Marshall Hockwald.....

7:26 am - Sunday - April 21st - LPG&RVR - 39° F, humidity 69%, wind zero mph out of the north.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 70° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were near Moab, UT visiting Arches National Park with David and Denise Zonker.....one of our favorite memories.....

I like working Saturday's at LPG&RVR!  My job turns from labor intensive stuff to marshalling the golf course, especially on particularly busy ones like this Saturday, which was significantly busier than last Saturday.  Over the 8 hours I worked I made 8 rounds of the course, and I never get tired of doing that....

Near the 8th tee box...you can see cattle grazing in the background

.....in all we rented 13 golf carts, and there were at least another dozen folks playing who had their own golf carts, so a very busy day for sure.  A lot of the local ranchers showed up for breakfast and lunch at the Cafe, so combined with our normal customer base the Cafe was very busy all day.

We had our first weekly putting contest at 4 pm, so I was off work by 3:30 pm to change clothes and return.  We had a few golf carts still outstanding at 4 pm, but by 5 pm most of them had returned.  I managed to last 3 rounds on this day, but that was as far as I got.  Nevertheless, a good time was had by all.

Upon our return home TLE and I deployed our sun screen for the first time since last summer, and sat outside until just after sundown.....

...that sun screen, which TLE made many years ago, really expands our 'lido deck', and makes it much more hospitable in the late afternoon when the sun finally hits it....

....we've now four days off work before we return next Thursday.  We'll spend more time finishing the 'dining/gaming deck', and setting up the 'viewing deck', and restart our walking routine.  My back injury I suffered a few weeks ago has pretty much healed.  I have a little residual stiffness, but the pain is pretty much gone now...thank God.  When you get old it really takes a lot longer to heal, and I'm still trying to get used to that.  Of course, the big take away from it all is DON'T DO STUPID STUFF AND HURT YOURSELF in the first place, right?  TLE reminds me several times a day to take my time, and think about each action, and its possible consequences before proceeding.  My brain thinks I'm still 19, and keeps telling me I can do things I used to do 20 years ago, and I just can't anymore.  Memo to brain....I'm almost 75, not 25....stop it....lol!

Thanks for stopping by!

'Heating' up!

6:10 am - Saturday - April 20th - LPG&RVR - 40° F, humidity 78%, wind 2 mph out of the south by southeast.....partially cloudy today with a forecast high of 71° F....our warmest day yet!  The view this morning....

....on this date in 2022 we awoke to snow here in Likely Place Golf & RV Resort.....

Friday was to be the warmest day of the week so far with a predicted high of 68° F, and it did just that.  Each year the owners of LPG&RVR buy 8 new American flags to be attached to the 8 flag poles, four of which adorn the entrance to LPG&RVR, and the remaining four along the road up to the upper RV sites.  It usually falls to me to change those flags out, and this year was no different.  It took me a couple of hours to get that job done, including deploying them to their locations for the rest of the summer.  By the time I finished changing out the flags, carefully folding the retired flags, installing the new ones, and then deploying them it was around 11:45 am and almost time to give TLE her lunch break....

Two of the flags deployed at the entrance....two to go

....it was another beautiful LPG&RVR day, and a watch cap was not required for the first time this week, but I did wear the sweatshirt all day long.....

....when we were at COSTCO a few months ago I bought some new work pants which I wore for the first time Friday.....

....I spent time after TLE's lunch break talking with customers about LPG&RVR, which is one of the things I love about my job.  Around 2 pm I headed out for the first time Friday to inspect the golf course.  I took a picture of the #3 tee boxes I mowed on Thursday.....once again there were very few leavings of the fowl variety.....

....this is where most of the duck and goose leavings are found.

We actually rented out 7 Yamaha gassers Friday with the final rental returning right at 5 pm, just as I was waiting for TLE to close out the cash register, so I took a few minutes to clean it, and park it for the night.  In all there were probably a dozen players on the course Friday, some with their own golf carts, and a couple who walked the course.  Saturday looks like it will be a busy day according to the number of tee times which have been reserved.  Many of our 'members' will be arriving for first time this Spring, and we will have our first putting contest Saturday at 4 pm, so lots going on this weekend.

