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THE
JOURNAL
ONLINE
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QUIRE
ELEVEN:
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
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The Quest for The Solace, Part Seven
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On Loving
God Wholeheartedly
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The Journey Continues, 13 April 2020 through 21 July 2020
Having the need to linger here in Hemet, California so as to finish as much of what I am able to do, I postpone my departure for several days more. What has been advantageous to me during my entire stay here is that this spring season has been abnormally colder that most springs and thus, the temperatures have been so tolerable for me, even very comfortable at times. In fact, if it is like this next fall or spring, I will be back to do more restorations, or not.
Still, with the pandemic raging in the nearby black zones, (large cities like Los Angeles, New York, Houston, New Orleans, etc.), I must needs leave out of this city, even this state and head towards what I have always called the Mountain, a respite for a wayƒarer.
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The Journey On,
Return to the Mountain
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(Day 601 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, sunny
25,400 DA,
170 DR70,
3822 DR80
Overnighting at the rental
Elevation 1594 feet
Awake, walk inside for a hot shower after which, I boil a pot of water and make a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. Then, I unplug the jammer, roll up the cord and put it away. Next, I walk to the back of the trailer and turn the water heater to pilot, after which I lock the rental. Finally, I get into the jammer, take a sip of the coffee and then pull out of the driveway one last time. The journey on has resumed!
By the time the sun is mid way in the sky on this day, I have driven out of California, across more than half of Arizona to Phoenix where I stop to purchase some sprouted grains. After leaving the hg-mart, I look for an open w-mart but have no success.
Finally, I leave out of Phoenix east on US 60 and after passing Apache Junction, Arizona, begin the climb up onto the high plateau. I drive over one and then at sunset, I begin my drive down into the
Salt River canyon. I see how the sunglow is casting all kinds of shadows so I stop to take photos of the sunglow. I stop several times as I drive into the canyon, each time adding to my photo collection. At last, I arrive at the Salt river where I stop at the rest stop for the night.
First, I transfer the photos to my computer and then begin to crop and resize. In a short time, I have created this page and have written the code for including the photos.
Tuesday, 14 April 2020, Salt River Canyon, AZ.
(Day 602 TG) 45°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 3400 feet
Awake, walk to the mens room and then back to the jammer to boil a pot of water for my breakfast. Then, I spend the morning getting caught up on my journal and photo cropping. In the late morning, I drive t Show Low, Arizona to get online but the w-mart is closed and I find WiFi at the g-mart where I upload my files to the web. I also do my income tax and save the document to a .pdf so that I may print the paper to file. However, I can find nowhere in town that will print my tax document for me. I drive to Payson and find the same absence of office stores.
Finally, I decide to drive back to Mesa to the large chain office store and when I walk in the store, the clerk goes right to work printing my document. Then, I locate a w-mart and begin trying to get online to join the meeting at Central Hemet but have no success at all trying to go to the meeting.
Afterwards, I look for a place to park for the night and after a couple of failed tries, finally end up in a neighborhood on a side street.
(Day 603 TG) 55°F. 7:30 am, sunny
Overnighting on a street in stealth mode
Elevation 1240 feet
Awake, drive to a fuel station to fill my gas tank, then to the post office to drop my tax document in the mail and finally to a w-mart to get online and upload more photos. Once all this is done, I leave out of the Arizona valley, or as I would call it, the low valley plains and head back up onto the Mountain. I drive east on US 60 to Globe, then US 70 along the Gila river valley, a wide agricultural valley in the high desert. Every where I go, people are masked up, well, most all are. The only ones that I see without masks are the young people. I gas up again when I arrive at Thatcher, Arizona and continue east on US into New Mexico and down to Lordsburg.
From Lordsburg, I turn east on IH 10 and drive to Deming while watching the sunset and the image cast by the shadow of the jammer on the side of the highway. At Deming, I pull off the interstate, stop at a d-mart, once which I have stopped at before. I go in, buy a salad and return to the jammer to add an avocado to the salad and enjoy it while pounding keys.
I put away the computer, turn off the jammer, get into the horizontal before nine-thirty and watch a video from the JW Library.
(Day 604 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4334 feet
Awake, get out and walk around the jammer, then get back in and drive out of the parking lot, back on to IH 10 east and drive to Las Cruces, NM so that I can go to a w-mart to get online. I have postponed the mountain for a time due to not being able to gain access to the meetings and here will do what I can to do so.
Richard replies to my request for access to the meetings and I am able to download the JW streaming meeting for this week. I will stay here because of the close access to a w-mart and a d-mart for parking tonight.
(Day 605 TG) 49°F. 7:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 3900 feet
Awake, drive to the w-mart for a cup of coffee and a cup of hot water. Then, I sit in the parking lot to drink the coffee and with the hot water, make a cup of Daystart and a cup of hot tea while writing in my journal. When I finish my breakfast, I drive east across town to the hg-mart so that I may look for some super food powders. Then, with about a week of downloaded meetings and food stores, I depart the valley plain for the mountain.
Here on the east side of the interstate in Las Cruces on Lohman Avenue, I have found, located within a short distance apart, all what I have come to believe that I need when I venture into the valley plains, that is: a w-mart (one with a good cup of coffee); a d-mart (one allowing overnighting and with a good organic produce section); a hg-mart (and in this location there is two); and an af-mart (a good quality brand to fill the gas tank). This area at exit 3 on IH 25 here in Las Cruces has become a regular stop for me, but it is much too hot during the day for me to stay here very long.
Leaving out of Las Cruces long before noon today, I drive north on IH 25 to exit 63 where I turn on SH 152 and drive west on SH 152 up into the Black Range Mountains which is part of the
Gila National Forest. I continue to climb up, at first in mostly desert mountains, which mountain-scape gradually begins to turn green with trees as the road continues upward in elevation. The highway follows Percha creek and crosses twice on Through Truss bridges but then the highway arrives at another type of Truss bridge I have never seen before, a Deck Truss bridge, one which crosses
Percha Creek canyon. So, I stop to take photos and find out that this highway was long known as the Black Range highway and was built, with much difficulty, during the 1920s.
I continue to over seven thousand feet in elevation and since most, if not all of the National Forest campgrounds are closed because of the pandemic, I begin looking for a side road where I can pull off the state highway and park for the night. It is about three in the afternoon when I stop at one location, back into a shady spot, open the windows and climb into the back to pound on my keyboard for a time. I determine from my map that I am in the Mimbres mountains, an arm which branches off the Black Range Mountain somewhere east of Silver City, and still on the eastern side of the divide.
Then, at five this afternoon, I pack out and head further east because, although this spot is not bad, I would like one where I can set up and cook my supper which would be hard to do here due to the tight space.
So, I journey on westward to find another place so that I can set up to camp and shortly afterwards, come upon
Emory Pass on the continental divide at 8228 feet in elevation.
Then, I do find a place where I can pull off and set up to cook my supper but I then decide that I will continue the drive to Silver City right after making my meal and cleaning up my kitchen. On the rest of the drive, I sip a cup of broth from the cook pot while I watch the sun set. The drive during the last dozen miles takes me much longer than I expected because of stopping to take photos often of the
sunglow.
(Day 606 TG) 42°F. 7:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 5895 feet
Awake, walk into the d-mart to use the mens room, then drive through town looking for a coffee shop with WiFi but there does not seem to be one, so I stop at a car wash to clean up the jammer. While parked under the cover in the drying area I ask those who stop by about a coffee shop and one lady tells me to try the ff-mart. I drive down the road, and find that it does have Wifi as well as coffee. I stop in the parking lot to sip on my coffee while I get online and upload my web pages.
Methinks, I will stay one more night here in Silver City and then I will drive north up into the Mogollon mountains, where I will most likely be without internet for several days there.
I drive back to the d-mart and park for the evening.
(Day 607 TG) 41°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 5895 feet
Awake, drive to ff-mart for hot coffee but they fail the test by giving me a cup of warm, but I drink it anyway. Then, I sit in the parking lot for a short time to download videos from JW.org after which, I leave out of Silver City and drive north on US 180 and immediately come upon a sign stating: Continental Divide, Elev 6320 feet. This changes where I believed the divide was, previously thinking that it was at Emory Pass east of Silver City. I continue north on US 180 until I cross the Gila river on a newer concrete span bridge. I stop, get out of the jammer with the intent of taking photos of the river, not the bridge and that is what I do.
However, upon returning to the jammer, I see a sign informing me that the road is called Iron Bridge Road. That peaks my interest and I drive down the road looking for an old bridge and in less than a mile, I find the
Iron Bridge on the old route US 180 across the Gila river.
Afterwards, I drive back to US 180, drive north to where I turn right on SH 159 to drive up into the
Mogollon Mountains to a ghost town called Mogollon. I was told that this was an interesting drive, but I was not impressed because all of the homes and businesses have been converted to residents. So, in fact, it is not a ghost town but a residential community.
Leaving SH 159, I return to my northward drive on US 180 until I summit
Saliz Pass, elevation 6436, arriving here late in the afternoon to overnight in dispersed camping in the national forest due to the fact that all the developed campgrounds in the Gila national forest have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon driving over the pass, I notice another group set up already, so I exit slowly off of the highway and set up my camp a good distance from that group. Next, I prepare my supper, eat and then use some of the camping skills learned when I was in the Boy Scouts as a youth.
After eating, I police the area (even cleaning up trash from others who had been here before) because I was taught in Scouts to always leave a place better than when I had arrived and I clea
n up the location where I had been so that now one would even know that I have been here at all. Methinks, more people should be better caretakers of this magnificent earth that the Most High God has provided us.
Psalms 83:18 I then close up the jammer and pound keys until I the battery runs out of power.
For some reason, the inverter is not charging my computer like in previous days, almost like there is some problem with the connection. I will stop tomorrow and look at this and see if I can resolve this problem.
This batter power set up that I have works quite well as long as I keep driving each day to recharge the deep cell battery. Methinks, I can extend the battery power if I were to add a solar panel to continue charging during those times when I camp for a day or two. I will look for a solar charging panel then next time I am encamped in a city.
It is only shortly after sunset and it is still early but the cold already has me reaching for the blankets, so, I shut down the technology and get under the covers for the night.
(Day 608 TG) 37°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in the national forest
Elevation 6436 feet
After a very cold night, I rise, dress, and drive with the jammer heater on. After a short time
Leaving SH 159, I return to my northward drive on US 180 until I arrive at Reserve, NM where I turn east on US 12 and drive to Datil. Once there, I check the
Datil Wells BLM campground and find it closed just like all of the National Forest campgrounds.
Too, I have been having a problem with the inverter as it has not been charging my computer like in previous days. I stop and take off the battery box cover and find both the positive and negative connections to the battery terminals are loose. After I tighten both connections, I turn on the inverter and it seem to have fixed the problem. I continue driving east on US 60 to Socorro, NM, then north on IH to Las Lunas and get off at the exit with the w-mart arriving just before noon and purchase a large coffee.
Then, I drive into the parking lot of the coffee shop and get on line to work on my files and photos and find that the deep cell battery is now fully charged and powers the inverter to keep my computer going. I work for about four hours on files that will be uploaded and then before I upload the files, I have need to run the jammer engine to recharge the battery.
So, I run the jammer for nearly an hour to recharge the deep cell battery, during which time I am able to get all my files uploaded.
After nearly an entire day working on files and uploads, then as the evening approaches I head for the d-mart for the night.
(Day 609 TG) 49°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4855 feet
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. At noon, when it becomes quite hot, I drive to a couple local stores to look for a solar panel but none of the stores seem to have anything, except one ap-mart but their solar panel only provides 5 watts. Methinks, because my the charger for my computer draws up to 60 watts, I will need a solar panel capable of providing up to about 100 watts.
In the late morning, I drive out of town, heading north on IH 25, through Albuquerque to Santa Fe, New Mexico where I exit on US 285 and head north through Santa Fe where I stop at two hg-marts so as to add more to my food stores.
Then, at sunset, upon coming out of one store, I greet the security guard and initiate a spiritual discussion during which he shows a strong interest in knowing more. This gives me an opportunity to share quite a few verses from the Bible with him, and then a tract, which I use to direct him to JW.org.
Afterwards, I drive north on US 285 to Espanola, New Mexico and stop in a parking lot for the night.
(Day 610 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 5600 feet
Awake, drive through for coffee and then check the local tool store for a solar panel and find there is one in Sante Fe, which is thirty minutes south. It is a four panel, one hundred watt solar panel kit with a charge controller and two LED lamp cords, much more than I could have asked for. However, the package is quite large and wonder how I will make room for this solar panel kit in the jammer.
Nevertheless, I purchase the solar panel kit because I know this addition to my deep-cell battery powered inverter will allow me to keep my battery powered and so I may work on my computer without an electrical plug or idling jammer engine.
It is in the afternoon when I leave Santa Fe, New Mexico, drive back through Espanola, then the San Juan Pueblo along side the
Yungue Owingeh bridge crossing the Rio Grande to continue driving north on US 285. A short time later, just east of the
Rio Grande Del Norte NM, I turn west on US 64 where only a short distance east is the Rio Grande
High Bridge. I choose not to drive east to either because it seems the I was just there a year ago. Instead, I drive west on US 64 into the
San Juan mountains, these being the first of the
Rocky Mountains I have driven in this journey. I stop often for photos of the snow covered ridges and cross several passes over ten thousand feet.
In the afternoon, US 64 joins US 84 north to Charma, New Mexico, where both highways turn west. In a short time, the highways split, US 64 continues westbound and US 84 turns north. Here, I take the northbound US 84 for another seven miles to the Colorado state line. Approaching the state line, I begin to see more of the large mountains in the San Juan Mountain in Colorado which seem to have much more snow on top of them.
I continue north on US 64 through the San Juan national forest all the way to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and immediately, I see that the price for gas here is $2.10, about seventy cents higher that I was paying for it in New Mexico. I continue into town and when I see a sign that reads,
Hot Springs ← I turn left, cross the San Juan river and see a large resort area with signs stating: Come Try our Hot Spring Water. Stopping at an older motel, I go in and ask how much it is to get into the hot water here.
Her reply is, Only motel guests are allowed to use the hot spring baths. She then tells me, The rooms begin at one hundred dollars. I reply, I can not afford that, I am retired, living on social security and just want to put some hot water on my body. She then says, You can go down to the river and get into the
Hippy Dip hot springs for free. I thank her for the information and drive the short distance to the river parking lot.
Grabbing my swim trunks, I walk to the river′s edge and see coming out of the river bank, a twelve inch pipe discharging hot water into a pool ten feet or so in diameter. When I see three adults in the pool, I smile and ask, Is the water hot? When one person replys yes, I join them for some hot water and conversation.
After soaking for almost an hour, I return to the jammer, dry off, put on clean clothes and then use my camera to photos of the hot spring. Afterwards, I drive to a g-mart and park for the night.
(Day 611 TG) 30°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 7126 feet
After a cold night, I walk into the g-mart and purchase large cup of coffee and ask for a cup of hot water. Then I take both to a nearby ff-mart to get access to the internet and then enjoy my morning drink and Daystart while pounding keys.
In the afternoon, it begins to rain lightly but I still drive to the hot springs for at least some more photos, but find the entire resort shut down and access to see the springs are blocked. I do take photos from the opposite side of the San Juan river. Then, I drive back to the ff-mart to work on cropping more photos and uploading the files to the internet.
At eight-thirty, I pack out, drive to the g-mart and park the jammer for the night. It will be another cold night, but that is what I expected when I came into the high elevation mountains in Colorado.
(Day 612 TG) 28°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 7126 feet
Awake, lie in the sack due to it being so cold and finally get up to walk into the g-mart for my cup of coffee and cup of hot water. Then, I drive to the ff-mart, park in the back where the employees park and set up my computer. Yesterday, I had opened the solar panel box, got out the controller and connected it to my deep-cell battery. What I like about this controller is that it has a display that shows the actual charge that is contained in the deep-cell battery.
Then, today, I got out one of the solar panels, put it on top of the dash in direct sunlight and plugged it into the controller. The battery display showed the battery being charged.
At about noon, I take down all of my window shades, start the jammer and drive out of Pagosa Springs east on US 160 following the San Juan river up into the
San Juan Mountains towards Wolf Creek pass. Immediately, the elevation begins to increase and as I continue towards the pass, more and more snow begins to show itself.
I arrive at the pass and the highway is dry and clear. I do stop and take a photo of the sign saying Elevation 10,856 feet.
Crossing the continental divide again, I begin to follow Pass Creek down stream but it is not long before I come upon the South Fork of the Rio Grande river, a river that I did not get to travel one year ago during the time I traveled nearly the entire length of the
Rio Grande River. However, when I traveled the Rio Grande and came to the South Fork, I decided that I would return to do the traverse along the South Fork of the Rio Grande at a later time. When I created the page for the Rio Grande river, I created even created a page for the
South Fork river. Now, I can fill in this page with the photos taken today as I travel down this river from Wolf Creek Pass. At one location when I am high up on an overlook, two
Canada geese are honking, fly around me and then land back on their roost.
I continue east on US 160 through the town of South Fork to Del Norte, where I turn left on SH 12, drive only a short distance and then return to US 285, turn left and drive north. This US highway travels across the San Luis Valley plateau, a flat plain that traverses between the San Juan Mountain and the Sangre De Christo Mountains. It is also the plain through which the Rio Grande river ascends to it′s
head waters. I take photos of the
San Juan Mountains behind me to the west and to the east of me,
Blanca Peak in the southeast part of the Sangre De Christo range, and the fourth highest and one of the southernmost fourteener in Colorado.
I cross over eastward to get closer to this range and then follow it northward again climbing as I drive further north until I arrive at Poncha Pass, elevation 9019 feet, and the watershed divide between the Rio Grande river and the
Arkansas river. After that, I drive down through some of the head waters of the Arkansas river, through a canyon and arrive at the junction of US 50 and Poncha Springs, Colorado.
Turning east on US 50, I drive to Salida and then check out the town. It has a ff-mart with good WiFi service and a small size d-mart which allows up to 24 hours of overnighting in the parking lot. I decide to stay for the night, point the jammer into the sunset and set up the solar panel.
Darkness comes shortly after seven and it finds me catching up on my journal writing and Bible reading. Finally, I turn the jammer to face the sunrise for the solar panel to catch the morning sun rays and then I get into the horizontal.
