We have been to this RV park twice before (in April ’10 & ‘11) on our way to Reno, NV docs and Boots’ son/family. This is the first time we have been here during season. Previously, there were lots of open sites. Now, there are only occasional open sites between the various class As, Bs, Cs, trailers, 5th wheels and tents.
Since we were mostly here as a rest stop we didn’t really check out the adjacent dunes. There aren't any motorized vehicles allowed on the beach so it is quiet. Karma and Ruthi have ventured out to the park area already this trip. The dunes go for about a rolling ½ to ¾ mile to the beach. You can’t see the beach until you crest the second dune. The sand is fine powder and it is slow slogging through - so, they haven’t gone far. Karma encourages Ruthi’s exercise by pooping as far away as Ruthi can throw the ball. You’d think Ruthi would catch on and only do short throws until the pooping event is complete.
Most people leave there flip flops and shoes at the edge of the sand in order to progress better across the dunes. Early and late in the day that works well. But between 10am and 5pm the sand is way too hot to walk bare footed across.
There are over 200 sites and probably 100+ dogs around Karma’s size in the park. We have met only 2 or 3 little dogs (Yorkie, Pug, etc.). the rest are mostly lab mixed with a couple of German shepherds and a Doberman. While the dogs must be leashed in the park, as soon as you get past the open fench entrance to the park you can take them off leash. Karma is not good at recall unless we have a ball. So, letting her run is always an adventure. When Karma senses that Ruthi is all thrown out, she will seek out another human to throw the ball. We have a hundred foot rope lead that we attach to her collar, so we can at least finally corral her if need be.
Anyway, Karma is in heaven here – dogs, beach, ball what more could she want.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Chest Pains – Truckee, CA
Barely out of Reno, Boots was experiencing chest pains and clamminess. We decided that we needed to stop at the local Truckee hospital and have it checked out. First things first – she had an EKG and blood work done. Ruthi, meanwhile, (knowing that nothing medical is quick) was looking around this very touristy town for a place to park the RV (45+ feet) while she and Karma went to the ER to check on Boots. Tricky, tricky, tricky. Ruthi found a place in front of the CHP (California Highway Patrol) and went into their office to check if it was ok. Then Ruthi and Karma walked back to the ER. No, Karma was not allowed in the hospital, but Ruthi tied her to an empty newspaper dispenser in the shade.
Test results said Boots hadn’t had a heart attack and was not having one right now. But they wanted to keep her a little while and continue the blood/EKG tests. So, back to the RV for Ruthi and Karma to find a park for a night (or 2) as close as possible to the hospital. Using RV Park Reviews’ web site, Ruthi found Coachland RV Park about 4 miles north of the hospital. Then Ruthi drove to the park, unhooked the 5th wheel, walked Karma and then went back to the hospital with a bag of all those things Boots needed to spend the night at the hospital.
Boots was having more blood tests and another EKG. Since these tests were indicative of no heart attack, the cardiologist was looking to get us back on the road. He decided that if Boots passed a stress test (ever done one – whew very hard/tiring) she could leave the hospital. SHE PASSED and was discharged at 8:30pm with a RX for Nitro.
So, back to the RV park and a night’s sleep before getting back on the road.
Test results said Boots hadn’t had a heart attack and was not having one right now. But they wanted to keep her a little while and continue the blood/EKG tests. So, back to the RV for Ruthi and Karma to find a park for a night (or 2) as close as possible to the hospital. Using RV Park Reviews’ web site, Ruthi found Coachland RV Park about 4 miles north of the hospital. Then Ruthi drove to the park, unhooked the 5th wheel, walked Karma and then went back to the hospital with a bag of all those things Boots needed to spend the night at the hospital.
Boots was having more blood tests and another EKG. Since these tests were indicative of no heart attack, the cardiologist was looking to get us back on the road. He decided that if Boots passed a stress test (ever done one – whew very hard/tiring) she could leave the hospital. SHE PASSED and was discharged at 8:30pm with a RX for Nitro.
So, back to the RV park and a night’s sleep before getting back on the road.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Heat Wave – Reno, NV
Yep, we are still here. The cornea specialist is predicting that we can leave for the central coast of California near the end of the month. The temperatures will be much cooler there.
