GMC Motor Home, Travel with Teri and Dan

Geocaching Cape Girardeau

2012-01-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, it has been two weeks since we were here. What is wrong with me? Oh well, I am back.

Last Friday Teri and I took Marci Claire to Cape for a little shopping. Then we mixed in some geocaching. It was really too cold but we made a few finds anyway.

They are on one of the walking trails in Cape. Several of them have been hidden along the way. Some have gone missing. We did locate all but two.

The girls off the walking track and headed to the cache site. We are enjoying the new Garmin Dakota 10 gps unit. It downloads the coordinates directly from the geocaching site. There have been units capable of this for many years but we are just now coming into the 21st century with our geocaching equipment.

See the pink coat? Teri is in front.

They found it.

More my kind, no chiggers, or at least fewer. I would not have thought there were chiggers out this time of year, but I would have been wrong.

Our last cache of the day. This was a boy scout cache. You can see it on the wall next to the garage door. Very few people would recognize this thing. Pretty cool but was a little wet.

The wind was kinda chilly. We only missed 2 caches. I am sure one has left the area. We got cold searching for the other one. Will look again next time we are up that way. Still have 20 or so caches to log in Cape.

Got to eat at my favorite place. Sam's Club serves great pizza.

Teri and I both have new internet tablets. Her's is a 10 inch and mine 7. I love the little thing and have ordered a "book cover" for it. We have downloaded the New King James versions on both. I am getting pretty good at locating scriptures fast for bible classes. Just need to protect the thing in case I drop it. Wifi works great on both.

Well, thought I would do a little caching today but Teri had other plans. I did run down to the spring and grab 5 gallons of fresh water. Paid a bill or two around town. The vdub is great for just scooting around town. Get lots of waves when driving it.

So, hope you are enjoying your weekend. Looks like a sunny one here in Dexter. Hoping for a mild winter since we are stuck here for the first time since 06.

Dan

Geocaching With Grandchildren

2012-01-15T11:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I found a couple of graveyards, with caches, not far from Dexter. I texted our daughter to see which grandchild wanted to go. Colsyn won out so off we went in the vdub. He is getting this down pretty good. Here is checking the coordinates and proper direction for us to go.

Was he right? Oh yea, he was right on the money and we had the cache in nothing flat.

"Lets go grandpa, it is cold out here".

Saturday evening 3 new caches showed up down in Malden. I could not talk Teri into going, it was chilly and dark. Could not convince our neighbor, April, to go. "Wait til Sunday after church and Tyler can go with us", from Teri. So, that is what we did. April grabbed them early. We waited til noon. Can you see the cache?

I thought you would figure this one out.

Here is number two of the day. Where do you think they found it?

Now it was Tyler's time to find his first geocache. Teri helped him get going. Can you see the cache?

Well, which way is the compass pointing? I got cold and jumped back into the car.

Yep, you guessed that one. Was stuck on the back side of the fire plug.

Tyler is now an official geocacher. All of our grandchildren love looking for the treasures with us. Great quality time for us with them and we all enjoy it. Teri;s new gps is great. We grabbed a Dakota 10 by Garmin. I will post a picture later. We can easily download the caches right from the website into the gps. No more manually entering them and taking a chance on getting a number off or transposed.

Teri has a new 10.5 inch tablet that she has been playing with. We can take it geocaching when we get everything figured out. Her new phone also showed up yesterday. It is nice. Sidekick with a flip out keyboard for texting and a larger screen for her to see. Oh and we ordered a 7 inch tablet yesterday. Should do about the same thing as the ten inch, just a little slower. Teri loves reading books so now she can download them on either tablet and read as we travel.

Speaking of travel, the GMC sits, waiting for us to roll out of here. I miss Quartzsite, Az. Many of our friends are out there for the next two weeks. Oh well, next year we will be there too.

Hope your weekend has been as fun as our's. Thanks for geocaching with us this week.

Dan

Geocaching In The Boonies of Missouri

2012-01-07T17:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I had to start with this picture. Colsyn, our 8 year old grandson, called just as we were getting home. He had his 6 pt. buck hanging and wanted us to come look. He was able to get it early this morning up in the Ozarks. Last year he killed an 8 pt. buck bt this one was just as big. The boy is quite a hunter.

We started our day by picking up April at 9 am and driving 70 miles north into Perry County. This was our first cache. What a beautiful sight. The water is coming out from the ground and returning to an underground stream just to the right of Teri. We are in an old German settlement. This is just behind a very old Catholic church building. We were in the Appleton area, just east of I-55.

Frohna, Mo. I can say we have never heard of this town. Now, we have been there. April and Teri coming back from a find.

How cool is this? We found some really neat places today. This area has some of the oldest settlements in the state of Mo. We are just west of the Mississippi River, 80 miles south of St. Louis.

Here they are digging for a cache. Man, I was not going back there.

Found this neat place.

Well, the cat and rooster seem to be pretty close friends. the hen was checking me out.

Rolling farther east, toward the river, we come into Altenburg. This is just west of Wittenburg. I am telling you, we were out in areas I did not know existed. I am glad April found these caches for us to hunt down today.

Now, 4 miles up the gravel/dirt road look what we find. This place was written about in Lewis and Clark's journals. Probably 15 miles north of Cape Girardeau. Grand Tower is the name of this chunk of rock. There is a town just across the river, in Illinois, with same name. We did not swim out to the cache. Every few years the water drops low enough for folks to walk out to this thing. Then, if one so chooses, they can try to shinny up this thing to get the cache, not me.

A shot looking north with April walking along the bank. One of the longest oil line crossings is right here. If you zoom the picture you can see it.

A land locked rock. If you look real close you can see tow nice ladies at the top. Was not my day for such a climb.

Back on the road again.Way up another gravel. This one is north and east of Pocahontas. Teri was staring down a muggle in a truck, as he passed by. Might have been wondering what we were doing to the mailbox. But, that was where we found this cache.

Trail of Tears State Park. Everyone knows about the Trail of Tears. This is where they came across the river and headed southwest to Oklahoma. 2 caches in the park.

And on south, toward home, we stopped in Advance. This was my 3rd time trying to get this thing. The first two tries someone had stollen the cache. I might have missed it today if not for April. In the base of the little solar light.

Life is good. Thanks for coming with us today. Hope you had as much fun as we did.

Dan

Geocaching Kennett, Mo.

2012-01-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

Here is one I grabbed in Poplar Bluff this week. It is parked near a dentist office.

Perfect day for geocaching. Our friend April texted me this morning. She said there were some new caches in Kennett that had just showed up. I asked Teri what she wanted to do today and her response was geocache. I looked up the new caches and we took off south on hiway 25. 45 miles later we rolled to the first new cache. Oh yes, we were the first ones to locate it and sign in.

Cache number 2. Once again first to find this one.

Oh yea, number 3 and no one had been there before us. Lets hurry to number 4.

Here is the actual container. But, someone had beat us there this morning.

Someone grabbed this one yesterday, ahead of us.

Nope, someone was here earlier than we were. Oh well, we got 3 fist finds and that is unusual.

Check out the street name. Do you know this person? She built the swimming pool behind us for the community. Quite a famous lady.

No cache here, just something cool on the north side of Kennett.

Our last one for the day. The wind had died and the temperature was up. We are not in Arizona this winter but today we are enjoying Arizona weather. teri is at the first stage of this cache. She is getting the key and directions to the actual hide.

And, here it is. We enjoyed this find. Actually, we enjoyed all of the finds of our day. Thanks for riding along with us.

It is so nice to have my geocaching buddy back home. This is a team sport. I am glad not many local geocachers read my blog. I am giving away the sites, ha.

Life is good.

Dan

Teri Is Home

2012-01-02T13:29:00.000-08:00

I rolled out of here about 530 pm Sunday. Teri was to get into St. Louis at 930 pm. Was watching her online. These airline tracking sites are great. Kinda like the trackers I have in the vehicles but looks almost like a radar scope I used when I was a radar air traffic controller. Teri had a layover in Phoenix so our daughter and her family were there to meet her for a visit. Worked out great.

So, it was dark, it was cold, and it was windy. I had time to spare so why not grab some geocaches along the way. Night time is not the best time. I have never done much night time looking but hey, worth a try. Stuck 4 in the gps that were not too far off the interstate. These pictures will only mean something to my geocaching buddies.

The first one is at Perryville Walmart. Quick one and close to interstate.

Try finding something like this in the dark. It was 2 miles off the interstate in down town Perryville. Located at a flower shop. I mean it was dark so I carried my big flashlight. Could not locate the thing but I knew what I was looking for. The name of the cache helped some: Reel Flower Power. But, what really helped was our friend April having a picture of this on her blog. It is a reel to reel film case. Kids would not understand the name of this one.

Up the road 15 miles and to a commuter parking lot. Stone cold blackness and an old truck parked here. Could not tell if anyone was in the truck but I was in a hurry to get out of there. Drove close to this and looked where I thought it might be, sure enough. Logged it and gone.

20 miles up the road and another commuter parking lot. Same idea. Only 2 cars here and there was a light. No one in the cars so I was feeling all alone here. Took my time. Drove right to this one also. Life is good. Logged and gone.

Well, I checked the plane tracking and Teri was 50 minutes late getting off the ground in Phoenix. Let's get gas. 3 geos right around the gas station but in neighborhoods. Did not feel like bailing myself out of jail for being accused of being a peeping tom so I skipped and headed on to the airport.

Teri came out at 1030 pm. I could see her for a long ways off. Wow, she is a "looker".

Had a nice ride home. Cold and windy outside but nice and warm in the car. Had a great big moon to keep us company and I spotted a shooting star.

There you have it. Thanks for riding along. More to come so check in when you can. Happy New Year.

Dan

December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

The little guy is just over a year old. Already he is using swords and guns, just like his older brothers. Larsyn is just one of grandpa's 16 buddies. When I walk in, here he comes. Won't be long til he can use the bathroom by himself and spend the night with grandpa.

Happy New Year. My daughter called and I ran over for supper. They have a couple over with 3 small sons. Nice cozy fire in the fireplace but it is nice and warm outside too.

So, what are you thinking on the last day of this year? Do you have any regrets? I hope not. Are you counting your blessings? I hope you are. Looking forward to what the new year will bring? I hope so. I think 2012 will be easier to write than 2011. I seemed to have a lot of trouble getting that on my checks.

I can not think of any regrets from this year. Teri and I have been blessed more than most. We have 16 little guys who call us their grandparents. What could be better. I am glad that we were young parents. That allows us to be young grandparents and roll in the floor with the kids. Sorry about all of the "I"'s but it is so easy for me to count my blessings. Looking forward to what the new year brings. Certainly we will add to our friend's list. Hoping we don't lose any. We can never have too many friends.

I was able to wash both cars and get the window back in the Vdub. It was a booger. Those window regulators in a Volkswagen bug are difficult to handle. After a couple of hours it was in with the window rolling up and down once again.

Tomorrow night Teri flies into St Louis Lambert Field at 930 pm. Can hardly wait. Hope to leave in time to grab a couple of geocaches if I can find my flashlight. Been looking all week for the thing.

Life has been good this year, praying for more of the same in 2012.

Catch up with you next year.

Dan

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

I am telling you, this cache was getting under my skin. I hate the ones on trains. They can be anywhere. I kept bugging the owner, April, for clues. She was pretty tight lipped.

I was there last night and almost got stuck. This train was coming and I was afraid they might call the cops on an old man stuck under the caboose. I got out just before it went by and took a picture so they think I am just a normal guy. The engineer waved. As soon as he passed back under I went. Was my third time and still did not find it.

I came in from church and April gave me one more clue. Today is not only Christmas but Sunday. That meant the pool hall across the street would be closed. Once a guy saw me and came over nosing around trying to get me to tell him why I was so dumb as to crawl around under a caboose, so I left. He won't be there today so I don't have to worry about anyone seeing me.

Ah ha. Look what I found. Thought I had looked in this spot but if I did I did not look close enough. Am not telling you where it is. Call April. Whew, glad to get this one logged. Was on my mind for 3 days and nights.

Christmas Eve morning. This little guy enjoyed tearing into his packages. Larsyn and grandpa are buddies.

Tearing up the pancakes that dad made for breakfast.

This one loves breakfast too.

Full of pancakes and happy.

Saturday afternoon a knock on my door. My little elf was there with goodies for grandpa. I feel special to have such great grandkids. Wish I could have seen all 16.

I do believe Santa was here.

Hope everyone enjoyed your Christmas with family. I was with family yesterday morning and again last night. Visited more today. Just wish Teri had been here too.

Teri will be home in a week, life is good.

Merry Christmas to all.

Dan

A Grandpa's Christmas

2011-12-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

What better gift for Christmas could a grandfather have than to have one of his grandkids spend time with him? I can think of nothing. Geocaching with Marci Claire, who will turn 7 years old next week, was my partner today. She came and spent the night. Up early, breakfast at Burger King, and off we went. That caboose is in Dexter and has a cache located on it. Was placed there Wednesday. I hate these things. We can't find it. Been there twice in 2 days. Well, it is not going anywhere, we will find it.

Now you see it.

Now you don't. I broke it. Dog gone I was aggrivated. It is a good thing one of our friends owns it. April repaired it as soon as she got off of work. I was really ticked.

Marci Claire with our first Jackson cache this morning. It was a nippy morning, 38 degrees. there were two in this hole.