(Day 613 TG) 35°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 7083 feet
Awake, rise, dress in my winter blues and walk inside to use the mens room. Ever since I returned to the journey on, finding a rest room in the city has been a major task. Restaurants are closed everywhere and what remains are the d-marts, a few g-marts and some af-marts. During these time of the pandemic, it can be hard for a person to find a place to poop. Even so, I still have all the training of how to deal with the subject that I received during my youth as a Boy Scout as well as the many months of practice when walking over two thousand miles in the Appalachian Trail wilderness. Thus, now, I always carry a bucket and plenty of plastic grocery bags for an emergency. After returning to the jammer, I drive to the ff-mart for coffee and sit in the parking lot to get onto the internet.
In the late morning, I resume the drive east on US 50 which follows along the side of the Arkansas river. The route takes me into a canyon which has cut down through the underlying granite substructure below the Colorado Plateau. The further I precede, the deeper the canyon becomes and the walls tower above me. Then, the highway crosses the river and climbs up onto the plateau so as to bypass the Royal Gorge, which, due to CV is currently closed.
I travel further east on US 50 and stop in Canyon City at the w-mart. Later, I drive to the g-mart parking lot for the night.
(Day 614 TG) 46°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 5331 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues and walk into the g-mart for coffee, hot water and a card to mail to my friends in Hemet, California. Then, I drive to the w-mart to drink my coffee, make a cup of Daystart, check my com and pound of the computer keys. I continue until it cools off a little. I am going to leave right before sunset to drive to Fort Collins, Colorado, a three hour drive and should arrive there before ten tonight.
I just pulling in to the parking lot at ten minutes before ten. The drive went very well, through Denver by nine pm, and even with a lot of construction, there were no slow downs. What do you expect, driving after dark on Sunday evening, and that during a pandemic with a stay at home order.
So, what do I say when someone asks me why I am not obeying the state order? Simply, I say, I am staying at home, I live in my vehicle.
(Day 615 TG) 48°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4,865 feet
Awake, walk into the d-mart, to do the mens room, then I return to the jammer and drive next door to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. I also try again to contact Gordon, who I believe is in the National Forest camping near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. In the late morning, Richard contacts with me and sends me a video to watch about vitamin D and how it is connected to preventing respiratory disease. I enjoy the information even though it is very technical at times.
Shortly after noon, Gordon calls and tells me of a better place and safer place to overnight with a w-mart close by. So, a time later, I move there and continue pounding keys.
Then, at nine, I pack out to the overnight location.
(Day 616 TG) 45°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4982 feet
Awake, driver to a different d-mart for my morning constitutional walk, then to a af-mart to fill the gas tank, and finally to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. In the afternoon, Gordon walks up and we talk for a long time. Then he goes back and drives his van to the space next to mine. We continue talking and decide that we will go up on the mountain this Friday morning.
Finally, we leave the w-mart and drive to the hospital were we will park for the night. I climb into the back and continue pounding keys but do not really feel up to it due to a tooth ache that has been developing during the past day or so. I continue to saturate it with tea tree oil which does not make it go away as it has always in the past. Methinks this is a deep infection and will keep doing the tea tree oil gargles.
Finally, I get into the sack but can not sleep due to the throbbing pain, so I get out my bottle of aspirin and take two. This allows me to sleep through about half the night until I take two more. Lastly, just before dawn, I take one last aspirin, the last one in the bottle and sleep until six-thirty this moring.
(Day 617 TG) 37°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4982 feet
Awake tired from the struggle last night, dress in my fall blues and drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. The lady in the car in front of me in the drive through paid for my coffee. People are so trying to be nice these days, I just wish that they would listen when someone tells them about the paradise Jehovah is soon to bring.
I park at the w-mart get online and pound keys for most of the day. In the late afternoon, Gordon arrives back from his shopping expedition and we chat for a time.
An employee from the w-mart comes out to my vehicle and asks us how much longer will we be camping here. I tell him that I do not over night here, I have a place to stay, but I come here to buy my coffee in the morning and to work on my book and upload new chapters when I complete them. Gordon says that he is not staying here but just came down from Red Feather Lakes to get his money this Friday.
I then tell him that I will leave after my coffee on Friday morning, because that is when my check will be in the bank. After I get my money, we will both be driving to Red Feather Lakes to camp up there for the month of May. He says, that should be ok and I then offer him one of my cards and tell him that I have completed one book which is available on my website.
Then in the late afternoon, we leave this location and drive to the hospital parking lot for the night.
(Day 6187 TG) 51°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation 4982 feet
I awake, dress, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com, computer and a spinach egg wrap. My tooth, although not healed is doing so much better today, especially after dousing it regularly with tea tree oil for the last three days. I will now need to drive to a hf-mart and purchase another bottle. I check the GPS and find one in Greeley, Colorado just about eight miles to the east and then drive there for tea tree oil, beets and blueberries.
Then, I drive back to the w-mart and park the jammer again to continue pounding keys. Later that evening, when Gordon arrives, we both drive back to the parking lot where we have been overnighting.
We both get into our vehicles and get into the horizontal for the night
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The Sojourn in
Roosevelt
NFDC, near Red Feather Lakes, CO
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(Day 619 TG) 52°F. (38°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny and clear
Overnighting in a parking lot, Day One at Red Feather
Elevation: 4982 feet
Awake early, dress, drive to the w-mart for coffee and to upload files to the website and make a post on social media. Not long after I had arrived, Gordon calls to tell me that he is already drive up to RFL but is driving slow and wants me to come on the same route so that I can catch up with him. When I arrive on US 287, I call him to tell him where I am and he says that he will wait for me at Forks Food and Fuel in Livermore, Colorado.
I arrive in Livermore in only ten minutes and begin following him first on a hard surface road, where at first the terrain was dry and treeless but after a time, the trees begin to make their show. We arrive at the Red Feather Lakes Community but continue past on the same road, but then turn left onto a gravel county road 86 up into the mountain.
Finally, he turns right off of CR 89 on to a dirt road into an area where there are others but not many, already camping. We drive to the back of this area and set up our camp in what I will call
Red Feather Lakes Campground. Gordon tells me that he will be here for the month of May and then go back down on the first of June to get his money deposited into his checking account. I have not decided yet but I may leave before that to drive to
Saratoga for a soak in the hot spring, but most likely will stay here all month.
The first thing that I do after setting up camp is to set out the
solar panels to charge my deep-cell battery. Then, I work on cleaning up the jammer and making a place for the solar panel box to be out of my way. I choose the driver side in the way back and after moving my backpack forward somewhat, the box just fits from the back tail gait all the way up to butt into the book shelf-desk box which is right behind the drivers seat. Now, I will have a place to store the four solar panels when I am driving when there is not a place to set them up. I opted for four solar panels with 25 watts each to charge my battery during my camping sojourn, so that I do not have to keep buying gas for a generator.
Much earlier, before I began cleaning the jammer, I put two gallons of water in Gordon′s solar water heater and set it up atop his van in direct sunlight. At about three this afternoon, I drain the now hot water into my bucket and set up for a bucket bath next to my van. After my bath, I put on all clean clothes and oh how good I now feel, like I was twenty years younger.
I climb into the jammer and begin pounding keys to get caught up on my journal writing and then finish cleaning up the jammer
It is nearing five this afternoon, so I will get out of the jammer and begin cooking my supper, which is cabbage soup boiled in vegetable broth with sprouted rice, sprouted quinoa, fresh yellow onions, fresh green onions, fresh ginger, TWS, dulse seaweed, and some added spring water to increase the amount of broth that I can scoop out into my cup to drink before the meal. Gordon made meat and fried potatoes with water. I tell myself that I do not miss the taste of the meat but I have always loved a meal of meat and potatoes all of my life but now I know the negative side of that kind of food and rather choose to not eat it.
After we have eaten supper, we go for a walk around the campground, and then come back to our space and stay outside to look at the first quarter moon and talk about the start. I show him my phone app called Solar System Scope and what it can do. Then, since the mosquitoes have come out and begun biting, we remove ourselves from the bugs and the cold by each retreating to our vans.
Saturday, 02 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 620 TG) 34°F. (22°F. low) 7:00 am, overcast, rain
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Two
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to a cold damp morning and go right to work boiling water for a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and a bottle of Spark. I the drink the coffee while waiting for Gordon to begin our breakfast. He had offered to cook bacon and eggs for both of us the first morning and I told him I would take him up on it. This is the first time I have had this breakfast for as long as several years, I just do not know how long. I have to say that it was exceptionally tasty for this old man become almost vegetarian. I was able to chew on both sides of my mouth, now that the tooth infection is diminishing. Even so, I will have to keep swabbing my lower right gum and jaw with tea tree for a time more.
After breakfast, Gordon collects wood from the forest whilst I began a fire in the pit and after a short time we had a warm place to sit and chat with one another, except the fog that was throughout the forest began to lift and then it begins to rain. We put on more logs to keep the fire going through the rain shower and head for cover.
The rain continues on and off most all morning and into the afternoon, but we already know that the forecast is for rain all weekend. Still, it is nice to sit by the fire when camping in the forest. About two, I retire to the jammer right during a heavy downpour and resume pounding keys. I also eat for my lunch the leftover cabbage soup from yesterday. When the rain stops again, we both return to the fire pit, stoke it, add more wood to keep the coal base large in size. I then go out into the forest to locate some more wrist size limbs and find several upright limbs that need to be cut from the tree that is lying on the ground. Returning, I tell Gordon and he says, That will be for tomorrow to which I reply, If you bring out your saw and cut the branches, I will haul them back to under the tarp. The rain then resumes and we both take cover in our vehicles and then it turns to hail for a short time.
At five this afternoon, the sky outside brightens up considerably and when I look out the window, I see that the sky to the south and west are clear and blue. There are still clouds in the sky to the north and east but the sun is lighting up the entire campsite. I put on my sandals and go outside to turn my solar panels around to face the west. Then, I go and check the fire and it is just a heap of embers fading to gray. That is ok because most likely, the embers could last through the night until the morning.
Next, I return to the jammer and continue on the same computer task until seven this evening when the sun is nearing the horizon. Then, I begin working on my study for tomorrow. When I finish the study, the there is a bright sunglow in the west and it is quite cold outside, how cold I am not sure, but my guess would be in the low forties and I believe it will drop down into the thirties again tonight. How do I know when it goes into the thirties? During those nights, I have to have three dogs to keep me warm, or, that is what I call each of my three blankets. I call my blankets, dogs because of the rock band Three Dog Night who I believe were from Australia and on cold nights there, it was necessary to bring in three actual dogs to sleep with to stay warm. I have always liked that story.
Still, it remains to be said, as I grow older, I find myself disliking even mildly extreme temperatures, cold or hot. In fact, eleven years ago, I began to travel so that I could avoid even the least amount of cold or hot. Here in Red Feather Lakes, I believe it is just a little bit too soon for me to be here. Then, at eight-thirty this evening, I get into the sack and read for a while.
Sunday, 03 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 621 TG) 35°F. (27°F. low) 7:00 am, overcast, scattered showers
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Three
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues as it seems a little warmer today. I go to the back of the jammer, open the tail gait and begin boiling water for coffee, hot tea, some Spark and a cup of Daystart. Soon, Gordon is up and preparing his morning meal. He reminds me that the meeting today is at one this afternoon; he had offered me to listen in to his meeting on the KH Conference. Then, I get into the jammer and work on my book while waiting for the afternoon meeting to begin. It begins to hail again but is does not last long.
At twelve-forty this afternoon, Gordon comes to my vehicle and sits in the passenger seat; I had cleared away all of my things that are normally kept there by moving it into the drivers seat, swept the front floor and seat making nice for my first guest.
We connect to the program at ten minutes until one, and there are already twelve of the seventy publishers connected from the Loveland Congregation. There is first song, prayer, then the public talk and afterwards the Watchtower study. I am so glad that I did not miss it again this weekend. I begin preparations for my supper, much the same as the cabbage soup I had Friday evening but I added three cloves of garlic and used half as much of the spice mix, which now I know how much of the mix should be used in a cook pot full of soup. Previously, when Gordon tasted the broth, he said that it was way too spicy for him.
In the later afternoon, Gordon tells me that he walked through the campground and found that all the weekend campers have pulled out and headed back to the city. Methinks, it will be quite this afternoon and night without all the gunshots. Then, at six this evening, he retires into his bedroom to read and keep warm. I walk outside and then ask him, Are you in for the night? to which he replies, Yes. I return to the jammer and continue
I too, return to my bedroom chamber to keep warm and pound keys to catch up on my journal writing.
I find that camping like this is totally different than overnighting in the parking lots in the cities. There are no quick trips to the coffee shop for a brownie, or to the fast food shop for a sausage biscuit or any where for a quick fix of food. Instead, when I am hungry, I get out my almond butter fudge and eat as much as I desire so that I can kill the urge as I know it often comes when I am in the city. Too, Gordon tells me that there are bears, moose, deer and elk that often walk through this area; so far, I have not seen any as it still seems to be too early for them to be out much, especially the bears.
It is seven and one hour before the sunset, the birds, most of whom have not allowed me to get but a glimpse of them as they quickly flutter by, not enough to id them but just to make me interested, are now active, both sound wise and movement wise. During my short stay here, I have seen two types of woodpeckers, many sparrow size birds and Gordon has seen a couple of hummingbirds which are most likely Rufus.
Now, as the sun drops behind the clouds on the horizon, the sky begins to darken, all bird movement has stopped and one bird which I hear each evening continues to chirp. Then the boreal air begins to chill me so, I close the side window, turn on the jammer engine and warm up the inside of the van, which in about fifteen minutes, I am quite toasty.
I look out again to the west and the color has faded totally but I notice that behind me in the east, the higher clouds are all lit up with various shades of orange, making the sunglow backwards tonight, The light keeping the even bright lingers to past eight-thirty. While the light in the sky fades to gray, I get into the horizontal.
Monday, 04 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 622 TG) 33°F. (22°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny, partly cloudy
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Four
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake and what gave me first indication that it had snowed during the night was the fog on the insider of the windows. Even though I have run the jammer with the defroster on, which dries out the inside, there is always some moisture inside a vehicle, especially one where you are living. When ice or snow attaches to the outside of a vehicles, it cause that remaining moisture to attach to the inside of the window.
Thus, when I saw the fog, I immediately wipe the inside of the glass to see out and that is when I saw the snow covering the ground, the solar panels and the vehicle but not the forest. What came down last night was what I would call a dusting, less than an inch if measured and as soon as the sun arose this morning, it begins to melt.
(b4wheels-1997-2020-0504.0639) The Sojourn at Red Feather Lakes
I immediately rise, dress in my fall blues and step outside to first take photos of my campsite. Then, I reposition the solar panels facing east into the sun and wipe the snow from the panels. By this time, my hands are cold so I climb back into the jammer to warm up and turn on the computer to pound keys for the start of today′s journal entry.
At seven-twenty, I venture back outside so that I can boil a pot of water for hot drinks, which by now the temperature is just about forty degrees. I also level the jammer by putting a board under the rear driver side tire. Then, I close up all the doors, turn of the jammer engine and by eight this morning, I am sitting in the jammer at my desk sipping of coffee and having my Daystart and pounding keys. I had forgot that Gordon had offered to cook eggs for me this morning but he does not get up early. Then at eight-thirty, I see him under his tarp, so I go outside and see what he is doing. It turns out that he did get up earlier that his normal time and began preparing our breakfast of eggs and bacon. When I arrive, he asks me You did say four eggs, yes? to which I say yes.
He then begins putting the eggs on a paper plate and tells me to help myself to the bacon in the pot. After he says a prayer, we sit together under his tarp and talk about the snow while we eat. When I am done, I tell Gordon that it is still too cold for me to stay out here and he agrees. I head back to the jammer and after running the engine for a short time, I am warmed up. He cleans the dishes and then gets into his van.
After eating my breakfast, I rub tea tree oil on to my tooth, which seems to be getting better but not completely, but well enough for me to eat without pain. I then begin working on rebuilding my desk and making it a little more stable. I unload the books, disconnect the electrical and take it outside to clean the wood. After that, I dry it with paper towels and reattach the electric components, adding a new charger, and then reinstall the desk in the jammer. I then think about a tray in the back where I can put charges, and other items when not in use or just to keep them off of the desk top. I will need a table saw to build the tray and I hope I do not have to wait long.
Then, I eat the leftovers from last nights meal after which I pound keys the while watching the dark snow clouds blow in to drop more snow on and off the rest of the day. At seven, the sun drops to within one hand width of the horizon but not much is happening like it was last night. The sun sets with only a few clouds in the sky and even less color. The temperature has already dropped below forty degrees, so, we will have another very cold night, especially with no cloud cover.
Tuesday, 05 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO
(Day 623 TG) 30°F. (22°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Five
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in winter blues, check the temperature and the mercury could be below the line but I call it thirty degrees. Nevertheless, burrrr, is it cold and the wind persists for the fifth straight day making it feel much colder. I stay inside the jammer, turn on the computer and work on episode three, which since I have been here is the most I have been able to work on my book in such a long time.
At nine this morning, with the temperature being just above forty degrees, I see Gordon outside his van preparing his morning meal. I took step outside, gather my foot stool seat, stove, tea pot, water and join him under the tarp to make my two cups of hot, one of coffee and one of tea. Whilst he eats his oatmeal, I give him a few dried cherries to at some flavor to which he says, Not bad. I know from experience that if he does not like what you give him, he will not eat it, but he ate the cherries I gave him. I continue to sip on my coffee until the cup is empty, then I boil another pot to make my Daystart and use some of the water to use the last of the Spark energy drink to make one more liter of the drink. Then Gordon calls out, he′s back, the hummingbird is back, a male and this time he is eating at the feeder. I look and see that it is a Rufous.
When the last hot water is poured out, I clean my kitchen, put away my gear, rotate the solar panels and then climb into the jammer to eat my breakfast and pound keys. By eleven this morning, the temperature has risen to fifty degrees and as I begin to eat my Daystart, methinks that it might be good with some almond butter stirred in. After stirring in two tablespoons I continue to eat a much tastier breakfast.
Again, methinks briefly, It could not get any better than this! However, immediately, methinks, yes it could, I could get some photos of the hummingbird, or a moose will walk by, or better yet, a black bear will come into camp. Too, although I can deal with the sub freezing nights, it would be so much better to wake up at my normal early morning, step outside without shivering. Further, for Gordon′s sake, the wind could stop blowing so hard and constantly. Finally, the paradise could arrive today. So, in making that statement, I must have made it figuratively. Still, the afternoons are really nice here.
In the early afternoon, I go outside and sit with Gordon and wait for the hummingbird to come to feed, however, even though I get photos, the lighting is not just right and the photos do not allow me to identify the type of hummingbird it is. At one, I return to the jammer to have my midday meal and to pound keys for a while.
