Category Archives: what the hell are we learning?

Better days? What better days???

I think I spoke way too soon. This is February in the Pacific Northwest. There might be a better day or two, but this is still February in the Pacific Northwest which mean high winds and rain. We have had gust up to 46 mph with sustained wind of 30 mph. It is suppose to calm down in the next few hours to the typical 10-15 mph but until then….

UGH!

Since we are the only RV in the retreat center camp host spot, which has 2 full hook up sites, we did not want to park the typical East/West direction with a view of a building but facing North/South so we could have a perfect view of the water and Whidbey Island and the Cascade Mountains, Mt Baker and at times Mt Rainier.

Worth it!

 

The only issue we have had with this setup, is when the wind comes from the Southeast, it hits our main slide out and shakes the whole rig and when the wind is over 35 mph + the canvas cover over the main slide out flaps in the wind since it is getting hit on the edge so the wind is traveling between the canvas and the top of the slide out like a sail.

There is really nothing we can do to stop this short of pulling the slide out in and living in a even more confined space, and from experience that is just plain miserable to live in.

Now, I kind of wish we pulled in the slide out when the winds are over 35 mph. But reality is, it just isn’t practical.

I went out today to take a better look at the canvas cover and it’s destroyed. There is a 14″+ rip where the canvas meets the RV  on the left side and one of the three straps was so chewed from flapping against the edge of the slide out, I just pulled it off to save time from having to do it later.

We think anything over 50 mph we will bring in our slide out. But until then, we will weather the storm.

I tried to figure out what the best thing to do is, and at this time, I can’t think of anything.  The damage has been done to the existing cover. It will need to be replaced. I don’t want to start putting straps on or weight or whatever on top, since I don’t want the extra weight on the slide out roof, and if the winds did get over 50 mph, I would rather be able to pull it in without having to get a ladder to “free it”.

We estimate this will cost $350-$400 to replace. I have been thinking on this all day and short of pulling the slide out in every time, I can think of no other option we had. The canvas is 12 years old and weak. The wind is strong and constant with the wind coming from the Southeast the angle it’s hitting it is “the perfect storm”.

Since we have been here the wind has hit us from every direction, so short of pulling the slide out in every time or parking in different directions every time the wind shifts, I have not yet figured out what we could have done to prevent this.

We had the canvas replaced with a “vinyl” cover over the bedroom a few months ago due to the same reason, the canvas just gave away. That cost $175. And so far it appears to be holding up, but we have a pretty good wind break protecting us from the West winds. We have been hit by winds from the West, and they rock the RV more then the winds from the East, but they don’t hit the cover on the edge like is happening with the main slide out.

Ok, enough about this subject.

We also have been dealing with internet issues. We had 3 MiFi hotspot’s. 2 used the Verizon network, and the 3rd on the AT&T network. Recently our unlimited MiFi has been cut off with zero chance of coming back so we are now down to 2 and both of those are iffy in the best of times. We do plan to get a 3rd one again, also on the Verizon network, but until then, we have been fighting to get and stay online enough to get our work done.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the last few weeks. It is not all “doom and gloom” here, I just can not think of too many happy thoughts at the moment due to the constant winds getting on my nerves and the internet of tubes is too unreliable so I want to get this posted before the tube burst.

Enjoy the night.

 

 

 

Everything you hear, could be something else…

This blog entry was written on June 27, 2013 ~ For the safety of the Mountain Lions we post dated this entry until now.

I was going to write about this a few days ago, but without any real evidence, I didn’t want to really discuss it since we just wasn’t sure what we really heard. Not that I have concrete evidence now, I just think we didn’t hear what we thought we heard.

Sunday night June 23, 2013 Pauline and I was outside enjoying the cooling temps, the Sun had just set, it was early dusk, we had a deer about 50 yards away from us, we had numerous birds around us, singing, eating the seeds we leave them, we had a good stiff drink in our hand and it was just NICE to be doing what we was doing.

Then we heard “cries” from a distance away. At first we wasn’t sure we heard it due to the wind, but the dogs across the road started barking, so we knew we did hear something.

A few minutes later we heard it, this time, much louder and for much longer and much more consistent. For about 2 minutes, we heard a cry about every 5-10 seconds.

Our first thought, a Mountain Lion was killing another Mountain Lion, or Bobcat and doing so SLOOOOOOOWLY….

It was not pleasant at all to listen to. But since it was dusk, and we had been drinking, we decided it would have to wait until Monday before we go looking.