2nd one in a cemetary in Jackson. I believe 10 of our 12 today were in Jackson. We wiped that town clean.

Always good for the numbers. A fast grab.

I loved this one. Do you see it? Had to slide the plastic pipe off the fence post. Thanks April for the hint.

Loved washing the car on this low water bridge.

Stonewall Jackson. We had to go back to the car and warm up before we grabbed this one. So many places it can hide. We got it though.

3 stooges was the name of this one in a park in Jackson. We got quite a workout walking up a very steep hill to get this one. MC saw it right away, before I got to it.

This is a Methodist church building built in 1809. Wow. See how they covered it? We loved getting out here. Geocaching takes us to some very neat places.

Right off I-55. A travel bug hotel in the woods.

MC loved the peacocks. Thanks for taking us there via geocaching.

Here is one hidden at a nice memorial to fallen policemen.

Very nice.

One of these guys was a friend of mine. We used to fly together. I really enjoyed clocking speeders with him. Thank you for the memorial. Would not have known it was here if not for geocaching.

Home and out for some spring water just before dark. This was after I fed MC some Moose Tracks ice cream.

Check out those nails. Now, how many grandpas have a manicurist for a grandaughter? I love getting my pinky nails done. It causes folks to ask questions and I get to tell them about Marci Claire.

So, there you have it, grandpa's xmas. Thanks for riding along with us. How did you like our lunch at Sam's in Cape? I love their pizza and so does Marci Claire.

Hoping everyone has a great Christmas. I did. Sunday, well I will be with some of the best at church. Teri is coming home on Jan. 1st. Been a long 8 weeks.

Dan

Geocaching Rural Arkansas, South of the Border

2011-12-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here is where we start. The geocache map online. Click up the caches I want to locate and enter the coordinates into the little cheap gps. Did this last night when I found out my 8 year old grandson, Colsyn, wanted to head south of the border with me.

Our geocaching neighbor, April, helped me with the ones I put into the gps. She told me which ones were gone so we did not waste time on them. She cached this area yesterday. We are looking at a very rural area. Some of the caches I checked, online, have not been visited since February of this year.

All was cool, heading to our first cache just west of Greenway. this train was stopped on the only crossing in town. We sat there and so did it. time to move so we headed to Rector.

Guess what? Yep, same train. At least it was moving this time.

Over the tracks and out of the car. I had trouble keeping up with Colsyn.

Our first find of the day.

On to our second. I could see that Colsyn was having a little trouble with his direction so I helped him a bit.

Yep, right where I thought, at the base of the flag pole. Notice the color.

Check that smile. The boy had his first find, all on his own.

Colsyn is home schooled. Today was a history class. We were on the Chaulk Bluff Trail. I explained to him about the Civil War and what happened here 150 years ago.

This was a really neat hide. The container had a large piece of tree bark glued to the top. You could not see it. We knew it was there.

You see it? Look at the color.

Oh yea, you found it. A neat cemetary north of Rector.

Can you see the color? You can always tell when Colsyn finds one on his own. Look at the smile.

Have you figured out what the official color is in Arkansas yet? Yep, camoflauge and Colsyn fits right in. We talked hunting the entire 120 miles today.

Colsyn just could not see this one, can you? City park in Marmaduke.

A little help from grandpa made this one jump out for Colsyn.

There it is. Check the smile. A neat graveyard.

Today, first was last. We had to come back to this one after the train left. Going to let you in on a little secret. In Arkansas, just because there is a co. rd. marker, and the road is on the gps, that does not mean it is a public road. Colsyn and I jumped some ditches getting to this last one. We came in from the south and that almost turned into a mistake, but we made it. Will wash Teri's car before she gets home. It is a mess.

I realize that most of you are not interested in geocaching but it is a great way to hang out with your children or grandchildren. They love this stuff. We are planning a trip for Friday if the weather cooperates.

Hope Santa makes it to your house and thanks for riding with us today.

Dan

On A Sunny Sunday Afternoon

2011-12-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Oh, it was such a nice afternoon. I had to get out and grab the remaining caches in our county. This one is in a little cemetary out in the county.

See that little booger hiding in there?

Pretty area. I did not know we had a winery in Stoddard County. That is what this is. Up in the northwest part of the county. I drove almost 4 miles on gravel to get here. Found a shorter route back to pavement when I left.

There it is. Just hiding in the growth. It might be hard to spot in the summer.

This is a re-visit. When I was in Advance the last time someone had stolen this one. When I pulled in I could not believe my eyes. A telephone guy was napping in his truck parked just to the rear of the bug. I knew I was not going to let him stop me. Since I had been here before I spotted this one as soon as I jumped out of the bug. I went straight to it. The telephone guy never knew I was there, or at least he did not see what I was doing.

Here you can see my geo mobile is dirty. That came from the 4 miles of gravel.

It aggrivates me when folks don't take care of their caches. This one has been gone for at least 2 months and the guy won't replace it. Should be inside that solar light.

The last find of the day. I had been here before also but could not find this cache. A little remote cemetary just outside Advance, Mo.

Look at this. Should be against the law. I had to dig in this rotten stump to find it. Was almost ready to give up again when I dug it out. The stick to the right was my digging tool.

Teri and I have a goecaching neighbor just down the street, April. I got a text from her when I got back that she had also taken advantage of the nice sunny day and was in Arkansas grabbing a few caches.

This one is number 741 for us. Not bad for a couple of folks just out looking over God's creation. We don't take this too seriously, like many do. Our equipment is old and we just make do.

Teri texted me at the same time I dug this one out. Her dad is continuing to improve. Thanks to those who continue to ask. Maybe he will be released soon and Teri can come home. She has now been gone 6 weeks. Folks, that is a long time. I am not fond of doing the wash. Normally I throw my dirty clothes down the shute and the next thing I know they are folded nice and neat back in my drawer. I have figured out the "magic".

Dan

The Small Things in Life

2011-12-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

I always knew Santa drove a Chevy. I am afraid he won't stop at our house this year. But, thanks to everyone that has been sending us cards. My entire Chritmas decorations consists of cards from our family and friends. I get 2 a day, sometimes more.

Our geocaching friend down the street, April, let me know about a brand new geocache hide over in Morehouse. There was one in Sikeston I needed to look for, again, so off I went. Can you see the cache? You are looking at it.

Here it is. Did not take me long to locate and sign in. I was the second one to find this. Someone was there yesterday right after the hide was published.

Talk to me about this hole in a tree. I have been here 2 times before today, looking stupid to those who saw me. I have shined a flashlight in this hole and even stuck my arm in there, nothing. Looked for a string, nothing. Today I was on a mission.

As I pulled my hand away from the hole guess what I saw. Had moved a little tiny fishing line about the size of a spiderweb fiber. I have no clue where the Wilsons find such small line. They had one hidden down town Sikeston last year that had this same small line. I could not even see it with my glasses. Just got lucky when I pulled my hand out and saw the line flicker in the sun. I knew it was in that hole but could not get it until today. 3rd time seems to be charm, occassionally. This was the last one I had to find in Sikeston. Have all of them now. Wilsons, yall need to get busy.

Oh yea, I needed a reward for my great work today, kinda like a golfer and his hole in one. Ran by the Dollar Tree and grabbed some night time enjoyment. This is the best trailmix I have found anywhere. First time I tried it was out in Eureka, Ca. Been hooked on it ever since.

Folks ask me what is so much fun about geocaching. I guess it is like a card player or a golfer. They enjoy those games, I don't. This game is almost addicting. It was Teri's game. I took her to the places and watched as she hunted the treasures down. Then, I tried it a time or two and bam, bring it on, I got this. It is funny, just when you think that you are a pro at this, one comes along, like the one in the tree hole, that just kicks your rear end. I don't like giving up. So, today, I found it and cleared Sikeston off my list. There are no more closer than Jackson/ Cape so I guess I will make a run up that way when weather is nice. Sure beats sitting here watching the news. I have found at least 50 while Teri is away. It is not much fun alone. I need Teri here to aggrivate while we hunt these things down.

For those asking about Teri and her dad, she is still in Portland with him. 2 days ago he had progressed enough to be moved out of ICU and into a room. Seems the news is all good lately so I am hoping Teri can head home soon. 2 weeks turned into 6 and counting.

As always, Life is Good. Glad all of you working folks made it through Friday. The weekend is here.

Dan

RVing With Simple Upgrades

2011-12-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the "fuel gauge" we use in our GMC, for our electrical system. There are others but I have this one, like it, and am most familiar with it. This is a Trimeteric 2020. To the best of my memory I paid 135.00 for this new. I think they retail for about 20 dollars more than that. If you want a solar system you need this, or one that will do what it does. At present it shows the actual voltage on our 4 house batteries. We don't plug the GMC in while it is sitting in our driveway, where it has been for the last 3 months. The meter beside it is not necessary. That is a remote meter for our 60 amp charge controller. It will tell you the voltage and amps at the panels, not very useful. Also will let you know the "mode" the solar charger is in. You can look at the charger if you want to save 115 bux. I do like to look at the panel amperage and compare it to the amperage of charge at the batteries. Normally there is only 1/2 amp loss. That is because of the number 6 welding cable that I ran.

Here is the actual charge at the batteries. They are full, which the next picture will show. If they were "down" you would see a lot of charge going on.

Percentage of discharge. I rarely look at this. It just says batteries are full. In all of our drycamping I have never seen this read below the low 70% range. The instructions show you how to program this meter so that it is relatively accurate.

Now, fuzzy as this picture is, it is showing the "high voltage" that has been present at the batteries since my last "reset". I have the charger set a little high but I like to get those batteries charged as fast as I can. The charger is actually set on 15 volts. This is reading a "spike". You can set your charge controller where you want. I will not argue the point. I do keep a close check on my fluid level. We do adjust the set points depending on our use and need to lower it a bit while we are not using it. Probably back to 14.5 volts.

Another feature is the "low voltage" that has been at the batteries. For some reason this is not always accurate on my meter. It drops to 11.8 volts every night which is not true. Never have figured out, or been concerned, as to why it reads incorrectly. I have monitored the "low voltage" and never seen it drop like that. Not something I want to discuss here, just showing you some of the functions. Once the sun drops the voltage will read 12.8, no charge from solar.

If I could have focused the camera you could read the writing. It lists the functions that I did not. One of the functions is "days since last equalized". My main concerns are: How much fuel is in my batteries and how much do they need to be full. This meter tells me that plus more.

I can flip it to amperage and see what each appliance is drawing. I know, from this meter, that the vacuum draws 22amps. The two air pumps, running together, draw 17 amps. Before changing over to solar lighting I knew what each fluorescent bulb was drawing. This meter helped me understand that I can light our entire coach with 1/2 the amperage draw that one 18 inch fluorescent fixture was using.

When I first installed this thing I sat around at night watching it. Now, the display is normally turned off. I look at it when I go to bed. I will also take a look at about sunset, to see if the batteries are fully charged. Makes life simple. Solar is great. Install it right and let it work, but you "need" a good meter before you spend money on solar panels and a decent charger.

My intentions are to describe things as simple as I can. There was nothing available to me when I was doing the solar work on our coach. I dug around all over the internet and spent money on books. Everything available was technical and hard to understand. Therefore, I wasted money on stuff I did not need or on parts that were cheap and would not do what I needed. Someone needs to write a book that lets people in on the "secret". This is simple to do yourself.

Hope this helps at least one person to save a few bucks. This meter will pay for itself, trust me.

Thanks for checking in on me. Teri is still with her dad in Portland. The plan was to geocache today but just too cool for me to enjoy it, maybe tomorrow.

Dan

A Little More Geocaching

2011-12-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

I think this was Tuesday night. Wednesday morning it was twice this deep, maybe more. I left home 30 minutes early for work. Good thing as I had an expensive parking spot for about 30 minutes. Slid right off Highway 60 into the median. All I could do was try to keep the Vibe from rolling over. Wrecker came and I was back on the road. Not even late for work. Progressive paid for the guy to come get me back onto the road.

Thought since the weather was so nice this afternoon I would grab a few geocaches. I like these. Can you find it?

It was about 1230 pm when I closed the office. Here is my second find. Nice one.

As I pulled up to this one I knew muggles were going to be watching. Local Wonder Bread store. There they were and I could not get the log out of this thing. Oh well, I took a picture and the muggles were just scratching their heads.

4th and final one for the day.

There it is, can you see it?

Well, Teri is not here so I have control of the living room. She has been gone a month. I bet she wonders how big a mess I have made, ha. Oh well, doing some wifi testing. That is one of my wifi antennas. I have a usb Alfa I am playing with along with a Pepwave wifi repeater. Having a ball. Hey, a guy has to do something to keep his mind occupied. Also picked up a used Cradlepoint wifi router for the office. We are going to have a modernized setup when I finish. Don't like being hardwired to the internet.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend. I need to set the valves on the bug tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Teri's dad has been improving and hopefully he will be moved to a regular room and out of ICU next week. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Dan

A Geocaching Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:47:00.000-08:00

Well, things were going to be kinda slow around here today so I cut a trail about 10 am. Grabbed the gps and headed east. There were 4 caches in Sikston I needed to have the town finished off. Here is one of them. My 3rd time here and looked at the thing every time. This time I got to log it with a smiley face.

Look at that thing. I hate these tiny ones. It is stuck to a screw head via magnet. there is actually a log sheet in that thing.

