"The Wayward Wind"

7:51 am - Thanksgiving Thursday - November 25th - Ocotillo Wells, CA - 66° F, 16% humidity, wind 18 mph out of the north by northwest.....crystal, clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 76° F.  On this date in 2020 I was working a rain abbreviated shift at Seal Rocks RV Cove.......↴

We last used our 'Cowboy Wok' about a year ago while in Seal Rock, OR, but as the Fall waned, and Winter waxed it became apparent that the Coastal Oregon weather would no longer be conducive to doing much cooking outside, so I stowed her away, not realizing how long it would be until she made another appearance......how's that for a 'run on sentence'?  

Wednesday morning, as I began to regain consciousness from my nighttime repose, it occurred to me that it might be time to pull the 'Cowboy Wok' out of stowage, and make use of her once again.  Amazingly, TLE was thinking the exact same thing as she egressed from the bedroom into the kitchen a few minutes after I.  It's apparent to me that we have achieved a perfect 'Vulcan mind meld' after 50 years of wedded bliss.....lol!

After publishing my latest missive to the blogosphere I proceeded to retrieve the various components which make up the 'Cowboy Wok', assembled them, and then turned them over to TLE to work her morning 'break the fast' magic......

......within 20 minutes the fruits of her loving labor were placed before me on my TV table......

.....I'm certain the 'Cowboy Wok' will get plenty of use over the next few months as we continue our desert sojourn.

While TLE prepared breakfast I took a few pictures of the surrounding area......

....there is something about the starkness of the desert combined with the enormous views which have always appealed to me.  Between 12 and 2:30 pm two more RV's arrived....Travis and Deanna Jacoby (Chris' high school friends) along with their daughter, Cora,  in their large 5th wheel, and then my son, Chris, and Rochelle arrived in their 2007 Fleetwood Class A, four slide motorhome......

Now 4 RV's

.....and by this morning (Thursday) we had a total of 7 RV's on site with three more to arrive tomorrow, for a total of 10.....

Now 7 RV's....3 more to come!

.....the winds, which arrived Tuesday afternoon continued to freshen throughout Wednesday, and got up to the mid 20's overnight.  I missed the actual setting of the sun, but managed to catch the afterglow.....

.....our kids had a fire last night, and I walked over to greet the new arrivals (too dark for my camera to memorialize that).....Ed and Linda (Rochelle's parents), Eddie (Rochelle's brother) and Veronica and their 4 boys, Christopher (Chris' son), Michael and Bea (Rochelle's sister).  Daniel and Cynthia (Chris and Rochelle's daughter) along with their two sons arrived after I went back inside.  Nick and Kate (our daughter) and their kids will arrive Friday along with my brother Philip, his wife Jeannie, and finally Miguel and Danielle (Philip and Jeannie's daughter) with their two kids in tow.

As I write the wind is howling, and the dust is flying!  We are hoping the winds will abate by this afternoon....we'll see.  In closing, here is a song sung by Gogi Grant which seems to describe our weather.....

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Mixed bag......

7:00 am - Wednesday - February 26th - TWW - 42° F, humidity 28%, wind 6 mph out of the east by northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 69° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were having lunch in Port Salerno, FL at the Manatee Island Bar & Grill..... 

.....one of my favorite pics of TLE and I.

Tuesday was a mixed bag for us workwise.  While TLE worked to level the site where she is placing her Cowboy Wok, I worked at exposing more of the septic line so we can install a 'T' there, and install the 'hardline' from our black tank sewer connection to the new sewer connection.  You may recall that when Charles and I left off digging the other day we had just barely exposed the black ABS pipe.  In order to install the 'T' I need to completely expose the 3" pipe, and then clear dirt back about 3' on each side where the 'T' will  be installed.....

....I managed to get a 3' section of the sewer line exposed before I decided I had dug enough for one day.  I'll need at least another foot each direction to install the 'T'.  Meanwhile, TLE managed to get her site leveled, and a small mat tacked down under the 'Cowboy Wok'.....

.....next up TLE and I joined forces to move all that lumber we removed for the east side of the garage into the barn where it can be stored out of the weather until we decide what to do with it.  That was probably the hardest thing we did all day.....

.....plus we also moved all of the polycarbonate roof panels we recently removed from the greenhouse roof into the barn......

....we hope to repurpose them in the near future.

