Nomads2

“And a child shall lead them”….He is called the “Cow Whisperer.”

Thanks to our friend Todd, for this great shot of how chess is played in the middle east.

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

-John Adams

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be.” Thomas Jefferson

We travel to Boalsburg to eat and shop in a town that is nearly 200 years old.
This is the tavern where we had a nice sit down dinner of soups, salads, sandwich’s and steaks. Built in 1819 by Col. James Johnston and his wife Hannah Bethesda, the Boalsburg Tavern originally catered to town folk and travellers not just as a pub, but as an inn as well. Legend has it, there was nightly fan dancing by local girls for “entertainment” but we didn’t see anything like that during our visit. In 1934 the building was destroyed by fire but was purchased three years later by Mrs. Billy Hill Windsor, who completely restored it. In 1946, Harry Duffy bought it and renamed it Duffy’s Tavern. Harry died in 1961 and in 1971 Carl Hacker and his family bought it, moved in and still run it today.
We were told that many of the old houses have shops in the lower floor and the owners live on the upper floors of the house, with the blessing of the town councils. More small towns should develop like this and maybe more would be saved.
Oh yeah, we spent some time in this store, that is till the smell of chocolate did Norm in. She had to flee before her head exploded.

This is the State College Pennsylvania farmers market. It happens every Tuesday from now till November. They close one whole street downtown for a few hours of good fresh shopping.
Just a small sampling of our booty from today’s trip.

“The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” a book by the historian, Gibbon, provides five reasons for the decline of the Roman Empire. Number one, the undermining of the dignity and the sanctity of the home. Number two, higher and higher taxes and the spending of public money for free bread and circuses for the populace. Number three, a mad craze for pleasures and sports becoming every year more exciting, more brutal, and more immoral. Number four, the building of great armaments when the real enemy was within: the decay of individual responsibility. Number five, the decay of religion, fading into mere form, losing touch with life, and losing power to guide the people.

From the Centre Daily Times, Monday, June 1, 2009. “A 7 foot Gumby statue was stolen from a business on the 100 block of North Atherton Street on Sunday while the owner of the store was cleaning, State College police reported. The estimated value of the statue is $250, police say, and it was taken around 6 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to call State College police at 234-7150.” You can’t make this stuff up!

The Mt. Nittany Inn sits on top of a mountain in Centre Hall Pa. (small hill if you have ever been out west) elevation 1809 feet. I think since being located here the restaurant has burned down twice, the second time was during construction after the first fire. As you can see the view is great and we brought most of the customers the day we ate there. The food is as good as the service, good and friendly all the way around.

Our beloved step-Dad Bob, Pappy-Bob and known by all his friends as “Hat” went home to be with the Lord. These photos reflect some of his favorite past times. Eating ice cream, with his great-grandson, spending time with his wife Edie, and his favorite flower for one last time here. We will miss him. Godspeed Hat Walker.

I did some day labor work today helping my Father-in-law with an outside project. Here I am helping my Brother-in-law, Jeff, and as you can see, we are both working hard (really all I did was hold things). It never seems to fail though, when some men are working hard, some women (Norm) are fooling around. Jeff would have driven off to work in Flagstaff with the sticker on his shirt, if I wouldn’t have told him.

“Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.” [Ps. 103:22]

I was talking to a bus driver today – he ferries people from one side of the airport to the other.  He is a Pakistani man and I asked him what type of hours he worked.  He told me he works 6 days a week, 12 hours a day for 1500 dirham per month!  This is about $400 US dollars per month.  I asked him how much he could make if he worked in Pakistan and he said about 1000 dirhams per month.  Makes me realize how blessed I am, and how blessed the United States is.  I have often heard that the poor in the US really are not poor when compared to the poor in other parts of the world.  Here this guy is working 72 hours a week, earning less than $1.40 per hour.  How much does a welfare recipient pull down per month in the U.S.?  I don’t know, but I imagine it is quite a bit north of $400.

I have also heard where the Taliban and Al Queda have an easy job recruiting soldiers.  They offer them money to join their cause, and obviously it wouldn’t cost them much to give all these guys more than they are making in a normal job.