3rd time was charm on this one also. Every time I have been here there are too many people around. I will look suspicious so I have not given it a real going over before this morning. No one out on Thanksgiving morning so I took my time and grabbed it.

See if you can find it. Dog gone I hate these things. My first attempt here but the gps was spot on. I could not help but see the thing. Now, I head for the last one in town. 2nd trip over to the park where it is hidden. No luck. Another day when Teri can be with me.

Matthews truck stop. So many truckers out this morning I could not get to this to look inside. So, I just took a picture. If folks see me they will go take a look. It has already been stolen once so I did not want to draw attention to myself.

This one is in the middle of nowhere, so named. I am telling you it was 3 miles out a muddy gravel road south and west of Portageville. I found a shorter way back to pavement.

This little bad boy is just north of Hayti, on east side of 55. Went right to it. Another gravel road. I think this is number 6.

Number 7, Walmart in Caruthersville.

Number 8. right on the mighty muddy.

See the river? Also, see the mud on Teri's car?

Number 9 was a really neat place. A grave yard with about a dozen graves from the mid 1850's. This guy was responsible for the bootheel on Mo. He owned this ground in Arkansas. He knew Missouri was a much more progressive state and wanted to be a part of it. The man was allowed to give Mo. the land so he could be called a Missourian.

This is the cache.

Number 10, also in Caruthersville, Mo. I like the container as no water can get in it. Found it under the skirt of the light pole in the background.

Had muggles here. I had to be stealthy. I was. We have been to this park before. I guess we did not find it a couple of years ago. Another rain proof container and the last cache in the Gambling Boat City. Mark it number 11 for my day.

Well, I think this is number 12. Way out in the boonies on an old railroad track bed.

Oh yea, number 13 was hiding about 400 yards down the ditch bank, just north and east of Kennett, Mo. I really did not want to walk in there but hey, its my last one for the day, why not. For some reason the actual photo did not load. Take my word for it, I found it hidden down where the coyotes sleep. No way Id go here in the dark.

Thought I found 14 but counting them here I see 13. Might have missed one somewhere. Oh well, it kept me busy today and my mind off Teri and her dad, not really. Did keep me busy though. Teri called me while I was hunting down these treasures. Her dad was back in surgery for the 4th time. Doctors did not believe he would make it through, but he did. Thanks for all of your prayers. This has been a really hard time for us. Teri has been at her dad's side ever since the first 12 hour surgery about 3 weeks back. Portland is a long ways from me but we stay in touch via phone and computers.

My sister and her family stopped by just after I got home and was eating my lunch, about 430 pm. They are in the area until the weekend. From Michigan. Left here about 30 minutes ago heading to the St. Louis Arch. Why, I have no clue. I went up in that thing one time back in the 70's. No more. I stay at the bottom when Teri and I take folks there for a ride. I do not like going up in that thing. My sister will be back here tomorrow.

Well, hope yall had a great holiday. Keep checking on me. Never know what an old guy, staying by himself, might get into. Keep praying for Teri and her dad.

Thanks,

Dan

Living Off The Grid, Solar

2011-11-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

So, are you tired of utilities and property owner taxes? Maybe you are just tired of paying 30 dollars to over night in an rv park. We have the answer here.

Before I retired we tried to get the GMC set up so we would not need to park over night in an rv park if we did not want to. I bought every book on rv solar that I could find and asked everyone I thought might know, how to get started. There just was no simple "do it yourself" information out there. So, I did it pretty much backwards and wasted a few bucks. In the past I have posted simple solar here on the blog. But, for the life of me can not find it. There is no simple index to my posts here. So, I thought maybe we should re visit this topic.

Don't look too hard at the above photo or you will see that the painter let the clearcoat run. I just had this roof repainted. I was not as happy with the job as I was when the same company painted the Vdub. I paid 1 and a half times just to get the roof painted as I did the entire baja. Different topic for different day.

Don't buy the solar panels first. They need to come last, and I will tell you why:

A picture of the one on the rear. There are two more, hidden, for a total of 300 watts on our roof. This is a perfect setup for Teri and me. 250 watts would be fine if we wanted to tilt the panels, nope. So, I put an extra panel on to make up for the" no tilt".

This is where you start. Incadescent lights burn lots of energy. This one is an led. We have nothing but led lights in our coach. Leds have come a long way over the last couple of years. I even have led lights in our home now. The color is important to me. I think you can see that this particular light is not too cold.

Even though this photo is blurred you can see the light. It is a little strip that puts out about 220 lumens. Outfit you rv with good quality led lights, not the China ones on ebay. This light is put together in the Phoenix area and I sell them. Lifetime warranty.

Another obsticle we needed to overcome was our electric water heater. This on demand propane heater is perfect. Sips lp while it is on. I can't say enough about the on demand water heater. Before we installed it I had to fire up the Onan just to run the water heater. Regular propane water heaters consume a lot of gas. This thing is perfect. Cost less than 130.00 shipped to us in Arizona. Look at the fluorescent replacement leds to the left. These are bright.

While I don't have a picture, test the tv you buy before you buy it. We had a 3 year old flat screen that was using 55 watts of power. Found a new one that would use 25. Took my meter to Walmart, at midnight. Pulled ac lines and checked them til I found this one. Teri uses a computer monitor for her tv in the bedroom and it uses about 22 watts. Now, we run both on same power consumption as the older one we had, up front. I watch tv til after midnight most evenings so this was important for our setup. I normally turn off the inverter when finished watching tv so there is no draw from the set or the satelite receiver. Takes our receivers less than a minute to load all of the programming once they are powered back up.

We use two inverters. I have a 700 watt one hooked to the tv system. We use it most of the time. Have a 2000 watt inverter for the vacuum cleaner, microwave, and hair dryer. Modified sinewave.

Another big power consumer is the furnace. The blower motor, on most, will draw 7 amps. We use a Wave 6 catalytic heater most of the time. It keeps us warm. Crack a window or roof vent. We turn it off when we go to bed and set the furnace on 60 degrees.

Ok now we have the rv set up to draw the least amount of power. Even bought netbooks that will run 6-8 hours on battery. Charge the batteries when sun is bright and maximum solar is available.

Look at the meters in the photo above. The one on the right is a must have. Get one before you buy solar panels. It is like a fuel gauge on your car. How do you know how much fuel to put in your tank, or take out, if you have no gauge. This particular one is a Trimetric 2020. I bought it new for under 150.00. It came with the large shunt so I can run anything through it. The unit shows now that I am down about 8 amp hours. We never plug the coach in while sitting in our driveway. It has been cloudy and the batteries are a bit down. One hour, or less, of sunshine, will charge them back up. Today is cloudy but by 2 pm I will still have enough solar charge to fill them up. I think the meter on the left is showing 2 amps of solar on the panels now. The meter on the right shows what is at the battery, not on the panels. Many folks use only a meter like the one on the left. That is not good enough. You must know what is in the battery, not on the panels. Either meter will show when solar is charging, or has been shut off, but only one like on the right is an actual fuel gauge. It will also show how much power any appliance in the coach is using. After I bought this meter is when I got rid of the fluorescent lights. They are also power hogs.

We use 4 6 volt batteries. They suit us just fine. 2 6 volts do not give us a large enough "fuel tank". Some need larger tanks to store more fuel.

The meter on the left is a remote meter for our charge controller, mounted close to the batteries. Get a charge controller large enough to handle your needs. Our's is 60 amp but 30 would have been fine. I got a deal on this one, new, for 110 bux. Whichever controller you buy, make sure it has adjustable set points. Charge controller is very important. On a good day when the batteries are down I see 14-16 amps on the meter, at the batteries.

Now, to the panels. It is very important not to let your panels get shaded. I measured our spots on the roof and bought panels based on their physical size. We rarely have a shade on any of the 4 panels.

Cables. You have to run large cables. How large? Depends on your system. I ran 6 gauge welding cables down from the panels to the charge controller and on to the batteries. Might have gotten away with 8 but nothing less. Consider the cables as a water hose. The larger the diameter the more "juice" that will come down to the batteries. The length of cables will also need to be considered. Longer the cables, bigger in diameter, they need to be.

There is a lot more that can be said about solar on your roof. I just wanted to give you something to think about. Panels keep improving and dropping in price. I may start replacing my panels in the future should I see something that suits me better. With what we have, Teri and I can pretty much stay anywhere we want for as long as we want with no electricity plugged into our coach. We have done this for over a month at a time with no generator. Set your rv up to consume the least amount of power and you will love this. I do not "rough it" well. I have the same toys in the rv that we have at home. I watch a lot of tv and use the internet, with a mobile router and aircard, as much as I want. We do not run the air conditioner. If it gets hot it is time to move. I bought only one new panel. The others were used. Even at the old prices I have less than 1500 dollars in our system. You can do it cheaper now. I love the fact that this works and I have no tilting of panels to do. I never think about this. We have power, always. It is a rare day when our batteries do not get a full charge.

I hope this might give you food for thought and save you a few dollars. Nothing technical here. Anyone can do this themselves. You need a drill and a wrench.

Oh yea, here are the new Justins.

Have a great weekend.

Dan

Another Geocaching Day

2011-11-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

The weather was great so I hit the road. Ran over to Sikeston to grab a few caches that we have not picked up yet. Look at this first photo. Its hiding under the rail. If you know what to look for you can see it in this picture.

Its a good thing no local geocachers read my blog. Teri says I show too many pictures of the caches. Hey, I am proud of the fact that we can find some of these, as they are tough. Had to wait for maintenance workers to take their lunch break so I could retrieve this little guy.

This is a fun one. I had revisited two cache sites that I can't find and was a bit depressed. Then here comes this one. Got to meet a very nice shop owner here. This one, as can be seen, is inside a store. The shop owner would not give me any clues. She asked me questions to make sure I had read about this cache. She said "you will find it" and I did.

Inside the dictionary.

YMCA. My gps started throwing fits this afternoon. I did not think I was going to locate this one. Then, I slid my hand back where I thought it should be and there it was. Of course I hid it back after signing the log.

I love these. I did not even wake the frog. He spit the film cannister out while he was snoring.

I have found a few of these. I like them. Once I realized my gps was pointing the wrong way, I walked right to this one.

Way out at the end of the road. A park near the golf course. Was still early so I programmed one in that was in Charleston. A loner over there, 10 miles west of the Mississippi River.

Drove right to it. This little guy lives behind a stop sign. Could almost snatch it, like I did the first one of the day, without getting out of my car.

Looking at 10 caches northwest of here. Should the weather be right, I may head after them in the morning. Wish I had an available grandchild to go help me.

Teri's father had a setback today and had to go back into surgery. He is out now and recooping. We are praying that this does not reoccur. I know Teri is worn out after sleeping in the hospital for 2 weeks now. I am hoping she can find a regular bed soon. If her dad improves maybe she will go back over to her brother's, just across the River in the Vancouver area.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. Come on back when you get time. I may have a few more caches for you to look at. If you have my tracker in your favorites or get an email from me, look to see where all I was today. Oh, got a new pair of Justins today. Life is good.

Dan

Geocaching Rural Missouri

2011-11-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

Well, some days are good and some days are better. Saturday was better and today was good. Found some caches I did not know about just 25 miles up the hiway. Thought I would jump in the vdub and chase them down. Now, we have to be stealthy sometimes so I chose not to take the bug. I knew folks would be looking at me, took the Vibe. Might as well have taken the vdub. I was feeling good after the 12 for 12 on my 150 mile run Saturday. That felling did not last long today.

Rolled right up to this one. Was right where it was supposed to be. Going to be a real good day, I thought.

Rural cemetary. I tore this place up, twice. Never did find the rascal. Just outside of Advance, Mo.

If you blow this photo up you will see a little solar light on the top of that post. Someone took the cache right out of it. Another no find.

I had to hit this place 3 times because of muggles eating their lunch in the Advance City Park. Was supposed to be in this "tunnel". Gone.

Well, let's try number 5. I found number one. Nope, someone took number 5 from its hiding place. So, let's see, 1 out of 5, not good. Time to readjust my plans. Move the geocache map out and I see a couple over in the Morley area that have been placed since Colsyn and I hit that area last year. Out across the countryside I go.

Yep, I found this one. I see the picture did not upload. Picture a black plastic container in a stump, sitting at the end of a cemetary. Had an old fella watching me so I had to be careful. 2 for 6 now.

Oh, now the picture shows up. No, I did not climb up there. Just thought it was neat.

Found another one in a very rural old cemetary. This flashlight hangs on a plastic fishing line and is not visable to anyone. I had it pulled out for the picture. Now, that's 3 for 7. Made for a much better day. It was a hundred mile run. If blogger had not removed my tracking link you could see where I was. They also took down my counter. Oh well, 3 for 7, not a bad day. Might have found more if Teri had been with me.

Hmmm, here is the picture that was supposed to be above where the red x is.

Vanduser, Mo. This place is out in the middle of nowhere. First time I have been here in 45 years. Now I remeber why.

Not a total bust. I have some fruits of my labor that the squirrels won't get.

Life is good and Tuesday is a work day, if one can call it that. Hardest part of what I am doing is getting out of bed before 7 am. The drug court and dwi court folks meet in our office early in the mornings. Not sure if they will be there tomorrow or not. I have court all day and actually look forward to it.

Thanks for your prayers on behalf of my father in law and Teri, who is in Portland with him. It has been one week since his surgery. He is progressing and the doctors are talking about where he will go for rehab now.