At about three, Gordon walks to the jammer to remind me about the meeting tonight and we talk for a short time and with the door open, notice how it is already beginning to get colder. I step outside and notice that the wind has raised up to the top of the trees and there is a calm here in camp.
Then, at six, Richard calls who has the part on tonight′s meeting entitled "Are You Prepared?", who is shopping and has a question about which water filter to buy for his backpack gear. He tells me that he is going to walk into the camera wearing his backpack, fully packed with all of his gear. Then, he is going to dump it out on the table in front of the camera. What a funny guy! I tell him not to buy the straw filter because if you want to filter water to put in a pot to cook, how are you going to do that, suck the water through the straw and then spit the water into the pot.
(Day 624 TG) 26°F. (20°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Six
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake early, step outside and find that the wind is gone, the air is completely still and despite it being so cold on the mountain, it does not feel cold to me at all. Still, I dress in my winter blues, step out, rotate the solar panels, and open the tail gait to begin my breakfast. This is when I see four hummingbirds fly by headed for the feeder. So, I grab my camera and take a few photos before going back to my breakfast tasks.
First, I put a pot of water on the stove to boil, then, I prepare my coffee cup and my tea cup. When the water boils, I pour it into those two cups. Adding water to the pot, I begin boiling it to use for my Daystart. When that is done, I climb back inside the jammer and begin working on my book.
At eight, I see Gordon beginning his morning tasks, and I get out to show him a couple of photos I took. Also, I tell him that from these photos, I am able to id the type hummingbird as a
Rufus. I also see a female
Red Crossbill, a bird that I have never seen.
There is also another bird that I hear each morning but have not been able to see it, much less identify. When I hear it this morning, I take my camera and begin walking toward the sound and soon, I am able to spot it in the top of a pine tree more than fifty feet high. I immediately zoom in and snap a photo but the bird seems to be in the dark and all I get is a shadow image. I walk further around the tree and begin so see some color when I take the photo and after more than a dozen shots, I recognize the bird as a
Robin. Today, I have learned about the habit of the Robin, the sound of it′s call and where the bird roosts to sing.
Gordon then walks out of camp carrying a roll of toilet paper and immediately, he calls me to grab my camera and come see what he has found. I pick up my camera and begin walking fast to where he is standing. He says that there is a
moose here grazing on the bark of aspen trees. I set up and begin taking photos of the lone female. A short time later, Gordon says, Look over there, it is a calf. I turn and see the calf moving quickly to get back to the mother. I am able to get photos of both mother and calf.
After driving from just over an hour, I arrive at my first shopping stop, but when I go in, the store has set up shopping police to tell you to keep your face mask on. Too, of these police came up to me when I was looking through the onions to find small ones and asked, Do you have to touch all of them? Methinks, this is getting ridiculous and I walked out of the store. At another of the hg-marts, the people were so much nicer and I purchased my food at this store. I then stop at a d-mart to purchase a few additional items, then to the hw-mart to look for a bucket and shelf tray.
I finally drive to the w-mart to check my com and upload pages and photos to my website as well as make a post on my social media. Finally, I drive to the hospital and park in the emergency parking lot, climb into the back and because the hospital provides free WiFi, I stay up and watch some talent show acts.
(Day 625 TG) 40°F. (31°F. low) 8:00 am, sunny and clear
Overnighting in a parking lot, Day Seven
Elevation: 4982 feet
After a late night, I do not rise until late, then drive to the d-mart to look a couple more items that I could not find yesterday. At eleven, I drive to the w-mart, park, put up my shades, turn on my computer and pound keys for a time.
Then at three this afternoon, I pack out and head back up to the mountain and arrive at the campsite by four-thirty. Upon my arrival, I find that Gordon has gone down the hill, left a few thing here which would indicate to me that he is coming back.
Methinks, I will stay here and eat up all my newly purchased fresh foods, which will take at least a couple of days to eat. Also, I only set up one solar panel on my dash to use.
Friday, 08 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO
(Day 626 TG) 31°F. (25°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Eight,
Second Week
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my winter blues, and after walking out to the tree where I go every morning to poop, I come back to the jammer and turn on the engine to run the heater.
In the late morning, Gordon sends me a text asking me where I am and tells me that he is now in Loveland. I then make a cup of coffee and a cup of tea, sit in the jammer and pound keys updating web pages.
By noon, I resume work on episode three as the temperature rises to 55 degrees, but that does not make up for the freezing temperatures each night here. At one, it becomes warm enough to open the sliding door and then I work my desk to tweak it just a little more, even adding to the back of the desk a draw organizer that I purchased in town. That takes until just about three to get it all back in place
Then, what seems to be the hottest part of the day when the thermometer just rises to seventy, I set outside, open the tail gait and begin making my supper. I have been adding fresh vegetable to my Repast each time I make a cook pot of it. This time the veggies are the last of the cabbage, onions, ginger and garlic. The next time, I will use sweet potatoes in stead of the cabbage.
At four this afternoon, I climb back into my office and begin sipping on the broth from the cook pot. I have noticed today that the wind that was blowing hard last week is much more subdued today, just occasionally and most always in the tops of the trees. Too, the one solar panel is working very well today, methinks because I am using the computer all day like I did last week because it was so cold, even during the day.
Andy, my brother in Oak Harbor called me this afternoon to tell me that my stimulus check has arrived at his house, which is my Washington address. Now, I just have to find some way to get it to where I am at. I have been on the computer since four, about three hours ago and with the waning light, the deep-cell has dropped to 11.6 volts and is going to error out at 11.4 volts. Methinks, if I had had all four solar panels, then, it would have been able to keep up with my being on the computer. I might put out all four tomorrow, but now, with the sun about a half hour from setting, I am going to get under the covers and read until I feel sleepy.
Saturday, 09 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 627 TG) 31°F. (24°F. low) 6:30 am, cloudy
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Nine
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to another very cold night and find it has snowed again, just a dusting, nothing more, but it did lower the chill factor. I dress in my winter blues and then step outside to take a couple of photos. Then, I climb back into the jammer and start the engine to get warm and turn on my computer. After the inside warms up, I turn off the engine and continue to pound keys. At nine this morning, Gorgon drives into the campsite and begins to re-install his tarp next to his van. I get out and begin boiling a pot of water and while waiting for it to boil, help him with tying knots.
Once my coffee is ready, I carry my cup with me to help him with the knots. He has a different way of setting up the tarp which actually looks better and I believe will hold up better to the wind. When he finishes putting up the tarp, he then goes out into the forest to collect wood for a fire tonight.
I then make a second cup of coffee and a cup of Daystart and put both inside next to my desk. Then, I walk back to Gordon′s van to see how it is coming and find it to be very well designed, with about three feet of tarp covering the ground where he can sit out of the weather. I tell him that I am going in to pound keys, which he knows as meaning that I am going to be in my van working on my book or website.
While I work on the computer all day, he does odd chores around his van, collects and cuts wood. Just before sunset, I put on my sweater and walk over to the fire he has already begun. We sit there and tell tales for a couple of hours and when the firewood runs out, we both make a path to our separate sleeping berths.
When I climb into the jammer, I start the engine to warm the inside up while I take an alcohol bath. Thirty minutes later, at nine-thirty, I turn off the engine, get under the covers and read for a while in my phone Bible.
Sunday, 10 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 628 TG) 32°F. (24°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day Ten
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, turn of the engine for the heat, dress in winter blue, step outside and open the tailgate to begin my morning boiling of a pot of water. By seven-thirty this morning, I am back inside in a toasty jammer sipping on my coffee, eating my Daystart, then after a while, I take off my hoodie and turn off the engine. Then I continue with the key pounding, it being eight o′clock now.
I go out and pour a gallon and a half into the solar water heater so that I can take a bucket bath this afternoon. Then I spend most of the morning inside the jammer pounding keys with several breaks to go outside to talk with Gordon and reposition my solar panels.
The at fifteen minutes before one this afternoon, Gordon come over to sit in the jammer and we listen to the weekend meeting. After the meeting, I check the solar water heater and find it to be very warm so I begin my bucket bath. After I dry off, I put on clean clothes, the shirt being the last clean one I have. However, I have several more shorts and underwear left before I run out of them.
Then, I have apple slices and almond butter for my mid day meal, after which I continue the key pounding until the sun sets while the temperature plummets in the direction of the cold part of the thermometer.
Then at eight-thirty, I make my bed and arrange it differently than I have been doing before all along. Instead of using my two blankets to cover me and then spread the sleeping bag on top of the blankets, tonight, I put the sleeping bag down first and then cover it with the two blankets. This way will allow me to get inside the bag which could work better then just using three blankets.
I finish my journal entry for today, shut down the computer and climb into the sleeping bag with my phone so that I can read until I get sleepy.
Monday, 11 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 629 TG) 30°F. (24°F. low) 7:00 am, fog
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 11
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in winter blue, turn on the engine for hear, step outside to, as Gordon calls it, mark my territory and then climb back inside to try to get warm. At nine, I get out, and begin making my hot drinks and I am sitting on my stool next to the fire when Gordon brings me a plate of blueberry pancakes. He also offered me some bacon but I tell him that I will pass because I said, I have already eaten some twice this month. I tell him thanks for the pancakes and that the blueberries make them taste very sweet without syrup. I also tell him that his suggestion of getting into the sleeping bag instead of using it as a cover worked very well. I will continue to do that while I am here.
The next hour or two, we both gather firewood and stack it up next to the fire, most likely for this evening. At about noon, I go to the jammer, take out my blue bucket and use it to take a bucket bath to wash my upper body. I use my bandana and wash it first because it smells very strong of smoke, then use the soapy water to wash my face, head and upper body. Next, I pour out the soap water, add another cup of clean water, rinse out my bandana and then use the bandana to wipe the soap off of my body. I do this twice more to rinse the bandana and my body. Finally, I hang the clean bandana up to dry and put on some clean clothes.
Then, I climb into the jammer to work on the computer and spend most of the early afternoon pounding keys. Then, at three pm, I turn of the computer, step outside and begin preparing supper, a Repast which always starts with sprouted rice, sprouted quinoa, some spice mix, and chopped seaweed. Then, I included chopped fresh vegetables including: sweet potatoes, bell pepper, yellow onion, zucchini, garlic and ginger.
At one-thirty, I receive a text from Richard thanking me for the card I mailed him and Kim. I mailed it last Wednesday from Red Feather Lakes Village so that was five days. He tells me that the Palm Avenue mobile is all painted on the outside except for the awning. That would mean that it can go on sale soon. I tell him that I have been camping for ten days here at RFL without any fast food or Mexican. He tells me to keep it up.
I also help Gordon re-string his clothesline after the plastic ends brake. We finally get it to work and then, at four-thirty pm, I wash my dishes, after which, I go into the jammer and begin my meal. Every time I prepare this kind of Repast in my cook pot, methinks, this is a very tasty meal. Still, I know that having a taste for this kind of food is not the prepossession of everyone.
Gordon is one of those who just does not like the taste of this kind of food. Instead, he eats, canned beans, canned soup, canned chili, and other preprocessed foods. He also eats a lot of processed meats such as sandwich meat, hot dogs, sausage, bacon, and many more that I have put on my personal do not eat list. But, as I will continue to say, To each his own.
At five this evening, it begins to rain, Gordon comes out and puts his raincoat over his suits and brings some of the other clothes inside his van. Gordon is a nice friend and I love him as a brother, but he does some really strange things some times.
I am just glad that I finished all of my food preparations before the rain started because now the temperature is begin to drop fast. Then, at five-thirty, my windows begin to fog up and I look outside and the rain has turned to snow which by six begins coming down quite hard causing the ground to begin to turn white.
I start the jammer engine to run the defroster and remove the moisture inside the jammer and to warm me up but the snow stops at six-fifteen and the sun comes out and it all begins to melt. Third Snow since being here. Then the sun races for the horizon bringing on the night and with it the freezing cold again.
At eight this evening, I start the jammer to run the heat so I can apply first aid to some of my small cuts and after that is done, I remake my bed for the night. Finally, I shut down all electronics, the jammer engine and I climb into the sack
Tuesday, 12 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 630 TG) 38°F. (26°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny, partly cloudy
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 12
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress, and although it is not as cold this morning as it has been, I turn on the engine to warm the inside of the jammer. Too, since some of the rain and snow we had yesterday had gotten tracked into the jammer, the best way to remove the moisture is to turn on the jammer and set the heat to mix or defrost as both run the air conditioner which draws out the moisture.
After a short brisk morning, the day warms up to be very comfortable, so I have a late Daystart, a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. I take my meal into the jammer and eat whilst I pound keys. In the afternoon, the wind picks up for a short time, but this is just enough wind to cause Gordon to go ballistic. What I mean by that is that he becomes hyper, full of adrenaline, and begins loudly complaining about every thing that has been bothering him. I will not go into detail about his ranting but when this happens, I try to help him reason on why his problems should not cause him to rant as he does.
After a time, he calms down and then I tell him that I will see him again at seven when the meeting begins. I walk back to the jammer and return to my work.
Gordon came over to my van so that we both can listen to the midweek meeting and when it started, we were reminded that this week is the circuit overseers visit. His talk was entitled, Are You Prepared? and gave us directions for further research.
After, Gordon goes to his van and I turn on the jammer for a little warmth, after which I turn off the electronics and get in the sack.
Wednesday, 13 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 631 TG) 48°F. (34°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny, scattered clouds
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 13
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake this morning to a wonderfully comfortable morning, step out, open the tail gate and prepare my morning meal. Then, I climb back into the jammer, sit at my desk and begin pounding keys while I have my Daystart and hot coffee. Later, I see Gordon step outside and begin his morning meal preparations. I continue most all the day inside working on my computer.
At four this afternoon, I open up the tail gate and begin cooking my supper and end up spilling two cook pots of water because of trying to level the ground under the table while trying to heat water. Getting past that, I then finish cooking and return inside the jammer to eat my Repast.
At six, I see that Gordon has started a fire to burn some of his trash, so I join him with my trash. I see that he burns plastic and cans while I do not so I make a comment that because of my Boy Scout training, I burn only paper and pack out the plastic and metal. I even state that the government has laws about do otherwise. Gordon replies, Here we do things a little different, this is a fire pit, not a national forest and it is expected that these things will be burnt in it. He goes on to say to me, Please do not take it wrong, but you tend to push your way of doing things on other people. and he gives me an example of another brother who had commented to Gordon of how he did not like my way of doing so. We continue sitting by the fire and talking for another half hour or so before we both retire for the evening.
What Gordon told me today has made me think deeply about the fact that I do push my opinions on others and how I should stop doing so. This causes me to pray to Jehovah for help in this matter. In the upcoming days and weeks, I will endeavor to reverse this personality trait and try not to do it. I pray that I will succeed.
Thursday, 14 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 632 TG) 49°F. (35°F. low) 7:00 am, rain
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 14
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my winter blues, turn on the jammer engine to warm the interior and begin pounding keys. I see Gordon outside earlier today than most and step outside to also begin my morning tasks. Even though the temperature is nearly the same as yesterday, the dampness in the air makes it feel much colder.
When Gordon begins detaching his van from the tarp, I join him to help set the tarp up as a free standing a-frame tent. Then, he drives out of the campsite and I return to finish my morning meal preparations and kitchen clean up. After I close the tail gate, I climb back into the jammer to eat breakfast while pounding keys to catch up on my journal writing. With the overcast conditions, the day just does not warm up like it did yesterday and I run the engine again around noon.
I sit here alone in the forest, this being midweek, there are not many who come camping at this time of the year. It is different on the weekend, Friday through Sunday, as there has been several who come in their rvs to rough-it in the woods for the weekend. Most of these weekend warriors usually bring their guns and each day all weekend, I have been hearing gunshots ring out.
At two this afternoon, it begins to rain lightly but passes to the east. An hour later, Gordon arrives back from town and I tell him, I guess that I can go now, so I pack out, and head to town and drive through the same rain shower that fell on the campsite.
Arriving at the w-mart before dark, I upload my files to the web site, quite a few photos and page updates. Next, I drive to find a l-mart and find one close by so I will go there tomorrow to do a load of laundry. Then, I drive into the neighborhood and find a perfect street to park on.
(Day 633 TG) 47°F. (35°F. low) 7:00 am, cloudy
Overnight on a city street, Day 15,
Third Week
Elevation: 5003 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues, drive to the w-mart but it is way too busy for me to drive thru for coffee, so, instead, I go shopping for some groceries at the d-mart, then the hg-mart, and finally end up back at the w-mart to upload some more files.
At noon, I leave for the l-mart to do a load of wash, after which, I stop at the w-mart for an hour. Then, I begin the drive back up onto the mountain.
Arriving in the early afternoon, I find there are no other people camping at the campground and as I drive in, I see a young deer grazing on the grass near the road in. Upon my arrival at the campsite, Gordon comes out to greet me and to help me back into my site so that the rear wheel rises on the board I had put in place to level the jammer.
We talk for a short time but I tell him that it is to cold to stay outside, to which he agrees and we both go back into our vehicles to stay warm. I take a nap for a few hours, then pound keys util after dark and finally read in the Bible until late before I sleep.
Saturday, 16 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 634 TG) 33°F. (26°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 1
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my winter blues, turn on the jammer engine to warm me up and then pound keys on the computer until eight this morning when I step outside, open the tail gate and begin my morning meal preparation. After I have the stove fired and a pot of water heating, I see Gordon opening his tail gate to start his breakfast, so I go over and we talk. When my tea pot starts to blow steam, I beg my leave from Gordon, return to finish my cooking and then go inside the jammer where it is about sixty degrees warm, to eat. The bright sun increases outside only to warm the inside up more.
At noon, the temperature is 67 degrees inside and 57 degrees outside, so I take off my hoodie, but stay inside. Too, the weekend warriors have been arriving to claim their campsite and soon after, the gun shots ring out. The temperature continues to rise up to 74 by three-thirty pm and I step out and begin preparation of my evening Repast amidst gun shots from all sides. I finish and climb back into the jammer at four-forty and begin sipping the broth first and then eating while I pound keys.
A man drives in with a small trailer, parks across the circle and sets up. Later, when Gordon and I are talking, we see him walking towards us. He is from Denver, up for fishing and will be here for a week. He also tells up that the campground is full, but I suspected that with all the traffic I have been seeing.
I return to the jammer and continue pounding keys until it becomes dark after which, I watch a video from the JW library and then I get into the horizontal.
Sunday, 17 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 635 TG) 32°F. (24°F. low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 17
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake after a very cold night, start the jammer to warm myself and then begin pounding keys waiting for the warmth. I stay in the jammer until eight this morning when I step out, open the tail gate and begin my morning meal preparation. Shortly after, Gordon has opened his tail gate and doing the same. The morning stays cold until about ten when the sun really begins to warm up the air and soon, I am opening my windows to cool off.