As I write it is early Saturday morning, which is our 'Friday' this week.  We'll be off Sunday through Wednesday this week, and work Thursday through Sunday.  I love our schedule here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring cleaning.....

6:16 am - Friday - April 19th - LPG&RVR - 36° F, humidity 69%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.....partially cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 68° F. The view this morning.....

....on this date in 2013 TLE and I were at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in D.C. viewing the 'Spirit of St. Louis' exhibit.....

If it is possible I think Thursday morning was even cooler than Wednesday morning, and once again I arrived at work bundled up from head to toe, as they say....watch cap, thermal jacket, gloves, long pants, thermal socks, and Keen hiking shoes.  Once again, we had no tee times claimed, but I deployed 4 of the Club Car electrics anyway.  We usually begin to get walk in business on Thursday's.  By the end of the day we had rented 7 golf carts.

I spent about an hour kind of organizing the 'Caddy Shack' where we keep tools, and various gasoline powered tools such as string trimmers, chain saws, etc.  Each winter I leave the Caddy Shack in pretty good order only to return in the Spring to chaos, and this winter was no exception, so it was time for my annual 'Spring Cleaning'.  There were unopened boxes clogging up the floor space, and the work bench was covered with all sorts of fasteners, and tools.  On the back wall we hang our shovels of all shapes and sizes, push brooms, garden rakes, and other gardening tools, and they were all mixed up.  By the end of an hour order had been restored....

The floor is cleared

I can see the top of the work bench again

All the hand tools are back in their places, and easily accessible once again

....there is still too much stuff in there, but at least it is organized now!  Next up I headed out to make my first round of the golf course with a square point shovel, and a 5 gallon bucket.  My first stop was at the tee boxes for the 3rd hole.  I was surprised to find very little duck and geese leavings, but not unhappy about it....lol.  Jose (superintendent) was working on the sprinklers surrounding each hole, so some of them were running as I drove by...

....it has been over six months since the tent sites were mowed, and the grass was getting long so I traded Club Car #20 for the small Husqvarna, and headed down to mow them, as well as the lawn around Kathie's single wide home (Cafe Kathie).  That took me until TLE's lunch break at 12 pm.  I had forgotten how much I love that 1 hour interlude between the morning and afternoon, especially on days when I don't take lunch.  It gives me a nice break before I head out to take care of the afternoon mowing.  

I managed to get the parking lot lawn mowed, plus the three lawns located at the members' sites up the hill in the permanent site section.  The afternoon passed quickly, and soon it was closing in on 5 pm, and time to call it another day at LPG&RVR.  After dinner TLE and I sat on the 'lido deck' for the first time since we returned, and enjoyed a sunset.....

....no sunset fire on this night as I have not set up the propane firepit yet (no wood fires here at LPG&RVR), but the night was warmer than past evenings, and without even a breeze.  The perfect way to end any day.  We didn't head back inside until after 8 pm.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

'Home'

6:10 am - Thursday - April 18th - LPG&RVR - 29° F, humidity 67%, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 67° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were walking the National Mall in Washington D.C.......

'First days' at any job can be challenging, but when this is your third 'first day' at the same job, it just seems routine.  TLE and I were on the job by 7:45 am....she returning to her familiar duties after a 6 month hiatus, and for me the same.  Not too surprisingly, there were no advance tee times booked for Wednesday, but I staged four of the Yamaha gassers anyway.  Eventually, around 1 pm, we had walkup customers who had just parked their RV, and wanted to get in 9 holes...they had the course all to themselves.

During the winter all of our running golf carts, including those used by staff, are crammed into the cart shed to keep them mostly out of the weather.  Each Spring they must all be pulled out, washed, refueled, serviced as needed, then rearranged in the shed so they are more spaced out, and easy to access.  That job fell mostly to me this year.  Dennis, the owner, had pulled out most of the Yamaha gassers over the weekend so they were ready to rent.  I continued the process pulling out all of the Club Car gassers to wash and fuel.  I had to change one flat tire, and air up a couple of other tires that were low.