Maybe some more geocaching this weekend. I have 10 picked out if the weather cooperates. Today was 75 and very windy.

Dan

Revisiting Memories Through Geocaching

2011-11-12T14:53:00.000-08:00

It is funny how certain things trigger our memories, sometimes just an odor. Yesterday while in Gideon I wondered if my grandparents and parents would approve of the person I have become. Today I traveled a rural area again in search for geocaches. 30 years ago I was the parole officer for the southern half of Butler County, Mo. As I rode along the rural roads I could recall faces that lived along these roads so many years ago. Most of them were good individuals who had just made a mistake, or two, in their judgement.

My first two stops, Qulin. Forgot to take a picture of the second cache.

A cemetary just north of Corning held two caches.

I had 12 cache coordinates in my gps. Need ten to break 700. Thought I would give myself 2 to spare. Yesterday I could not locate one.

Another cemertary in Corning. Nice place to visit but I am not ready to move in yet.

Squeeze this little guy and he will throw up a 35mm film canister with a log in it. He lives in a tree right in the middle of a rural cemetary.

This old church building watches over the cemetary where the frog lives, just west of Corning. It triggered more memories from nearly 30 years ago. My daughter was a flower girl in a friend's wedding at this place in the very early 80's. My baby is now 33 years old and the mother of 4. I kinda doubt I will see if this building stands for another 30 but you never know. Teri takes good care of me.

Just east of Corning is another rural cemetary. Actually two.

About a mile east of the one above. I get kinda nervous when there is a Confederate flag flying close to where I want to go. There was one at the house next to the graveyard. Well, when I walked out, there were three of them in seperate yards. I started the car and headed east toward Piggott.

Pollard, Arkansas. This little community sits about 3 miles south of the Mo. State Line. Some of my mother's family came here from Alabama and settled this place, back in the 1800s.

A very nice park just to the west of Piggott. This is where they have the big car show. Piggott is also famous for their 4th of July celebrations, at this park. It covers several acres, I am talking 120 or more with a nice lake.

The park is home to 2 seperate caches. This was number 700 for us. Not bad for caching less than 2 years.

Check this out.

One of Ernest Hemmingway's places. He married a girl from Piggott and they lived here for a while. There is a big museum behind the house.

Grabbed this one as I left Piggott.

It was located at this sign on the east side of Piggott. Next I continues eastward, across the St. Francis River into Holcomb, Mo.

A very famous resturant to all who live within 100 miles of it. Strawberry's is famous for their pork steaks, and other grub. One will have trouble eating a whole one at one sitting. They are one inch thick. Very good.

Look close.

You will see this hanging inside, at the top. My 12th and last cache for the day. It is identical to the one I forgot to take a picture of in Qulin. This was in Holcomb. Signed the log and drove north 35 miles back home.

The weather was warm, cloudy, and very windy today. I left home at 1030 am and got back about 330 pm. 145 mile run. Takes more miles, and time, to grab numbers in the rural areas but much more fun than caching the urban places. Hated being alone but enjoyed the memories. Life is about making great memories. My life is full of them. And, life is good today. Thanks for keeping me company this afternoon.

Dan

Geocaching on Veterans Day, 11-11-11

2011-11-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

My tools. Many folks use a cell phone but this is what I like.

First, let me say thank you for those who have served our country and for the folks that continue to volunteer. One never knows when he/she will be called to the battlefield. I was fortunate, never had to fight a real battle while I was in the Air Force. Our family has a long list of veterans. We have a grandfather buried in the Civil War Cemetary down in Columbus, Ms. He was killed while fighting in the war between the states. His son was also in the same war and wounded for life. My dad was a Korean War Veteran. My younger brother and my son also served our country. I hope everyone realizes that at any time one of our soldiers can be called upon to give their life for our freedom. I feel that because of our veterans I am free to choose what I do each day. Today, well it was geocaching.

The little park, above, was my first treasure for the day. It is located in Gideon, just down the street from where my grandparents used to live. I played in this area as a small child. My parents met here while my mother was a PE teacher at the Gideon High School.

My second one in Gideon. This is out by the airport where my dad and I used to fly RC planes. I looked at that tree then looked at my gps. The thing was telling me the cache was in there. Oh, how I hated that.

Blow this picture up and you will see the treasure I was hunting. Also, take a look at the tracker, WD0AFQ-1 to see my 100 mile run today. There is a link at the top of this page.

New Madrid, Mo. is where I found this one. One of the oldest towns in Mo. and known world wide for the name of the big fault there. Glad there was no earth slippage today while I was in town.

The cemetary where I found the above cache. Someone takes good care of this little grave yard.

Look how old these graves are. These kids lived and died before the Civil War.

I was trying to show a picture of the truck ahead of me and the gauges. I was "drafting" a little. Check out the mpg and the speed. Don't try this.

From New Madrid to Sikeston, home of Lambert's Throwed Rolls. I liked this one. The cache is inside this lizzard.

Found this one in a bush at another cemetary, in Sikeston.

Pretty slick. I may hide one like this.

The log inside this flashlight was wet. Had to grab it from that hole, nearly a foot down in there. If it had been summer, I might not have stuck my hand in there.

My last find for the day, number 9.

Its in the corner, under the long grass. I had one that got away from me. It was in a tree and colored to match the evergreen leaves. I just could not find the thing. Needed Teri to help me. 9 out of 10 ain't bad for being by myself.

Was very windy in SEMO today but the temperature was 65, not too bad. Stopped at clothing store to buy a couple of pair of new jeans. They had a sale, got 3 pair for the price of two. Today was my day.

Teri's dad continues to improve. She is scheduled to fly home on the 20th. I am praying that she does come home that day. I am not liking being a loner.

Today, life is good, because of our Armed Forces. Thanks.

Dan

Life Is Full Of Enjoyment

2011-11-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

I bet you do not need to ask why our girl loves spending time with her grandpa. Nothing better in life than for a grandpa to have grandchildren who love spending time with him. The drug store soda fountain is one of our favorite places to hang out.

Teri is in Portland so I had plans for our 5 yr old grandson to spend the night. I ran over and picked him up about 430 Tuesday. We came home, had one of his favorite suppers, ate peppermints, then topped that off with a glass of Diet Coke and a bowl of Moose Tracks ice cream. He wanted to watch a movie in the den. Got him all set up. About 15 minutes into the movie here he came whimpering to go home. Hey, he got the best I had to offer and now he is going home. Ok. As soon as we hit the door his 6 year old sister was waiting and ready to come home with grandpa. Marci Claire did not want grandpa to be lonesome so she was coming to take care of that. Grana is gone for two weeks to Portland.

Marci Claire is always ready for a ride in the GMC Motorhome. She spent 5 days and nights in the coach with us last year. The girl loves motorhoming. So, after hitting the soda fountain we headed out for a little geocaching in the coach.

He she is with the cache from the Bernie City Park. It was cold and the wind was blowing hard.

Did not take the girl long to get back to the coach. It was waiting for us, all nice and warm. I believe life was meant for grandpas and granddaughters to spend lots of quality time together. What can I say but "life is good".

Teri's dad is recovering well. He had his surgery Monday and is now moving from ICU to a regular room. Teri is doing what she does well, taking care of his needs until he is able to do for himself again.

So, I could say that I am mooching meals but Teri left me enough food here to last a month. Sure hope she gets home before I eat all of it.

Hope all is well with my family and friends. Stop by if you are in the area.

Dan

Golden Opportunities

2011-11-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

Oh wow, it has been a few days since I have sat down to visit with you. Things are all good here. Normally about this time of year Teri and I are thinking about closing up the house and getting the GMC ready to head west for a few months. 06 was the last winter we spent in Missouri. Well, we are going to stick it out here this winter. Should be fun after seeing no real winter for so long.
Sometimes opportunities present themselves at a good time. We have been very fortunate in life. I gave myself a really good 52nd birthday gift by retiring. Teri and I have enjoyed going where we want, when we want, for over 5 years now. We have seen lots of neat places and made many great friends. Traveling in the GMC has been great and will continue to be good for us.
Shortly after I retired I joined Teri as a part time probation officer for a circuit court, just west of here. Well, we were contacted a few months ago about coming back, her with the circuit court and me as a Poplar Bluff city officer. We talked about it but were not finished traveling and were not financially destitute. After learning what they would pay us if we would come, we chose to take them up on the offer. So, we are working 3 days a week, started back in September.
This is mostly fun stuff for me. Remember I was in the "buisness" for almost 30 years. When I retired I was the District Administrator for one of the State offices. But, as I always told my employees, being a probation officer was the most fun job within the Dept. of Corrections. The stories one hears. So, I am hearing them again and get paid very well for listening. Life is good.
We do enjoy this and will do it for a while. Then, back out on the road we go. The GMC is in great shape. Everything has been upgraded to make it a modern vehicle. I have put two engines in it. I guess that played some part in us accepting this position for a while. But, we will continue to take 10-14 day trips, even while we work. Most weeks we work 3 days, sometimes 4, and sometimes 2. Pretty much how we arrange things, with the exception of our court work. Both Teri and I spend time in court. The city court is all computerized with little actual paperwork. I have a new netbook with all of the information I need stored in it. Saves taking files to court. I enjoy it. The Poplar Bluff City Court is very organized and there is basically no "down time" during court. I have never seen such a streamlined process. I always hated court. Too slow and lots of valuable time wasted. Not here. With my little computer I work while the court passes many folks through, almost like a cattle auction. They email me my information and I "slide" it right into my newly created folder. Yes, this is a high tech setup and I love it. Folks still do go to jail though, ha.
A big part of living a "successful" life is making good decisions and knowing when to choose what our future will be. We feel like this opportunity was the right thing for us at the right time. We hope it enhances our future life of traveling
So, that's what Teri and I have been up to. Teri flies to Portland Saturday for 2 weeks. Her father is having some surgery Monday and needs Teri there.
Hang with us, we are still GMC Motorhomers and plan many more adventures. Our employment is temporary. Won't be long til I am soacking up that Arizona winter sun again.
Dan

Geocaching Again

2011-10-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Got up early and attended church with Ponna and Freeman. Freeman is the preacher and is very good in the pulpit. He preaches about 35 miles south of their house so we had a drive there and back. Stopped on the way back and grabbed a nice lunch. Teri and I left them about 120 pm and headed home.

This was not our first cache of the day but the first one with no rain. We pass this welcome sign every time we go to Alabama and back.

Teri points to the cache. Got to look close for some of these things.

Our first grab was in Fulton. As you can see it was raining.

Our second grab was in Tupelo, very close to Elvis' birth home. We had been here before but no luck. Today, teri found it as soon as she got out of the car. Rain tends to make us work quicker.

Looking for one on up the road from Tupelo. Not here.

Here it is, I found it in the brush.

Teri quickly signs it and back in the car we go. Raining pretty good here.

3 miles on north near Guntown Ms. Teri found it quick.

Here is what she found.

Still raining in Booneville. No luck here. The gaurd rail has been replaced and the cache went with the old rail. Spent little time here.

Thank goodness the rain had stopped when we got to Corinth. Teri lifted the skirt on this pole to reveal the treasure. And, we were off for Tn.

100 miles from Corinth to the bridge. We did not stop for any geocaching, or anything else. Grabbed this one just after crossing the Old Mighty Muddy, near Caruthersville.

We hope everyone enjoyed your weekend as much as Teri and I did. Never any boredom for us. We make most of our own fun, as you can see. Short trips like this one are great stress relievers, but I have no stress. So, just great being able to visit with loved ones 300 miles away, anytime we take a notion.

Hope you had a little time this afternoon to ride with us via the tracking system, WD0AFQ-1.

See you soon.

Dan

Geocaching Alabama

2011-10-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

The girls headed to Tupelo and Freeman had a game at Ole Miss. So, I cut a trail with the GPS. Can you find this one?

Here it is. A trained eye, like mine, took me right to this one.

2nd one in Haleyville. This is the homerun fence at a local ball park.

Can you see this one? It is hid at a veteran's memorial. Very nice and downtown Haleyville.

Look close.

I hate geocaching a train. Too many places to hide it. I had lots of muggles using the park and watching me. So, I did not get this one.

Haleyville, Al. Walmart. Good one for the numbers.

I don't enjoy the ones in the woods either. I hate chiggars. Gave this one 10 minutes then I cut a trail. No find.

Standing in same place with camera moved. Bear Creek Al.

Across the lake. The trees had been cut and piled right where the cache was. Nope, not me.

Was just me and my trusty steed today. He could not take my picture so I took his. This car has never let us down. Have not told him we are buying a new Chevy yet. But, I will keep the Vibe gt.

My road in Hackleburg, Al. Actually it is named for my cousin who lives down it a ways. My dad spent many of his childhood years here. His brother stayed when the rest of the family moved to Mo. My uncle's son is the one here.

This is now the Hackleburg school, after the toronado.

I did not have the heart to take lots of pictures. Many folks out working on their homes today. Downtown is almost gone.

Grabbed this one in Hamilton. Good hiding place. Corner fence post.

Totem pole in the Boy Scout yard. We too dark for me to find the cache behind it in the woods.

My last one of the day.

Was a good day. I enjoyed exploring the area where my dad spent his first years of life. He used to talk about all of these places, a lot. Now I can see the places he told me about. My cousin is always wanting us to visit so we come as much as we can. 300 miles and it is all 4 lane hiways now.

