Floating down the Snake River

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Jim Melvin

It took three cars!

After hiking we decided to take a kayak float down the Snake River. Jane and Ron each had their own kayak and John and I were going in John’s kayak. We were all getting in a the Dam at Jackson Lake. The plan was for John and I to float down to Pacific Creek and get out there. Jane and Ron who are more experienced kayakers would then continue on down to Deadman’s and exit the river there.

That’s where the confusion starts. Jane and Ron drove their car with their kayaks down to the dam where they unloaded them. Ron stayed there to watch the kayaks. John and I both drove our cars to Dead Man’s. Then Jane drove from the dam to Dead Man’s where she left her car. She hopped in John’s car and I followed him to Pacific Creek where I left my car. Then off in John’s car to the dam where we started our float.

Here we are at the dam.

All these pics were taken by Jane as she has a waterproof camera. I didn’t want to take the chance of ruining mine. I guess a waterproof camera is on my wish list when I get to Amazon this winter.

You hardly have to paddle at all since the current carries you downstream. You don’t even realize how fast you are going until you look at the bank. Very cool!

Spotted a bald eagle!

We were really fortunate to spot a bald eagle. It caught a fish and took it back to it’s nest just next to the river. Then it proceeded to feed it’s young. We couldn’t see the babies but we could tell it was feeding them. That was really an amazing experience.

This is a pic of John and I watching the bald eagle in it’s nest.

Ron brought his fishing pole with him and did some fishing while floating downstream. He did catch a small fish but threw it back in.

We estimated we floated about 5 miles and then got out at Pacific Creek. What a great time we had. Jane and Ron floated further down to Dead Man’s which took another 2 hours. It was a perfect day to float down this beautiful river.

On the way back to the campground we took the inner road through Grand Teton NP. It had spectacular views of the mountains.

Love Trader Joe’s and the Apple Store

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Off to the Apple Store…

I entered the Apple Store on my Garmin and it said it was about 16 miles from the Enchanted Trails RV Park. I had scheduled my appointment online for 2:00pm. I got to the store at 1:00pm so I went to the Genius Bar hoping they could take me sooner. No such luck. They are very busy and told me to come back closer to the time I had scheduled.

The Apple Store is located in a very high class shopping area know as Uptown. Lots of very expensive stores. I did find a Starbuck’s and stopped in there for a coffee and “Very Berry” coffee cake. Then I just walked around until my appointment.

The Apple Store is really a very friendly environment. I walked to the back where they checked me in and then they found a seat where I could sit until they could wait on me. They had all my information regarding my speaker problem with the phone. Within a few minutes I was showing another guy my phone and he was writing all the information into an IPad. Stuff like what I had done to see if the speaker would work, etc.

He took my phone and said they would check it out in the back and replace the speaker if needed. He mentioned it could take about 25 minutes. Within 10 minutes he was back with my phone and demonstrated that the speaker now worked. GREAT!! I can now hear when someone is calling me. That is what a phone is for, isn’t it?

They were very professional and when I asked if there was any charge he said absolutely nothing.

Trader Joe’s in the same shopping center….

I walked out to my car and happened to notice a Trader Joe’s on the other side of the parking lot. I haven’t shopped at a Trader Joe’s for a long time and had to go.

I usually buy my groceries from a list that I create on my IPhone. Whenever I think of something I immediately write it down. I usually don’t buy anything else unless it is on the list. It usually keeps me from overspending.

However I only had a couple items on my list when I entered Trader Joe’s, but went ahead and shopped the entire store and bought my items that weren’t on my list. I love eating seafood and if you check out the seafood in Walmart it is rather bleak. Most times I usually buy any seafood from a good grocery store instead.

However, I did see some great seafood items at Trader Joe’s that I just had to have. That and a packet of sushi that I used to enjoy many years ago. I had the sushi for dinner that night. YUM! YUM!

I also bought my favorite Italian Roast coffee. I used to drink this coffee for many years before fulltiming.

Very windy…

The rest of the day was very uneventful. I was glad to get home after shopping as the wind was blowing very hard. New Mexico winds can get rather gusty at times.

Billy as in Billy Goat…

When Jim and I went 4 wheeling in Rockhound State Park he suggested a name for my Suzuki Samurai. He said it was just like a Billy goat since it could go just about anywhere. So Billy it is!