Once that was done I grabbed a square point shovel and headed out to make my first round of the course.  What is the square point shovel for you might ask?  Well, you will probably remember that each Spring geese migrating northward for the summer stop off here for a few weeks before continuing their migration northward, and the tee boxes for hole #3 become their favorite places to relieve themselves, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, for those few weeks we need to clear their leavings from each of the three tee boxes there at least once a day.  On Wednesday it was not too bad, and I was done with that unpleasantness in 10 minutes.  I snapped a few pictures along the way....

Eagle Mountain in all her glory

Near the 15th tee boxes

.....even though this is our third season here at LPG&RVR I am still blown away by the natural beauty that surrounds the golf course.

Over the course of the day I repaired a couple of hoses, picked about 30 golf balls from the driving range left over from opening weekend, so DeWayne can mow it on Thursday, mowed the grass around the putting green in front of the Clubhouse, had a bacon, lettuce, tomato and turkey sandwich for lunch, gave TLE her lunch break, washed and fueled the Club Cars (early afternoon when it was warm enough= for the water not to freeze....lol), and didn't take off my jacket, or watch cap until late, late afternoon.  I'm not sure it got to 60° F Wednesday, but it was a beautiful April day, nevertheless.

I clocked out around 4:45 pm, putted for about 15 minutes, then took TLE home.  Our first of four work days was done, and we were both happy to be 'home'.

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting there.....

5:54 am - Wednesday - April 17th - LPG&RVR - 33° F, humidity 87%, wind 1 mph out of the north by northwest.....mostly cloudy today with a forecast high of 60° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were touring Natural Bridges, Canyon Lands, UT......hiked to all three natural bridges in one day....

Tuesday was our last day before we begin the 4 days on, and 4 day off cycle here at LPG&RVR, so we needed to get a lot more done in setting up our 'lido deck'.  Before we could set up the dining/gaming deck we needed to haul some gravel, pull some weeds, and do some raking.  A little after noon time we were ready to lay down the artificial turf, then set up the dining canopy.....

Added gravel between the trailer entrance and the 'lido deck'....the green patch on the right will be the 'viewing deck'

Added a couple of concrete steps down from the 'lido deck' to the 'dining/gaming deck'

....by 3:30 pm we were tired, and done with the 'dining/gaming deck'....there's still more to do, but we are getting there quickly!

The day began with heavy overcast, and temps around 30° F, but by mid afternoon we had a lot of blue sky overhead, and it was a delightful, albeit, cold afternoon (high 50's).  I wore pants, a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and a vest for most of the day.

I left Club Car Villager #20 with Bob for a couple of hours while I borrowed one of the 2 seater carts, and a dumping trailer to haul a couple of loads of gravel to our site, plus haul away the weeds we had pulled.  By the time I returned he had finished installing the new air intake tube, and my cart was ready for another summer of extensive use.  Within an hour TLE and I will be on our way to work for the first time since we arrived last Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Taking it to the street!

7:41 am - Tuesday - April 16th - LPG&RVR - 34° F, humidity 84%, wind 0 mph out of the southeast.....98% cloud cover with a forecast high of 62° F.  On this date in 2014  TLE and I were at a National Forest Campground, which sits at 7.200' elevation, just north of Blanding, UT.  I grilled a couple of filets for dinner, and with the addition of a couple of side dishes courtesy TLE, proceeded to enjoy a 'fine dining' evening in the Newell....

We've been at LPG&RVR 5 days as of Monday morning, and we haven't driven into Alturas yet, so we set our sights on 11:30 am to make the 25 minute drive into town do do an extremely small shopping (we just did a big shopping a week before near Carson City, NV), and to stop off at Rubio's Taqueria for some of their amazing street tacos (carne asada for moi).  Our first stop was at the U.S. Post Office to drop off some mail, then over to Rite Aid to freshen our supply of band aids.  It seems we go through a lot band aids between TLE and I as our skin continues to age.

Our next stop was our favorite Holiday Market on the west side of town where TLE bought some produce, and a few other items.  Once that was done we made a bee line for Rubio's Taqueria, where we arrived at the perfect time....no line!