Will head home after church Sunday. May do more caching along the way. There are so many caches along US 45 we just grab a few each trip.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend as much as I am. Ride home with us tomorrow via the tracker. WD0AFQ-1.

Dan

Hamilton, Alabama

2011-10-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Best job in life, being a grandfather.

We get to do fun things. Makes all of life's previous struggles worth it.

Friday morning Teri and I got up and headed south. Final destination, Hamilton Alabama. My father was born here and spent much of his boyhood years in Northwest Alabama.

We decided to geocache our way along 412 and 45. This cache is tied with a string at the Boy Scout building in Jackson, Tn. I had more pictures but they got lost in the transition from camera to blog. The ammo can is tied off to a light pole. Teri found it right away. I lowered it for her and she did the rest. It really blends in well with the foilage of the Magnolia Tree.

There it is up in the tree.

Look close, at the end of Teri's fingers. Apple Tree in Jackson. Our second attmept to locate this thing. Marked as a smiley face now.

Here is one Teri found just north of Selmer, Tn. Easy one for her.

Fulton, Ms. Folks were about to come to blows here. I was paying more for fuel than I had in a long time. These folks were buy the cheapest 10% blend they have seen lately. I got blocked in and thought I might have to convince one of the vehicle owners that I throw a mean punch. He finally backed up enough to let me out. Cars you can not see are on both sides of these. It was a mad house. And, I had Teri behind the building picking up a geocache. When we got out of here we cut a trail to our final destination.

Perfect weather.

Freeman, my cousin's husband, is a teacher and announces the football games for Brilliant. This was the last home game. Freeman is a one man show in that he also sings the national anthem. Very good singer.

Folks lining the seats for the upcoming game at Brilliant.

Brilliant taking the field.

My favorite.

I would be dishonest if I called this a close game, 40-6. Brilliant was not the winner. Last home game this season. Maybe things will be better next season.

My cousin, Ponna, and Teri are heading to Florence to shop. Freeman is gone to an Ole Miss football game. I am about to hit rural northwest Alabama for some geocaching of my own. Should all gather back here for the World Series, 3rd game, at 7 tonight.

Hope everyone is enjoying this nice Fall weather as much as Teri and I are.

Dan

Malden, Mo. Car Show

2011-10-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

We are hooked up and ready to travel. I sure did not like rolling out of bed so early on a Saturday but I made it. My grandson was sick and just could not go. So, I rolled alone.

Got the best spot at the show. There were 2 girls trying to get the cars parked. They had no clue what to do with me. I followed their direction until I figured I better take care of myself. Moved a few roadblocks and got to where I needed to be. I was not blocking anyone yet was right in the line of traffic.

One wild sounding Willys.

Sweet little 6 banger with SS badges and a factory floor shift.

63 Sprint Falcon. I love these. Rarely spot one. Forerunner of the Mustang.

66 Stang. Same body as my 65. Kinda like my bug, a "30 footer". Too close, and it shows to be a daily driver.

Nice Camaro with aftermarket Yenco stickers.

One sweet 50.

My good friend Rick owns this one.

09 Rousch.

Sweet

Nice ride.

Lots of scooters. This was taken as they started rolling in.

A Ford Ranger.

I grew up with this kid. Jan owns this one.

A couple of professional rigs.

My kind of bicycle.

See why this thing sounded so wild?

Nice.

What year is this Ford?

Oops

Slick old Ford.

59.

All race.

My buddy's 350.

All motor.

A few antiques.

Girls like pink. Would take a real man to own this thing.

Check out the front rotors on this thing. Bet it stops like our GMC. 348 with 3 duces.

See, lots of bikes showed up.

This is a Boss Hoss built in Dyersburg.

Somewhere around 1938, not exactly sure.

I don't know just what this thing is.

My favorite.

Well, hope you enjoyed the show, I sure did. Was perfect weather. I walked til I got tired and went to the coach. Watched tv, had a snack, checked my email, and then back out on the street. Teri made me a nice lunch so I was all set. This is the only way to hit the car shows. Saw lots of old friends and many nice vehicles. Filled the GMC up for 3.06 a gallon. No bargain but cheaper than it has been.

Life is good for guys with GMC motorhomes.

Dan

Shiny and Ready To Go

2011-10-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Got up and washed the Vdub. Then hit the GMC. They are shining and ready to hit the car show in the morning. Got the tv and internet set up so I can enjoy myself if I get tired of looking at other vehicles. Frige is cold so lots of snacks. The tracker will be on so you can zoom in and see where the show is. Will roll out early and hook the two together for the 15 mile drive. Hope to see lots of friends and nice vehicles. This Fall show is normally a good one with the entire downtown blocked off to traffric. Ride with me if you have time. Should get lots of pictures to post tomorrow night. Weather is perfect for a car and tractor show. There is also a chili cook off. Should have entered Teri. She won the one last year at the GMC Convention in DuQuoin.
See you there,
Dan

Life is Good

2011-10-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Teri and I are still here. Having lots of fun as always. We can not complain about anything. It is great living a life with few worries. 3 months after I retired I woke up one morning wondering what was wrong with me. Then, I realized, I was stress free. Never really thought about being a stressed guy but I suppose I was.
We have taken jobs here, part time, and they are going to slow our travels some this winter. Both of us are working in the same office over in Poplar Bluff, 25 miles west of Dexter. It is with a company that we helped close down in 07. This Spring they wanted to fire up again and asked Teri and me to help. Money is too good to pass up right now. I mean, we have bought two engines for our GMC in the last year, along with the high priced fuel. The timing was just perfect. We are working with people which makes us happy. Both of us are "people people" if that makes sense. Teri is better than I am. I get moody sometimes and it is hard for me to keep from showing it. One never knows if Teri is not feeling well, she is just good.
So, I could run out and grab a picture of our GMC sitting in the drive but yall have seen lots of pictures of the thing. Still looks the same, nice new shiny silver roof over black. One of our grandsons and I are planning a car show trip next weekend. Will have the bug tied to the rear of the GMC and hope to get lots of nice photos of cars to post here.
Everyone have a great weekend. Teri is gone so I am practicing my harmonica. She is not too much on my blowing that thing, but I enjoy it. So do the grandkids. We have 2 coming tonight to spend the night with us. We love our grandkids, all 16 of them.

Dan

Traveling in Our GMC Motorhome

2011-09-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Grabbed the GMC from the paint shop in Topeka, In. and hit the geocaching trail.

I love squeezing the GMC and car into these little graveyards. Teri is always squeemish. Guess she is afraid I will run over a grave or something.

Check out the scooters. These were double priced but looked good. Going to pick up one of these small ones when I run onto a deal. Saw one yesterday for 325 on the side of the road but we were in the coach heading to church, and it was raining. They go for about 300 used.

Burnettsville, In. had a special day Saturday. Teri and the girls did a 5k walk. I hung around the car show.

This was slick.

So was this one. I love the painted bumpers.

Ok, what year do you think this one is? I won't even ask you to name it.

Had a good visit with the Mustang owner. He is like me in that he has had this car since he was a kid.

1950. Lots of attention paid to detail on this baby. Older restoration.

48 2 door sedan.

Look at these.

They both looked brand new.

On the road Sunday after church. We took a lot of 2 lanes. I love the backroads. We were in the rain almost all the way home. After crossing the Wabash over into Illinois, I got tired of the detours for new bridges and all of the water puddled in the low spots. We jumped on 64 over to 57 and arrived home at 9 pm.

Grabbed a cache early this morning right down the street from our home. Teri and I now have help hiding caches around here.

Had to wash the GMC and the bug. The GMC was really dirty after the 550 mile run home in the rain.

Grabbed 2 of my buddies and off to the drug store we went. I am on a diet so had to sneak a lick from Marci Claire.

Ran down to the spring for some fresh water.

Rylan found his first geocache today. He was excited. On Wed. he will be 5. We are "tight".

Teri's birthday dinner at our daughter's tonight.

I loved this part.

How does a guy know when he is slipping? Well, yesterday at church I looked for the bathroom. Found it and made sure it said men. Got in there and a lady was coming out of the stall. Wow. Did not take me long to exit. Looked at the sign again it did say men but had "wo" in front of it. Oh well, everyone involved was laughing so I was not arrested.

Good to have the GMC back home. They did a good job with the roof painting. I knew they would.

Thanks for checking in.

Dan

Cloudy Saturday In Rural North Indiana.

2011-09-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Can't get any pictures up. Verizon is not much up here. Neither is ATT, so I don't know what type of cell service is local to Logansport. I do know I am piggybacking from some kind of cell service and it is super slow.
Will head home tomorrow from Kokomo, In. We are taking the back roads and will cross the Wabash north of Evansville and down to the Ohio, near Cairo. We enjoy the slower pace and looking at the small towns as we pass through in our motorhome. Will have to cross the Mississippi on I-57 and then head on in the last 40 miles on 4 lanes.
So, stay tuned. Once we arrive home we will get some photos of our trip posted. Been 2 months since the GMC left home. It has a nice shiny roof again and is a happy camper.
The tracker will be running, WD0AFQ, so ride along if you can. We will leave Logansport at 830 am then leave Kokomo by noon. We are looking forward to the drive as a lot of US history was made in Southern Indiana and Illinois. Got a little geocaching in yesterday and may get some in tomorrow, depending on the weather and time.
Dan

Rolling In The Morning

2011-09-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, life is good. Our friend, Larry, emailed me this morning. He said our GMC is finished. We dropped it off at Topeka Graphics last week. The clearcoat was peeling from the roof. He took the paint off, repainted it and did the propper clearcoating. There were some problems from when we had the painter paint it back in 06. Larry did not paint it but was eager to take care of it for us. He is great. This is who painted the vdub to match the GMC.

Oh, check this one out. The grandkids came by to see us before we leave. We always have fun. Little Larsyn is a handful. Getting ready to wal and he is all over the place. He sees is bothers and sister drinking from granpa's cup and has to do the same. I knew they were coming so it was full of nice cold spring water tonight, just for him.

Ride with us if you can. The tracker will be running, WD0AFQ-1.

Catch you in Indiana.

Dan

Dexter, Missouri Geocaching

2011-09-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

After Teri went to bed last night I was checking the geocache site. To my surprise I find new caches here in Dexter. They were placed while we were away in the coach. It is nice to have help in our community to hide more caches.

Teri grabbed this cache where these playground things are in a park, just east of our home. Our daughter takes our grandkids here often.

Nice little hide. It lives with the squirrels. Hope they don't chew it up. I ran one out to get this one. It's in another park where our grandkids play. Also, I played here as a child, 50 years ago.

Next, we headed over to the east side of Dexter. The grandkids play ball in this park. There are two caches placed here.

If you look close the cache can be seen hiding behind the pole. The carnival folks are moving in for the fair next week. We got lucky and no one was in their campers when we took this one.

We have a small park just west of our home. Boone Park. Today I started gathering coords to place one there. I think it will be cool to have a cache so close to our home. Will gain permission and place the cache next week before we leave town again.

I wanted to take some of our grandchildren with us today but none were available. So, I had a date with my gal.

Our community is taking off with cachers. There was a newspaper article last month talking about geocaching. They mentioned 3 of our caches in the article. No one knows who we are. Kinda cool. When we place the one in Boone Park I will tell them the owner lives several months in the black and silver GMC parked just up the street.

Life is good. Hope you are enjoying it.

Dan

Gimmy The Traveling GMC, Geocahing

2011-09-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning we had to get up and roll early. We took the GMC to Topeka Graphics and left it. The clear coat is peeling from the roof. Larry did not paint our coach, painted our Vdub, but said he would fix it. The plan was for us to get there around 8 am and for me to pull all of the solar panels from the roof. Larry does not know how much I appreciated him when he said I will take care of those panels, yall hit the road. 520 miles we had to get home. The real problem was I had broken a rib at the convention and could barely move. I could have hugged his neck. Never even mentioned to him that I was in serious pain.

We have to get Gimmy in a cache. Our plan was to do this after the Patterson Convention and see if he could get to Goshen. The flooding hindered our plans. So, We struck out to the western side of Indiana to be near an interstate. What we found was a remote spot 2 miles from I-65 with a great cache to put him in. I hope he is found and moved toward Shawnee.

This cache has a lock on it. It is not readily identifiable and is on the side of a rural bridge, just west of Hebron, In, 2 miles. I will get the tracking number and post it so folks can put him on their watch list. This will be interesting. Teri took Gimmy from my Hotwheels collection so I have invested deeply in this guy, ha.

A little more geocaching and we are on I-57 headed to Missouri.

Tuesday night I was under our GMC working on the exhaust. I felt the rib snap but was hoping I was wrong. I have broken ribs twice before so I know what a broken rib is. Well, it is snapped. I am in considerable pain so we were in a hurry to get to my doctor. Called him at 35 miles out and he was gone. No work on Friday so I was stuck. No sleep Thurs. I will find someone to get me some relief today if I have to rob the pharmacy, just joking.

What a convention we had. We hope that folks enjoyed the photos. I know how I used to enjoy Arch's photos when I was working and he was at the conventions. I would run home from my office during the day to see what new pictures he had put up. He is unable to attend now due to health so I am trying to keep the pictures up. I know how much it meant to me. Sometimes I don't have time to post names but I do it when I can. Totally unbelievable what I learn at these conventions. Jim K. has blessed me by letting me help with his stuff for sale at the conventions. If I was not courteous the last few days realize I was in pain. I apologize if I was "short" with anyone and will make it up to you in Shawnee.