We have always had less than the needed response from our air conditioner. Even with annual checks and re-assurances from various technicians, the cooling effect wouldn’t last all day nor be low enough to really relieve us from whatever heat was out there. Sometimes it was so bad that we sat outside in the shade to at least get some breezes to cool us.
Knowing that we were in for hot temperatures in July in Reno, we called our Reno RV repair woman. She said that she doesn’t do AC but did have some questions and suggestions. Our thermostat comes with some switches for the fan “high/low” and “auto/constant” along with the temperature adjustment. We would sometimes change the fan speed but had never changed the fan to “constant” – thinking “auto” would work best. She explained that by running the fan constant, the AC wouldn’t freeze up. Air would be constantly flowing over the coils even when the AC was no longer pumping.
What a miracle worker she is. We are now able to keep the inside temperatures at least 20 if not 25 degrees below the scorching outside 90s and even today in the 100s. We could have used this approach a lot of times in our travels over the last 4 years – Simi Valley, CA; Broadus, MT; Rapid City, SD; Marseilles, IL; etc. etc. etc.
We have always had less than the needed response from our air conditioner. Even with annual checks and re-assurances from various technicians, the cooling effect wouldn’t last all day nor be low enough to really relieve us from whatever heat was out there. Sometimes it was so bad that we sat outside in the shade to at least get some breezes to cool us.
Knowing that we were in for hot temperatures in July in Reno, we called our Reno RV repair woman. She said that she doesn’t do AC but did have some questions and suggestions. Our thermostat comes with some switches for the fan “high/low” and “auto/constant” along with the temperature adjustment. We would sometimes change the fan speed but had never changed the fan to “constant” – thinking “auto” would work best. She explained that by running the fan constant, the AC wouldn’t freeze up. Air would be constantly flowing over the coils even when the AC was no longer pumping.
What a miracle worker she is. We are now able to keep the inside temperatures at least 20 if not 25 degrees below the scorching outside 90s and even today in the 100s. We could have used this approach a lot of times in our travels over the last 4 years – Simi Valley, CA; Broadus, MT; Rapid City, SD; Marseilles, IL; etc. etc. etc.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Rights of Passage – Reno, NV
We are back in Reno for the month of July. Boots is seeing the doc weekly instead of multiple times each week. Her light sensitivity is not as extreme as before. So, she is able to enjoy a bit more normal existence. Still hard to read, watch TV, work on computer, etc. but at least not as painful.
We were looking for the best deal on audio books for her and remembered how when we were in high school/college there were constant offers from record and book clubs. You could get 3, 4, 6 records for joining and only had to be a member for a year! Or, 3 or 4 books for the same period. Well, you’d think that as successful as that was (didn’t you do at least one of them, if not both???) the internet would have something like that today. If it does, we didn’t find it.
We were looking for the best deal on audio books for her and remembered how when we were in high school/college there were constant offers from record and book clubs. You could get 3, 4, 6 records for joining and only had to be a member for a year! Or, 3 or 4 books for the same period. Well, you’d think that as successful as that was (didn’t you do at least one of them, if not both???) the internet would have something like that today. If it does, we didn’t find it.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Geeks – Reno, NV
Boots’ cornea specialist doesn’t really have strong people skills. He is a true geek / scientist. He is looking at the infection and measuring it each time Boots sits in the chair. He let Ruthi look over his shoulder and even into the microscope. While the doc and Ruthi are geeking out about the infection, the bright light is still shining painfully into Boots’ eye.
Each visit indicates the infection has shrunk with the use of the special drug that the doc had created especially for Boots. As the abrasion (another name for a cornea infection) decreases in number the frequency of the application of the drops per day. That alone has allowed Boots time just heal / rest between doses.
Each visit indicates the infection has shrunk with the use of the special drug that the doc had created especially for Boots. As the abrasion (another name for a cornea infection) decreases in number the frequency of the application of the drops per day. That alone has allowed Boots time just heal / rest between doses.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
4 Years - Reno, NV
Today’s the anniversary of the beginning of our RV adventure. We have been on the road for 4 years. We still have 7 states to touch (North Dakota, Indiana, Delaware, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas). They will have to wait. With our medical issues this summer, our slow easy summer on the central coast of California was shorten a great deal. So, when we finally get to our winter digs in Santee (San Diego area) and plan next year’s adventure it may be a repeat of the coast.