My Lazy Daze “The Breeze” as in the song by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Billy. That sounds cool. They make a great pair.

Will leave here on Saturday…

Saturday we will be heading north. I didn’t want to travel on Friday because Amazon will be calling for my interview. I missed the last time they called because my IPhone speaker wasn’t working and didn’t even here the call. So they rescheduled it and I really need to get it right today.

I am leaving in the morning and found a Harvest Host winery that I can stay at for the night just north of Albuquerque. Harvest Host offers many great places to stay like wineries, farms, and orchards and it doesn’t cost anything. These places are located in every state even Canada and Mexico. They don’t have hookups but with solar panels who cares anyway. Besides I need to try a different wine for a change.

Chica’s New Friends

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Chica loves to meet new friends…

When we arrived at Rockhound SP Chica was very anxious to meet her new friends. I had been telling her all about them so she was really happy when she actually got to meet them.

There was Sophie and Elvis the kittens we had heard so much about from Jim and Gayle’s blog Life’s Little Adventures. Chica only got a chance to meet Sophie when Jim brought her out one day. She only got to see Elvis through the screen door. Here is a pic of Jim and Sophie.

Chica was very excited about meeting her new “cat friend”.

Lots of new friends…

Besides Sophie and Elvis she also go to meet Debbie’s very fun loving dogs Elliot and Rupert. She had lots of fun going on walks with them. In this pic she and Elliot are discussing their favorite dog food.

Plus don’t forget Katie owned by Barbara of Me and My Dog and My RV fame Katie is also a Chihuahua just like Chica, but she is larger and Chica has to look up to her (just like everyone else). Here are a couple of pics of all the gang including Elliot, Rupert, Katie, Sophie and Chica.

We have now moved to Elephant Butte where we will spend the next couple of days. Chica misses her friends as you can see from the next couple of pics.

She is going to miss all her friends, but soon she will be meeting up with Sadie when Jimbo meets up with John and Linda to head north to Canada. This is a pic of Sadie at Quartzsite.

Chica and I would like to thank all our friends we camped with at Rockhound State Park. We both had a wonderful time. We are both looking forward to seeing you again.

One last hike before heading north

The day prior to leaving Jim, Gayle and myself all want on a hike out in the desert. It was a couple miles past where we hiked the first time. It was a neat spot. We even found some flowers. It is amazing how beautiful plants grow where there is absolutely NO water.

Jim and Gayle led the way as we climbed next to a wash. They are very experienced hikers and it took a lot to keep up with them.

We didn’t make it to the top but had some terrific views nevertheless.

This next rock formation looked like an elephant.

Off to Elephant Butte State Park

We took off Monday and stopped at Elephant Butte State Park at the South Monticello campground. I have been here many times in the past and never tire of the beautiful here. I took a couple of pics to show you.

I was only going to stay there one night but changed my mind and stayed two instead. I am glad I did as the wind was blowing pretty good and wouldn’t really have wanted to drive in it.

Next stop Albuquerque

I will be heading to Albuquerque tomorrow and staying at the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of the city. I have an appointment at the Apple Store on Thursday and I hope they can fix my phone at that time. On Friday I will have my interview with Amazon for next winters job.

But I only had 2 beers! Hic!

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Started Training…

I started the training for the Spring Training job Monday evening. During the day I thought it would be a good idea to try to find out where the park is located so I wouldn’t be frantically driving around in rush our traffic to get there. Using my Garmin I found it without any problem. When I got home they called and wanted me to come in an hour earlier (5:00pm) to complete some initial paperwork.

On my return trip I thought since I had gone there once I wouldn’t need the Garmin so just drove there following the directions I had previously gotten. BIG MISTAKE!!! The next thing I knew I was in the middle of the airport and a lot of busy traffic. DUH, Jim isn’t that why you have a Garmin in the first place? I was able to get my Garmin out of the glove box and quickly input the address of the ballpark. I even got there a bit early and was able to talk with some others who are also working there including my next door neighbors John and Jane.

How drunk is drunk?