Monday afternoon I spent about 90 minutes in the hot sun in rugged bush trying to find a carcass, or signs of a kill, such as vultures, blood, fur etc. I found nothing. I walked about 2 miles up and down hills, into thick thorny areas and all I got for it was a sprained left thigh, cuts, bruises, sun burned and tired.

We have been on the look out for vultures ever since but still nothing.

Today, Matt and I went on a loop of the preserve and on the way we swapped out the motion camera’s card. He just emailed me this video.

I am now convinced we did not hear a Mountain Lion kill… But two Mountain Lions mating.

All I know is, Mountain Lions must be really into kinky stuff.

For the safety of the Mountain Lions we post dated this entry.

Everything you hear, could be something else…

June 27, 2013 ~ For the safety of the Mountain Lions we post dated this entry.

I was going to write about this a few days ago, but without evidence, I didn’t want to really discuss it. Not that I have concrete evidence now, I just think we didn’t hear what we thought we heard.

Sunday night June 23, 2013 Pauline and I was outside enjoying the cooling temps, the Sun had just set, it was early dusk, we had a deer about 50 yards away from us, we had numerous birds around us, singing, eating the seeds we leave them, we had a good stiff drink in our hand and it was just NICE to be doing what we was doing.

Then we heard “cries” from a distance away. At first we wasn’t sure we heard it due to the wind, but the dogs across the road started barking, so we knew we did hear something.

A few minutes later we heard it, this time, much louder and for much longer and much more consistent. For about 2 minutes, we heard a cry about every 5-10 seconds.

Our first thought, a Mountain Lion was killing another Mountain Lion, or Bobcat and doing so SLOOOOOOOWLY….

It was not pleasant at all to listen to. But since it was dusk, and we had been drinking, we decided it would have to wait until Monday before we go looking.

I spent about 90 minutes in the hot sun in rugged bush to find a carcass, or signs of a kill, such as vultures, blood, fur etc. I found nothing. I walked about 2 miles up and down hills, into thick thorny areas and all I got for it was a sprained left thigh, cuts, bruises, sun burned and tired.

We have been on the look out for vultures ever since but still nothing.

Today, Matt and I went on a loop of the preserve and on the way we swapped out the motion camera’s card. He just email me this video.

I am now convinced we did not hear a Mountain Lion kill… But two Mountain Lions mating.

All I know is, Mountain Lions must be really into kinky stuff.

For the safety of the Mountain Lions we post dated this entry.

Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

Pauline and I had some errands to do in Tucson so we decided to make a day of it and visit the Pima Air & Space Museum and Saguaro National Park East unit.

We arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum around 9:30am and we immediately knew we did not plan the day out too well. We was both hungry as hell, so we had to start our day at the diner. We was the first customers of the day, and while it took a bit longer then we expected to get our food, the food was really good and well worth the wait.

Pauline for the grilled Ham and Cheese and I got the Cheeseburger with American cheese and we shared a side of fries. We give it 4 of 5 stars. Typical diner food, but done well. We would for sure eat there again.

We also did not wear the proper foot wear. We both decided to wear tennis shoes, but hiking boots would have been the better choice, since this place is MASSIVE in size. We tried to take pictures of everything we saw, but there was just too many Airplanes. We was going to take the bus tour of the “Bone yard” but we decided we can do that on our next visit, there is just too much to see in one visit.

We spoke to many of the volunteers while there and discovered one was Purdue Alum and many were Veterans of World War II.

We had a great visit, but again, one day is not long enough to see everything. We walked a fast pace and it still took hours.

The B36 here was in amazing condition. And We was told it is 1 of 4 left in the world. We saw another one in Atwater, CA in April, so we have seen 1/2 of the B36’s left.

The volunteers also told us they are working on getting the needed funding to build a new massive hanger for “Cold War” aircraft, so the B36, B47, B58, B52 and others.

This would have to be a HUGE hanger to fit all these birds.

The aircraft with yellow wings are trainers.

The B29 had lots of items that was used in battle along with pictures and personal items of the crew.

This was the best Air Museum I have ever been to. The Space Museum was small but nice for what they have.

Seeing 2 references to the USS America CV-66 was a very nice surprise. May she rest in peace.

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Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ

This gallery contains 153 photos.

Pauline and I had some errands to do in Tucson so we decided to make a day of it and visit the Pima Air & Space Museum and Saguaro National Park East unit. We arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum … Continue reading