At noon, both Gordon and myself step outside and we agree that it is really nice outside, not even windy, but we both go back inside to eat our midday meal. I have leftover Repast from last night which really hits the spot.
At twelve-fifty, Gordon comes over, connects to the meeting with his phone and we listen to the weekend meeting with the circuit overseers talks, Are you prepared for the near future? and Will you obey Jehovah? Wow and Wow!
Afterwards, Gordon and I talk for a time before he returns to his van to prepare his supper while I eat some vegetable, seeds and fruit. I then pound keys until it gets too cold to continue.
Monday, 18 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 636 TG) 35°F. (27°F. low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 18
Elevation: 8701 feet
Although the day started quite cold, it was not long at all before it warmed up. I stepped outside by seven to prepare my morning meal and soon after Gordon arose and made pancakes. Shortly after he cleaned up his kitchen, he put on his day hike pack and took off to the northeast climbed the ridge to the top of the ridge about 100 yards from me. I then yelled out Hi Ho! He turned to face me and said, What? I then said Hi Ho! but only louder. He said, OK, turned and walked over the ridge out of sight.
Then, I begin working on my food stores, moving food to restock my pantry. Over the past several weeks, maybe months, I have been purchasing super food powders and have just stored them in the food stores bin. Today, I took all those packages and moved them to containers in the pantry. I saved all of the packages of the super foods because I wanted to make a web page listing the nutrition received from each. While doing all of this sorting of my food stuffs, I was in shorts t-shirt and sandals because the temperature was steadily rising.
In the early afternoon, Gordon walked back into camp and took up a place to sit down and rest his body. By this time my shirt had come off. Not long after that, we both begin preparing supper, Gordon prepared fried potatoes and hot dogs. Myself, I prepared my Repast with the same rice, quinoa, and the fresh vegetables I cut up are, bell pepper, carrots, garlic, ginger, green onions, mushrooms, and zucchini. I also added my spice mix, chopped dried dulse, and avocado powder. When it was done cooking, I pour off the broth into my cup, the put the pot on the bin next to the desk, climbed into the cabin and begin sipping the broth first before I begin eating.
The temperature at about four this afternoon rose up to about eighty degrees and I stay inside the jammer with the windows open and all the shades up, working on my computer making the new web pages for of the super food powders, including:
baobab powder,
blueberry powder,
camu camu powder,
greens powder
hemp protein powder
maqui berry powder, as well as several different mushrooms.
I finish up the web pages at eight pm as the sun begins to set and it has cooled off to 55 degrees, but on all of these pages, I will have to do more research when I have an internet connection so as to complete each of the pages.
I then begin on my journal entry for today, after which, I shut off the computer and make my bed, laying out the sleeping bag with a blanket over it. Soon after that, I climb into the sack and get horizontal to read more chapters in the book of Genesis.
It is a nicely warm evening and I go to sleep unknowingly with one of the windows about half way down. I do not want to leave them down because from what I have been told about bears, tist allows them to break the window to access the inside of the vehicle. Too, because of the same reason, I keep all of my doors locked at night.
Tuesday, 19 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 637 TG) 38°F. (29°F. low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 19
Elevation: 8701 feet
Up early, dress in my winter blues but it is only a matter of minutes when I take my hoodie off and hang it inside the jammer. I then begin to make my morning hot drinks and Daystart, after which, I climb into the jammer, turn on the computer, connect the charger and begin pounding keys. Then by six-thirty this morning, the temperature rises to near fifty degrees and by nine this morning, Gordon rises and the temperature is near seventy degrees.
Except for a few short walks around camp, I stay in the jammer most all day and pound keys. One of my walks, I took my camera and photographed the aspen trees in camp as I have notice for the last few days the buds have been opening and now there are green leaves covering the trees.
(b1a11-13-07.image) The Greening of the Aspens
At five this afternoon, a thunder storm rolls through, booming thunder and flashing lightning and dumping a little rain, not much. An hour later, another one comes rolling through doing all what the last one did plus hail stones. I keep getting out to look for a rainbow but still have not seen one but when the thunder booms two seconds after a near by flash, I climb back inside the jammer. Then, just before seven this evening, Gordon joins me for the mid week meeting as we listen to the brothers talk about Joseph and how he trusted in Jehovah, never once doubting. Good meeting.
Gordon leaves and I get ready for another nights rest.
Wednesday, 20 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 638 TG) 41°F. (34°F low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 20
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to a wonderfully mild and glowing morning but not before the even which now begins well before five am. I am so very grateful to Jehovah that after the first two weeks of wintry below freezing temperatures, now this has become such a comfortable campsite. I rise, dress in my fall blues, open the tail gate and begin preparing a cup of hot. At eight-thirty, Gordon rises and begins cooking pancakes for us and I have four, which are about six inches in diameter, and totally awesome.
Right after we eat, we lock up the vans and pack out for a hike in the national forest. Gordon is going to show me some of the viewpoints near this campground. We begin by walking north down a ravine, cross a creek on a log bridge, then up to a ridge where we stop at the first view point. We stop, take a seat and rest up for a bit. I drink several swallows from my water bottle and then take some photos. We then continue in the north direction up to another summit where we stop, take some photos and then sit down and rest for a bit. Leaving the summit, we continue north down the back side of the ridge to a location where there is another ravine this one grassy and heading back to the southeast.
We walk down the ravine to the same creek and then walk east along the creek to where a old forest road crosses it. We find rocks to step on and cross the creek and I stop and take a one minute video of the water and the sound of it flowing. Leaving the creek, we walk up the forest road until we come to a barbed wire fence were we turn back southwest and walk along the fence to another ridge. Once we arrive at the ridge, we stop at the rock outcrop and have our lunch. I have a can of sardines, some pumpkin seeds and nearly finish my water.
Leaving the outcrop, we walk south on a nearly flat wooded area and soon come to a wide open meadow with RVs on the far side. Gordon tells me that that is the campground, so we continue to walk along the edge of the woods to the campground. On this trail, I see a small bird flitter from branch to branch and then stop on one limb. I begin taking photos and describing its features to Gordon. Once we arrive at the campground, we turn west and walk around the stand of aspen to arrive back in camp.
Upon arriving back in camp, take off my hiking boots, put away mu gear and climb into the jammer. The first thing that I do is to put new shoestrings on the boots, which I have been wanting to do. After that, I get out my sewing kit and sew up the two holes in my day back. After putting away my sewing kit, I turn on the computer to look at the photos I took and get out my birding book to identify the bird. It does not take long before I find out that it is a dark-eyed
junco, gray-headed form, a bird that I have only seen once when at
Pedernales Falls state park in central Texas.
The wind begins to pick up and becomes very strong, whipping around the camp and I see Gordon outside trying to save his tarp. I walk up to him and he seems really mad and tells me, I am done with this, I can not deal with this wind any longer, I am out of here. I ask him, Are you leaving this campground? to which he does not answer. So, because of his apparent bad mood, I leave him and walk back to the jammer. I do not like it when he gets mad like this, this being the second time since I have been with him here at Red Feather Lakes.
The campground is as full as it gets, and most likely will be as such until Tuesday of next week because of a worldly holiday on Monday. I expect that I will be here one more week, until next Wednesday when I can go to a bank to withdraw my Social Security money for May. However, my water will not last until then so I will have to go down possibly Friday to buy more. I do not know yet.
At nine, the wind is still full force, the sun has set but there is still a sunglow in the western horizon. I turn off the electronics, make my bed and get into the horizontal.
Thursday, 21 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 639 TG) 40°F. (34°F low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 21
Forth Week
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to the bright sunlight shinning into the jammer, start the jammer, dress in my fall blues, fold my blankets and sleeping bag, start my computer and turn on my inverter to charge batteries. Seeing that the door open light is on, I step outside to close re-close the tail gate, and see that Gordon has already left for town. Then, I climb back inside and begin pounding keys in the warmed jammer, now 55 degrees, while outside, the temperature is already 38 degrees. At eight am, I step outside, open the tail gate to boil water for my cup of hot and Daystart. When, that is finished, I mover back inside to continue pounding keys.
At eight-thirty this morning, Gordon pulls back into the campsite and parks. I, with my coffee in hand walk over to his van and he opens the door. A conversation is started during which I bring up the subject of his, as he calls it, Losing It. I try to encourage him, sharing from the Bible on my phone, Philippians 4:4-7 which tells us not to be anxious over anything, or losing it, but to supplicate Jehovah to receive his peace. I continue by using the Bible examples of Joseph when he was a prisoner in Egypt and how he endured. Further, I used the example of Hannah when Peninnah, her rival wife provoked her relentlessly just to make her upset, and what she did to endure and regain the peace of God. This seems to have helped Gordon calm down and then I reminded him what the circuit overseer told us during his talks last week; we need to remember to do three things like Joseph and Hannah did, that is to Pray, Trust Jehovah, Act.
After our conversation, I go back inside the jammer and have my breakfast, catch up on my journal entry and thank Jehovah for all that he has provided me. Just before noon, I pack up and drive to town, primarily to replenish my water supply but I also restock on fresh vegetables to use in cooking my evening Repast. Too, I upload all the files that I have been working on and create one social media post about my sojourn at Red Feather Lakes.
Then, I drive back up the mountain, arriving at the campsite at a quarter past nine this evening. I pull forward into my space and climb into the back to get into the horizontal.
Friday, 22 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 640 TG) 40°F. (31°F low) 7:00 am, sunny
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 22,
Fourth Week
Elevation: 8701 feet
Even though the temperature dropped down to below freezing last night, by the time I opened the sliding door, it was already near fifty degrees, so I awake to another very nice day, only one of several this week. At ten, Gordon is sitting in front of his van enjoying the morning and one of the neighbors, driving in their truck, stops to talk. I join the conversation and the man, whose name is Matt is letting his fifteen year old daughter drive the truck. A time later, I beg for my leave and return to inside the jammer to resume my key pounding and finish my breakfast.
This campground is a zoo, there are so many trailers and people here, it is like living in the neighborhood. I was wrong when I stated in my Wednesday journal entry, this campground is a full as it gets because there are possibly double the number of trailers now that there was Wednesday, on has even set up on the the roadway. These worldly people seem to have no regard for any one else but them selves.
I spend almost the entire day inside the jammer pounding keys, but as the sun is closing on the horizon, I step out in a very warm evening and take a short walk. I greet some new arrivals and also talk again with Matt for a time. Finally, I return to the jammer, climb inside but have not seen Gordon for a couple hours so I step outside again and walk to his van to make sure he made it back from his walk in the woods. When I hear him inside, I return to the jammer to prepare my bed for tonight&prime sleep.
Finally, I get into the sleeping bag, read for a time and then sleep.
Saturday, 23 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 641 TG) 40°F. (33°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 23
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to a comfortably warm morning despite the low temperature that the night time has been dropping to. But, with the sun glow beginning before five each morning, it has plenty of time to warm the air before I arise in the morning. I dress in my fall blues, step outside, open the tail gate and put a pot of water on the stove to make a cup of hot. By eight this morning, the temperature is fifty degrees and soon after, Gordon is up and preparing pancakes for the two of us again. He had asked me yesterday if I would like some this morning and that is something that I do not think that I would ever turn down.
After breakfast, Gordon and I talk for a short time and he tells me that he is going on a walk today and will not be back until mid afternoon. I retire to the jammer and spend another day working on the current project. At four this afternoon, I begin making my supper which I am having a fresh salad with the rest of the greens that I did not eat yesterday.
Then, I spend the rest of the day pounding keys until after sunset when it begins to get very cold. I turn on the jammer engine to warm the inside, but do not keep it running too long and shortly after nine, I make my bed and get horizontal to read for a while in the Bible before rolling over to sleep.
Sunday, 24 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 642 TG) 37°F. (28°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 24
Elevation: 8701 feet
Another cold night, awaking to a cold morning, dress in my winter blues, turn on the jammer engine and turn on the computer to begin my journal entry for today while I warm up. When I put on my trousers and buckle the belt, I pull it past the last (fifth) hole and now in order to make the belt snug, I will have to drill another hole, the sixth one. This means that I have lost five inches in my waist. Then, at seven, I turn off the jammer engine, open the sliding door to get out and make a cup of hot and a cup of Daystart and to my surprise, it has begun snowing. I continue to the rear or the jammer, open the lift hatch, get under the cover and begin breakfast as the temperature quickly drops to freezing. I watch the snowfall and before I finish boiling water, the ground is white.
After I finish breakfast preparations, I take photos of the jammer and surrounding area and then quickly climb back into the jammer and use the cup of hot to warm my hands. It is already eight this morning and I see absolutely no movement in the neighborhood, not even a mouse, yes, all is quite and remarkably peaceful. Too, as the snow covers all the vehicles, even their windows, the snow when it lands upon the jammer immediately melts because I had turned on the engine and heated up the inside before the snow began. Further, because the middays have been quite warm during all of this last week, methinks that this snow will melt quickly today and all signs of it will be gone before noon. However, unlike all the previous snows that have changed Red Feather Campground to White Feather, this snow continues without letup reaching one inch in short time and even covering the roadway, something that the previous snows had not done.
By eight-thirty, I begin to see some of the weekend warriors climb out of their large RVs and start kicking tires, most of which have their cup of liquor spiked hot drink in hand. Most quickly return to the generator driven electric heated interior of their luxury rigs. I continue in the jammer, cup of hot in hand, pounding keys, adding more of my words to the pages of my journal and website. At nine, Gordon steps out of his van to begin breakfast preparations, so I also step out so we can talk for a time since the temperature has risen to about forty degrees, which starts the melting process.
Right before nine, I hear the
rufous flying just over my head returning to the feeders, so I grab my camera to take a few photos. As I walk up to them, they do not flee me like when they first began coming to feed. They have gotten so accustomed to me walking up to the feeders methinks they now let me know they are coming in to feed. Gordon put out the feeders and I have really been enjoying these bird because they buzz me early in the morning every time the fly into camp.
Then, at about nine-thirty this morning the snow resumes, a light snow fall at first, but by nine-fifty, it increases in both size and amount, which begins to recoat every thing again. Also, at the same time, one by one, the weekend warriors begin packing out, connecting their trailers to their trucks and then driving out of the park and the snow continues to fall. At ten-thirty, the sun breaks through the clouds and the snow melt resumes. Later, at eleven-thirty, the snow begins to fall again, it has been off and on now for five hours and except for the gunshots, the weekend warriors have been very quite today.
Then, Gordon comes over and we listen to the weekend meeting on his phone, which was very upbuilding, and when the meeting is over and he returns to his van, I resume the current work I am doing on my computer. The snow stops and the temperature rises up into the mid forties and by four this afternoon, there is no indication that it had even snowed today.
At seven, I see Allan walk over to Gordon′s van look inside for a second and then turn to go back to his RV. I step outside and say that Gordon is already in bed. Allan, then offers to give Gordon and me a steak with corn on the cob if we want it and I tell him sure, and I know Gordon would like it too. I walk to their RV and Allen hands me two plates and I thank him several times. I then go to Gordon′s van and begin knocking on a window and finally he sees what I have and climbs out of his bed room to receive the food. I walk back to the jammer with mine and begin eating the surprise supper. Later, Gordon walks to my van and says that was the best steak he has ever had, then he walks over to the RV to thank Allen.
I continue to eat and finish the meal and then continue to pound keys for another hour or so before I turn off the electronics and get into the horizontal for the night.
Monday, 25 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 643 TG) 24°F. (19°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 25
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to the coldest temperature yet since I have been here, with the one exception, the sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue and completely clear of clouds. This extreme cold had frosted over the landscape, the windshield of the jammer and has frozen shut the slide windows on the jammer.
I dress in my winter blues, start the jammer engine, step outside to photograph the landscape, then climb back into the jammer, turn on my computer and begin today′s journal to record this boreal day.
Just before noon, it begins to hail lightly, but does not stick and soon stops. I continue to work inside on my computer while outside, it begins to warm quickly. Soon, I step outside to make a cup of hot and my Daystart, only to return to the inside to return to the key pounding.
At four pm, when the mid day warmth reaches above fifty degrees, I step outside, open the tail gate and begin preparing my evening meal. When my Repast if done, I climb back inside to eat and continue pounding keys. Later, because the midday warmth lingers, step outside and go with Gordon to visit Allen and his family who have also stepped outside. Shortly before sunset, I return back to the jammer to resume the work on my computer.
When the sun sets, I take a few photos of the suntouch and sunglow and then close the window to keep out the cold. Soon after that, I retire to my sleeping bag and read in my Bible, now in the book of Exodus through the first seven chapters. After that, I turn off my phone and close my eyes.
Tuesday, 26 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 644 TG) 33°F. (31°F. low) 6:00 am, sunny and clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 26
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my winter blues, start the jammer engine for the warmth and then turn on my computer to catch up on my journal writing. At seven this morning with the temperature now at forty degrees, I step outside, open the tail gate and begin preparations for a cup of hot and my Daystart and with a cup of extra hot water in my frying pan add a little cold water and then use the warm water to take a quick bath.
Then, I get back in the jammer with cup of hot in hand and enjoy the warmth it gives me while I continue to pound keys for the rest of the early morning. At ten, I step out to the comfortable warmth of nearly fifty degrees, open the rear hatch, stand in the sun with Gordon talking and take my shirt off to expose my back towards the sun for about fifteen minutes. After that, I leave the rear hatch open and climb back into the jammer to return to my work at the keyboard.
At ten to seven, Gordon comes over and together we listen to the meeting on his phone. The meeting was a good lesson about Joseph and how he did not seek revenge against his step brothers, but instead tested them to see if they were repentant for their wronging Joseph twenty years earlier but exercised self control when emotional.
Afterwards, Gordon leaves and I work on the computer for another hour before making my bed and getting horizontal.
Wednesday, 27 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 645 TG) 35°F. (31°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 27
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake to a mildly cold morning, dress in my fall blues and start the jammer to warm it up a little bit. Then, begin pounding keys while watching the thermometer for the outside to also warm up. By eight this morning, the temperature is already fifty degrees, so I step outside and prepare my cup of hot and Daystart. Gordon has risen and it getting his van ready to go to town for supplies. Soon, he pulls out and leaves the campground.
I climb back inside and resume the pounding of keys until about noon, when I turn off the computer, and then begin getting ready to go into town when Gordon returns. I check all of my battery charging circuits, reorganize the front seats where I have been stacking my garbage, putting the bags on the passenger side, so that I can drive. I take one of the solar panels and put it on the dashboard so when I stop at the w-mart, I can still keep the battery charged. Too, I go through my bins, mostly looking for the charger for the electric shaver, but in doing so, I reorganize these once again, but still can not find the charger.