It really seems wrong that the UAE doesn’t pay these people more.  They could easily afford to.  As it is I don’t see much difference from these low payed workers and the slaves who worked the plantations in the 1800’s.  I should start organizing a union for these hard working people, I am sure that would get me deported quickly!

This is the second time in about three years that a rattlesnake has struck out at Norm as she was riding her quad down the trail.  The first time the snake took a swipe and than crawled quickly off the trail into the bush, but not this one. This snake is bigger than the one we encountered last and had a bad attitude toward trail riders. There seems to be a large crop of reptiles in our desert this year. We have been riding and hiking through this area since 1998 and have never seen this many rattlesnakes. They are also very close to the park. The other thing that surprised us was how loud his rattle was. You could easily hear it from quite a distance. Not only do you have to watch where you walk, but, where you ride! 

We decided to go to our favorite firing range and blast away a gallon jug, but stumbled across a native of our desert. Norm would not get any closer than this.
Just out in the middle of the day catching some rays. Not in the least bit interested in moving on.
That is a face only a mother could love!
I guess I got a little too close and this guy had enough.
A strange looking track, at least to us.

I waited for five days to get just the right shot of the wind that blows almost non stop twenty four seven in Oklahoma. The good thing is it was warm weather even while we walked bent over to keep from being blown over. Poor Leo was actually blown from his wheel barrel while waiting for someone to wheel him around his backyard. I got an early birthday present and some great food and cake. I look good in black. A few weeks ago, my Father-in-law and I put electric in our small cargo trailer. We took it on its maiden voyage and I must say, it worked very well. I did not get any pictures from our stay in Tucumcari New Mexico because of freezing temperatures and darkness. On our return trip we stayed in Grants New Mexico and enjoyed a great campground (The Bar S) and very nice weather.

Leo enjoys two of his favorite activities, watching toons from the back of his motorcycle and driving his new jeep.

Our shower and laundry unit ready to respond.
The present chain saw trailer, I understand there is a new one in the works.
Just to the left is part of the feed unit. We ate two meals prepared from the unit, both very good.
We are now trained and ready to respond to any disaster that might involve towing a trailer or cutting up trees and removing brush. Norm and I learned all the bookwork and rules, so now we just have to wait for our chance to get some hands-on experience. Arizona Baptist may not have been doing this type of ministry as long as some states, like Florida, but Arizona has some first class equipment and fired up leaders. We have more training to look forward to as we start our journey into this mission field. 

We love to go target shooting and I guess we are so excited about it, we always forget to take something. This day we were already on the trail to our target stand when I realized we had forgotten to take a target to shoot at. Turning around, going back home, and picking up some recycled products to put holes in, we finally arrived at the range only to find we had no ear protection. Norm, not only being a great shot, (at one point she hit eight of nine rounds) figured we could jam my camouflage handkerchief in our ears and still get some rounds down range. This emergency fix worked just fine and allowed us to have a great afternoon. If you look close, you can see the duct tape fix I used to improve our target stand. Norm is a much better shot now and did not blast the other white elbow to pieces (yet).  

We were just blessed to have a four day seminar on the creation of the world. Russ Miller and his wife, Jo-Ann have a first class presentation aimed directly at Christians and the attack Darwinism has put on the Word of God. Their web site is http://www.creationministries.org and it is filled with videos and information every believer should know. Russ and his wife are so dedicated to getting the Word of creation out to everyone, they did not copyright their videos. So you can buy one and make a bunch of copies and hand them out other believers. If you ever get the chance to hear Russ speak we would highly recommend you jump at it.

Norm and I put our school clothes back on and headed for two days of classroom instruction. Beyond belief, at least for me, we both graduated ( yes there are two certificates). The CISM course was very exciting and informative. We now keep discussing how we can use our new techniques in regular conversation so we can practice. Our instructor could not have been better for us, a born again believer with a doctor title to her name. Life is good. The class had mostly professional people with just a few retired guys like us. We learned, among a lot of other things, listening skills, communication techniques, how normal people react in a crisis, how to intervene, and the most important part of the job, do no harm. I sure hope not. 