That's Jose's (course superintendent) wife, Rosa, in the background

Usually we take our orders to the local city park and eat them alfresco, but it was barely 50° F outdoors, and TLE was having not of that....lol...so we ate them right there at the restaurant.  We always add a few jalapenos to our tacos for a little extra 'kick', if you will.  Their refried beans, and Spanish rice are also top notch, and very fresh!  Note, I am still wearing my jacket completely zipped up, inside the restaurant....it was a cold, cold day!

We were home before 2 pm, and by 2:30 pm I was outside doing a little more work getting our 'lido deck' setup, along with the 'dining deck' and 'viewing deck'.  I did a little weeding....there are a lot of weeds this year....and will do more Tuesday before we bring out the dining canopy, and umbrellas.  I also managed to get the final two tool bags on the tool tables, but still need to deploy the Black & Decker Workmate, and my back machine, plus move the bicycles to the back of the trailer.  Also, I neglected to mention that before we went into town I dumped, and flushed the black tank for the first time since Salton City on April 6th before we headed into town.

Before we knew it the clock was reading 4:48 pm, and it was time to put things away, and head inside for the night as the outdoor temps were beginning to plummet.  Since we had a late lunch we just had snacks for dinner, which consisted of popcorn, and sliced cheese.  For the evening's entertainment we watched episode 3 from Season 13 of 'Vera' on BritBox.

Well, one more day (Tuesday) until we report for work for our first 4 day shift of the 2024 LPG&RVR season, so time to get cracking and finish the 'lido deck' setup!

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter has returned....

7:54 am - Monday - April 15th - LPG&RVR - 37° F, humidity 93%, wind 2 mph out of the northwest.....heavy cloud cover today with a forecast high of 55° F.  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were boondocking with Steven and Linda Dempsey at Goosnecks State Park in southern Utah....Steven took some great pictures of our encampment with his drone....

The rain fell most Saturday night, and into Sunday morning, and it was clear there would be no golf being played on this day...at least in Likely, CA.......

Yup, we were up early watching the 4th round of The Masters

....eventually, as forecast, the rain turned to snow....

....and the snow continued pretty much unabated until around 4 pm.  Very little stuck, and what did was on the VW, the Club Car, and the grass (real and artificial...lol)...

....I went outside briefly two times during the day, to do what I cannot remember, and that was it.  The temps never got out of the 30's, and the high only got to 37° F (2° lower than forecast), so there was no compelling reason to be out there doing anything.  As has been the case the prior to years we have arrived at LPG&RVR in mid April, winter seems to still have a grip on the Pitt River Valley, where LPG&RVR is located.

Of course, the main event of the day was the final round of the 88th edition of The Masters in Augusta, GA.  Scottie Scheffler began the day at -7, with a one stroke lead, and never relinquished the lead.  He was tied once, or twice, but always seemed to be able to sink a birdie putt, when it counted most, to pull back into the solo lead.  It was a close match until around the 9th hole when Scottie began a run of 3 consecutive birdies, while his closest competitors faltered, hitting their balls in the water, and suffering double bogies.  The outcome was never in doubt after the 11th hole as Scottie finished strong to win by four at 11 under par.....

Those three guys at -4 'only' got $1 million each in prize money...Scottie earned over $3 million

....there is almost something magical about how the crowd rallies around the winner each year.  To be fair, there were 5, or 6 players who had a chance to win had they not made mistakes when things were on the line, plus failing to sink birdie putts when they presented themselves, and that is really what The Masters is all about....minimizing your mistakes, and taking advantage of scoring opportunities.  Scottie Scheffler did both of those things to perfection Sunday, and that is why he won. There were only 8 players UNDER par, out of 60 when Scottie finished his 72nd, and final hole.  TLE and I are both grateful we had the opportunity to watch all four days this year.

There are only three RVs in the park as I write, and no one played golf Sunday.  It appears we have cloudy, but dry weather in the forecast for the next 2 weeks, so I'm sure the number of RVs will increase rapidly.  All that being said, it is kind of nice to have the park all to ourselves right now.  

Thanks for stopping by!