Visited Fort Vancouver yesterday. It was fun going back. The new visitor center will reopen to the public on Nov 14th after being closed for over a year. R and I are going on Nov 2nd for volunteer training for future volunteering at the center.
It was fun going back and renewing our memories of the place. We will go back as VIPs (Volunteers In the Park) in the future, which means having the rig parked on site and working there for several months.
We were saddened to read the email that stated that during winter months all the buildings in the park will be closed Sunday and Mondays. Darn budget cuts! It seems that the lots of good things are cut and some of the stupid programs continue. If I ran the country......................
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Home work
We have been home for several days. We are sleeping in the trailer yet as we have had visitors since we arrived. Relatives and friends staying so life is not "normal", but that is not necessarily a bad thing. However, it will be good to slow down a bit next week. It has taken some adjustment to get used to the dampness of western Oregon. We have been in low humidity since May.
There are also the tasks that need to be done around the homestead. The stove needs replacement; a couple of the burners do not respond as they should. The weeds in the yard and flowerbeds are begging to be removed. There are three Arborvitae along the trailer parking area that need to be cut down. When I back the trailer into its spot the rear end bumps into the trees in its swing. With them gone it will be a lot easier to park. The charging system on the trailer needs to be checked and two deep-cycle Marine batteries purchased. ( Remember the Big Stink?) There are more jobs, I just haven't found them yet.
There are also the tasks that need to be done around the homestead. The stove needs replacement; a couple of the burners do not respond as they should. The weeds in the yard and flowerbeds are begging to be removed. There are three Arborvitae along the trailer parking area that need to be cut down. When I back the trailer into its spot the rear end bumps into the trees in its swing. With them gone it will be a lot easier to park. The charging system on the trailer needs to be checked and two deep-cycle Marine batteries purchased. ( Remember the Big Stink?) There are more jobs, I just haven't found them yet.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Home
We are back in Canby. Arrived about 6:30 last night. I had planned to be home before dark, but did not get out of Burns before 12:30. Final packing took longer. We had to stop at Schwabs to have a trailer tire looked at. It was wearing on the inside of the tread. Turned out to be a separation. Got a new one. Then it was lunch and fueling and finally, on the road.
Happily it was an uneventful journey. It is good to be home for a while.
Happily it was an uneventful journey. It is good to be home for a while.
Windows 10
I just spent an hour and a half on line and on the phone with a Microsoft representative in the Phillipines trying to get my Office ( Word, Excel) to run properly. The actual repairs took a few minutes. A long time was spent trying to find my account in the Microsoft system. I have no idea where they came up with the email address that they had on record, but we finally found it. (I have written it down since then.)
My Word now works again. Now I have to call another number to iron out the fact that photos will not load since I have loaded Windows 10. I will do that another day.
My Word now works again. Now I have to call another number to iron out the fact that photos will not load since I have loaded Windows 10. I will do that another day.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Playboy
Playboy magazine has been around since 1953. I knew of the magazine as a teenager, but as many guys said, "I read it for the articles." or " I enjoy the cartoons." Yeah, right !
Playboy announced today the it was no longer showing nudity. The Internet with all that is out there for all to see, has made that passé. As one radio announcer said today, " Playboy is as outdated as the blacksmith or the Beta Max .
Well, I know a couple of blacksmiths that may take offense with that statement.
Playboy announced today the it was no longer showing nudity. The Internet with all that is out there for all to see, has made that passé. As one radio announcer said today, " Playboy is as outdated as the blacksmith or the Beta Max .
Well, I know a couple of blacksmiths that may take offense with that statement.
Further prep
In Burns today. Had the oil changed at Les Schwab. $73 for a 7.3 diesel is very reasonable. The same or better than Jiffy Lube and they don't try to upsell you. I will stop there on our way out of town on Friday to have one of the trailer tires looked at as it is wearing on the inside.
Yesterday we cleaned the inside of the truck. It needed it. The gravel roads are super dusty right now. The truck needs a wash job badly, but it is a waste of time to do it if you have any gravel to drive on and out at Malheur we do. Showers are in the forecast for Canby on Friday and Saturday so that may be the answer to the dusty truck.
I did get a glob of grease from the maintenance shop this morning and lubed the pivots on the fifth wheel hitch. I also put the plywood platform on the rear seat of the truck back in so that Quammie has a flat area to nap and look out the window as we travel.
R has a hair appointment so I am using the WIFI at the Burns Public Library. We will turn in our temporary library card today. For a $20 deposit they will make you a temporary card that grants you the privileges of a local. When you return the card, you get your deposit back. We refuse the refund.