Here in the desert, water has always been important. It would be interesting to know what time this bag dates back to.


Norm and I actually thought about downsizing to save on fuel costs, but after taking a closer look, maybe we will wait for a newer model.
This is a nice look at most of the show. Cars lined up on both sides and down the middle of the street.

My favorite part of Gold rush days is the classic car show. They don’t have a lot of cars, but they are unique. Like the one above, I have no idea what year it is, and it was for sale.
I love the old muscle cars and there is nothing like a big block engine.
This car looked very much like an original. At least to an amateur like me.
This is a 1957 Thunderbird. I think my Mom had one like it when I was a toddler.
This is a Hornet, it reads “Super Wasp’ on the side. I’m not sure but I think there was one like this in the movie “Cars.”

 use this type of gesture, but I feel like this with our goverment leadership. Do you? Thanks, Blackfive.

On the way to and from Quartzsite we pass through Hope. It looks more like an intersection with a gas station, but it might be more. I don’t want to offend anyone from Hope that might read this. The first sign you see when entering the town and the second one is on your way out of town. I hope that is not true of any of us.

I came across some free PVC pipe and for about five dollars, I made this crude looking target stand to practice shooting. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea for Norm to learn how to shoot a pistol. So, we load up our machines and head out to our local desert for Norm to take her first shots and to try out my new target stand. I only had to wait for Norm’s second trigger squeeze of the day to see the flaw in my design. She blew the upper right elbow apart! For some reason, I had no duct tape, but I did have my Father-in-law with me and the two of us wired the frame back together, hooked our old tea pot back up and were ready to go”hot” in no time. Norm hit the pot a lot, and filled it with holes. At one point it had a face like image made from Norm. Now the tea pot has taken up a prominent spot in our desert junk yard display. Just have to wait for it to rust up now.

The “big tent” and heavy traffic on the way to all the big doings. RV’s of all types dot the landscape. The gang we spent time with.

Starting from the lower left, Maude, behind Maude is Donny, “The Dude,” Walter, the nihilist with the missing toe, and Bunny. Always remember, “The Dude Abides!”

We spend a few days in the desert near Quartzsite Arizona. This is a ride we took on the first day, about ten miles south from our camp to the foot hills

We had to get a new TV before the DTV dead line. I know, we did not really have to get one, we just wanted one. A couple of reasons we went with a new TV, first the old one weighed a ton, and second we wanted to make another place for Norm to put stuff (hopefully not shoes). Again, this is another project that I would have liked to have been my idea, but of course it is not. I first read about this in Trailer Life magazine, small article with not much detail. There is a NuWA owners web site that I frequent to check on what other RVer’s have go wrong with their Hitch-Hiker model. A fellow 29.5 owner published a very nice article complete with photo’s and details on up grading to a flat screen television and gaining some much needed cubbie space. After cutting three doors from a sheet of plywood and only needing one, we finally start work on this one. We have the hinge installed and my Father-in-law is doing a final sanding before applying some stain. I look like I am over seeing the operation, but I am just holding the door. The project went fairly smooth compared to most of my adventures of this type and we got a sweet deal on the TV from our number one salesman at Dell.com, our son. After some pushing and shoving, some grumbling, and someone (Norm) saying it was crooked, things turned out very well. The presentation is a huge difference from our old heavy weight model.

Two to three times a week Norm and I take a walk in the desert. We each carry two bottles of water, some survival gear and travel around three and half miles in a little over an hour. The terrain is split between level and hilly. Every time we go for months now, we have checked to see that one of us got the camera. We have it with us to take a picture of wild life. After two and half months, this is our only shot of wild life. Our hope was for a close up a jack rabbit (way too fast to shoot), a mule deer, or maybe a javelina. We even saw this guy (we think he is the same one) in the same spot for two different times till we finally stopped to take his picture. He did not want to cooperate so Norm used a stick to stop his forward progress. This did not make him happy. So I worked quickly and this is the best I could do. He is all fuzzy with a bad disposition, especially when confronted with a stick.

