Boots’ New Bike – Santee, CA

Seeking to provide Boots with a much more pleasurable bike ride during our morning exercise, we did some research, measurements, trying bikes at the stores, and thinking. Then we went to our bike guy here in Santee. He has done our annual check-ups and flat repairs for the last 5 or 6 years.

We told him our dilemma – Boots doesn’t feel secure on her bike. She’s a bit wobbly and can’t easily reach the ground if she’s seated with her feet off the pedals. Bumps and curves add tension to her ride and take away the fun of biking. So, he made a suggestion and let her take the bike out to his large quiet parking lot for some test rides. After about 20 minutes on the bike, up/down the attached roadway, over bumps and multiple circles/curves, Boots felt much better about biking.

The key here was moving her from her 26-inch bike to this 24-inch bike. That 2 inches really made the difference for her! While there is no expectations that she will ride 30-40 minutes each day like Ruthi does. If Boots just gets more enjoyment out of whatever time she rides, it will be considered to be a success!

Buzz LightYear – Santee, CA

While out on their morning walks, Ruthi and Karma see a number of interesting things – coyote poop, murder of crows, a dole of doves, etc. (yep, those are right we looked them up), but one day they saw the following on the back of an obvious grandparent’s car!

Here We Are Back for the Winter - Santee, CA

Snow in the East Sierras – US 395, CA

Just before we left Quincy, the weather report predicted snow in the higher elevations. The picture below shows some of the mountain caps that got new snow from that prediction.

Just the way we like to see snow nowadays – high and far away!

Fall Colors – Quincy, CA

While the colors don’t compete with the East Coast, they are none the less very beautiful. This picture shows our site at the RV park in Quincy.

Ants Redux – Quincy, CA

Before we left the ant capital of the world in San Diego area, we sprayed the jacks and stabilizers to stop anymore ants from entering our rig. We thought the speeds of 55-65mpg would blow out any remaining ants over the 600 miles from San Diego to Quincy. So, when we got here and still have an ant here and an ant there we managed. After a couple of days, we were ant free.

Then 2 days later, they came back strong. We talked with the local RV Park residents and they said, “yes” they had ants too. The ants we saw on the grounds were much larger than the ants in our rig. We thought the ones in the rig were still San Diego’s versions. So, we put out an “old” Ant Stake. We have had mixed results using this approach to our ant problems. But this time, it worked and within 24 hours we were entirely ant-free and it has continued the remainder of our stay.

Squirrels – Quincy, CA

With winter and its associated snow coming to Quincy, the local squirrels are busy gathering/storing their provisions for the coming cold. To that end, they are all over the park. Karma can see 1 to 6 squirrels at a time outside her window. Needless to say, she is very upset by their busy busy activities and the fact that they like to come as close to our rig as possible in search of pine nuts and acorns. One even climbed up the outside ladder and peered into the large window by the desk. He had an acorn in his mouth.

The only time they seem to be elsewhere is on Sunday mornings. We are thinking maybe they are religious and attend mass/services then. By noon, they are back with a vengeance gathering sustenance for winter.