Yesterday we cleaned the inside of the truck. It needed it. The gravel roads are super dusty right now. The truck needs a wash job badly, but it is a waste of time to do it if you have any gravel to drive on and out at Malheur we do. Showers are in the forecast for Canby on Friday and Saturday so that may be the answer to the dusty truck.
I did get a glob of grease from the maintenance shop this morning and lubed the pivots on the fifth wheel hitch. I also put the plywood platform on the rear seat of the truck back in so that Quammie has a flat area to nap and look out the window as we travel.
R has a hair appointment so I am using the WIFI at the Burns Public Library. We will turn in our temporary library card today. For a $20 deposit they will make you a temporary card that grants you the privileges of a local. When you return the card, you get your deposit back. We refuse the refund.
The Stink
The Stink was around for several days. The smell was there when you entered the trailer. The smell was outside the trailer. But I could not figure out the source.
Maybe it was the propane tank. I opened the door and smelled the tanks and connections. Nope.
Maybe it was the sewer. I disconnected the sewer hose where it connected to the ground and smelled. Nope.
Maybe it was a dead critter in the storage area underneath the trailer. So I pulled out every tote and box and looked through the contents. Nope.
As I worked my way around to the front storage area the smell got stronger. I uncovered the batteries. As I removed the front cover I heard a small sizzling sound. When I pried up the cover for the battery cells, it was like I uncapped a soda top. The sizzling sound lowered and a wisp of smoke actually came out of one of the cells. I peaked into that cell and saw no water in it. I poured some distilled water into it, but the sizzling continued. The body of the battery was actually quite warm, almost hot.
Both batteries were hooked up in series so I disconnected that battery from the system, took both wires off it and hooked the system up to the rear battery only. It took quite a while for the front battery to cool down. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not discovered the cause of The Stink.
Two new RV batteries are on my shopping list.
Maybe it was the propane tank. I opened the door and smelled the tanks and connections. Nope.
Maybe it was the sewer. I disconnected the sewer hose where it connected to the ground and smelled. Nope.
Maybe it was a dead critter in the storage area underneath the trailer. So I pulled out every tote and box and looked through the contents. Nope.
As I worked my way around to the front storage area the smell got stronger. I uncovered the batteries. As I removed the front cover I heard a small sizzling sound. When I pried up the cover for the battery cells, it was like I uncapped a soda top. The sizzling sound lowered and a wisp of smoke actually came out of one of the cells. I peaked into that cell and saw no water in it. I poured some distilled water into it, but the sizzling continued. The body of the battery was actually quite warm, almost hot.
Both batteries were hooked up in series so I disconnected that battery from the system, took both wires off it and hooked the system up to the rear battery only. It took quite a while for the front battery to cool down. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not discovered the cause of The Stink.
Two new RV batteries are on my shopping list.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Reading
We are beginning the planning for our next gig. The Burns library had two books on LBJ that R read and I skimmed. Time to start taking in information on the Johnsons. We will learn about the ranch when we get there, but we can start learning about the people. Knowing nothing about LBJ, knowing nothing about Texas, meeting new friends, exploring a new region. It is going to be fun.
Last Week
Our last week at Malheur. Wed and Thurs we will be packing the tubs with the antiques (props) from the Bunkhouse and the Homestead house. Also stowed will be the materials that have been displayed in the office. R has taken photos of the displays and will be putting them into a booklet to help future volunteers set up the buildings in the future.
The weather this week has been fabulous. Sunny and warm days (mid 70s) cool nights ( high 30s to low 40s. Saturday, however gave us another windy day. I was out in the southeast edge of the ranch pasture shoring up the fencing, when the wind began. Usually, the wind comes up gradually. Not Saturday. At 10 O'clock the strong wind began, whoosh and it continued and even increased as the day went on. Clear blue sky and yet the wind was howling.
The it is time to close the site. The visitor count is low. Zero for several days. Two for a couple more. It is a waste of our time to spend eight hours out there for one or two couples. I do little maintenance jobs, R cleans the sites, but mostly we sit in the car or on the front porch waiting for cars to drive down our lane. Time passes too slowly.
The weather this week has been fabulous. Sunny and warm days (mid 70s) cool nights ( high 30s to low 40s. Saturday, however gave us another windy day. I was out in the southeast edge of the ranch pasture shoring up the fencing, when the wind began. Usually, the wind comes up gradually. Not Saturday. At 10 O'clock the strong wind began, whoosh and it continued and even increased as the day went on. Clear blue sky and yet the wind was howling.
The it is time to close the site. The visitor count is low. Zero for several days. Two for a couple more. It is a waste of our time to spend eight hours out there for one or two couples. I do little maintenance jobs, R cleans the sites, but mostly we sit in the car or on the front porch waiting for cars to drive down our lane. Time passes too slowly.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Why Did
Why did the rabbit cross the road?