So, I gotta run now and find a doctor. Catch you again when I feel better.

Dan

UPDATE!!!

Here is the tracking number for the GMC trying to get to Shawnee, Ok.

TB40Q74

Zero, not a capitol o.

Oh, I got in to see a doctor today. The rib is not broken but pulled loose from the cartlidge. Still hurts but I got some pain medicine.

Have a great weekend,

Dan

Racing The GMC Motorhome

2011-09-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I wondered what the older folks did for fun. I wonder no more.

These coaches are fast. We even hold the land speed record for motorhomes on the Salt Flats. Don't believe me, look it up. Why do you think our coaches are called "Hotrods With Plumbing"?

Well, we can race our coaches at these conventions so we race wooden models, just like the Boy Scouts.

Ken B. getting his ready. He was one of the fastest tonight.

Jim K, who takes this very seriously.

Check out the Mini Cooper inside this coach. Randy actually has a GMC that he rebuilt to haul one of his Mini Coopers.

Everyone's favorite, Bobby Brown.

Teri is pretty serious about this stuff too. I grabbed these shots of her for our grandkids.

She has to have it sitting just right before she will get down.

See how close she eyeballs it.

We have some real builders on the team.

Another detailed coach.

And, the crowd goes wild.

The GMC Motorhome people know how to have good clean fun. These conventions are great. I believe we had 166 registered at this convention. That is a good crowd considering the fuel prices. Tomorrow is our last full day.

Teri and I are taking our coach over to Topeka Graphics to have the roof worked on. Our clear coat is coming off and I want it fixed. Larry set an appointment for us about a month ago, when we were there. Will leave from there, in the car, and head home Thursday. The following Friday we will drive back up, 500 miles, and pick it up.

I hope you enjoyed seeing just a little of the fun we all had tonight.

Dan

GMC Motorhomes and More Fun

2011-09-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

Teri and I jumped out early this morning and headed to church. Look what we found on the way.

Was able to run down my dad's first cousin and sat behind her and her husband in services. I suspect it has been over 40 years since we have seen each other. I enjoy tracking down kinfolk.

As soon as we got back Teri started helping folks with the geocaching again. We have some children at most events. These were already geocachers. I enjoyed watching folks all afternoon with their gps units looking for the 35 or so caches that Teri has hidden on the grounds.

Here are our experts for today's panel. This is always one of my very favorite sessions at the conventions.

Everyone's friend, Ken B. He is one great guy to know. Always willing to help anyone with a need.

Check out some of the coaches.

Friends enjoying friends.

Coaches stacked everywhere.

We had 140 coaches signed up. I think the count tonight is 165. This is great. Lots of locals found out we are here and came to be with us.

Around every corner of this facility we have coaches lined up.

The guy standing up with his back to us always gives me fits. I love Bob Paterson. One nice guy. After I snapped the shot he ran me off.

This looks like original paint and it really shines.

More friends enjoying each other.

Coaches are everywhere.

The more the merrier.

As I have said before, the GMC coach is how most all of us met. Soon we forget the coaches and want to visit with our friends and find out how their families are. I suspect there are few clubs that get along as well as GMC clubs. Life is good.

I am in a hurry as they are serving strawberries. I don't use spell check so there are probably some gramar errors. Overlook them tonight. I don't have time to proof.

Gone,

Dan

What Do We Do at a GMC Motorhome Gathering?????

2011-09-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

No, this coach is not here. It lives in Mn. The body has been dropped onto a Duramax pickup chasis. This coach is used on a regular basis.

Yes, Elvis was here.

One of the workingest guys I know. Always asking folks "what can I do to help you?" Chuck is from Tn.

We sell things here.

This has to be one of the best bargains on a really nice coach that I have seen in a while. Not many GMCs like this one come up for sale. If I was looking, I would buy this coach.

Teri was ready to show folks why she is the world champion watermelon de seeder. These turned out to be seedless. 2nd time this has happened to her.

We eat really good at these things. Tonight, we have ice cream.

My lovely bride has spent many hours working on her geocache presentation. She has about 30 caches hidden on the grounds. I really enjoyed watching folks search for the caches after her presentation.

One of our Canadian vendors, Dick Paterson. One great guy. His brother is also here and I love visiting with him.

Lots of bikes here. I wanted to steal this one. Got a motor on it. I did take a three wheeler, electric. When the owner saw me come around the corner on 2 wheels he made me get off. I got to have one of them.

Because we have folks in our group that are so helpful, we get a lot of discounted stuff. These windshields were put in because Ken B. did all of the arrangement making. Many many GMC owners are "giving" folks.

I almost grabbed my fire extinguisher when I saw this one.

33 foot GMC. Nicely done.

This is what it is all about. Friends.

I wanted to share this with our non GMC readers. Many ask Teri and me what we do here. Just a little sample. Life is good.

Dan

GMC Motorhomes Everywhere

2011-09-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Whew, been a busy day. I got a chance to run an errand a little after dark. I get back and Teri has a couple of guys out in the parts. Dog gone if it was not Jim and Jim Miller, father and son. 2 of the nicest guys I know. They took care of me a couple of years ago while I was at their place, near Cincinatti, working on motorhomes. It was a work rally and I drove the car over for the weekend. So good to see them here.
We have had a lot of coaches show up today. It looks like more are here than preregistered. This is a good campground in a good area to draw a lot of GMCers.
Got to go, another person at my door.
Same link for more pictures as last night.
Dan

GMC Motorhome Fall 2010 Convention, Goshen, In.

2011-09-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Whew, been a long day but a fun one. For you GMC folks the photos are on the GMC photo site. Here is a link:http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=40502&title=how-do-you-like-me-now&cat=5889http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=40502&title=how-do-you-like-me-now&cat=5889
I am thinking 30-40 pictures of GMCs and their owners. Tonight we had an Ice Cream Social for all of the early arrivals. I am full myself.
Tomorrow the show actually begins. I may post a few motorhome shots on here for our non GMC folks.
I am seeing folks here that I have not seen in 2-3 years. It is so good to see them again. It seems that the largest attenders of the conventions are in the midwest somewhere so the conventions have jumped back and forth across the Mississippi trying to draw the most folks. That is my opinion only.
Well, tonight the temperature is just perfect outside and inside the coach. It has been a bit nippy since Saturday night. We have had light drizzle off and on all day but no real rain. We put Jim's "store" under roof so if it rains we can continue on, unlike past conventions.
Catch yall later.
Dan

Made the Move

2011-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures but we moved 15 miles up the road to the GMC International Convention site in Goshen. It does not start until Friday but there are several early arrivals. Had supper with friends at a very nice resturant, downtown. They are giving us 10% discount while we are in town. Tony's, 105 N 5th, spread the word.
This is a nice fairground, Elkhart County. We are expecting 140 GMC coaches here by Friday. Teri and I stopped for propane just around the corner. The owner likes GMC coaches and gave us 50 cents a gallon off our propane. Also, any GMC coach that needs propane will get the same discount while here in Goshen. We are spreading the word.
So, that's it. Had a great time at the Druber's. They are such nice folks. Many GMC folks are very hospitable, like the Drubers.
Hang in there, the weekend is coming. Pictures tomorrow.
Dan

A Little Taste Of The Good Life

2011-09-06T17:44:00.000-07:00

What better way to explore a new area than to geocache it?

See, we get to see a lot of neat places we could not see if we didn't geocache.

We hit the area hard right off.

Check this one out I found in a bush.

I like this one.

Here is a neat one. If you blow it up I think you can see what it is.

My sweetie.

A hockey puck drilled out so a cache fits in it. Also has two very strong magnets placed in it.

They have neat biking and walking trails in and around Syracuse.

A bunch of us gathered for lunch.

I think someone is working on a part I hate to work on.

This afternoon's fire.

The word got out that we were eating really good at Ray and Carol's. We must have had 30 new folks show up tonight.

Look at that corn.

Pre supper snacks.

Just visiting amongst friends.

More of the same. GMC Motor Home Folks are almost always very pleasant folks to be around.

Folks in line for grub.

A shot from above of the group eating. Ray and Carol know how to entertain. This was great.

What is Ray up to here? I think he is washing dishes.

The sun setting over Lake Wawasee.

Guess who.

Like I say, Teri and I are very fortunate to be able to travel and meet so many nice people. All of these gathered here are those that we can call friends. It is so good when we can get together.

Well, now its time for the after dark festivities. I must run. Catch us tomorrow night if you have time.

Dan and Teri

GMC Motorhome Pre Rally

2011-09-05T18:51:00.000-07:00

We have 10-11 coaches here at Ray and Carol's now. Just look at those noses. Have you seen a prettier motorhome?

Our grub tonight, great home made chilli and all the trimmings.

We are about 15 miles south of the GMC International Convention site, Goshen. Ray invited about a dozen coaches to stop at his place, here on the lake, for a couple of nights before the convention. We are just east of Syracuse. This is where Teri and I left our coach about 3 weeks ago. We arrived Saturday afternoon and helped Ray and Carol get the grounds ready to handle a dozen coaches.

A shot of some of the coaches just before sunset.

Great friends having a great time.

Some of the crowd around the camp fire. teri loves camp fires, not me.

Today is Ray's birthday so we helped him celebrate. It is also Ray and Carol's anniversary.

So, now you see why Teri and I love this group. Everyone is interested in how the others are doing. A very caring group of people own GMC coaches. We may have another coach or two show up tomorrow. I know several folks are coming down from Goshen tomorrow night for a while. They are up there now getting the place ready for the rest of us.

Hang with us, there will be almost 2 weeks of fun coming our way.

Dan

We Made It

2011-09-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Did you roll along with us Saturday watching the tracker? We had a great trip. Left home at 5 am. That was tough on me but I made it up on time. We got here to Syracuse about 2 pm CST, 3 pm Indiana time. Today Bob and Marlys pulled in. Tomorrow there will be more for the pre convention rally here at Ray and Carol's. They have a very nice place right on a big lake. We are about 15 miles south of the convention site in Goshen. Teri and I drove up to Goshen this morning for church services. Goshen is a very nice looking town with a cool and kept up older downtown. I will get pictures while we are there geocaching the town.

So, we are here and enjoying the much cooler weather. Was 95 here yesterday. today the temps were in the 70's. Already this evening I have had to close the windows and roof vents. We brought jackets and I am so glad.

Will be back with lots of pictures.

Dan

Running Again

2011-09-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Teri and I will roll at 5am. Check the tracker if you get a chance. WD0AFQ-1. We will be in the car heading to Syracuse, In. Should be a good run and hoping to beat most of the traffic by leaving early. Maybe get through Indy before noon. Left the motorhome up there and we are anxious to get back to it. Next week will be the GMCMI convention in Goshen. I will post lots of pictures here and on the GMC photo site.
Ride with us, if you can't sleep, in the morning. Hope to get there by 2 pm.
Dan

Home Again

2011-08-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Teri and I rolled at 6 am Central Time. Grabbed this shot as we traveled south on 41/63 in Indiana. I love seeing the wind make electricity. These things are going up all over the USA. I hope they work for the next 100 years.

What is this?

Oh yea, another graveyard cache. Teri got the "first to find" on this one. Took a while but she dug it out. Can't travel 400 miles without searching a few geocaches out.

Got home about 2 pm. Was a good drive and not much traffic. I think Tuesdays are the best days for a trip. Traffic seems less on Tuesdays. Must have been a holiday for police. We did not see any til we got to the southern tip of Illinois. We always see police there. The first 20 miles north of the Mississippi River Bridge is always patrolled.

Got most of the grass cut before our son in law came over with 4 of our grandkids. We had 2 arrive before those 4.

Got two tvs to repair tomorrow so better get to bed. Hope everyone is having a good week. Teri and I will hit the road again next weekend.

Dan

Taking The Backroads

2011-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

The rv's were rolling out of Brooklyn this morning. Many stayed another night after the race.

You have got to take 12 across southern Mi. sometime. It is a lovely route. I have taken it a couple of times going through beautiful little towns. Here Teri did a ittle geocaching in Coldwater.

Sturgis, Mi. Had to grab a cache on the state line.

Isn't this beautiful? I am telling you, 12 is a nice backroad to travel during a weekday. Little traffic and lots of great scenary. This picture was south of 12 after we crossed into In.

Another cache.

Lots of these in north In, on the back county roads.

We stopped in Topeka to talk about some paint work on our GMC. They have 3 GMCs in there now. The shop looks very busy. If you need your coach painted better call and make an appointment. We will run our's over after the convention next month.

If this is your's you wil see the progress.

Finished and waiting for the owner.

Oh, we had to stop by our coach this morning to get some things out of the car.

At the fairgrounds.

Teri has a geocache seminar so we came by to get a few coordinates.

There she is again. When she finishes we will take more backroads to our daughter's in Logansport. Plan to get up early Tuesday and drive on home. If you want to see the roads we traveled from Brooklyn just click on the tracker and put wd0afq-1 into the window.

Life is good.

Dan

Geocaching Brooklyn Michigan

2011-08-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

We left Romeo right after morning church services. Drove to my sister's near Brookyn. Teri and I had fun with our two nephews doing some geocaching this evening.

My sister, Jennifer, and her oldest son help Teri on this one in downtown Brooklyn.

Here all 4 of them are looking hard.

Right there on the light pole. Magnetic.

Got dark and we missed this one in the woods.

The boys and me at the one of the main entrances after today's race.

