We have 7 smart, handsome/cute, successful - :) :) :)- grandchildren (5 boys and 2 girls). Now they, or at least the older ones are producing the cutest great-grandchildren in the world (of course). The oldest grand-daughters is a 24 college student while the other is a 4 year old in pre-school. When the 24YO (Kashmere) was in grade school she was asked to write a story about her family. Kashmere chose to write about us, her grandmothers. She had spent most week-ends with us after having lived with us for her first year. Kashmere wrote about how much she loved us and admired who we each were. Her teacher contacted her parents and informed them that her essay would not be posted because of the content. What the teacher missed was that by her actions, she made Kashmere into a strong fierce ally for LGBT people and issues. Kashmere stood up against bullies and the ignorant from that day forward. She wasn’t going to let prejudice get away with hurting anyone else and especially her grandmothers – us. Recently she researched and presented the topic – Civil Unions & Marriage, What Are The Legal Differences – in one of her college classes. So, while the elementary teacher’s motives were suspect, her actions really made the right impression on Kashmere.
That brings us to our youngest grand-daughter, 4YO Tara. We only see her for a month each year when we travel to her hometown and visit with her, her 8YO brother and parents. When we picked her up from pre-school for an afternoon visit, her teacher shared that all of her classmates were envious of Tara’s 2 grandmothers that lived together in an RV. They all wished that they had 2 grandmothers that lived together. So, not only is Tara lucky to have a better teacher than her cousin, she is growing up 20 years later than her cousin. We like to think that her cousin, Kashmere, has in some ways made Tara’s path smoother!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Cleaning the RV - Reno, NV
Living full-time in an RV brings with it the challenge of keeping it clean – nooks and crannies, etc. While Boots was in Alaska getting her driver’s license renewed, Ruthi set about wiping every surface, sweeping every errant dog hair, vacuuming floors/window coverings, washing the floor on her hands/knees, etc. etc. etc. - two days of intense cleaning. Afterwards, she was thinking, hmm was it all worth it. One shake of her body, Karma sends little black hairs everywhere, even though she had just been groomed/furminated.
Keeping dust and grime out of the RV is next to impossible, Besides the windows, doors (without porch/arctic entry) letting in dust and grime from each RV site, our flip flops and Karma’s paws carry more into the rig. Ruthi has flip flops at the door and another pair outside because with walking the dog, she has a tendency to go off paths and sidewalks to pickup presents left by Karma.
Short of sealing the RV inside a large bubble, we live with dust, grime and dirt with continual wiping/vacuuming!
Keeping dust and grime out of the RV is next to impossible, Besides the windows, doors (without porch/arctic entry) letting in dust and grime from each RV site, our flip flops and Karma’s paws carry more into the rig. Ruthi has flip flops at the door and another pair outside because with walking the dog, she has a tendency to go off paths and sidewalks to pickup presents left by Karma.
Short of sealing the RV inside a large bubble, we live with dust, grime and dirt with continual wiping/vacuuming!
Friday, May 3, 2013
US 395 in Eastern California
US 395 has an extremely diverse landscape with respect to the geological aspects. Starting in the South there are ragged mounds of black charred lava chunks strewn all over the landscape. It really looks like the origins of the earth so many millions of eons ago. Maybe this is the result of the big bang / collision that started our planet. This goes on for miles with little other points of interest – no vegetation, no animals seen, not even snakes. Then the grounds begin to look like raw edges of the earth pushed up against each other like a long long fault line. The ridges crisscross the terrain between the Sierra and Inyo mountain ranges.
Eventually, we get to the glacial moraines of smooth rounded rocks as we approach central California. These rounded “rocks” are as large as houses or as small as bricks. The variations are really interesting to look at and speculate about. Still it’s high dessert with little useful vegetation. Locals have explained all of the political signs about water rights - that is an important issue for each election. Southern California has acquired much of the natural water flows from this central section of Eastern California. What use to be lush farm/ranch land is now VERY VERY dry. There is still some water in the valley’s river but Southern California still takes its share.
Then almost on some magical line cutting across California West to East, we drive into rich green fields with cattle munching here and there. And, like magic we are driving through farms/ranches up to we cross into Nevada and eventually to Reno. Every time we take this route we see more and more geological diversity and wonder about how it all came to be here so close to our Western coast. US 395 isn’t as beautiful as US 191 from Farmington, NM to Moab, UT or US 101 along the Northern Coast of California or Oregon but it’s up there in the top 3.
