Planting trees, trapping gophers, clearing brush, repairing chainsaws and fixing the well. That's retired life in the backcountry and this is my Journal.
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Rob

December 18. 2007 - Tuesday

5 AM - Lots of odds & ends to take care of, most having to do with the RV (or Circus Wagon as my mom used to call them). The things have 6 wheels (four in the back - two in the front) and checking the pressure in the rear wheels is troublesome because of the way the valve stems are located. Yesterday I invested $25 on a good pressure gage that is designed to be used on tires with the awkward valve stem positions.

I also purchased Microsoft Streets & Trips to supplement my Garmin Nuvi GPS. The Nuvi is an excellent GPS navigator that has always gotten me where I need to go but it isn't the best when planning out a trip with multiple stops.  The Microsoft program will be used to design the trip and then I'll program the "points of interests" into the GPS devise. Kind of awkward actually and no doubt I'll be revising this setup in the future.

December 16, 2007 - Sunday

My Nephew Tony with Ben, one year old!

See the rest at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/creekbed/

December 15, 2007 - Saturday - Salton Sea Trip

We left Thursday  morning and returned Friday afternoon with another 300 miles under my belt. I still haven't achieved "comfort" while driving the RV and perhaps never will. I suppose it's be a good thing to never get completely relaxed when driving (for obvious reasons).

Lots of things to get used to though. A cacophony of sounds accompany you while driving and I'm still learning what can be ignored and what needs further consideration. Stuff in cabinets clatter, drawers and doors rattle, the chassis squeaks and the breaks sometimes squeal. Nothing serious though and I'm still miles away from taking it in for its 10,000 mile service.

We stayed at the Salton Sea State Park in the "full hookup" section which meant we had power and fresh water. Wi-Fi was available from AT&T for $7 but I decided to pass. No time for browsing the web. These definitely weren't camping spots and Cath would be quick to point out that it more closely resembled a huge parking lot. An empty lot except for us and one other RV.

It seems that the Salton Sea doesn't rank high on the list of popular recreation sites and even though this should be considered the peak season, attendance was poor. The place was tidy though the park service has definitely put this park on the back burner. The "Nature Trail" was unmaintained with empty pamphlet containers and signs falling over. The visitor center was staffed by volunteers who knew nothing about the area and info that the website promised to have available, wasn't. The staffer mumbled something about the rare bird list being available last year but they didn't bother to print it this season. This place is supposed to be about birds!

For me though, wild life parks aren't my main interest when traveling the back roads. Frankly I'd rather be stopping at the teeny little towns that seem trapped in time. Derelict cafes and gas stations moldering away, surrounded by weeds and unvisited since 1958 when the superhighways grabbed all the traffic. Those encounters will be on my Route 66 trip on the leg that runs from Santa Monica to Oklahoma city. Maybe this spring.

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