We have had some very interesting times while having the adventure of our lifetime. We've seen so much and met many others on the same trail. We even met some people a couple of times at different camp grounds. The first time it happened in Spring 2009 in South Carolina, we were shocked – small world and all. But now it’s just old hat!!
Would we do it again? You bet! Will we continue? Again you bet! But we are going to slow down our summer tours – cover less ground more thoroughly. As we travel we may begin to look at the new places as possible “settling down” places. Not, that we are ready yet but this summer has shown us that complex medical circumstances require open-ended time limits for solutions.
We will be looking at the annual weather conditions with average high/low temperatures. Perfect for us is between 60-80 degrees. We know we’ll have to compromise a little on that. Cool nights/early mornings are ok but we are hoping for nicely warm days – no long pants required and only occasionally AC.
Other considerations are public transportation, movie theaters, in/near large city, etc. So, we’ll see how it all plays out as we continue RVing across America.
We have had some very interesting times while having the adventure of our lifetime. We've seen so much and met many others on the same trail. We even met some people a couple of times at different camp grounds. The first time it happened in Spring 2009 in South Carolina, we were shocked – small world and all. But now it’s just old hat!!
Would we do it again? You bet! Will we continue? Again you bet! But we are going to slow down our summer tours – cover less ground more thoroughly. As we travel we may begin to look at the new places as possible “settling down” places. Not, that we are ready yet but this summer has shown us that complex medical circumstances require open-ended time limits for solutions.
We will be looking at the annual weather conditions with average high/low temperatures. Perfect for us is between 60-80 degrees. We know we’ll have to compromise a little on that. Cool nights/early mornings are ok but we are hoping for nicely warm days – no long pants required and only occasionally AC.
Other considerations are public transportation, movie theaters, in/near large city, etc. So, we’ll see how it all plays out as we continue RVing across America.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
3-Tim Day – Reno, NV
We haven’t added much to the blog lately cause we have been in and out of Reno for Boots’ eye. Finally yesterday-Monday (after seeing them the previous Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) they referred us to another ophthalmologist whose specialty is corneas. This new doc was able to fit us in the next day (today at 9:30am).
It is a 2 hour drive into Reno from Quincy, so to quote Ruthi, “we were up before the crack of dawn” to get ready to drive in. We packed the truck, put the dog in the back seat and then the truck wouldn’t start. We called our Ford Roadside Assistance to find out that we are no longer covered under the warranty. We knew we were out of warranty on the truck but didn’t get the connection to the Roadside Assistance.
Lucky for us, a few weeks ago we had signed up for Good Sam Roadside Assistance. They were very helpful and got a tow truck to us in 45 minutes. We still do not understand why they couldn’t have sent a truck from within Quincy but oh well. So, Tim-#1 shows up and off we go to Reno. We had called the doctor’s office about the delay. They were a bit unbelieving but said to call them when we got to Reno. Since they had squeeze us in they had less patience that might be expected of the medical field.
Our ride into Reno was full of political discussions. While we seemed to be in opposition to Tim-#1 (the tow truck driver) on most topics we did find common ground. You figure in 90 minutes there would have to be bloodshed but we agreed that it’s time for a woman president and that Hillary is a great option, Romney’s business background isn’t sufficient for the presidency, and there should always be a separation of church and state. Points we disagreed on were Romney’s religion is an issue, President Obama is a Muslim, and the Affordable Health Care bill requires governmental “death panels”. Though on that last point, we did get him to agree to research the “advanced directives” so that he could understand the impact better. Besides explaining the language in the bill, we talked about our own directives and how they might be used. Interesting, huh???
When we got to Ford, we worked with Tim-#2 to get the truck admitted for analysis and repair. He told us that they really like to do “cold starts” on diesels to ensure everything is in working order. So, we rented a car to get us around Reno, to new doctor, and back to Quincy. We have to come back to Reno Thursday night anyway because Boots has an early Friday morning appointment at another doctor. She is just falling apart as Ruthi watches. So, Tim-#2 is fine with the arrangement to keep truck until we return and agrees to call us with the prognosis and charges as soon as he knows. No political discussion here.