I will be going to the ap-mart to buy a pair of rear shocks because I have yet to replace them and the left rear has collapsed. I will drive very slow out of the campsite because there are a lot of holes and bumps to drive through, however, once I get onto a hard surface road, I will be able to drive the speed limit. Once the jammer is ready to drive, I climb back in to update my journal entry for today.
Gordon calls at about three pm to tell me that he is soon going to head back to the campsite and he arrives at three-thirty. Because I am ready, I only have to finish what I am doing and then I drive out of the campsite heading towards Fort Collins.
When arriving in town, I stop first at the ap-mart and purchase the two rear shocks which will arrive tomorrow morning. Then I drive to the hg-mart to buy more vegetables for my last few days up at the Red Feather Lakes campground. Then, go to the w-mart and upload the new files to my website and then, I watch a sci-fi movie. Finally, I drive to a g-mart for the night and climb into the back to get horizontal.
(Day 646 TG) 63°F. 7:00 am, sunny, partly cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 5003 feet
After sleeping late, I drive to the w-mart for coffee and then at eight-twenty, the ap-mart calls to tell me that my shocks have arrived. I finish what I am doing online and then drive there to pick up the parts. Then, I drive to the back near the dumpster and set up the jammer for replacing the rear shocks. First, I sweep the concrete where I will be working and the lay out my piece of green turf, open the tail gate, open my tool box and begin removing the drivers side rear wheel. Then, I get out my repair manual to read how to do the repair which after removing the wheel is only two steps, remove the bottom bolt and remove the top bolt. It seems simple so I get busy and in only one hour, I have the shock on, the wheel on with the lug nuts tighten and the rubber back on the ground.
I then move the green turf to the passenger side and repeat the operation and it too takes ah hour. I then wash my hands, put up the tools, close the rear lift hatch and drive north out of the parking lot. I stop again at the w-mart to create a post on social media and do not stop until two are completed. I also reload my phone with more minutes and directly after, Richard calls me from Oak Harbor to tell me about his mom.
He says that since she is eighty-five years old, she has become very slow in her walk, and fragile in her actions. He says that she is ready to come to California to live with Richard and Kim. So, Richard tells me that he would like me to do some work on her home in Oak Harbor, first to redo the landscaping and after pressure wash the outside. Too, he says that it will take about nine months or so to get the home ready to sell and move her to California. He even says that I can overnight in the drive while I am there working on the home, but he later tells me that that will not work.
After we hang up, I turn off the computer, leave north out of Fort Collins and drive the fifty miles back to the campsite. Just as I am getting close to the campsite, it begins to rain and continues to rain while I am drive down the gravel road, and I just washed the jammer again. That seem to always happens when I return from town.
Pulling in to the campsite, I honk the horn and Gordon honks back. I then back into my space and begin setting up for my stay in camp for the last three days of the month, after which I will begin the drive to Washington.
Gordon and I talk for a long time, and I help him remove a stump next to his van that he has been tripping on. Then we depart, going into our separate vans, me to the jammer to make my supper of almond butter and apple sandwiches. I also finish up the journal entry for today, then make my bed and finally, climb into the bed to read more of the book of Exodus.
Friday, 29 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 647 TG) 41°F. (34°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny and mostly clear
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 29,
Fifth Week
Elevation: 8701 feet
Probably the most comfortable morning all month, reaching sixty degree by eight am. I dress in my fall blues, step outside and set up my solar panels, after which, I begin making my cup of hot and Daystart. A short time later, the weekend warriors begin to arrive and by six this evening, the campground is full again.
Gordon then steps out of his van and begins making pancakes, I walk over and bring my blueberries because, I remember that yesterday, he told me he was making pancakes for both of us. I return to continue what I was doing and soon, I have a plate of blueberry pancakes to enjoy and use sambucus elderberry syrup instead of the sugar stuff Gordon uses. However, Gordon does so make really good blueberry pancakes.
Then, leaving the rear hatch open I climb back into the office and begin pounding keys, and by noon, the temperature is already seventy-five degrees inside the jammer and at two in the afternoon, the temperature is nearly eighty degrees.
There are quite a few campers in the campground and at six, one pulls into the space next to ours and says, they are going back to bring another one in. Once again, it is getting quite crowded here on this last weekend of the month.
I stay inside the jammer as the temperature outside soars to 70 degrees. Then at four this evening, I prepare a salad from the vegetables that I purchased yesterday in town. After, that, I pound on the keyboard until it gets dark and then I make my bed, climb into the sleeping bag and watch several videos from JW.org.
At nine-thirty this evening, I turn of the electronics and close my eyes.
Saturday, 30 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO.
(Day 648 TG) 48°F. (40°F. low) 6:20 am, sunny, completely clear blue
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 30
Elevation: 8701 feet
Another very comfortable night sleep and delightful morning. I dress in my fall blues, step outside to take a photo of the morning daisies, then open the rear lift hatch and begin preparations of my cup of hot and Daystart. Leaving the hatch and sliding doors open, I climb back in to enjoy my breakfast while pounding keys to begin my daily journal entry.
At seven this morning, the temperature is fifty degrees, and I turn off the computer and begin working on cleaning and organizing my possessions. I look at the bottle size and when the liquid is less than half full in the bottle, I look for a smaller container to put it in. I do this with several bottles of liquid, tossing the large bottles into the trash container.
Next, I walk to the rear hatch and get my bottles ready for making another batch of my
Living Food Fudge updating the recipe with this new batch. When I taste it, this batch actually looks and tastes more like fudge than my previous batch. What I did different this time is to add blues powder and also some dried blueberries. I end up making four sixteen ounce jars of the fudge and I still have enough of the current batch of MRP to make two more jars of the fudge, but have to wait until I buy more almond butter.
While I am mixing the fudge at the back of the jammer, Gordon comes over, brings his chair to sit with me and talk while I am working the different ingredients into the batch. A little while later, I put away my kitchen and then make a salad from yesterday′s leftover vegetables. I then climb into the jammer to eat my salad while I update my journal entry.
Finally, it is after nine when I turn off the computer, make my bed and get into the horizontal to read until I close my eyes.
Sunday, 31 May 2020, Red Feather Lakes, CO..
(Day 649 TG) 50°F. (38°F. low) 6:30 am, sunny, windy
Dispersed Camping in a NF, Day 31
Elevation: 8701 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues, step outside to turn the solar panels and then climb back inside to turn on the computer and begin my journal entry. Except for the today beginning with winds, it repeats exactly as yesterday was.
At ten till noon, Gordon comes over and we listen to the week end meeting. Afterwards, I begin to pack out my solar panels, getting ready to drive out of Red Feather Lakes campground. I walk over to Gordon′s van to let him know that I am leaving the campground and he says, See you next Year! and I respond, Or, in the paradise! He smiles as we are both very much looking forward to the paradise.
After camping here for the entire month of May 2020, I drive down the national forest road, turn left on the county road and the right again on another county road and drive to Fort Collins, stopping first at the w-mart for a sandwich and ask the barista if the store will be open tomorrow for me to sit inside and work on my computer. He says, No, only to order at the counter and leave. I then tell the barista, I am going to Wyoming, were I have heard the restaurants are open. I take my sandwich, park in the parking lot and upload files. Once all my file are up and running on my web site, I also make a post on social media.
Then, at five this afternoon, I turn off the computer, start the jammer, drive north on US 287 and arrive in Laramie, Wyoming by nine this evening. I locate the d-mart and when see that there are several RVs already overnighting, I find a spot to park for the night. I set up my sleeping birth, get into the horizontal and then read the Bible until I am ready to sleep.
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The Journey On,
Return to the Island
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(Day 650 TG) 47°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 7165 feet
Awake shortly before the d-mart opens. I can tell because there are people standing in line at the entrance, which because the pandemic quarantine is still in effect are standing one fathom apart. I go inside to buy some groceries and then back out to the jammer. Leaving the d-mart, I drive to the w-mart, which does not allow inside seating so I purchase a cup of coffee and set up in the jammer in the parking lot to check com, upload web files and drink the coffee. I am totally disappointed with this w-mart because since 18 of May, the state of Wyoming has allow dine in service.
In the afternoon, I leave the w-mart, and then drive west out of town on SH 130 towards the
Snowy Range pass. Once I begin the climb up into the mountains, the landscape becomes quite amazing and looks like a alpine boreal forest.
I stop at Libby Flats, don my hiking boots, walk out to the overlook tower and begin taking photos of the surrounding area.
After acquiring my fill of photos, I leave the pass, drive down the west side of the Medicine Bow Mountains and the up to Saratoga for some hot spring water. However, upon my arrival, I find the
Saratoga hot spring to be closed because the North Platte river is out of it′s banks and flooded the entire hot spring area, even a third of the way up the main steps down to the pool. So, I leave Saratoga, drive north on SH 130 to IH 80, turn west and drive the one hundred and twenty miles to Rock Springs, Wyoming, arrive at nine, drive directly to the d-mart, which already has a dozen or so RVs overnighting.
I pull in and take my space for the night and soon find myself sleeping.
(Day 651 TG) 45°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 6,388 feet
Awake to a warm morning, walk into the d-mart to use the men′s room, then back to the jammer to drive across the street for coffee and a cup of hot water. Once I am in the parking lot, I set up my computer, make a cup of tea and begin pounding keys to crop and upload photos from the Snowy Range, after which I make myself some lunch. Earlier, I had set out two tins of sardines, and instead of just eating them out of the tin, which I normally do, I drained them, and then put the fish between two slices of bread. After I added some mustard, I tried out this new type of sandwich and found it to be just what my taste buds needed.
Then, I create a post on social media entitled Journey On: Return to the Island, Part One. When I have completed the post, I then share it with my friends. The temperature here in Rock Spring rises to the high eighties by mid afternoon and it is just too hot for me. I decide that I will leave either tomorrow morning or the next day, heading north towards
Yellowstone.
By late afternoon, it cools off and I remember that Rock Springs has a recreation center with a hot shower. I will definitely go there tomorrow.
I return to the d-mart and park for the evening.
(Day 652 TG) 46°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 6388 feet
Awake to the bright sunlight shining into the jammer, dress in my summer blues and then walk into the d-mart to use the mens room and to purchase a package of napkins. Afterwards, I drive across the street to the w-mart to purchase coffee and to check my com. Then, I check to see if the recreation center is open and find that it is open. So, at ten this morning, I drive to the recreation center, pay two dollars and fifty cents and go in to take a hot shower. This has been the best hot shower that I have had for several months. Leaving the recreation center, I then drive to a laundry mat and do a load of clothes.
Finally, I return to the w-mart, connect to the internet and pound keys for a time but the temperature rises to above ninety by two in the afternoon, much too hot for me, so I lie down to take a nap. Again, by six, the temperature cools off again but the wind is relentless, blowing hard all day. By seven this evening, I am in my space again where I make up my bed with now clean linens. Then I turn on the computer and finish writing my journal entry for this day.
At almost ten tonight, I retire into the horizontal.
(Day 653 TG) 58°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 6388 feet
I awake and I am again waiting for the d-mart to open so I can go inside to visit the mens room. Then, I drive to the w-mart across the street to purchase a cup of hot and set up to pound keys for a little while. At ten, I pack out, drive to I 80, turn east and drive to the US 191 exit where I turn north and drive out of Rock Springs and drive through Eden, Wyoming, where the jammer odometer rolls over ninety thousand miles, nearly twenty-six thousand miles since I first purchased the Aerostar on Day
178 TG, just one year, three months, and a few weeks ago, even though it seems to have been much longer that that.
I drive north on US 191, through Pinedale, Wyoming past the Kingdom hall on the right and then come to the junction with US 189 which has been coming up the Green River valley. I continue north of both US 191 and 189 following just east of the Green river and in only a short time, I come to the
Green River crossing at Warren Bridge where I turn off of the highway into
Warren Bridge campground which I find it open.
I drive the loop, and choose site number 17 which is closest to the pay kiosk and right across from the vault toilet. As I pull in, the host walks over to introduce herself and say hi. She tell me a little about the campground and asks if I have a generator. I tell her, No, I have solar panels. to which she replies, Then, I do not have to tell you the quite time, but I can tell you about the two eagles perching on the nest pole across the green river. She also tells me that there are osprey nesting on the top of the bridge.
I set up my campsite, catch up on my journal writing and a little later, I go for a walk, see and photograph: two
bald eagles, a
osprey nest, a
robin, and a
tree swallow. I also take a few photos of the
Warren Bridge. I next, return to the jammer and pound keys until about eight, when I stop, set outside with my camera and take photos of the
sunglow and the
full moon.
Finally, I come back to the jammer, climb in and prepare first a green salad and then a sardine sandwich with mustard after which I settle in for the evening. I make my bed, climb in and read some in the Bible.
Friday, 05 June 2020, US 191, Green River, WY.
(Day 654 TG) 59°F. (33°F. low) 7:00 am, sunny
Full Strawberry Moon (14:12 CST)
Elevation: 7508 feet
After a very cold night, I rise, step outside to a comfortable and windless morning and begin preparing my morning cup of hot and Daystart. I then climb back into the jammer and resume pounding keys to update my journal and website. A little later, David, the campground host walks by and says hello to me, to which I greet him back. I step out a we talk for a short time. Nice people, the hosts here.
Not sure if I will stay for another night, I just continue pounding keys into the afternoon. For my midday meal, I have the rest of the green salad and later opt for another sardine sandwich. Then, at two pm, I walk to the pay kiosk and grab a pay envelope, return to the jammer, fill in the blanks, put five dollars inside and then walk back to the kiosk to drop it in the slot. Returning to the jammer, I climb back inside and resume my key pounding.
In the afternoon, when the temperature begins to return back down into the eighties from the high today of ninety degrees, I step out of the jammer, open the rear lift hatch and begin working on my new MRP. I had previously purchased the ingredients and now, I begin dividing the individual ingredients into ten separate quart bottles.
Then, at a half hour until sunset, the wind picks up with a storm cloud arriving from the south, so I put away all the remaining ingredients and return the containers to their places. I am able to pack away everything and close the lift hatch just before the sun sets. I then use my camera to photograph the sunset after which, I climb in an finish my journal for the day.
Finally, I close up my computer, make my bed and climb into my sleeping birth to read the Bible. When it is completely dark outside, I turn off the phone and close my eyes.
Saturday, 06 June 2020, US 191, Green River, WY.
(Day 655 TG) 57°F. 6:30 am, rain
Warren Bridge Campground
Elevation: 7508 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues and fold up my bedding. Then, I start the jammer engine to charge the battery while I pound keys to begin my journal entry for today. Then, by seven-thirty, I pull out of Warren Bridge campground turn left and drive north on US 191.
Leaving the Green river valley, I begin to climb upward and the desert terrain of the river valley slowly changes into the beautiful evergreen forest of the Bridger-Teton national forest. I stop at the Rim Store, however, I find that they are not open for this year but hope to be fully open by the fifteenth of June. I continue to the Rim Pass, elevation 7950 feet, which pass is the divide between the
Green river and
Snake river watersheds. I follow the Hoback river downstream to Hoback junction with the Snake river where I turn right at the circle and follow the Snake river upstream into Jackson, Wyoming. Here, I stop at a w-mart, connect to the internet and begin uploading files from the last two days at Warren Bridge campground.
At about noon, I pack out of Jackson, Wyoming so that I can distance myself from all the turkeys and weekend warriors that frequent this haunt. Leaving north again on US 191, I head towards the Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP, not knowing what awaits me during these times of the grand pestilence. Upon arriving at the first
Grand Teton visitors center, gift shop and store, I find everything is boarded up. The only thing that is running is the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake, which I did not plan to take. I continue north on the Teton Park Road and turn back on the Jenny Lake loop but stop at the String lake trailhead and here walk to see the mountains with the lake beneath. Instead of continuing south on the one way portion of the loop, I turn back to stop at some of the turn outs that I did not stop at, one being the Cathedral Group overlook trying to get a photo of the three mountain peaks: Mount Owens, Grand Teton and Teewinot Mountain, together form the Cathedral Group. However, because of the constant clouds flowing over the top of the group, I can only get photos of one or almost two together and never Grand Teton.
Then, I continue north on the park road stopping several more times to photograph the group before arriving back on US 191, which I turn north on this highway, only stopping a few more times before driving out of Grand Teton NP and into J.D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway. When I arrive at the Flagg Ranch entrance, I turn in but then immediately turn right onto Grassy Lake Road and follow it along the Snake river to the (NF Dispersed Camping) at
Grassy Lake Road Campground. This campground has four sites and upon arrive at five-thirty this evening, there are two still available.
I choose one, then park, turn on the computer, begin catching up on my journal entry and cropping photos, but before it becomes dark, I step outside and photograph the campsite and the Snake River.
At six thirty, it begins to rain, but stops at eight this evening. The cars keep coming into the campground looking for a free space, but all four are already taken.
Sunday, 07 June 2020, JD Rockefeller Memorial Pkwy, WY.
(Day 656 TG) 45°F. 6:00 am, overcast
Grassy Lake Road CG #1, WY, at Snake River
Elevation: 6880 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues, step outside and walk to the vault toilet and then return to the jammer to start the engine. As soon as the engine has warmed up, I drive out of the Grassy Lake Road campground, past Flagg Ranch and turn north on US 191. It is not long before I arrive at the
Yellowstone entrance station and to my surprise, even this early, there is a ranger in the fee collection booth. I show her my senior pass, she gives me a map and I drive in to Yellowstone. The first place I stop at is
Old Faithful Inn, and in total disbelief, I find the Inn closed and the parking lot empty.
Yes, the park is open and you can drive through it, but the visitor centers, restaurants, campgrounds, motels and most all of the general stores are all closed. I turn around in the empty parking lot and head back out to the US highway and continue north. I do see a lot of bison, which appear to be from the
Firehole River herd.
The, I continue north on US 191 to the Madison Junction and continue north on US 89. After passing the Norris Geyser Basin, I come upon a bear jam at Nymph Lake. So, I park, grab my camera and ask What are you looking at? to the first person I come to and he replies two
grizzly bears and points to where one bear is. I then spot both bears and go right to work snapping photos and it is only about five minutes before both bears are out of sight. The man that I had talked to says that he is staying there today in case the bears come back, to which methought, that is a lot of time spent waiting for the opportune moment to come. Methinks, I have a dozen photos of these two bears and that is good for me now.