By the time we finished that job we were both ready for a nap!  Instead of a nap I just took a rest in one of the anti gravity chairs for about 30 minutes then decided to service the Ford 420 loader.  I needed to top off the hydraulic fluid, check the oil, and coolant levels.  While I was at it I decided to take the plunge and attempt to install the new gauge cluster Charles bought off eBay.  The old one is unreadable, and non-functional.  It would be nice to see the RPM's, and temperature of the engine.   It took me about two hours to do that.....

I took a picture so I could remember where all the wires went

I think one of our furry friends was living in there....I had to vacuum it out

The new gauge cluster....

.....installed

.....regretfully, the only things that work are the check battery light, and the turn signal indicator.  I'll have to do some trouble shooting on the wiring.....but it sure looks nice.....lol!

With that I was finally done for the day.  It was around 3 pm, and I was tired.  TLE used her  'Cowboy Wok' to cook Fajitas for dinner, and were they ever good!  And for the second evening in a row we ate dinner outside....a very nice way to end another TWW day.

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One thing led to another.......

 7:28 am - Thursday - October 27th - GNHS - 64° F, 41% humidity, wind 9 mph out of the north......crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 80° F.  On this date in 2015 we were celebrating my mother's (Virginia) 85th birthday near Spokane, WA at the Latah Bistro....she's been gone now for almost 3 years....time marches onward.......↴

Moi, Caroline (my sister's daughter), and Mom (Virginia)

We were just going to make a few minor adjustments to our 'lido deck' environment, but you know how that goes with us.....one thing led to another, and before you knew it we had made a lot of changes.....but I get ahead of myself.

I was still inside putting the finishing touches on my latest missive when I heard TLE moving rocks outside, so I ventured outside to investigate the early morning energy expenditure by TLE.  I found her completely repositioning the firepit area.....

......once she began that task I suggested we replace the GNHS firepit with our own portable one, which we love, but haven't been able to use since we left Borrego Springs late March of this year.  We next used one of our 'sail' shades to create a barrier between our site, and the site behind us.....

.....in the picture above you can see we have set up our 'Cowboy Wok', and you will also note in the picture below that we have deployed our anti gravity chairs.....they are so comfortable.......

.....then I spent a couple of hours converting the trailer interior back to my 'man cave' for the next 5 months......

.....by the time we finished what we were doing it was after 3 pm, and time for a shower.  By the way, I don't think I've mentioned this, but the city water here comes out of the tap at 93-100° F during the heat of the day, we don't even use the water heater to take showers right now.  The resort gets its water from a quite large water tank up on the hill, and it is metal.  The sun heats the water in the tank, so we are getting free hot water until the weather cools more substantially.

Around 5 pm TLE opened a can of beer our son-in-law, Rod (Sharon's husband) gave us.  He began working for 'Brewery X' a few months ago, and I've wanted to get some samples so he gave me a 'four pack' the other night when they came for dinner at the Elks Lodge......

.....this is one of the best IPA's I've had....not too 'hoppy', and it is unfiltered, which I prefer.....

.....once again we were able to eat our dinner alfresco.....TLE, using the 'Cowboy Wok', put together a steak, and potato hash from the leftover steak and potatoes from the night before, which was amazing.  After dinner we played 5 games of Backgammon......

.....before retiring to the 'lido deck' for our first evening fire in 7 months.....the night was windless, and the skies were clear......

.....we sat outside until after 8 pm talking, and enjoying a real wood fire.

While we are mostly finished creating our 'lido deck' environment, I still need to deploy my solar rope and twinkle lights, and we need one, or two more potted plants, but we are almost finished.  Now it is just time to enjoy what we have created, and enjoy this great place we get to call home for the next 5 months.

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That squeak.....

 7:36 am - Thursday - July 7th - Likely, CA - 55° F, 52% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the east by southeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were taking a walking tour of Keystone, SD......↴

Wednesday was a nice, relaxing day.  TLE and I drove over to the Clubhouse around 10:30 am to have our weekly putting contest.  She was a little off her game Wednesday....we were tied 2-2 after 5 holes, but then I pulled away winning easily.  Putting is a strange animal, and you can lose your touch in an instant.

Over the course of the day I set up the 'Cowboy wok' for TLE, pulled a bunch of tall weeds on the driver side of the Newell, and rearranged the Edison lights so I could deploy the bedroom window awning on the passenger side of the coach.

Early afternoon I headed out to take another ride around the perimeter of the golf course.  I've been having an issue with the Haibike for a number of weeks now.  There is a squeak which I have not been able to eliminate, and it is driving me a little nutty.  My main focus has been on the various pivot point in the rear suspension system, but no matter how much lube I put on those pivots the squeak continued unabated......