To give the night driver some practice in avoidance.
I was successful 2 out 3 times last night. Two cottontails were lucky. One was not.
I got my night driving practice last evening on the way home from Frenchglen. The five of us volunteers went "out to dinner" at the Frenchglen Hotel as our goodbye meal. Frenchglen is 60 miles south of Burns, Or. Game hen, rice pilaf, salad, vegetable dish, rolls, and marion berry crisp for dessert. Yumm!!!
To give the night driver some practice in avoidance.
I was successful 2 out 3 times last night. Two cottontails were lucky. One was not.
I got my night driving practice last evening on the way home from Frenchglen. The five of us volunteers went "out to dinner" at the Frenchglen Hotel as our goodbye meal. Frenchglen is 60 miles south of Burns, Or. Game hen, rice pilaf, salad, vegetable dish, rolls, and marion berry crisp for dessert. Yumm!!!
Monday, October 5, 2015
Volunteering in 2016
A couple of weeks ago our volunteer plans changed radically. When we checked out of ORPI last year the new volunteer coordinator asked us if we were coming back next year. We said yes. ( we have volunteered there 4 years.) With the reopening of the back country, the park has new excitement and fun. Then, in May, we received an email from ORPI saying that the volunteer stay would now be 4 months and were we ok with that. I responded saying OK ( we had done that in previous years). So about three weeks ago I sent an email to the guy at ORPI to see of everything was going along, what new info was out there, etc. He responded that all the volunteer positions had been filled. Evidently he had not gotten my response and had not called to question it so had assumed that we were not interested. GRRRRRR.
Well after a day of grumbling and depression, I got on Volunteer.gov and did some further exploration. We thought about returning to Petrified Forest, but the volunteer facilities are not any better than when we were there. The steep mountain grade into Gila Cliff Dwellings made me hesitate in reapplying there. So I looked in new areas, namely Texas and Louisiana. I
filled out a couple of applications and emailed them in on Monday evening.
On Wed morning, while I was at the ranch, I received a call from the volunteer coordinator at LBJ National Historic Park in Johnson City, Texas. So from Jan thru April of 2016 we are going to be giving tours of the Texas Whitehouse and the boyhood home of LBJ in central Texas.
We will be an hour of Austin, a little over ne hour from San Antonio, 30 miles from Fredricksburg. A whole new area to explore! R has started to read about LBJ.
When one door closes on you , a new door opens.
Well after a day of grumbling and depression, I got on Volunteer.gov and did some further exploration. We thought about returning to Petrified Forest, but the volunteer facilities are not any better than when we were there. The steep mountain grade into Gila Cliff Dwellings made me hesitate in reapplying there. So I looked in new areas, namely Texas and Louisiana. I
filled out a couple of applications and emailed them in on Monday evening.
On Wed morning, while I was at the ranch, I received a call from the volunteer coordinator at LBJ National Historic Park in Johnson City, Texas. So from Jan thru April of 2016 we are going to be giving tours of the Texas Whitehouse and the boyhood home of LBJ in central Texas.
We will be an hour of Austin, a little over ne hour from San Antonio, 30 miles from Fredricksburg. A whole new area to explore! R has started to read about LBJ.
When one door closes on you , a new door opens.
Monday Oct 5
It is Monday morning and I am sitting at the ranch waiting for our first customer. Bob, the other volunteer had flight problems coming back from Missouri so we are filling in today.
Another beautiful fall day here in eastern Oregon. The days have been in the 70s and the nights in the 40s. The transition from summer to fall was, to say the least, abrupt. The Saturday we went to the fair was 92. A week later a couple of days had a highs of 65. This country is not for the wimps.
We start out the morning wearing many layers of clothing and end the day in shirtsleeves.
The ranch is open until the 15th. ten more days. Both of us are ready to leave. We are ready to be home for a while. Ready to see family and friends. Ready to go to Costco to shop and have a hotdog. Ready to pull the Prius out of the garage. Weather permitting, we will be home on the 16th.
Another beautiful fall day here in eastern Oregon. The days have been in the 70s and the nights in the 40s. The transition from summer to fall was, to say the least, abrupt. The Saturday we went to the fair was 92. A week later a couple of days had a highs of 65. This country is not for the wimps.
We start out the morning wearing many layers of clothing and end the day in shirtsleeves.
The ranch is open until the 15th. ten more days. Both of us are ready to leave. We are ready to be home for a while. Ready to see family and friends. Ready to go to Costco to shop and have a hotdog. Ready to pull the Prius out of the garage. Weather permitting, we will be home on the 16th.
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