I get back in the jammer and continue north through Mammoth Hot Springs, past the north entrance at Roosevelt Arch and then along the Yellowstone river up to IH 90 in Livingston, where I turn west on the interstate and drive to Bozeman, Montana, stop at the w-mart for internet.
(Day 657 TG) 43°F. 7:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 4793 feet
Awake, dress, drive to w-mart for coffee, com and computer. This morning, I want to make one more post on social media to show the most recent grizzly photos taken in Yellowstone. Once I finish uploading files to my web site and finish the social media post, I leave west out of Bozeman on IH 90, cross the continental divide at
Homestake Pass and immediately the weather turn bad with dark clouds and snow every where.
At the IH 15 junction, IH 90 turns north and follows the Clark Fork river north to Deer Lodge, Montana. All along this section of the interstate, the snow fields seem to keep getting worse. I am not sure at first and when the roadway begins to fog from lifting snow caused by the auto and trucks ahead of me, my thought are even more unsure. Shortly after Deer Lodge, just after Goldcreek, Montana, the sun comes out and snow fields disappear completely.
So, I continue west on IH 90 to Missoula, Montana and exit at US 93, turn north and stop first at a Cracker Barrel restaurant which now is open for dine in meals, however, they do not have the Golf Tee puzzles on the tables and I miss having those to try to beat. For my evening meal, I have grilled fish, French fried potatoes, turnip greens, broccoli, and biscuits and do so enjoy sitting down in a restaurant, my first one since Day
573 TG when all these quarantine restrictions really begun. I began to think about how long it has been for a dine-in meal, and I calculate it to be 3 months, 3 weeks, and two days, or 115 days since my last dining experience. After eating, I drive to the w-mart, which still does not allow dining inside, to pound keys and upload files and photos from the drive today over the continental divide.
Just after I finish uploading my files, I drive back to the restaurant where I park for the night.
(Day 658 TG) 37°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 3209 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues, start the jammer engine to warm both me and the inside of the jammer and drive to the w-mart for a cup of hot, com, to pound keys and to upload files to my web page. By noon, I get out my salad fixings and have a fresh salad with oil and vinegar. After eating, I decide to remain here in Missoula for another night because I am now just less than six hundred miles from the island, which with my current gait is only three or four days driving time. At any rate, I will most likely be on the Island by this coming weekend.
The last time I overnighted here was to attend a district convention at the Adams Event Center at the University of Montana on Day
905 TB. I had forgotten that there was a w-mart directly off of IH 90. Too, I also forgot that there is a hg-mart on US 93 south of me in town,
So, when I find it on the Internet, I pack out of the w-mart and drive there to shop for some vegetables and fruit. On the way south to the hg-mart, I see an e-mart and a o-mart to stop at after buying groceries, which makes this location a fairly good overnight location for me.
Now, both my pantry and me are full and most likely will not have to stop again until I arrive on the Island. I am somewhat excited about arriving there, mostly because I will get to visit with friends but also, my stimulus check awaits me as well.
I return to the w-mart and pound keys until it gets dark, when I drive to the Cracker Barrel to park for the night.
(Day 659 TG) 46°F. 6:30 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Elevation: 3209 feet
Awake, dress, drive to a c-mart for coffee and the mens room, methinks it is getting easier to find one, then on to the w-mart to check my com. While there, Gordon texts me and says he is leaving for Nebraska today. I text him back that I am leaving for Idaho this morning. Soon after, I pack out and drive west on IH 90 along the
Clark Fork river, which, normally at this time of the year, is at flood stage and out of it′s banks.
I follow the river through the valley most of the morning until arriving at St. Regis when the river turns back to the east towards Paradise. I instead, continue northwest along the Bitterroot mountains and cross into Idaho at Lookout Pass. I arrive at Coeur d′Alene arriving by noon and stop at the w-mart for a tomato mozzarella sandwich.
Then, at one pm, I pack out, drive west on IH 90 into Washington, then right on US 2 to Wilber, turn right on SH 174 through Coulee Dam. continue on SH 174 to where it connects with SR 17 to Bridgeport, cross the bridge over the
Columbia river and follow the river to US 97 where I turn south through Brewster to Pateros. Just pasts Pateros, I turn right on SR 153 and begin following the Methow River upstream to SR 20, where I join the Eastern Section of the
Northern Tier Route, which I will travel until I arrive in Oak Harbor, I turn left and soon after arrive in Twisp, Washington.
Here, I stop at Hank′s g-mart notice a hot dog vender in front of the store. I approach and ask him about his dogs to which he replies that he buys them from Hank′s and describes the type of meat. Impressed with his answer, I buy one with onions, kraut and mustard and really enjoy the hot dog. I then pack out of Twisp, heading upstream again on SH 20, through Winthrop and stop at the first campground I come to in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
Pulling into the campground, I take the first space, back in and walk to the pay kiosk but there are no envelopes to put the fee into. Then, I check the water spigot and find that it has not been turned on as yet. Methinks, the season for this campsite has not officially open, which I have seen in other campgrounds, when there is either no fee or a reduced fee.
I then get out my cook pot and begin cooking my Repast and when I am finished cooking, I climb inside, turn on the computer and pound keys while I am eating.
It has been a long day and I will retire early, read in the Bible for a time and then get into the horizontal early.
(Day 660 TG) 50°F. 6:30 am, cloudy
Early Winters Campground, # 1. CRS: 3.0
Elevation: 2756 feet
Awake, dress in my fall blues, step out of the jammer, open the rear hatch and set up my stove to make a cup of hot. While the water is yet to boil, I walk to the vault toilet and on coming out see that the ranger is adding envelopes to the fee kiosk. I walk by and greet her and we talk for a short time, during which time she tells me that the camping was free last night. Also, I offer her my business card and she takes it. I then walk back to the jammer, prepare my cup of hot and sit inside sipping whilst I pound keys to begin today′s journal entry.
Once the key pounding is done, I pack out, start the jammer and continue west on SH 20 to drive the home stretch to Oak Harbor. The drive today takes me through what I call waterfall paradise, or put more precisely, the
North Cascades National Park. Yes, I have always enjoyed my time here in this park because of the untold number of waterfalls but also because of the immense trees throughout the forested mountains and for this park being one of the few places left on this planet where solitude, simplicity and solace still abounds.
Upon climbing up out of the Methrow River valley, I soon begin the final approach to the Washington pass, elevation 5477 feet. Just west of the pass, the Pacific Crest Trail comes in from the south, crosses SH 20 at
Bridgecreek Trailhead, a parking lot that I have overnighted on many occasion. I pull in for photos, but not to overnight on this occasion and soon pull out to follow the PCT north along SH20 to the next pass, Rainy Pass Trialhead, elevation 4855 feet where the PCT leaves the state highway and continues its way north through the Pasayten Wilderness. I can not stop at this parking because it is still covered in snow but pull over and take a photo of the sign.
I continue west on SH 20 seeing many more waterfalls, and then come to the Crater Peak overlook where I stop for photos of this 8,132 foot mountain. Not long after I begin driving west again, I enter the Ross Lake NRA together with the North Cascades National Park. I had wanted to stop at the visitors centers but here, like Yellowstone, these visitors centers are also still closed.
However, one good thing for the rest of the way in the national park, the waterfalls only become more abundant and even larger as I continue along Ruby Mountain to Ross Lake. I stop often to photograph many of the waterfalls.
Continuing west on SH 20, I come to the Diablo Lake overlook, one of my favorite stops on this drive through the North Cascades. I take with me several of my business cards because I look for opportunities to talk with other national park visitors, ask them where they are from and what they like most about this national park. This often gives me rise to offer my card to these ones.
Leaving the overlook, I continue into the national park, enjoying the constant fall of water, dropping down from the melting ice packs and glaciers. The entire distance from my last campsite to when I leave the national park is just over fifty miles, so I take my time, stopping often to take many photos. Soon enough, I pass Gorge Lake, Gorge Creek Overlook and all too soon, I drive through Newhalem, also closed due to the pandemic and continue west on SH 20 to the North Cascade Visitors center and find it closed as well.
After leaving the national park, I drive through Concrete, Washington, where I see an arch bridge over the Baker river and try to photograph it but the traffic prevents me, so I continue east through Sedro Wooley, then Burlington, but before I drive further west, I would like to visit a w-mart in Mount Vernon to check my com once again. This stop does not take me too long and I soon find myself back on SH 20 driving west towards The Island.
Although when I cross the Swinomish channel over the Twin Bridges, I am actually leaving the mainland and coming upon, not The Island, which I do not come upon until crossing The Bridge, but instead,
Fidalago Island where upon is Anacortes, Washington, Washington Park, Bowman Bay, Rosario Head, Lighthouse Point, Pass Lake, Campbell Lake (upon which is Eagle Rock, one of the only places in the lower forty-eight where there is an island on an island), Mount Erie, Rainbow Bridge, and many, many more places that I have explored during the many years while living upon The Island. If I was to tell the stories about all of these, I would not have the time or space to relate them all. Nevertheless, I continue south on SH 20 to the bottom of Fidalgo Island and enter
Deception Pass state park, where I stop at the
Deception Pass Bridge for a few photos but like many of the recent times that I have driven onto the island, there is commercial painting equipment blocking most all of the parking spots.
Also, I stop at the Deception Pass state park so that I can immerse myself in some hot water, but the campground is not yet open and the ranger says, There are no plans in the near future to open it. I am not sure yet where I will be able to find the hot water I so badly desire and need at this time.
I drive onto the island and stop first at a friends home who has asked me to look at her computer and correct some problems it has. One of the problems is that the computer will not print to the printer. I get that corrected, at least when it is connected by USB cable but I have yet to figure out how to cause it to print using the WiFi connection.
Then, I leave there, drive to town and park on the street in the local in city park. Later, during the night, two city police officers knock on my window and tell me that overnighting on a city street is not allowed.
So, I leave there and drive outside the city limits and into the county area to park for the night.
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The Sojourn on the
Island
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(Day 661 TG) 53°F. 6:30 am, rain
Overnighting on a city street
Elevation: 92 feet
Awake, dress, drive to a g-mart for the mens room, then drive to a w-mart for coffee and com. At three, I drive to the west side of the island to the
Hastie Lake county park to view the straight of San de Fuca and to wait for Andy to get home from work. At four, I go to his home to retrieve my mail, which includes my stimulus check, and then visit with him and Aaron until after five at which time I drive back into town.
When it becomes dark, I return to the parking space adjacent the park to spend the night but at ten, a police officer knocks on my window to tell me that I can not park in the city of Oak Harbor and sleep in my vehicle. I then drive north of town, outside of the city limits and park on a street in the county. How annoying this city has become, much like California and much of Oregon already is like.
(Day 662 TG) 50°F. 6:30 am, rain
Overnighting on a county street
Day Two in the Rainshadow
Awake, start the jammer, drive into Oak Harbor to the w-mart for coffee, com and to pound keys. At eight-thirty, I drive to Mount Vernon, Washington to the bank there, the only one near me open today, so I can cash my stimulus check. I wait in the long line of autos working my way up to the teller window and then as quick as I can sign the check, I now have cash in my hand. I then drive back to Oak Harbor stop at Joann′s home and see if she can use some pavers. She says yes and tells me that we can use her truck to load them up and bring them to her home. I tell her that I will help her install them where she wants them put down.
I then drive back into town and contact Richard to confirm that removing the pavers is what he wants me to do and when he tells me yes, I tell him that I have a friend that will help with her truck to load and move them. I tell Richard that I have offered to give her the pavers in exchange. Richard replies that he is happy for me doing it this way.
I tell him that I will be doing the work tomorrow after the meeting and he says that he will call his mom to tell here that I am coming then. I then park at the w-mart and update my journal.
Then, after a very long day, the sun sets, but even then, the light of the day lingers longer here in the northwest. I retire for the night.
(Day 663 TG) 52°F. 6:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Three in the Rainshadow
Awake, purchase a cup of hot, study for the meeting today and when the meeting begins, I am all set. Several of the friend say hello to me before it begins. Then we all listen in to the public talk and then we continue with the study.
After the meeting, I call Patty and we talk for a short time. Then, I drive over to Patria′s home to work on the landscaping. I talk with Patria and she tells me that she has only one eye that has an advanced cataract which is her left eye. I tell her about my experience with cataract, how immediately after the bandage was removed, I could see with 20-20 vision. She will have her surgery on the left eye tomorrow.
Joann arrives with her truck and I dig up the
pavers, put them in the back of her truck and then we both go to her home and find a place to put them. It takes most of the afternoon to complete this project, over five hours. Afterwards, I go by myself to the Island Cafe for fish and chips, then back to the w-mart to pound keys until it becomes dark.
(Day 664 TG) 53°F. 6:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Four in the Rainshadow
Awake to find it raining again, so I send a text message to Joann to let her know that I am not going to do landscaping at Patria′s home today. Richard then sends me a text message and he tells me that he is close to putting the
Palm Avenue home on the market but he still needs to install new green carpet on the deck.
I then drive to the w-mart and with it raining all day, I mostly just play solitaire on my computer. At dark, I climb into the back and get in to the horizontal, still tired from the first day of work at the Oak Harbor House.
(Day 665 TG) 51°F. 7:00 am, overcast, humid
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Five in the Rainshadow
Awake, purchase a cup of hot, set up my computer, check com and then begin pounding keys. At seven-thirty, Joann send a text message asking me when I am going to work at Patria′s home. I reply In about a half hour. I turn of the computer, pack out and stop at the d-mart to purchase a pair of denim work jeans. Then, I drive to Patria′s home and dress for work. I put on my work blues which consists of denim jeans, cotton button up shirt and my hiking boots.
I go right to work and begin digging up the front yard and
sifting the dirt to remove the rocks, trash and weeds from it. Joann helps and together, we have a large pile of sifted dirt ready to be spread as an underlayment for the sod which will be installed later.
Patria leaves with her niece about ten this morning to go to seattle to have the eye bandage removed. (She had cataract surgery yesterday on her left eye.) In the early afternoon, John and his wife Felma, who is Patria′s niece stop by because they will be staying here overnight to help Patria while she recuperates. Then, at four when Joann leaves, John asks me, Where did the name Jehovah come from? I show him the name in the King James Bible and have him read Psalms 83: 18 and Exodus 3:13-15 and then explain that the name Jehovah is the name that God has choosen for himself.
I five this evening, Patria returns and goes inside. I return to my work of digging dirt and piling it next to the screening equipment. At eight tonight, I begin packing out and drive to a restaurant to have salmon and vegetables for supper. After eating, I drive to the w-mart and park for the evening.
(Day 666 TG) 49°F. 6:30 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Six in the Rainshadow
Awake, go in to the w-mart for a cup of hot, then sit in the jammer to check my com and pound keys to catch up on my journal writing. Joann sends me a text and asks me what time I will be at work, to which I tell her, about ten o′clock this morning, because I have to first go to the bank to deposit a check.
I then meet Joann at Patria′s home and we work through until almost six this evening. After than, I go for something to eat, then to the w-mart to upload to my web site.
Finally, totally exhausted after two long days of digging and moving dirt, I drive to the g-mart, park, climb into the back of the jammer and get into the horizontal for the night.
(Day 667 TG) 53°F. 7:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Seven in the Rainshadow
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. Then, at nine, I receive a text message from Joann telling me that she will be out grocery shopping and that I can come to her home to take a shower. I text her back saying, On my way. I drive there, use the hidden key to let myself in and take a shower. As I am walking out of the home, she arrives and is bringing in the groceries she has purchased. We talk for a short time, then I drive back into town to get my hair cut.
I have to wait for a half hour before I sit down to have my hair cut. When the beautician asks me what I want done, I tell her what I tell every beautician, I want my hair to be short, but not military short. Also, I what my hair off the collar and off my ears. The beautician begins and uses an electric clipper to cut the side hair almost up to the top. I immediately tell her that I said that I do not want it military short to which she replies, This is not military short. She then begins to cut the top with the clipper and I tell her to stop and ask if she can do a scissor cut. She says yes, starts to use her scissors but in just a short time, she picks up the clipper and begins cutting on the top again with it.
I ask her to stop and tell her that what she has done so far is a total military cut, and I asked that she not give me a military cut. She stops and goes to talk with here manager and then tells me that her manager will finish my hair cut. Then Heather, tells me to come sit at her station and begins to finish my haircut using the scissors. She also tells me that there will be no charge for my hair cut today. I tell her, Thank you, and then say, it is OK because no matter how much hair you cut off, it will grow back. She laughs and finishes my hair cut. I then leave the salon, drive to the d-mart and get in line for my tires to be balanced.
The store manager, Christopher, tells me that the front tires do not have enough tread depth for them to balance, so I ask him, Can you just balance the rear tires?, to which he tells me yes. While I await my turn in line, I sit in the jammer and pound on the computer keys to catch up on my journal entry for today. It is not until about two this afternoon that they begin working on the jammer, and Jomer does the work. When he tells me that the flat repair when very well and then both tires balanced up perfectly, I leave out of the d-mart auto department smiling,
After I have the work on the Jammer′s tires completed, I drive to the city beach to study for the meeting tonight and see that it is a Rainier Day.
The meeting is very encouraging and afterwards, several of the friend stay late to talk and there is a lot of giggling and laughter. It is so good to be visiting with the friends here again. Finally, the host tells everyone good bye and turns off the connection. I then park in the g-mart parking lot and get into the horizontal.
(Day 668 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Eight in the Rainshadow
Awake, dress in summer blues, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com, and computer. Then, at seven-thirty, I pack out, drive to the landscape job to begin another day of work.
(Day 669 TG) 50°F. 5:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Summer Solstice, 2:43 PM
Awake early after a night of light rain, the sun already causing the day to be bright, drive to the ff-mart for coffee, then back to w-mart for com and computer. I stay here most all of the day updating website files.
At eight this evening, I retire to the rear of the jammer, read for a short time and then close my eyes.
I awoke this morning to daylight and tonight, I have to put up all of my light darkening shades to block the persistent lingering light of day.
(Day 670 TG) 50°F. 5:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Ten in the Rainshadow
Work Week Two
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com, computer and then connect using Zoom, to the local congregation for the weekend meeting. After the meeting, I drive to the Oak Harbor House to water the rose bushes.
(Day 671 TG) 55°F. 5:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Eleven in the Rainshadow
Awake early, but nowhere near daybreak, that is still an hour or so before the time I rise today. I drive to the w-mart for coffee and to check com. Then I drive to the work site and sit in the jammer to finish my coffee and find Patria, Margie and Felma coming out to Patria′s car to leave. I talk briefly with Patria and she give me a check to pay for my first week here working on the landscape. I thank her and then they leave for Seattle for Patria′s doctor appointment.