It’s now about noon and both Ford and the doctor’s offices are closed for lunch. We wait it out and then call the ophthalmologist and try again to get into see him today. They suggest we come to the office and sit in the waiting room until they can get us in – really fun!!! While the clinic wasn’t able to fix Boots’ eye issue they were fun and friendly to us as customers. This new office was less than friendly, we sat in the waiting room for maybe 30 minutes before Boots saw the doctor.
Tim-#3, the doctor examined Boots’ eye pretty much ignoring Ruthi. Well, trying not to be rude but wanting to be included, Ruthi asked questions. Tim-#3 commented on how large the problem on the cornea was (11.6 sq mm). Ruthi commented that that seemed to be pretty large. Tim-#3 asked Ruthi if she wanted to see. Of course she did. He allowed her to view it and even watch as he took a biopsy. So, he didn’t put us together as a couple but he did begin to look at both of us in his discussions of treatment and next steps. Before we left we had a better interface with the office staff and now feel like patients of theirs not just extras, so to speak. We also found out that Tim-#3 is really Tom not Tim, opps!
It is a 2 hour drive into Reno from Quincy, so to quote Ruthi, “we were up before the crack of dawn” to get ready to drive in. We packed the truck, put the dog in the back seat and then the truck wouldn’t start. We called our Ford Roadside Assistance to find out that we are no longer covered under the warranty. We knew we were out of warranty on the truck but didn’t get the connection to the Roadside Assistance.
Lucky for us, a few weeks ago we had signed up for Good Sam Roadside Assistance. They were very helpful and got a tow truck to us in 45 minutes. We still do not understand why they couldn’t have sent a truck from within Quincy but oh well. So, Tim-#1 shows up and off we go to Reno. We had called the doctor’s office about the delay. They were a bit unbelieving but said to call them when we got to Reno. Since they had squeeze us in they had less patience that might be expected of the medical field.
Our ride into Reno was full of political discussions. While we seemed to be in opposition to Tim-#1 (the tow truck driver) on most topics we did find common ground. You figure in 90 minutes there would have to be bloodshed but we agreed that it’s time for a woman president and that Hillary is a great option, Romney’s business background isn’t sufficient for the presidency, and there should always be a separation of church and state. Points we disagreed on were Romney’s religion is an issue, President Obama is a Muslim, and the Affordable Health Care bill requires governmental “death panels”. Though on that last point, we did get him to agree to research the “advanced directives” so that he could understand the impact better. Besides explaining the language in the bill, we talked about our own directives and how they might be used. Interesting, huh???
When we got to Ford, we worked with Tim-#2 to get the truck admitted for analysis and repair. He told us that they really like to do “cold starts” on diesels to ensure everything is in working order. So, we rented a car to get us around Reno, to new doctor, and back to Quincy. We have to come back to Reno Thursday night anyway because Boots has an early Friday morning appointment at another doctor. She is just falling apart as Ruthi watches. So, Tim-#2 is fine with the arrangement to keep truck until we return and agrees to call us with the prognosis and charges as soon as he knows. No political discussion here.
It’s now about noon and both Ford and the doctor’s offices are closed for lunch. We wait it out and then call the ophthalmologist and try again to get into see him today. They suggest we come to the office and sit in the waiting room until they can get us in – really fun!!! While the clinic wasn’t able to fix Boots’ eye issue they were fun and friendly to us as customers. This new office was less than friendly, we sat in the waiting room for maybe 30 minutes before Boots saw the doctor.
Tim-#3, the doctor examined Boots’ eye pretty much ignoring Ruthi. Well, trying not to be rude but wanting to be included, Ruthi asked questions. Tim-#3 commented on how large the problem on the cornea was (11.6 sq mm). Ruthi commented that that seemed to be pretty large. Tim-#3 asked Ruthi if she wanted to see. Of course she did. He allowed her to view it and even watch as he took a biopsy. So, he didn’t put us together as a couple but he did begin to look at both of us in his discussions of treatment and next steps. Before we left we had a better interface with the office staff and now feel like patients of theirs not just extras, so to speak. We also found out that Tim-#3 is really Tom not Tim, opps!
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