There are 12 pivot points (6 on each side) in all indicated by the red arrows in these two pictures

.....after closely inspecting everything, and determining the squeak was only occurring when I pushed on the left pedal, I focused on the 'rock shield' which protects the electric motor.......

.....and ultimately determined the squeak was being caused by the 'rock shield' rubbing against the metal casing of the electric motor when I pushed down on the left pedal.  Using a razor I shaved off a little of the 'rock shield', and the squeak disappeared.....doh!.....

The squeak was right there!  Amazing!

.....you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.  At any rate, after finishing my latest perimeter ride, and being bugged by that persistent squeak, I spent the rest of the afternoon on this squeak finally emerging from the trailer in victory around 4 pm....only took me 2.5 hours to figure it out....FINALLY!.....

......I added a small section to my ride Wednesday taking me to the top of a local hill.....

TLE had planned to use the Cowboy wok to cook dinner, but the wind came up just as she was carrying the ingredients outside.  She ended up making dinner inside, but it did not change the outcome, which was delicious!

We spent the evening watching the last 5 episodes of 'Terminal List' on Amazon Prime.  I wrote about finishing the 5th book in this series about a week, or so ago, and found out from my daughter, Meredith, that the series, which encompasses the first book,  was being released on July 1st.  They did an excellent job of translating the essence of the book to the TV screen.

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Cowboy Woks, and dropping pins......

8:24 am - Friday - June 12th - Island Park, ID - 52° F, 81% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the north.....cloudy right now, but mostly sunny later on with a forecast high for today of 79° F.  On this day in 2013 we were in LaCrosse, WI visiting a local micro brewery.....

I haven't taken a Haibike ride for a while and Thursday seemed to be the perfect day for it with temps in the low 70's, light breezes, and lots of sun.  I set out riding south on Henry's Lake Road (County 055) around 11 am....just past our campground the pavement turns to dirt, and goes back and forth between well graded, smooth dirt/gravel roadbed to pavement for 6 miles before turning back to pavement permanently.  At the 6 mile mark I noticed some RV's down by the lake......

....and decided to investigate this public access area for possible future boondocking opportunities......

......you can just see Bill Frome County Park in that grove of aspens about 4 miles as the crow flies to the north......

.....after descending down to lake level I found several great boondocking sites, including this vacant one (picture above), which would easily fit 2-3 Class A RV's.....right across the street from the lake.  Below you can see a large 5th wheel, and a 40' Class A.....

.....if we weren't already set up, and completely happy with our current dry camping spot I would have suggested to Claude that we head directly there.  This great spot is a 'Public Access' point to the lake, and includes two pit toilets, as well as a boat launch ramp.....

.....in all I covered 7 miles out before I turned around to head back.  I came to a fork in the road advising Red Rock Pass was only 22 miles distant.....I don't think I'm into a 44 mile round trip ride today......

.....a 'sign of the times' perhaps?  There were a number of beautiful cabins along County 055, including this one which looked like it was designed to look like an old mining stamp mill.....

.....very intriguing.  In all I covered exactly 14 miles on my one hour and 20 minute round trip ride.....I needed that.  In covering that 14 miles I only used 11% of my battery capacity as I rode mostly in the first assist level for the entire ride, burning 880 caloric units, and averaged 10.9 mph for the entire ride.

As a reward for my physical exertion I pulled out one of our anti gravity chairs, and a good book to while away the afternoon......

 It dasn't get much better than this

....Claude and Gail took their dogs for a hike while I was gone, and shortly after I returned from my ride I got a text from Claude asking if we would join them for a BBQ'd chicken dinner prepared by their hands.....of course I accepted.

Around 5:30 pm Claude began to BBQ the two whole chickens while Elaine and Gail prepared some sides on Claude's amazing Cowboy Disc Wok which he had made for $75......

....I've watched Claude use this wok to prepare several meals now, and I am considering buying one....you can actually buy these online for about $140......

TLE sauteing some mushrooms for dinner on the 

Cowboy Disc Wok...you can see the hash browns Gail has 

already cooked ringing the outer edge of the wok

......by 6:30 we were eating, and raving about the BBQ'd chicken, and sides.....everything was delicious....thank you Claude, Gail and TLE.  We ended the evening with another fire before retiring inside around 9 pm for the evening.

Since all the camping here is dry you can hear the buzz of generators until about 10 pm when they all are dutifully shut down (quiet hours are from 10 pm to 6 am here).  It gets so quiet after 10 pm you can actually hear a pin drop.....that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

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