Our last cache for the evening. As you can see it was getting dark. This one is right outside the south entrance of the race track.

Lots of folks will remain camped unti tomorrow, just outside the track.

We had to reward ourselves for such a successful geocahing evening.

Outside the ice cream store. Oh, that Rocky Road cone was good.

Teri and I will hit the road early. We have some stops to make on our way to our daughter's in Logansport. I want to stop at Topeka Graphics, the motorhome painters, in Topeka. Will stop by our coach in Syracruse, then up to Goshen. We need to check out the campground for our convention in a couple of weeks. Teri will need to know where she can hide some caches for her geocaching seminar.

Hope to arrive home Tuesday. We have lots of stuff to get done in the next 10 days before we once again head back to Goshen for the GMC convention.

Dan

Woodward Blvd. Cruise, 2011

2011-08-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I got up early and rolled through the countryside to Pontiac. It was 9 am and the cars were already cruising Woodward.

I found a parking place and shot a few pictures.

Kinda partial to old Mustangs.

Al kinds there this morning.

If Detroit made it, there was at least one there. As you can see, a few that Detroit did not make also showed up.

56 Nomad is for sale.

I had to pull out of the cruise when I saw the vdubs.

Not your grandma's 57.

Dig those fins.

Blow this one up and you wil see its a hemi.

Lots of Mustangs.

I would cruise with a group and then speed up to catch another group.

Peope lined both sides of Woodward from Pontiac, to almost 7 mile, where I turned around and headed back north.

This little puppy had a bad engine in the rear. I could hear it in the car across the lanes of traffic.

Car shows lined the blvd. I stopped then cruised. Was surprized they would let me on the blvd in the Vibe but they did. At least I had it al polished up.

Who remembers those 63 Fords at the strip with 429 engines?

Now, did they make a 56 El Camino? No. This guy was on WXYZ 11 pm news last night. He built it himself.

It looked so good I shot it twice.

55-56 Pontiac.

I loved this caddy.

There were spots that were very crowded.

This 55 was very sick.

I saw this guy a couple of times.

I saw two of these in the cruise.

This was a souped up ittle Mini. He had no problems keeping up.

And, there you have it, 49 pictures. I scrapped a lot of them. Hard to drive and shoot at same time. Was there 2 hours running down to 7 mie and back. Must have been 10-12 miles one way. Missed my GMC buddies but I can catch up with them next year. Now that I understand how this is laid out it wil be much easier to hook up with them.

Oh, it is almost 2 pm. The cruise is live on WXYZ from 2-4 pm. Got to run.

Dan

Yard Saling Romeo

2011-08-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

Look at that camera. Will make me a great spare. I have so much trouble with cameras I thought for 7 bux I should grab it. I gave Teri the money and she talked them down to 5. Hmm, I am due some change. My aunt went with Teri yesterday but today I was the driver. We had been out to Sam's, Walmart, and Kroger so I wanted my aunt to rest.

Look at the clothes Teri got for our grandkids. We have 16 so this is a good way to help clothe some of them. I took Teri to this big yard sale. The lady was about to close and told Teri to grab anything she might need, free. Teri got lots of clothes for the grandchildren. The lady refused Teri's money. Now, there are lots of nice people still around and this lady sure fits into that category. She must be a very giving lady.

That is pretty much it. I am excited to hit Woodward Avenue in the morning. Will get up early and head to Pontiac as that is the closest place for Woodward to where we are. And, I can go out west through the country to get there. I should have lots of pictures tomorrow.

Dan

Even found a knife for my collection.

Yes Indeed

2011-08-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Oh yea, that is me doing a happy dance. Learned that from my grandkids. I finally got the blog fixed so I can once again load all of my fotos and comment on them as I go. That way you will know when you see a toe sack with slick willie on it just what it is. By the way, that sack is hanging in Ken's hanger. I thought it was funny so I put it in the previous blog.

Now, I will once again look forward to getting the blog up.

See you soon.

Dan

Having Fun

2011-08-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Having all kinds of problems with the blog. It may go under if I cant figure out what has happened. Can no longer load photos and see them before I comment. Therefore I have no clue what I am saying about which photo. Teri was trying to help me this morning and loaded up the flying high picture. That was while trying to use Picassa program. I just went and bought another card reader so I can use the Dell. Lets see

what happens now when I try to upload the photos.
Well, as you can see this is a total disaster. I used to load all of the photos at once then comment on each one. I can no longer figure out how to do that. It will upload only 5 pictures and will not let me comment on them, can not see anything but the jibberish that makes the pictures.
We did a little geocaching Monday morning. Then we headed back to the hanger. I was able to hitch a ride on on older plane, not a low wing like I stated yesterday, but a 46 model. Wow, I loved that. We flew about 30 feet above the coastline of Lake Michigan. Flew around the steel mills and then back to the airport. What a lucky guy I was.
We got started working on the coach about dark. Teri shot a couple pictures of us. Do not swap an air conditioning compressor on a GMC coach in the dark. Even with shop lights and flashlights it was a difficult task. Ken ran to town while I was in the air and picked up a new bearing for the clutch. Was glad to get that. Ken is a great friend.
Did I say that Tuesday morning on our trip that I flipped the air on and nothing happened? Oh boy. I was in a terrible mood. When we arrived at Ray's I checked under the hood and we had forgotten to plug the dang thing back in. Did that and cold air was back. Made the rest of my day good. Last picture was us crossing into Michigan, where we are now. Running up to Port Huron in the morning. Saturday we will hit the Woodward Cruise. I have always wanted to be here for that so this is my chance. Should have lots of pictures. MAybe I can get the blog figured out so I can get my old picture loading going again. I know it is not fun looking at pictures with no captions.

Motor City Here We Are

2011-08-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Actually, we are in Romeo, just north ofmy birth city Detroit. I have some neat pictures if I can find a resizer for Teri's netbook. It uses Windows 7. Don't buy that operating system. Has been nothing but problems for us. Can't locate a free resizer so I can post the pictures.
Yesterday we hung out at the airport in Valparaiso. Pretty neat little airport. About 4 pm we pulled the air conditioning compressor from the GMC. Finally got the replacement on at midnight. It is hard to remount this thing in the daylight so don't try it in the dark. I did not think we would ever get it back in but we did. Glad to have the dash air back in service.
We pulled out of Valparaiso about 8 am. Rolled over to Syracuse and left the GMC with our friends the Swartzendruber's. Visited with them for an hour and jumped in the car pointed for Romeo. We are here visiting my aunt. She is my dad's oldest sister. 92 years old in 2 weeks and still drives her new car to church 3 times a week. She is a special lady and we try to get up here as often as we can.
I will see what I can find for a resizer Wednesday so I can get the pictures up that I snapped while flying 20 feet off the Lake Michigan beach. Oh yea, I had a ride in a low wing yesterday. Words can not describe the beauty that one sees while flying in north Indiana. As soon as we hit about 500 feet I could see downtown Chicago. Much better view from the sky than through a windshield on a toll road.
Will have more later. Need to get rested up.
Dan

2011-08-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Can you guess where we are? Oh yea, an airport. Nice place to park. Pulled right up agains our friend Ken's hanger here in Valparaiso. In. As you can see, I am still having trouble uploading photos.
We We rolled at 6 am. Had smoke coming from the dash as we pulled out. A 30 amp blade fuse holder had gone bad so I replaced with another Chinese part from Autozone and we were on our way. Was a good ride. Stayed on the interstate and paid 2 tolls. I could see heavy clouds to our east so I did not take the intended route. About 260 miles and we were here. Rain in Gary but otherwise we had sun all during our ride.
Problems with keyboard skipping and Teri has supper ready. Got to go.
Dan

Final Day, FMCA

2011-08-13T12:50:00.001-07:00

Well, I hope you can see the pictures. The blogger is all fowled up today and I can not put the information beside the pictures. So, many of the photos will not make sense, like the one of the flat satellite dish selling for 4 grand. I have a picture of Bob Sobritto with Fantastic Vent. He is the "guy" should you need anything from them. I also have a picture of RV Soulutions Glass. They will put in windshields at conventions for basically no labor. A few pictures of Teri geocaching. Some photos of the crowd this morning. One booth was all leather. Thought I was south of the Border til I saw the prices. You name it you can buy it here, even helicopters. Pictures of the crowd, the seminars and one of our great friend, Carol James. She is a real sweetheart. Some paint schemes on buses. Stuff like that.
When we returned to our GMC it was all alone. Everyone had left so you see in the last picture us back out in the holding area so we can get out of here early. I am parked right up against the blacktop so I am hoping someone will let us in if there is a parade of coaches.
Should you have questions about a particular foto, just email me. Even though I had no booth we sold most of our led stock. Had to get an order in last night so we have them for Goshen. Once you see these things you will like them.
Our next stop is Valparasio, Indiana. Should be able to check in with you from there tomorrow night.
Thanks for hanging out with us here. It has been a great FMCA convention.
Dan

Fun Times in Our GMC Motorhome

2011-08-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Got out and about this morning to grab a few pictures. This is the best parking at the entire show. We are tickled to be parked in a special place with like rigs.

This 48 Ford pickup looks like a mini truck beside its owner's rig. Nice toad.

I enjoy looking at the old Blue Birds.

I was in search of some of our friends parked in the forest of boxes. Here is one.

Got to visit with this girl from Washington state. She is alone, with dog, and traveling. She sent in her registration for Goshen this morning. No generator so she must park with the monsters so she can plug her coach in to electric.

Carol and Gordie. they are working parking rigs so they had special parking, close to the main area.

I enjoy seeing a nice looking FMC from time to time. Did not spot his vdub.

A newer Blue Bird.

Lots of stuff for sale. This is a big show. This is an Alfa 1 watt wifi extender. A little expensive but they have rent to pay.

There are 5-6 booths selling Chinese leds.

You can see the blueish tint the lights give off, I hate that 'cool white". Looks blue to me.

More of the same. So wish folks knew that leds have progressed beyond what folks are selling. Our soft whites are built in the USA and are priced right with these imports. The maximum warranty on what is being sold inside is one year. Some have no warranty. We build our lights to last a lifetime that is why we offer the lifetime warranty. Buy them once and be done. Buy the off shores and buy again next year. I am living proof. No telling how many cheap Chinese lights I have blown. Now I have a drawer full of the things that I will never use again. I sell them for 5 bux a pop with no warranty.

Yes, Camping World is here in a big way.

How about one of these babies in a GMC?

This show is huge.

Nice guys, Roadmaster. I tried to buy a part for my towbar, they gave it to me.

Tried to have an awining installed, 719.00 from a company here doing that. Not for me. I will install one myself. Our material needs replaced and that 719 bux was for just the material and install, 19 footer.

Yea, you can get a loan on a big coach. I often wonder how many of thes folks driving the 200,000 plus motorhomes are making payments.

Well, Tony's car is here but I did not find him.

And, back home for lunch. Teri visited with the head guru of FMCA yesterday. He is very knowlegable of the GMC. He is also approachable. Teri was impressed with his concern about our concerns. We will be talking with him more. She thanked him for the special parking of our coaches. Brad is a paid employee who is a full timer and retired from a State Trooper's career.

So, there you have it in a nut shell. May head out in the car for some sightseeing later today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dan

Geocaching Madison, Wi.

2011-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Oh yea, we have started geocaching Madison. Took Teri out this afternoon. The show here does not start til Wednesday so we had some time.

A quick park and grab.

They have nice parks here and biking trails all over the place.

This shopping center was the place of the first airport in Madison.

Looking, looking, and looking.

I thought I was going to have to help her on this one but she got it. A good hide behind the new Walmart just outside the gate from where we are parked.

We have an all day meeting tomorrow then the rest of the week is our's. We can look until we get tired, rest, and look some more. There were another 600 coaches pulling in here today. Most of them came this morning keeping the parking folks real busy. I must say that FMCA is very accomodating. I like these gatherings.

Oh, the market tried to recover today. I can see it will be an interesting week.

Dan

Rolling In

2011-08-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here is our spot. Life is good. We are right on the lake.

A few coaches from yesterday.

A few more. Today, you can not look anywhere without seeing coaches. I have never seen so many in my life. And, they are still coming.

We now have company. Ken and Marge from over near Lansing, Mi. just pulled in.

From the front. Just look behind us. We were being seen by all that drive in, no more. This place is packed and packing more. We have 3 GMC spots left. I have been on the parking crew not to put anything there except GMC coaches. I am afraid I can not hold them much longer. They have parked these bad boys all around us now. So, if yall are coming, hurry up.

Will catch you later. I got to run.