The training tonight was all about alcohol. Since many of us will be serving alcohol to the fans, we have to be able to detect when a person should not be allowed any more. I was really impressed by the content of the class. We also got our employee manuals and filled out endless reams of paperwork. By the way, the training was held in the press box of the stadium. What a view these guys have during a game. I am sure the training sessions will be the only time I will be able to sit there.

The stadium in Tempe is about 9 miles from where I am staying in Mesa. I am sure there is a better way to go then jumping on the freeway, but I haven’t found it yet. I guess looking at a map would really help and not just relying on the Garmin.

Day off on Tuesday

Tuesday was a day off so I took that opportunity to do my “Honey Do’s”. Picked up a few things at Walmart, bought gas and did a bunch of laundry left over from Quartzsite. I did three loads and still have one load to go. YUK!

I was able to purchase a couple more milk cartons from Walmart so will do some more organizing today. I hope to get everything squared away before I go to another training class tonight, including that last load of laundry.

Way too many people and way too much traffic…..

I sure am not used to this many people and the traffic here is crazy. Prior to this the most traffic I have been in was in Fernley while working for Amazon. They had a whooping two traffic lights and when Amazon let out it was rush hour for sure. But nothing like the Phoenix area. Someone told me that it was the nation’s seventh most populated city and I sure believe that. I will probably go CRAZY after two months of working here.

Also I am in the flight path to the Sky Harbor airport. I was BBQing last night and sat outside with my glass of wine and every minute or so I could spot an airliner on it’s approach to the airport. LOTS OF PEOPLE AND LOTS OF NOISE.

Don’t forget your camera FOOL!!!

I completely forgot to take my camera with me the last couple of days. I will try to be more diligent so that you can see what I am doing and where I am going rather then me just telling you. I will follow up with some pics later.

Less then 3 weeks to go!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Jim Melvin

7 down and 3 to go!

I now have less then 3 weeks to go at my job at Amazon. It is now peak season and things are very busy. We now go from four 10 hour days to five 11 1/2 hour days. It is tough but I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Weather here is not too bad!

One of the pleasant surprises this year has been the weather. Last year at this time it was very cold with temps in the low teens and even colder. The temps this year have been steady in the 50’s with a few days in the high forties during the day. At night it may get down into the high 20’s, but it still feels warmer then last year.

Wore out my shoes!

Many of you have asked what it is I actually do at Amazon. Last year I was a packer and packed all the products that the customer ordered. It was very hard on my hands. This year I walk an average of 8-10 miles per day. I am always on the move. I had a great pair of Rockport shoes that I wore when I worked at Lowe’s before retiring. They are very comfortable especially when you are walking on cement floors. I wore those shoes out about the second week at Amazon and found a store in Sparks, NV where I purchased another pair. It took about 2 weeks to break them in and I had to trade off between both pair.

Massive scale of Amazon!

Dan, who is one of my subscribers, sent me an email with a link to an article about the massive scale of Amazon. This pic shows how a picker picks the item. She has a scanner in her right hand that tells you the product to pick and it’s location in the warehouse.

This next pic shows one of the areas within the warehouse that holds products in the bins. You can see the pickers pushing their carts around to wherever their scanner tells them where to go.

This is another view of only one section of the warehouse. This is only one area and there are many other areas just like this throughout the warehouse. Plus there are three floors as well with products on each floor.

I am really looking forward to when the contract is up and I can move on from Fernley, NV to the warmth of Arizona and all my friends.

Life in Fernley

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Jim Melvin

I must apologize for being so long between posts. After 10 hours on the job at Amazon I don’t really feel much like doing anything except relax. As I mentioned I walk between 8-10 miles per day and the body has lots of aches, pains and bruises. However I will try to post more often.

I mentioned that I was in the process of purchasing a nice Geo Tracker. The seller called me and mentioned that his wife had changed her mind and wanted to keep it instead. This was after he had told me that they never use it. I think what happened is that he found a buyer that would offer him more. Anyway I think I will wait until after the first of the year when I am in Quartzsite. Then I will have all my friends there who know all about tow bars and can help me install one if it is needed.

Work has been going well and I have completed four weeks with only six to go. We are still only working 40 hours per week (four days at 10 hours per day). However I got my overtime schedule and my overtime day is Tuesday. We probably won’t have overtime until black Friday. Then it might even go up to five 11 hour days.