Our home improvement projects got off to a great start by chucking the inside of our sofa sleeper. I had several ideas floating around in my head on how to proceed. None of which we used. I have to give all the credit to my Father-in -law for the final design and how well it works. All of my ideas were kind of crude and goofy. The best part for me, Norm is very happy with the new storage, and that is very good for me. Second best is getting half of the vacuum out of my side of the closet. The other half was in Norm’s side, she’s happy, now there’s more room for shoes. Last, but just as good, is the weight savings of venting the insides of the sofa bed. We set it out next to the road with a free sign hoping someone would take it, but that was a no go. We decided to keep the mattress for a future home improvement, but we will have to pay to take the remains to their final resting place (the dump).

These church doors were hand painted by our friend, Julie. She not only paints on all kinds of surfaces, among those are rocks (we have a few), but also plays keyboards, and sings in the choir at her church. Julie and her husband, Bob, always keep us entertained.

Our neighbor did tell us what type hawk this is, but I can’t remember. The hawk has been around our house for a couple of days now and looks really tough. Thanks to Max for the photo.

Only in the desert? No, it did not snow here, this snow is from Arizona, from Flagstaff. The two responsible for Mr. Snowman are seen above, Leo the little and his great uncle Jeff. The snowman came ready to assemble, minus his two eyes. The finished Mr. Snowman below stood proudly for about an hour.

“Location, location, location!” I hear that is said a lot in real estate. This is a shot of the neighbors (Norm’s parents) yard. This must be done to keep tomato plants from freezing. I thought we lived in the desert? You can call it an eye sore if you want, but the veggies all taste really good.

I’m glad we never run into these fellas out in the open range.

This big dead stick used to be in a bucket of cement, like some old mafia guy in the east river, buried in our bank out back. Some how it rotted through and fell over. It laid around for a while, till we saw how others had their dead stick propped up. So we came home and did the same thing, worked like a champ.

 

I went to the Department of motor Vehicles yesterday and a funny thing happened. I was the only customer in the building! I have been in DMV’s in Pennsylvania, Florida (Pan handle), West Virgina, Florida (south), Colorado, Oklahoma, South Dakota and now Arizona. I have a prior history with the DMV’ s across our great nation. What makes this visit stand out is I, me, am the only customer. No lines, no waiting, no looking at funny looking people. I was just standing there, taking this all in. Basking in the thought of being number one, numero uno. There were three gals behind the counter, each at their own station. I gazed across the empty room trying to decide which gal’s day would be made better by my sitting across from her. Suddenly the moment was broken when one of the young ladies said, “Take a number.” Huh? I just stood there, like a deer in the head lights. The girl two cubbies away looked at me, not moving, and she said, “Take a number please.” I stole a quick look around the room and took a number. I was number four. I looked at the nifty digital counter on the wall and it read, number four. Only than did the one clerk say ” I can help you here.” I asked “Am I on Candid Camera or what?” The answer was no, taking a number is the state of Arizona’s way of tracking customers. I still looked around one more time and thought, holy cow. 

This is sunrise as seen from our front door. I am not normally up this early, but it was worth it.

We were blessed with a double rainbow. The second one is hard to see in the photo.

Some people should just keep their thoughts to themselves.. I hope this person was completely humiliated by this complaint….

Noise Complaint at Luke AFB, AZ

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain Lieutenant Colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back.

Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must Have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:

‘Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding ‘A wake-up call from Luke’s jets’ On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m, a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.

Based on the letter writer’s recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I’m sure you didn’t hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son’s flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.

We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, ‘Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you…..Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr. USAF

Now that I have some free time on my hands, I thought I would try doing some things in the kitchen. It seems that my Dad and my Father-in-law both started cooking and baking more after they retired and so I will try to keep the tradition going. There are so many more options to investigate in food as compared to building something or working in the shed. The big difference is cost. It is much cheaper to get some food items, or ingredients (these items are probably all ready at hand) and try to whip up something that could be consumed by humans, as opposed to having to buy wood or parts to build or modify a machine. The cookies are gingerbread cookies made with Grandma’s brand molasses (recipe on the jar). Everyone that tried them said they were good. I hope they were not just being kind.

