckets of pool water to get it down to where I could handle it.  The heat was great, and after 30 minutes I was ready to walk back to the Newell, and what a painless walk it was!

Wednesday was also the day we needed to dump our black tank.  This job usually falls to me to do, but TLE offered to help, so I would not have to walk back and forth from one side of the coach to the other, and that was nice.  With her help the job was done in about 20 minutes, and we were good for another 10 days.  I usually fill the black tank with fresh water three times after dumping it to be sure all the effluent has been removed, and that is what takes most of the time.  The water pressure here is not very good, so it takes a while to fill the tank each time.  At LPG&RVR the water pressure is great, and the entire process takes about 10 minutes beginning to end.

Around 1:30 pm, right after I returned from the hot tub, I began to hear what sounded like rain on the roof.  We weren't expecting rain until Thursday, so it took a second for it to register.  The unexpected rainfall continued on and off until after sunset.  There was enough sun peaking through the clouds just before sunset to partially light up the Chocolates, and provide us with a modest sunset picture....

....it is always kind of weird to go outside here at GNHS and see the pavement wet in every direction.  It does not rain a lot during the winter here, so when it does it is kind of a shock to the senses.  Most of the annual rainfall in this area comes during the summer monsoons......

....as the evening wore on my the improvement in my knee seemed to accelerate.  After 3 days of almost constant pain I was able to move about, or sit pain free.  As I sit here typing this morning it is a little stiff, so I will reapply the ice, and then go to heat as I have for the previous 3 days, and maybe there will be another soak in the mineral hot springs tub.

Thanks for stopping by!

NOTHING.....

7:43 am - Wednesday - December 20th - GNHS - 52° F, humidity 56%, wind 3 mph out of the southeast....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 70° F.  On this date in 2018 TLE and I were in Nashville visiting Antique Archeology (American Pickers).....very cool to see it in person.....↴ 

Day 2 of my 'house arrest' went well, and I am seeing steady improvement in my right knee, but being off my feet all day, and doing NOTHING is a tough pill to swallow.  I went outside once all day long just to stand in the sun, but then returned to my recliner, and the icing and heating pad routine.  The swelling continues to decrease, and it appears that doing NOTHING all day is working.

There was pretty heavy cloud cover all day, which led to neither a Chocolate Mountains light show, nor sunset pictures.  I know there is a storm heading towards us, so the cloud cover is not too surprising, but when you are used to crystal clear, blue, sunny skies every day it still takes you by surprise.

And that is pretty much it.  I did NOTHING except rest my knee all day Tuesday, so there is nothing about which to write.  Well, wait a minute, there is just one thing of note to report about Tuesday....Kyle was finally able to bring the front loader up to our site,  scoop up that big pile of pine needles TLE and I raked up a few weeks ago, and and haul it away....

Before...

After....

.....looks quite a bit better now!  Thanks for stopping by!

House arrest......

 8:09 am - Tuesday - December 19th - GNHS - 49° F, humidity 50%, wind 5 mph out of the southeast.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 70° F.  On this date in 2019 TLE and I were dining at El Michoacan Mexican Restaurant in Ramona, CA with our fellow employees from Ramona Oaks RV Resort....↴

A few weeks ago while walking across the COA parking area I tripped over a raised asphalt ridge and fell.  I wasn't really hurt at the time, but a day, or two later my right knee began to hurt.  I think I might have hyper extended it in the fall.  Over the past few weeks it has steadily gotten better, but on Sunday I spent a lot of time on my knees working on a project, and when I woke up Monday morning it was hurting like the dickens, and I could hardly walk.  Well, I decided to stay off my feet Monday, and spent most of the day ensconced in my recliner.

I applied ice to my knee, and then heat, over and over again, until the pain in my knee began to lessen.  By evening I was able to walk pretty much pain free, and even went outside for the first time all day to take pictures of the sunset.  Note to self...you're not 19 anymore and can't spend a couple of hours on your knees anymore, especially when you are already recovering from an injury.

On a positive note, I was able to catch up on many of the YouTube channels I follow, and even take a long nap, but let's face it, I'm not a sit in a recliner all day kind of person, and would rather be doing something of a profitable nature.

Speaking of the sunset, we had cloud cover most of the day so I was hoping we would get another shot at a beautiful sunset, and I was not disappointed.....

.....well, that was the highlight of my day, other than the fact my knee was feeling much better after an entire day of inactivity with The Lovely Elaine waiting upon me hand and foot.  She would not allow me to get up to do anything, other than go to the bathroom, all day.  She is a good nurse.....😁

Thanks for stopping by!

Walkin' and soakin'....

 8:16 am - Monday - December 18th - GNHS - 52° F, humidity 57%, wind 5 mph out of the southeast.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 67° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I hiked to the snake rock sculpture about 1.5 miles from our Anza Borrego Desert boondock site.....↴

You can see TLE standing in the background for perspective of how large this sculpture is

By Sunday morning the number of customers in the park was close to zero, and with no advance bookings we did not open the COA office.  Instead TLE and I took another out and back walk down Mineral Hot Spa Road covering the 2 mile distance in just under 40 minutes, and averaging around 3.1 mph....

....when we returned I set up the outdoor TV so we could watch another English Premier soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester United, which we thought would be a good game, and it was.  We both got fresh cups of coffee to enjoy while we watched the complete match.  The air was balmy, and it was delightful to be sitting outdoors. Both teams, as expected, played stellar defense, and the final score of 0-0 reflected that.

After the finish of that match I took some time to repair the right arm rest of my Adirondack chair.  The three wood screws affixing it to the frame had worked their way loose over time.  At first I thought I would just use longer screws, but the next size I had in stock were too long, and would have protruded through the arm rest (they are screwed in from underneath the armrest), and that would have been uncomfortable, lol.  So, what to do?  Well, I put a dab of wood glue into each of the three holes, then screwed the armrest down to the frame, and then let it sit for a few hours.  The glue, theoretically, will keep the three screws from backing out again....we'll see.  So far, so good.  While I was at it I tightened all the screws and bolts on my chair, and then did the same to TLE's Adirondack.

With that job completed I retrieved my anti gravity chair, set it up, and proceeded to watch an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys in Buffalo.  The Cowboys have been on a roll this year averaging 40 points per game for the last month, or more, and the Bills have suffered a lot of last minute defeats, so it appeared Dallas had the edge.  Not so fast!  Buffalo held Dallas to just 3 points in the first half, and by the end of the game won handily 31-10....you just never know.

By that time I was ready for another soak, so I headed down to the hot pools/tubs to do just that.  There was just one customer there, so I pretty much had the place to myself again.....

Life is good

....it was a beautiful afternoon with interesting cloud formations.  The water coming out of the tap (foreground) was around 110° F on this day, so I had to add about 5 gallons of pool water to get the temp down to around 105° F....perfect! 

With TLE's help we moved a few things around in the trailer, and consolidated some other things to make the trailer interior a little less congested, but there is still a long way to go in divesting ourselves of too much stuff....it is a slow process, but every time we work at it we can see results, and we are making progress.

With the cloud cover we had most of the day there were no Chocolate Mountains to be lit, and really no sunset of which to speak....

A rather muted sunset

No Chocolate Mountains light show this date

.....and with that another GNHS days came to an end.  It appears we'll have rain Thursday and Friday this week....maybe up to 1/2" of precipitation.....

.....so we've got that to look forward to.  We've got lot of advance bookings starting this weekend, and through New Years, so buckle up and follow along!

Thanks for stopping by!