OK, here's some technical terms for the areas we passed through on US 395 (Boots did some research). There are cinder and black basaltic cones. There are lava fields near Taboose Creek. Most of that area comes from the Mesozoic period and include batholiths and igneous type rocks.
FYI, USA Weekend magazine put US 395 as 1 of the 5 Best Road Trips, check it (http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20130517/LIVING01/305170007/USA-s-5-best-road-trips) out! It covers the Northern section that we haven't traversed yet.
Eventually, we get to the glacial moraines of smooth rounded rocks as we approach central California. These rounded “rocks” are as large as houses or as small as bricks. The variations are really interesting to look at and speculate about. Still it’s high dessert with little useful vegetation. Locals have explained all of the political signs about water rights - that is an important issue for each election. Southern California has acquired much of the natural water flows from this central section of Eastern California. What use to be lush farm/ranch land is now VERY VERY dry. There is still some water in the valley’s river but Southern California still takes its share.
Then almost on some magical line cutting across California West to East, we drive into rich green fields with cattle munching here and there. And, like magic we are driving through farms/ranches up to we cross into Nevada and eventually to Reno. Every time we take this route we see more and more geological diversity and wonder about how it all came to be here so close to our Western coast. US 395 isn’t as beautiful as US 191 from Farmington, NM to Moab, UT or US 101 along the Northern Coast of California or Oregon but it’s up there in the top 3.
OK, here's some technical terms for the areas we passed through on US 395 (Boots did some research). There are cinder and black basaltic cones. There are lava fields near Taboose Creek. Most of that area comes from the Mesozoic period and include batholiths and igneous type rocks.
FYI, USA Weekend magazine put US 395 as 1 of the 5 Best Road Trips, check it (http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20130517/LIVING01/305170007/USA-s-5-best-road-trips) out! It covers the Northern section that we haven't traversed yet.
Traversing California (South to North)
While everyone talks about the size of Alaska, California is 3rd after Texas in acreage. Alaska has the acreage, but the limited road system (Anchorage to Fairbanks, Tok, Valdez, and back to Anchorage) really shrinks the feel of Alaska’s breadth. Having isolated cities like Juneau, Bethel, Dillingham, Nome, Kotzebue, Barrow, etc. with only air access (unless you count the Iditarod sled run from Anchorage to Nome (estimate of 1,000 miles)) really makes Alaska feel smaller than either Texas or California.
Coming from Santee, CA to Reno, NV, we take Interstate 15 to the starting point of California 395 about 15 miles south of Adelanto, CA straight up to Reno, NV. You can cross California South to North multiple ways - US 1 along the coast (though not recommended for RVs), CA 101 slightly inland from US 1 (works for RVs), Interstate 5 or CA 99 through the Central Valley or CA 395 on the Eastern side.
We have hauled the rig on each of these routes (except for US 1) as we have traversed California these past few years. We like CA 395 best because of the varied landscapes even though there are a lot of up/down in the valley’s route around the Sierra and Inyo Mountain ranges. We go from sea level to 8,000 feet and then back down to 4,000 in Reno. It makes for extra care of our air beds – need to remove air before we leave or we’ll be sleeping on bricks or burst beds.
Coming from Santee, CA to Reno, NV, we take Interstate 15 to the starting point of California 395 about 15 miles south of Adelanto, CA straight up to Reno, NV. You can cross California South to North multiple ways - US 1 along the coast (though not recommended for RVs), CA 101 slightly inland from US 1 (works for RVs), Interstate 5 or CA 99 through the Central Valley or CA 395 on the Eastern side.
We have hauled the rig on each of these routes (except for US 1) as we have traversed California these past few years. We like CA 395 best because of the varied landscapes even though there are a lot of up/down in the valley’s route around the Sierra and Inyo Mountain ranges. We go from sea level to 8,000 feet and then back down to 4,000 in Reno. It makes for extra care of our air beds – need to remove air before we leave or we’ll be sleeping on bricks or burst beds.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Toilet Replacement - San Marcos, CA
Camping World replaced our 15 year old toilet on top of the 2 inch riser that we wanted removed because we had purchased a new high-profile toilet. The results of their installation meant we proactically needed a ladder to pee. Then we noticed they forgot to re-install the handy spray hose. So, what was an 3/4 hour job took 2 hours. We were a bit upset given that we had to continue on to Adelanto because San Marcos town laws doesn’t allow RVers to spend the night in the Camping World parking lot. the good news is that the Camping World Service manager comp'ed the labor costs ($134.00). So, we are smiling!!!!
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