Dan

FMCA Convention, Madison, Wisconsin

2011-08-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

We rolled the last 120 miles this morning and arrived about noon. Was a great drive but the traffic was really heavy, especially when we hit the 90 toll road. I hate tolls. Paid 5 bux to drive 14 miles. What a rip. The last 3 miles in Illinois was free but the road was absolutely terrible.
I have some pictures but can't load them with this computer. Will fire up the Dell tomorrow and put them on. Lots of motor coaches. One will never see this many coaches in one place except at an FMCA gathering. Can't wait for the thing to open. Going to hit those vendors to see the newest stuff.
They have set aside a special parking area for GMC coaches. Its a great spot, very shady, and right next to the shower house and bath rooms. Not a plus for me since I use my own but some folks like the bigger showers.
Had visitors tonight. Our friends Terry and Bob come by for a visit. Was so good to see them.
Well, the weather has been great, rain and cool temps. My favorite combination in August.
Will see you tomorrow. Lots more to come.
Dan

Life is Cool in Peru, Illinois

2011-08-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Teri and I rolled out of Dexter about 1230 pm. We went to church this morning and hung around for a while telling our family and friends goodbye. Ran home, changed clothes, and hit the road. Maybe you rode with us via the tracker. It was a good ride. Jumped off I-57 At Salem and took a real back road over to 51 north. 51 is a great scenic road heading north in Illinois. I love it. About the time we jumped off I-57 we decided it was time to cut the air conditioner on. The temp was hovering around 100 outside but we had just come out of a nice shower where the temps had dropped to about 80. Those floor vents in the GMC are great. Once we are rolling the air just blasts into the cab. Ran the air for about 3 hours and the temp dropped back down to about 80. We were just north of Decatur I think. Had planned to stay over night there but it was so early that we just kept rolling north and landed here in Peru. We are sitting here watching tv and reading. The roof vent is on and blowing very cool air in. Just what we had hoped for. The temperature is about 70 outside now but will drop closer to 60 during the night. I am sure the fan will go off after we go to bed.
Ok, thats about it. HAve 130 or so miles to run tomorrow. Will not be in any hurry. Going to dodge the toll booth at Rockford and take the back roads into Madison. Ride along if you have time.
Dan and Teri

More LED Lighting for Your RV

2011-08-05T08:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show these lights not working so you could get an idea about what we have. The one you are looking at is for the fluorescent fixtures. This light is bright, close to 500 lumen. It is not inexpensive at 50 dollars. But one of these will light a lot of your rv and draw less than .04 amps. They just pop into your fixture. Wire them into the on/off switch and you are ready to go. There is no need to remove the old ballast either unless you just want to. I have this light, cut down the middle, in the two bath fixtures. One on each side of the mirror. It is more than enough to light the bath so I normally only have one turned on. One of these in a 12 inch fixture is great. 2 of them will run you outside. We sell a single strip for 25.00.

This is the two strip, low level, that fits in your normal bulb fixture. We can run from one to six in one of these sockets. I find that two, 120 lumen, is what we like. You might like 3 of these in one socket. It just depends on what you want lit up. These two strips will barely flicker an amp meter, drawing about .01 amp. This 2 strip setup is 22 dollars. A 3 strip setup will run 30.00. Most all of our fixtures have these 2 strip installed.

Here is what I call a "bad boy". It is a single strip that puts out 220 lumen of light. I have one in the outside light. There is also one under the cabinet in our coach. It draws about .02 amps and is bright. We have tape on the back of these and they must be stuck, using the fixture as a heat sink. Remember six of these can be plugged into one socket to light up the entire rv park. This one sells for 25.00. Some folks find it too bright for their use and go back to the less bright two strip above.

All of these lights have numbers on them. The numbers are hard for most folks to recall so we like to talk without the numbers. If you go to the Prudentrver.com website we have all of the numbers listed for you.

There are many more lights, such as the long neck light that fits in the GMC bedroom fixture. I am out of those now so no picture. They are really neat and run 32 dollars. I sold the last one I had right out of Teri's reading light so I must get more. We also have the halogen types. What I carry are what mostly fit the GMC coaches. Should you be in Madison or Goshen I will have several of these lights. You are welcome to come to our coach, after dark, to see just what we are talking about. These things are great. Whether you dry camp or not I know you will enjoy this lighting.

The tracker for our coach will come on today, showing it sitting in our yard. Come Sunday afternoon you can see it in motion as we head for Wisconsin. Ride along with us if you have time.

Dan

Forgot something. We also have a two strip light that I have wired up for the festoon fixture. Over the driver and passengers head, in the GMC, these are located. We love to sit up there and read. These two strips are more than enough light. They sell for 25.00 for each light fixture.

LED Lighting For Rvs

2011-08-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

Check out this bad boy. I had 2 peppers on my jalepeno plant. I am thinking this one will be tasty.

I get lots of questions about the led lights that we sell. Here are some after dark photos just to show you how they light up the coach and what color they are. This one is over the sink and is a high powered strip. It runs about 25 bux but is warrantied for life. Never buy another one.

This one is in the living area and is also a high powered strip.

The fluorescent strips put out this kind of light. Will light up the entire front, from the door forward.

These are low powered strips. I have two in the hallway and one in the bedroom. They are about 22 bux.

Here is one low powered light in the bath. When I say low powered I have two strips, 120 lumen, 22 bux. The high powered ones are 220 lumen. A 1156 or 7 runs 180-220 lumen, depending on age. There is no heat with these so never need to worry about them yellowing your plastic lenses.

Here is the bath all lit up. Two 6 inch single fluorescent strips and the over head 2 strip lower power.

From the outside.

A fuzzy picture of one high powered light for the outdoor lighting. It works great and will put out as much or more light as one bulb. A bulb will draw just about 2 amps. I have a good shunt fed amp meter in the coach. I turned on ten lights three of them were the fluorescent strips, and all of them combined drew less than 2 amps, about 1.8. This is some good stuff. They are made in the Phoenix area and really no more expensive than the off shore blueish lights. The soft white is a very comfortable light inside an rv. It will brighten up the interior more than bulbs and take less to do so.

We are getting ready to roll. The temperatures in Wisconsin are 20 degrees cooler. Can't wait. Ride along with us. Our plans are to pull out sometime Sunday afternoon.

Dan

Three Cool Dudes

2011-07-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

We had a ball. Had Tyler and Rylan spend the night. One needed a pair of shades so we ran to get him a matching pair after I got the GMC greased.

Did the bug then we did the scooter.

It was hot. We ran down to the spring for some fresh water.

All of our grandkids love going with me to get our drinking water.

Had to have a little tree climbing. Then, we headed on back home for lunch and a nap.

Ran the boys home about 4 pm. Teri and I had time for a little geocaching.

We were in Sikeston to see a sick friend. He is in the hospital so why not grab a few before we see him? Well, did I say it was hot. We grabbed one out of four. Will go back on a cooler day to locate the ones we missed. Just too hot to spend over 5 minutes looking.

Here is what is left of the home made peach pie a widow gave us yesterday. She is 93 years old and thinking about us. I like that.

Tried to fire the GMC to move it today. No fuel pressure. I finally found the blown fuse.

Hope you are staying cool. I am doing my best.

Dan

Computer Geeks on The Phone

2011-07-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

Some pictures for my GMC friends. This morning I installed this air dam to get more air up and through the aluminum radiator. We have never had a heat problem but with these kind of temperatures I figured this might be a good add on. Most all new vehichles have some kind of scoop down there to get air up through the radiator.

I had to remove the radiator gaurd and drill three holes to munt this thing. It was a real juggling act for me to get both of these back on here by myself.

Here you can see that the gaurd has to go between the new scoop and the radiator frame. It was tricky but I got it done without call for Teri to come out. Maybe an hour to do this. Did not realize how hot it was til I reached for a 7/16 wrench that had been sitting in the sun. Burned my fingers. When I finished and came in, about noon, I realized that I had nearly gotten too hot. I am hoping I don't need to straddle a dead armadillo with this thing hanging down here. If I do, something is going to give. I hope it is the dead armadillo. Wednesday I will have Teri watch to make sure I can get into our driveway with this hanging down. May have to trim it a little. I have big rubber "flaps" on the sides of the radiator, in the grille. That should move a lot more air through the radiator and hopfully keep the fan clutch from running too much.

We are putting on some brake pads Wednesday. Teri is helping me and we will rise and shine much earlier. Or, I should say I will. Teri gets up early anyway. Hope we can get this done before the heat gets too bad.

Some computer geeks just have no personality at all. That bothers me. Some are very good and can talk with normal human beings. My Dell netbook has some issures. I have an extended warranty from Sam's Club. Teri called to see about getting it returned for repair this afternoon. All of a sudden she gave me the phone as she was getting upset. After letting the girl basically talk with me like I was a second grade drop out who had an iq of a moron, I got my fill and told her I planned to return the dog gone thing no matter what she said. On hold I went. Teri took the phone and waited for her to come back. She was sending a return number and a pickup tag, "as a courtesy". Oh boy. Teri hung up before I could get my hands back on the phone.

I never file any kind of complaints but I will this time if I can find out where to put it. There is no reason for people to treat others like that. I never talked with criminals the way she did me. Well, maybe if I was forced into it. But, that just should not happen. I like Dell Computers and I like Sam's Club. I am not happy with Michelle.

Life is good and I hope you are in a cool place somewhere. We are trying to get the GMC ready to roll in less than 2 weeks. Got two new tires installed yesterday.

Dan

Too Hot For a Car Show

2011-07-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

Boy, what I would not have given for this thing when I was a kid. I hated cranking the ice cream. Would rather have had "store bought". A good friend of mine built this.

Well, this was just before the kids left this morning. Sure hated to see them go. 2 are on a plane to Az. and 2 are in a car headed back to In.

While cruising through Dexter this afternoon I ran into these guys.

I like this one.

Factory 4 speed.

These two are nice.

One big lead sled.

They had free ice cream cones inside the buisness hosting this but the little girl would not give me one. Wanted me to jump through "hoops" to get mine. So, I came on back home where I had better stuff.

Just too hot for a car show. I parked the bug in the parking lot and walked over to get these pictures. Thought about coming home to get the Mustang and taking it up there. Nope, too dog gone hot. Feels much nicer in the house.

Camp is over for another year. Teri is home resting. I left the GMC up there. Getting new tires Monday at Bloomfield so since that is on the way home I set an appointment for Monday. We will run back up and get it then, saving a few miles. Will get busy finishing getting everything ready on the GMC next week so we are ready to roll north in 2 weeks. Hoping it cools down a little by then.

Have a great weekend and don't get over heated.

Dan

Just Wondering

2011-07-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

We are parked at the Bootheel Youth Camp this week. Teri is teaching classes in the mornings. I am pretty much just enjoying the nice cool air conditioned GMC. So, I have a few minutes to spare.
How far back can you recall things in your life ? I have sometimes asked this question to folks. It amazes me at how many don't recall early years, before school. Do you?
On July 21, 1954 my beautiful mother gave birth to her firstborn, me. I have seen pictures of her and my dad holding me as a newborn and they looked just as happy as could be. Of course I can not recall that. About as far back as I can remember is September 8, 1957. That is when my brother was born and we lived in Detroit. My sister was born in February of 56 but I don't recall that.
Maybe we remember things that made us happy. I rarely recall any stuff that was upsetting in my childhood. We left Detroit when I was 4 years old and I have a good recall of that trip to Mo. Years before entering the first grade are pretty fresh in my memory. My dad owned a filling station before we bought the farm. My grandfather taught me lots of things while we hung out with my father at the station. Lots of great memories. Our mother passed away when I was 11 and that was tragic, but I have never dwelt on that. She created a lot of great memories for me and I always hold onto those.
Ever wonder why we thought we knew so much more than our parents? As I will turn 57 years old tomorrow I have to laugh when I think about some of the things I did. Just made no sense, but at the time it was what I thought was best. My father never insisted that I do anything his way after I left home at 18. He pretty much backed up and let me do what I thought was best. He taught me well but wisdom does not come over night. I know he was happy when I came home from the Air Force and then graduated from college.
I guess I am a lot like my dad. When my kids left home I hoped they had learned the things I tried to teach them. I never involved myself in their decisions unless they asked. I am not sure that is the right way to do things. I have seen parents not let their married kids do anything without butting into their affairs. Maybe I am too much the other way.
Now, I can see that my dad must have laughed a lot when I did some pretty stupid things. I can say I have had a chuckle or two at decisions my kids have made. Even into their mid 30's they are still a lot "wiser" than old dad. That is what I find so funny but I was the same way myself. Just how it is.What I can say is that our grandkids think I am the smartest guy that ever lived. That makes me feel really good. I am fortunate that I did not make any real bad financial decisions although I did spend a lot of money on vehicles. Wasted some money on a house or two. When you get old though you tend to sit back and think about every decision that comes up. If I waste money now I will not get it back. The kids probably wonder why I drive old cars and put so much money into the GMC.
Oh well, life rolls on.
Hope everyone is having a great week. We will take the GMC home Saturday afternoon and finish getting it ready for our upcoming trip. There should be lots of pictures then. Pretty boring just hanging around here and playing with our grandkids so I don't post much. But, we roll soon.
All of this was said just so you would know my birthday is tomorrow. Did not want to just come right out and say it. You know how I am.
See you on the road soon.
Dan

What is This?

2011-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

It seems I tend to put things off sometimes. I have been intending to do this for about 4-5 months now. Just was having too much fun doing other things. We are at the youth camp again this week and I had some spare time this afternoon. Today was the day. I converted our fluorescents, in the bath, to leds. These were the only lights in our coach that were not leds. Two single led strips. They turn the bath into one very bright room. I really don't need the overhead led that I put in back in the Spring now. As you can see, this is quality light and it is made in the USA. No longer do you have to use the blue lights to keep from running your rv batteries down. We can leave every light on in this coach for a week and not run the batteries down. One little bulb will draw more than all of our led lights. If you dry camp much think about these lights.

Got to go, having too much fun here to keep writing. Just wanted to let you know we are still out in the GMC. Will be heading to the FMCA gathering in Madison, Ws. in a couple of weeks. This is going to be a great gathering of motorhome owners. We cant wait to get there.

Dan