I then get ready for the work today by donning my work clothes, hiking boots and leather gloves. The first task is to dig up the large
rose bush adjacent to the fence and driveway a task that will take me most of the morning. A little later, a friend, Sherry calls to check with me if I could use Drake to work for a couple of hours today. I tell her yes and she says that he will be by later this morning. I continue to work at digging up the rose bush.
Sherry then drops off Drake, who I put to work at screening the rock from the soil. As he works, I get to know him a little bit, as this is the first time that I have met him. He is living with Sherry and JP at there home and going to school at Oak Harbor high school with two years left until he graduates. I ask him what his last name is and he replies Bacon, to which I reply, The same as Sherry′s maiden name. I also tell him that I know his grandparents from Enumclaw, Washington very well. We continue to work and I eventually dig up the large rose bush and put in into a bucket of water. Next, I trim away the old branches which are mostly dead, leaving only a few green branches. Then, I dig a new hole along the front fence, fill it with water, add some screened dirt to make a mud mixture and then put the trimmed rose bush in it′s new location.
After Drake works for two hours, JP arrives to pick him up and they leave together. Then, I drive to the hw-mart to purchase screen, screws and u-nalls to build a new
dirt sifter tool for this job. Upon arriving back at the work site, it takes me nearly and hour to build the dirt sifter. Then, I set it up and start tossing shovel loads of dirt and rock into the sifter. The dirt flies right through the screen, landing on the ground behind the dirt sifter, while the rocks roll down and drop out on the ground in front of the sifter.
I then continue working until I have finished tossing the entire large pile of unsifted dirt through the new dirt sifter, finishing at nearly eight this evening. Wow, am I so very tired from all the work that I caused myself to go through. Still, it is worth it because this new dirt sifter is just what this job needed. What is left is two areas of the front yard that still needs to be dug up and thrown through the dirt sifter. Once those areas have been sifted, then I will have to load up all the rock and move it off site. Joann has offered to help me with her truck to do that and will move all the rock to Patrict′s drive way to fill the holes there.
I clean up the work site, hose off the side walk and then change out of my work clothes. Next, I drive to Joann′s home and ask if I can take a shower there to which she tells me Any time. After putting on clean clothes, I sit and talk with Joann but because I am so tired from the long day of work, I beg my leave, drive to the g-mart and park for the night.
Once parked, I do not last long until I must get into the horizontal.
(Day 672 TG) 56°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twelve in the Rainshadow
Awake, dress, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and to catch up on my journal writing. Susan sends me a text message asking me if I still have my old phone and when I tell her that I do, she asks me to buy it from me. I tell her that I will send it to her today. When I finish my key pounding, I drive to the post office and send the phone to Susan.
(Day 673 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirteen in the Rainshadow
Awake after a night of rain, dress and then, coffee, com, computer while waiting to see how the day turns out. Then at ten, the rain does stop, the sun comes out and so, I pack out, head to work, and change into my work blues. I continue to dig and screen the dirt in the front yard and also spread it out over the fished areas. Joann shows up at two pm, not to work but just to greet me.
John come out of the house and we talk for a time, mostly about the Bible. I suggest that we study the Bible on Zoom, give him a copy of the What does the Bible Really Teach book, and show him how the Bible study program works. He says that when he gets home, he will contact me.
Returning to work, I continue digging the dirt, piling it up and then screen it, right up until seven-thirty when I stop change back into my fall blues and drive to the w-mart to check com.
I am way too tired to stay up and do anything else, so I park the jammer in the g-mart, climb into the back and get into the horizontal.
(Day 674 TG) 55°F. 6:30 overcast, humid
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Fourteen in the Rainshadow
Awake, dress in my fall blues, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer so that I may update my journal. My body is worn out from working eight hours yesterday, so today, I will rest again to repair for the work tomorrow. This landscaping work, particularly that of shovel throwing for eight or more hours is devastating on this old man. Too, while I am here, I have not been as strict with my diet as I was in the national forest.
(Day 675 TG) 55°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a friends driveway
Day Fifteen in the Rainshadow
Awake, greet Joann who is outside watering her flowers, then tell her bye, start the jammer and drive into town for a cup of coffee. I then arrive at the job site just before seven-thirty, dress in my work blues and begin shovel throwing, a term I have always used to describe how I move dirt, first into the screen and then
spreading the sifted dirt across the front yard.
After a long day of shovel throwing, I stop at about five-thirty, clean up, put on my fall blues and drive back into town, stop for fish tacos, then to access the internet at the w-mart. At seven, with my body hurting so much, I drive out into the parking lot to park for the night and the climb into the back to read before I close my eyes.
(Day 676 TG) 50°F. 6:30 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Sixteen in the Rainshadow
Awake, dress, drive to the w-mart for a cup of hot first, then return to the jammer to check com and begin my journal entry for today. Next, I drive to the Oak Harbor House and begin work today, digging in the rock garden, screening the rock and then using it in the new rock walk way that will leave the front steps, wind across the front of the house around the corner and to the hose spigot. I am able to get much done today with this part of the landscaping. Too, I have been trimming and digging up more of the several rose bushes throughout the front yard and transplanting them to the area next to the front white fence. Also, in preparation of the sod installation, I have leveled all of the dirt within the black boarders, pushing the extra dirt into one area.
Then, at nearly eight, I pack out, drive to the state park hoping to find a hot shower but it is still locked up. I next call Joann to ask her if I can use her shower and like always, she is very accommodating. She opens the back door so that I can go directly into the bath room and I get into the hot water. I wash up quickly and then I let myself back out of the back door. She then comes to say good bye to me.
I then drive back into town, park in the g-mart parking lot, catch up on my journal writing and then get into the horizontal.
(Day 677 TG) 50°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Seventeen in the Rainshadow
Work Week Three
Awake, coffee, com, computer. I pound keys for a time so that I may prepare for the meeting today. I am already online and waiting for the host when the meeting begins. David, a local elder give the public talk and then we do the Watchtower study. Afterwards, I leave the w-mart to drive to the laundry mat a do a load of wash.
When my laundry is done, I hang all of my clothes up in the back of the jammer and then park it at the city beach with the rear facing the sun to do the finish drying while I look for a good photo of the sunset over the water.
Afterwards, I return to the d-mart to work on the computer until it gets dark and then read for a while in the Bible before I retire for the evening.
(Day 678 TG) 50°F. 5:30 am, sunny but humid
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Eighteen in the Rainshadow
Awake, turn on the computer to start my journal entry and check when the w-mart opens only to find out that it was at five-thirty this morning, the same time that I awoke. I dress in my fall blues, drive across the parking lot to the w-mart, walk inside for a cup of hot and then return to the jammer to continue with my journal entry. I then call the sod company in Mount Vernon and order the sod for pick up tomorrow, then confirm with Joann to use her truck. By noon, I and done with the pre-sod work, pack out and go to work on the landscaping project.
I arrive at the Oak Harbor house and continue working on the
gravel walk way, now digging the dirt along the north side, screening it and laying it atop the fabric along this walkway. At one this afternoon, Patria arrives with Margie, greets me and then go inside. Later, after Margie leaves, Patria comes outside and offers to make a tuna sandwich, to which I say yes. When she brings a plate out to me, I stop for a few minutes for the meal.
Then, I continue to work on the sidewalk, getting the first layer of screened rock around the water filter house and connecting with the existing sidewalk behind it. At this time, the sun is gaining ground on its drop to the horizon, so I begin to put away the tools, clean up and then water the roses as well as most of the other potted plants.
Finally, I change back into my fall blues, start the jammer and drive to the g-mart to park for the night. Another long day.
(Day 679 TG) 54°F. 6:30 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Nineteen in the Rainshadow
Awake, coffee, com, and pound keys to conclude yesterdays journal entry, after which I begin today′s entry. Then, I leave for Joann′s home so that we can go to Mount Vernon and pick up the sod. The trip only takes an hour and I am soon back at the Oak Harbor house unloading the sod. Then, I drive the truck back to Joann′s home, exchange it for the jammer and return to the job to begin installing the
sod. Soon after I get it going, I realize that I bought too many rolls of sod, 44 and only need 30. When I finish installing the sod in the front yard, I look around and decide to install some on the north side of the rock garden so that the home owner can walk around and tend to the flower bed there.
I continue screening rock from the dirt and end up putting in three pieces of sod when Joann arrives and we talk for a time. I ask her if she needs some sod and she tells me that she will take the twelve remaining rolls. Patria comes outside and says that the front yard looks very nice, so green.
At a little before six this evening, I pack out and leave for town very tired, drive to a ff-mart and purchase a grilled chicken sandwich and tell myself, This is not bad for a chicken sandwich but I will get this sandwich without the sauce next time.
Next, I drive to the w-mart, connect to the internet and upload today′s files. Then, I park in the g-mart parking lot and get horizontal for the night.
Tonight, I experience the ravages of old age because from all the hard work that I have done here for the last two weeks, particularly the digging and shoveling dirt, has caused me to experience some of the worse pain I have ever experienced, so much so that sleep was almost non existent.
(Day 680 TG) 45°F. 6:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty in the Rainshadow
Awake to a wet morning so I choose not to go to work at the Oak Harbor house today because of the rain but would not have worked anyway because of having so much pain during last night, the worst pain ever. Instead, I spend the day in the jammer parked outside of the w-mart, drink a cup of hot, have a cup of Daystart and pound keys, all the while trying to endure the pain that lingers through the day. Then, in the very late afternoon, I check online for the status of the Deception Pass state park campground and find it to be now open. Right then, I decide to go there today for a hot shower, so I pack out, drive north on SH 20.
I drive into the park, turn into the campground and stop at the lake store to purchase two dollars of shower tokens, which are two for a dollar and each token provide three minutes of hot water. I then drive to the shower house next to campsite number 85, park, grab my towel, shower bag, clean clothes and walk into the shower house. Upon turn on the hot water, it comes out steamy hot and I revel in the hot. Too, I have become so proficient at showering that I am finished long before the three minutes run out and continue to enjoy the hot water on my body.
After my shower, I drive further into the park, past Cranberry Lake and park near West Point, where I get out with my camera to take photos in
Deception Pass state park.
With the sun setting into the cloud enshrouded horizon and the day quickly turning to night, I drive out of the state park, then south on SH 20 into Oak Harbor, pull into the g-mart parking lot, park and get into the horizontal for the night, hoping this night will not be as filled with pain as the previous night had been.
(Day 681 TG) 52°F. 7:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-one in the Rainshadow
Awake to another wet day and because the pain did return last night as well as this morning when trying to rise, which did agonize me but nothing like Tuesday night, I will also spend this day resting and not working at the Oak Harbor House. I drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and key pounding, doing so to upload files and create several posts on my social media but save the post about installing sod for tomorrow.
This project, working on the Oak Harbor House, is one of the hardest jobs that I have done in recent years. I keep thinking about the
Malady of Old Age that I composed during the last project. I have already most all of what I had when I was young, my endurance being the latest demise with my abilities next in line to be taken from me
In the middle of the afternoon, I pack out of the w-mart, drive north on SH 20 the eleven miles to the state park for a hot shower. I do so enjoy getting into hot water and only hope that Olympia national park opens their hot spring soon. When working here such as I am, it is so nice to get into a pool of hot water to relieve the aches and pains, but for now, I will have to continue with the three minutes of hot shower.
Afterwards, I return to the w-mart, park and continue working on my website until it becomes dark, then climb into the back for the night.
(Day 682 TG) 51°F. 7:00 am, rain
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-two in the Rainshadow
Another day in the rainshadow and I find it amazing that my sinuses are still clear, well somewhat clear. Too, this morning is so much better with reference to the pain caused by the landscaping work. I start my day with coffee, com and go on to pound keys for most of the morning.
In the afternoon, Sherri and Drake walk into the w-mart and when they come out, I greet them. We talk for a short time and I ask here about the new password for the zoom congregation meeting. Later, I talk with JP and he updates me on the specifics of accessing the meeting.
Again, when the day comes to an end, I drive to the edge of the parking lot, take my place for the night and climb into the back of the jammer.
(Day 683 TG) 51°F. 7:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-three in the Rainshadow
Work Week Four
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. The pain, although still present is nearly non-existent this morning and rising from the horizontal is almost painless. Gordon sends me a text message and we text back and forth for a time and a half time. Then, after I make a cup of Daystart, I resume work on my website. Joann sends me a text message asking me if I am at the House working today and I tell her, No, not now. Then, I resume my key pounding.
In the early evening, when I see that the amount of people arriving into town for the fireworks display has increases substantially, this signals to me that I should head out of town to avoid all the craziness. So, I pack out and drive north on SH 20, cross The Bridge and turn into Deception Pass state park, stopping first at Rosario Beach. I drive into the parking area, grab my camera and then begin walking the trail out to
Rosario Head. I find that there are many people here in the park as well and when asking, Where are you from? I hear replies from location such as Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, and one group tells me Mongolia. I continue to the head and begin taking photos. I then walk back through the picnic area to the parking lot, pack out and drive out of the Rosario area, back towards the Bridge and stop next in the Bowman Bay section of the park. After parking, I grab my camera and begin walking along the beach towards the Lighthouse point trail where I stop before the trail rises up over a rock outcropping. I find a rock to sit down on to await for the sunglow show to begin.
It does not take long before I am taking photos again and have enough for me to crop and upload when I return into town. I walk back to the jammer, start the engine and begin out of the park. However, when I get to the location where I must turn right to return to town, I choose to turn left and check out the campground and particularly the shower building. Driving into the campground, I park next to the shower house, walk inside to see what it looks like and to my surprise, it has a free hot shower. Methinks, what a find! I walk back out to the jammer, grab my shower bag, towel, clean clothes and walk back into the shower house for a hot shower and linger in the medium hot water here.
After a long hot shower, dry off, dress, return to the jammer and drive back into town feeling really good. It is near dark when I return to the g-mart parking lot, just in time for all the noise booming overhead. For several years now, I have been hoping that the forth of July that I endure will be the last one. Why do I say that I have to endure it? I say this because by the time it is dark, I am usually really tired and just want to get to sleep but the booming always keeps me awake until I finally pass out, as is the case this year.
(Day 684 TG) 52°F. 5:40 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-four in the Rainshadow
Despite being kept awake last evening with all the noise until very late, I still can not sleep very long this morning because my leg and hip are hurting again and when I try to sit up, it gets even worse. Still, this excruciating pain is no where near the pain experienced last Wednesday morning. That day was the worst of all so far and this pain I have been have seems to be subduing each day I continue to rest and stay off my feet.
When I finally rise and sit up, I drive to the w-mart and wait for it to open so that I can purchase some coffee. However, today the coffee is terrible, it is cold and very bitter. About half way through the cup, I end up spitting out the coffee and dumping what is left in the cup. I will let them know about this tomorrow when I buy my next cup.
At nine-forty, the host turns n the Zoom meeting and I begin to see the different friends joining this weekend meeting for another family gathering. Then, when the meeting is over, I continue here at the w-mart pounding keys all day. Later, Patty, a sister stops by to say hello and we talk for a time. After she leaves, I go back to pounding keys until the sun drops low on the horizon, and then move the jammer back into the opposite side of the parking lot and get ready for sleep.
(Day 685 TG) 52°F. 6:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-five in the Rainshadow
Awake, wait for a moment, move my right leg, and when there is no pain, I slowly sit up and still no pain so I start the engine to warm up the inside of the jammer. I then dress in my fall blues, drive to the w-mart for a cup of hot, com and computer. Methinks that the pain has subsided for now, but suspect that it is not gone and will come back if I were to return to shovel throwing for any length of time. Then, shortly after eight this morning, I receive a call from the veterans health care system in reply for my request for an appointment for an examination. This call is the first step to get me into this system. Then, I leave the w-mart and drive to the
Oak Harbor House so that I may work for a few hours and spend five hours here until I have said to myself, that is enough.
As I am cleaning up and putting away the tools, I walk to the jammer, look at my phone and see that I missed a call from Richard. I give him a call and when we begin to talk, he asks how my pain is. I tell him that when I woke up this morning, it was gone and I just finished five hours here at his mom′s home. In a seemingly shocked voice, he asks, You are at work? to which I tell him yes, and the pain will most likely come back because I did work today. He then asks about the pain and after I explain how bad it was Wednesday morning and then how this morning was gone, he says that he believes that this pain is caused by the sciatic nerve. Immediately, it clicks with me, the sciatic nerve is the one that goes down both legs from the spinal cord and the same nerve that is related to my service connected disability in my lower spine.
I then tell Richard that he has open up a complete understanding for me of the cause of this pain that I have been experiencing. He then tells me that I should consider asking for a higher percentage for my disability compensation because my condition has been getting worse. Wow, I tell him, this is exactly what I will be doing. Too, I have already made an appointment with the VA to set up my primary health care service through the VA. Furthr, I will continue, now that I know the cause of the pain, to work towards getting the increase in my disability compensation.
After we hang up, I finish cleaning up, pack out, and drive to the w-mart and get online. In a short time, I can feel that my body has taken a beating from the short five hours of work today. I then decide to go to Deception Pass and to get into the hot water again. I drive to a new shower house, the one in the Quarry Pond campground unit, which I will call number 338, walk into the shower stall, put in the token and do not find the any hot water here but only cool water. I go ahead and wash my body but do not put my head under the water. I leave number 338, think, That was a waste of a token, rate this shower house a 3 on my map and drive to the Cranberry Lake unit, stop at the number 85 building which I have rated as number 8 on my map and then get into the hot water here. I shampoo my hair, and soak for the full three minutes before I dry off, dress and leave out of the park. I will continue to go to different shower house until I have rated all eight of them, but I will keep returning to number 85 until I find another one with hotter water.
Finally, I leave Deception Pass park, drive south on SH 20 back into town, park in the g-mart and set up for the evening.
(Day 686 TG) 54°F. 6:40 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-six in the Rainshadow
Awake, and because I only have a slight pain emanating from my sciatic nerve, I sit up, dress, start the jammer, drive to the w-mart, purchase a cup of hot and then return to the jammer to sip on the hot liquid, check com and pound keys on my computer.
At nine, I drive to the Oak Harbor House to water the grass and flowers, after which I return into town to continue my rest. While I am searching the JW.org website, I find the first releases of the 2020 District Convention of Jehovah′s Witness, so I download the two sessions for the first day of the convention, the Friday program and begin watching the video. I get out my note taking book and keep notes like I would do if I was at the convention in person with one major difference, whenever I miss something on the video, I rewind and play it again, something that can not be done on the live version. I love it.
It is after nine when I finish listening to the first part and I pack out, drive to the outer area of the parking lot and retire for the evening.