We were both bummed and excited about finally getting back on the road after our extended stay in Oklahoma. We sure miss our grandson, who by the way, wanted to come with us, but both his parents are real “sticks in the mud” types and said no. I know, what was wrong with those two! We (me), not towing for almost a year, were concerned that we (me) had forgotten all the rules and common sense items that are full time rving. The first thing we did before leaving Oklahoma City, we had the truck and trailer weighed and I was surprised to learn we are almost 1200 pounds under weight. The mileage for our first day was very short, stopping in Amarillo, Texas and got hooked up just prior to a steady down fall of rain. It seems, no matter where we travel in our RV, we see someone do something that makes you get a funny look on your face and think “what the heck.” Another couple, that were disconnecting and getting ready to get back on the road, did the unthinkable. While the guy was working on the getting hooked up for the road, the gal had their sewer hose at the fresh water supply in the next site, rinsing it out with the drinking water spigot! Gross! If you don’t carry a spray bottle with bleach water in it, get one. Wow!

The Bar S campground in Grants, New Mexico. A very nice park and at around twelve dollars. a bargain too.

It is always good to be home!

The Welcome center rest stop on interstate forty in Arizona.

A veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve – is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a check made payable to “The United States of America, for an amount up to and including my life.” That is honor, and there are few too many people in this country who no longer understand it. Author Unknown.

Norm told me Leo was looking for the valve cap off our trailer spare tire that I was on the ground filling. I said “He won’t find it in my ear!”
As we started our preparations to leave Oklahoma for Arizona, Leo was a big help. We have been squatting (my name for being in one spot too long) here at the Council Road RV park for almost a year. Norm would stay longer, but I am not going to spend another winter here in Oklahoma. Although we are planning to return here for the Thanksgiving holiday. There are so many little things that need to get checked and changed from the truck to the fifth wheel. Our 2006 Chevy has given me two flat tires due to faulty valve stems, so I had the other two changed and the tires rotated and balanced. I have a thru the bed fifth wheel hitch that I put back in the bed of the truck, much to Leo’s dislike as now he has less room to play back there. We are going to weigh our fifth wheel for the first time. When we first started out we had space everywhere, now a lot of that is gone and I want to make sure we are under the max gross weight. The truck stop across the street will hook us up on Monday. Norm and I have a side bet as to who will be right. I think we might be a little over gross, she says under. I removed our auxiliary fan from the fridge compartment, charged our walkie-talkies (Norm will be driving the model T) and I’ll sweep all three slides and roof Monday morning just prior to launch.

No, that is not a can of beer in Norm’s hand. She would never drink a beer when she could have a V8!

Leo wanted to go with us on our road trip to Pennsylvania, but he couldn’t find his riding boots or his helmet.
We kept forgetting to get a balloon, so Norm made one. She is so creative!
Left to right is Norm, my Mom, her cousin Dodie, her husband Ken and my step-Dad Bob, the reason we made a fast trip to the keystone state. The doctors are still not sure what happened, but Bob seems to be recovering well, thanks to many prayers and good doctors. As usual, the weather to and from Pennsylvania was fine, our two weeks there contained just two nice days. The rest of the days were raining, drizzling, fogging and just for good measure, one day we woke to twenty-nine degrees. On the two nice days we managed to replace air conditioners with storm windows, do yard work and a number of odd tasks. Just some random thoughts about driving across the country. So far this year we have driven from Oklahoma to Arizona twice and Oklahoma to Pennsylvania twice. By far, Oklahoma has the worse roads, even the ones you have to pay to drive on are in a sorry state. Driving from Pennsylvania west on I70, the speed limit is 65 mph. Enter West Virginia where the road is just as filled with turns and hills, the limit goes up to 70 mph. Ohio comes next where the road starts to straighten out, speed returns to 65. The two “I” states, Indiana and Illinois, I can’t remember which have the exact same type of roads, straight and flat, not Kansas straight and flat, but close. One “I” state is 70 mph and the other is 65 mph. Huh! I really did not make notes for accurate facts, but I think Missouri has the most variety of fast food chicken places. Of course, we could tell we were back in Oklahoma by the 25 mph wind blowing to welcome us.