(Day 687 TG) 50°F. 6:00 am, overcast
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-seven in the Rainshadow
Awake and have to deal with just a small amount of the sciatic nerve pain but I am able to work through it, sit up and find a sweet spot where the pain is absent. I then start the engine and drive for a cup of hot. Soon after that, I am checking com and pounding keys which I do until the afternoon.
I had also downloaded the first two increments of the 2020 Regional Convention of Jehovah′s Witnesses and watch all of the first half of the Friday morning session.
Then, methinks it would be advantageous for me to drive to Bellingham, Washington, go to the o-mart there and purchase a new air mattress, one which will give me more cushion than I currently have. I pack out, drive the fifty miles, walk into the store and find one that has a sale price of fifty dollars less than the retail price. I grab the pad, and another stainless water bottle, walk to the check out counter and purchase the items. This mat is larger than what I wanted but if it works, then that would be good with me even though it still costs over one hundred dollars. Methinks that this store always carries high quality brands which are supposed to last longer.
Next, I drive back to the island and upon coming to Deception Pass state park, I stop at the Bowman Bay campground to go into the shower house for a hot shower. Since the shower at this location is free, I have elevated the rating to nine and will be coming back here often during my stay while here on the island. Finally, I head back to Oak Harbor, drive to the g-mart and park in the same area that I have been for the last twenty-seven days here in the rainshadow.
(Day 688 TG) 54°F. 6:30 am, overcast
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-eight in the Rainshadow
Awake, drive to the w-mart, purchase a cup of hot, check my com and then begin watching the second session of the 2020 Regional Convention. I have found out that the sessions will be released incrementally over two months, which will be down loadable to my computer. Methinks, this way, I can watch the session first all the way through and then watch the session a second time so as to take notes. By noon of this day I have completed watching both of the two Friday morning sessions and begun the second viewing and taking notes on my note pad. Then, I leave the w-mart to purchase something to eat.
(Day 689 TG) 53°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Twenty-nine in the Rainshadow
Awake, start my day with coffee, com and computer but as the day progresses, I leave to go to the Oak Harbor House to water the grass. Patria is outside trimming the rose bush, I greet her and then begin setting up the water sprinkler. Then, she asks me if I would like to marry her niece, who is now in Canada. Methinks, her niece is from the Philippines and wants a free ticket to the United States because to marry a citizen of the US has always been a way for those of other nations to become a citizen. I tell Patria that I positively do not want to get married to which she replies, If you do not like her, you could divorce her. Methough, What is Patria thinking? and I again tell her Absolutely No!
I finish the watering and leave the Oak Harbor House, drive back to the w-mart to pound keys but end up taking a nap until late in the afternoon. Then, I work on my computer for a time longer and then I decide that I need to go to the state park for some hot water on my body.
I leave town late in the evening to drive to the state park for a hot shower and on the way, I see that the sunglow has already begun and stop along the highway to take a photo. Then, I drive across the bridge, stop at the Bowman Bay campground to fill my need for hot water and afterwards drive back across the bridge and then out West Point for photos of the sunset.
Upon arriving, the
sunglow is in full glory and the sky is the clearest that I have seen it since I arrived here nearly a month ago when I first crossed the
Bridge.
I drive to
Deception Pass, stop at the West Beach parking lot and I take photos of the
Olympic Mountains, the
San de Fuca Straight and then walk out to West Point and begin taking photos here. It does not take long before the sun drops out from behind the clouds and soon, I am taking several
suntouch photos as well.
It is because this sunset is the best I have seen so far that I end up taking over a hundred photos, continuing until long after the sunset. I am able to talk with several of the other sunset seekers and even offer my business card to a few. Finally, I pack out of the state park, drive back into town, stop at the g-mart parking lot and set up for the evening.
(Day 690 TG) 54°F. 7:00 am, overcast
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty in the Rainshadow
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. I even spend a few minutes to upload a few of the photos from yesterday and post them on my social media page. Then, I pack out of the w-mart, drive north on SH 20 to Mount Vernon, turn north on IH 5 and drive to the o-mart in Bellingham, Washington to return the air mattress. The larger size just does not fit in my sleeping birth and methinks the oversize having to bend and fold would tend to deteriorate the mattress quicker. Thus, I decide to return the mattress and search elsewhere for something with a better price.
Next, I drive back south on IH 5 to Mount Vernon and here stop for some groceries. After completing my errands, I drive west on SH 20, return to the island, take up my space in front of the w-mart to pound keys and in the late afternoon, take a nap.
For over a week now, I have been seeing that there is a new comet that has come into earth view, one that is suppose to be viewable by the unaided. Too, it reached it′s perihelion on 03 July 2020 and is on the return trip into the outer solar system, with an orbital period of 6766 years. Later, I rise, work for a while longer on the computer before I retire for the night.
(Day 691 TG) 51°F. 8:00 am, overcast
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-one in the Rainshadow
Work Week Five
Arise, dress in my fall blues, drive to the w-mart, purchase a cup of hot, check my com and then, pound on the keys until the meeting begins at ten this morning. After the meeting, I resume pounding keys until mid afternoon when I take a nap.
This has been a very relaxed day, one that I have mostly rested and spent time napping because I will rise early tomorrow in hopes of taking a photo of the comet.
(Day 692 TG) 49°F. 3:30 am, clear
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-two in the Rainshadow
Arise, drive to city beach and here see Venus but the city lights require that I find a better location to view
NEOWISE comet. So, I drive to Dugalla Bay, which is much better but from here there is fog covering the view to the northeast. I continue further north on the east side of the island and soon arrive at Ala Spit county park, drive down the approach road and upon arriving at the parking lot, there is already one other person here, set up with a telescope and camera, both on tripods viewing the comet.
I grab my camera, step out of the jammer and begin trying to spot the comet. Although, the dayglow is already begun, I am able to see the comet, but just barely. Then, as the day progresses, getting brighter, I continue taking photos of the sunglow on
Ala Spit, the surrounding islands and even
Mount Erie. As the sunglow begins to get brighter, Claude packs out and drives up the road while I finish photographing the sunglow. Finally, I too pack out, drive back to the w-mart, prepare another post on social media and finally upload it. Afterwards, I drive to Joann′s home to load her pressure washer, then drive to the
Oak Harbor House and begin washing the concrete.
After more than seven hours of work, I clean up, pack out and head back to the w-mart to park and pound keys until it gets dark. At dusk, I drive to the outback of the d-mart parking, set up for the evening and then get into the horizontal.
(Day 693 TG) 53°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-three in the Rainshadow
Awake, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer but by noon, the clear sunny sky has heated up the inside of the jammer and I must needs find another place to park or to conceal myself until the sun drops much lower. Instead, I drive to the Oak Harbor House and continue the
pressure washing of the concrete. This keeps me cool enough. I finish the concrete and then begin pressure washing the garage, then the house. After five and a half hours, I am totally done.
I clean up, put away the tools and then drive to have Mexican food. Afterwards, I drive to the g-mart parking lot, climb into the back and get horizontal,
(Day 694 TG) 55°F. 6:00 am, overcast, fog
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-four in the Rainshadow
Awake, dress, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer for another day in the rainshadow. I then leave to go for breakfast at the Island Cafe after which, I go to the
Oak Harbor House to finish the pressure washing by cleaning the front porch and deck. After several hours there, I then drive north on SH 20 to return the pressure washer to Joann and after putting it back into the shed, we sit on her porch and talk for a short time. Leaving Joann′s home, I drive further north on SR 20, cross the bridge and stop at Bowman Bay to get into the hot water for a long soak.
When I finish with the hot water, I drive back into town, park in the g-mart parking lot under a shade tree, climb into the back and take a nap. When I awake, it is just after six in the afternoon, so I drive to the w-mart, get online and begin work on the computer. At eight-thirty, I pack out and drive back north on SR 20, this time to
Mount Erie in search of a dark sky where I can view the comet. I stop at the first view point, park and wait to see if the comet will show itself.
After an hour waiting for it to get dark enough for me to see Ursa Major (Big Dipper), I find that there are trees blocking my view here. I leave and drive to the bridge and find a similar view problem at the bridge. So, I drive back into town, park at the g-mart and climb into the rear of the jammer to get horizontal.
(Day 695 TG) 55°F. 7:00 am, cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-five in the Rainshadow
I awake and like the last several days, the pain from my sciatic nerve has been minimal but the tiredness that my body has been experiencing is currently to the maximum. After I share a post on social media, I will only work a short day today. Just before noon, I pack out and drive to the Oak Harbor House to spend a few hours working on moving to the
front sidewalk for pick up and hauling, all of the old construction debris, old flower pots, and plant cuttings. I find this to be just one more major and almost overwhelming job here at the Oak Harbor House. So, I have called a pickup and hauling service who told me that it would be a minimum of two hundred dollars for the service.
In the late morning, Joann stops by to look at the ever growing pile of junk to see how much of it she would like to take and we fill her trunk up with the best flower pots. Then she leaves and I go back to work and end up staying here working for more than five hours. After packing away the tools and cleaning up, I drive into town and stop at the local ff-mart for a grilled chicken sandwich. Then, I park at the w-mart, connect to the Internet to create a couple of posts to share. Finally, I use Zoom to connect to the midweek meeting and sit here in the jammer listening to the friends for a couple of hours, after which, I retire to the g-mart parking lot to get into the horizontal.
(Day 696 TG) 54°F. 7:00 am, sunny, partly cloudy
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-six in the Rainshadow
Awake, coffee, com, and then pound keys to catch up on my journal entry. At nine, I pack out, drive to the d-mart to dump my garbage and buy some more water. Then, at seven, I drive to the
Oak Harbor House to resume preparing for the hauling service which will arrive this afternoon. After I finalize moving all of the plastic buckets and other debris to the front side walk, I work on the north side of the house to put the previously potted flowers into the newly created
flower beds there.
Then, at two thirty, the truck arrives, and two men load up all of the junk into the back of the truck and drive away leaving the
side walk clear.
That is when I go to work digging up the front flower bed, digging out all of the gravel dirt out and putting it on the sidewalk. Then, I begin moving it to the north side of the house to dump into the drainage trench, when, on the return trip bring a wheel barrel load of screened dirt to put into the flower bed. After about five trips, the gravel is gone and the flower bed now has nice screened dirt, so I begin taking the flowers, previously un-potted and planing them in the front flower bed. When that is done, I turn on the water sprinkler to water the grass and flowers while I begin the final cleaning on the entire front of the house.
It is not until after eight this evening when I have the work complete, pack out and drive north to the state park for a hot shower, and I must say, a much needed one. Once under the hot water, I soak for a very long time. Finally, I drive back into town, park in the g-mart parking lot and climb into the back of the jammer to get horizontal again. After nearly five weeks working on the Oak Harbor House, today has been one of the longest days of work yet since I began here and still, tomorrow will begin an all new project.
(Day 697 TG) 55°F. 6:30 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-seven in the Rainshadow
Awake, still very sore, coffee, com, computer. I work on the final photos from the Oak Harbor House and upload them to my web site by nine this morning. I would wish to share them on my social media post but I have to drive to Joann′s home to help with the pressure washing of her home. However, before I drive there, I first need to do a load of laundry so that I can have clean clothes to work in.
At ten this morning, I pack out of the w-mart and drive to the laundry. After about an hour, I pack out of the laundry, grab a bit to eat and then drive to the
Noisy Jet House to begin pressure washing the home.
Joann, the one who loaned me her pressure washer to wash the Oak Harbor House asked me if afterwards, I would pressure wash the roof of her mobile home. Arriving at Noisy Jet House by noon, I set up the ladder, carry the washer, water hose and electric cord up to the roof and begin washing this nearly flat roof. It is the rear of the house, which has the most overhanging trees, also has the most deterioration in the previous roof coating and takes the longest time to pressure wash because of all the flaking off of the old coating. I tell Joann that we need to go to the hw-mart to purchase some sealer and repair tape to apply to the seams where it has flaked off so bad. I then finish the pressure washing about four, drop all the hoses and cords, climb down with the pressure washer and then Joann and I drive to the mart to buy the materials.
At five, when we arrive back at her home, I tell her that I am totally done for the day, especially after this long week of work. I put away the tools, pack out and drive back into town where I park at the w-mart, climb into the rear and lay down for a nap. Later, I awake from my nap but since it is after dark, I start the jammer and move it to the outside edge of the parking lot, turn the computer on but I am just too exhausted to pound keys for very long. So, I put the computer away, get back into the horizontal and continue my recovery sleep.
There has been and continues to be much pain associated with the work that I have been doing these last few weeks. This work, the same which I have been doing most all of my life is not overly hard work and I had always been able to accomplish the work and doing so with continuing for long hours each day, and even day after day. However, now, I am only good for a few hours each day and then need to rest for a couple of days to continue with this type of work. The pain that I have been experiencing has been occurring for several years now and the most recent extreme pain are both, what I believe to be associated with my sciatic nerve and the problems I have with it, which, during my time in the Marine Corps was badly injured and or aggravated. Now, I must needs deal with the accumulated pains that seem to increase as the years pass.
(Day 698 TG) 57°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-eight in the Rainshadow
Work Week Six
Awake, dress in my fall blues, drive to the w-mart for coffee, com and computer. Angela Radke greets me this morning on messenger, like she has been doing for the last week or two. She had previously left Oak Harbor to be with her dad in Oregon during his last days before he died. Now, she has been settling his estate and hopes to be back in Oak Harbor with her family soon.
I continue pounding keys, sipping coffee and catching up on my journal writing while we text. Then, I begin preparations for the weekend meeting that will be this morning at ten, now, only two hours away. The meeting begins and it is with an abbreviated Watchtower Study, after which we will be dismissed to watch the Friday afternoon session of the 2020 Regional Convention. Since I have already downloaded and begun watching it, I will instead, drive back to the
Noisy Jet House to continue pressure washing.
Arriving at the Noisy Jet House, I set up the pressure washer and begin washing the outside walls, first the north side, then around the back end to the south side and finally the west end. It take about four hours and I beg my leave with Joann, telling her that I am only good for about four hours before my body begins to scream at me. I also tell her that I will be back in the morning, late morning to resume the work of pressure washing the home, but today, I pressure wash from the facia plate at the top of the outside walls down to the skirting. This work begins on the north side of the home at the front deck, continues along this walk to the east end, then around the corner across the end and then around the corner to wash the south side and finish with the washing of the north side.
Today′s work takes more than four hours and by the time I clean up and put away the tools, I tell Joann that I am done for the day and that I will do the roof repair with the materials purchased yesterday on yet another day.
I drive back into town, park at the w-mart and climb into the back for a nap. When I awake, it is just before the sunset, so I drive to the city beach to see if I can see
Mount Rainier. Not only do I see Rainier straight across the open water of the harbor, but also, to the north above the trees I see
Mount Baker and near the radar dome on the seaplane base I see
Fortress Mountain however,
Glacier Peak is not visible at this time because it is behind the higher forested land to the east of the radome.
I then drive to the g-mart and park along the outer edge and begin pounding keys until I am totally expended for the day, when, I turn of the electronics and get into the horizontal.
(Day 699 TG) 50°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Thirty-nine in the Rainshadow
Awake still totally tired from the five full weeks of work here on the island, drive to the w-mart, purchase coffee and then sip on my cup will I check my com and catch up on my journal writing. While I am here at the w-mart, I am expecting a call from the VA for my initial appointment for setting them up as my primary health care. So, I continue to pound keys and sip coffee while waiting and then I get a call from Patty, another friend of mine and one of my spiritual sisters who says that she wants to stop by and talk for a while before I leave the island. I tell her that I plan to be here for a few more days but yes, please come for a visit.
Then, the nurse who I have an appointment with today calls me about an hour before the scheduled time and asks me if we can begin early, to which I say. Sure, I have been sitting here waiting for your to call. She then asks a series of questions to update the VA with information about my military tour, the injury that occurred during that time and the condition of the injury now. She also tells me about how the VA system currently works and tells me that she wants me to come to the clinic in Mount Vernon to get ex-rays of my lower back and some laboratory blood work done. When she tells me that the clinic is open today until three, I tell her that I will drive there today.
After the phone appointment, I drive to Mount Vernon to have the lab work done and ex-rays taken. Then, I drive back to the island, stop at the
Noisy Jet House and resume the work here, climbing to the roof and begin the scraping off of the loose existing sealant. After about four hours, I stop, clean up, put away the tools and then go into Joann′s home to share a large crab that someone had given her. It is the first time I have had a fresh crab in many years and it really tastes good. Joann also shares some fresh vegetables from her garden and afterwards, I leave and head back into to town to resume the horizontal recuperation.
(Day 700 TG) 57°F. 7:00 am, sunny
Overnighting in a parking lot
Day Forty in the Rainshadow
Awake, coffee, com, computer. Then, at ten this morning, I leave the w-mart and drive north on SH 20 to the
Noisy Jet House to work more on the roof. Joann is not home when I arrive but I climb the ladder and continue the work that I told her I would do. Last Saturday, after I had done the pressure washing, I told Joann that the mobile needs to have several of the rear seams, those on the east end under the trees, updated with repair tape and I said that I do that repair work and would also apply the sealant around the perimeter on the roof edges. Today, I began this part of the roof work, however, I used up most all of the gallon of sealant on the edges and only have enough left to repair one of the five seams that I had wanted to repair.
Then, with no more of the sealant, I come down from the roof to drink some water and rest for a few minutes, when Joann arrives from her trip to do grocery shopping off island. When I tell her that I am out of sealant, she says, Do you want to go with me to get another gallon? to which I reply, yes, let′s go. When we return from the hw-mart, I take the new gallon of sealant up on the roof and repair three more seams before I run out again. Then, I sweep the roof once more, remove the debris and pack every thing down the ladder. I then tell Joann that the fifth seam was the least damaged and can go without the seam tape. I then clean up, change out of my work clothes into my summer blues and drive across the bridge to the Bowman Bay campground to take a hot shower.
After a long shower, I drive back into town, stop at my favorite Mexican restaurant and have fish tacos for my supper tonight. Then, I drive to the w-mart, park the jammer and climb into the back to take a nap, knowing that I will awake from the nap after dark. At nine-fifteen, with the sky in twilight, I awake, move to the g-mart parking lot and turn on my computer to catch up on my journal entry for today.
I am now done with all of the projects here on the Rock, done with setting up my primary health care agent and done with my Sojourn on the Island.
However, what remains for me to do in Oak Harbor, is to update the jammer license plates and receive two items that I had purchased online. I can go to the license office tomorrow to see if they are open but I an not sure when the packages will arrive.
It is nearly eleven tonight when I go horizontal again.
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