I have rekindled many friendships with people who worked here last year. It is nice talking with them about what they did and where they went and what they have planned next year. I have also met many people for the first time this year. My friend Les from Quartzsite is working this year for the first time.

My neighbor Steve and I went up to the local casino for a couple beers and play the slot machines. So far I am $2.96 ahead in winnings. HAH, big deal. I am not much of a gambler especially when I think what I have to do to earn that money.

I am getting all my medical needs looked after. I have gone to the same Dr the last two years and he fills my prescriptions for a year at a time. I am very happy with the care they are giving me. I had to go to a specialist in Reno for followup. It is about a 30 mile drive and very pleasant.

Did I tell you that the weather has turned on us here in Fernley? Two weeks ago it was a pleasant 74 and we were sitting outside on our days off. Not anymore. The weather in the mornings is about 19-22 and it only gets up to the mid 50’s. We even had a bit of snow one day although it didn’t stay on the ground very long.

I have been looking for a new TV since I wore out the HDMI cable connection in the back from hooking and unhooking it to watch movies. I started checking out the different TVs and found what they call a Smart TV made by Samsung. With it I can hook up directly to my Amazon Prime account so I can watch their free movies. I can buy movies too, but since there are so many good ones that are free I don’t need to spend the money. It is also much bigger then my older TV and the football games look great.

Enough said for now as today is my laundry day and I need to check the availability of the washers/dryers.

Working at Amazon

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Jim Melvin

On 10/17 I started my first day at Amazon. Work started at 6:30am (OUCH) and there was orientation and training all day. Last year the first week on the job consisted of 4 eight hour days. This year they started us right off with 4 ten hour days.

I also received my work assignment. Last year I was a packer and this year I am a picker. I walk around with a scanner in hand and pick the items from bins that then go to the packers. We were told that pickers walk an average of 8-10 miles per day, but I am happy with that job. I don’t have to stand in one place all day, but move all around the fulfillment center.

My work days are Wednesday through Saturday and I get Sunday through Tuesday off. I just finished my second week here and believe me I am really happy to get those three days off. It gives your body a chance to recover, especially your hands.

I had some excitement over this past weekend. As you probably know I decided to work this past summer and winter to save up for a small vehicle. I would then have more freedom of movement while camped at different places rather then unhook my rig each time I had to go to the store. I have been following craigslist for some time trying to get an idea what was available on the market and what it would cost.

I saw a Geo Tracker listed in Fernley, NV (how ironic) which looked really nice and was pretty much what I was looking for, however he wanted more then I thought I could afford ($4,300). What was really ironic was that I saw it parked at the entrance to the Desert Rose RV Park where I am staying while I work at Amazon. In fact I could look out my window and see it from my rig. A few days later the price had come down to $3,900. I decided to take a look at it up close. I really liked what I saw as the owner had put a new convertible top, dash cover, seat covers and added a new tow bar. I again looked in craigslist and the price had been reduced to $3,800 so I knew the owner really wanted to get rid of it. I then called him up and offered $3,500 and he accepted. I met him at the car and took it for a test drive and it ran really well so I gave him a check to hold the car until I got the remaining money from my investment account. I am very excited and wish it could happen right now. This is a pic of the car. It is very clean inside and out and I can tell it has been taken very good care of.

I called my investment adviser on Monday to have them sell some shares in my account so I could pay him the balance. However the Stock Markets are closed both Monday and Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy so I won’t be able to get the car until next Monday when the money will be in my account.

Getting back to working at Amazon, the hands get very sore from using a scanner and the feet get sore from walking so much. I do have good shoes so my feet aren’t too bad. I try to switch the scanner to my left hand, but I still seem to favor my right hand. But I am getting better with my left hand.

There was a cold front that went through here and it got down into the 20’s at night, but right now the weather is great. It is 74 high and low 30’s at night. I have both electric and propane heaters and have finally figured out a good balance between the two.

Saturday my neighbor and friend from last year Steve and I went to a local casino and everyone was decked out in their Halloween costumes. What a riot. It was a great time. If you drink at the bar the drinks don’t cost anything (except for a tip) if you tell them you are gambling. I had two Corona’s and only put $6 in the slot machine. It was a really fun time.

Tomorrow starts my third week on the job with eight more to go. Actually the time is going by pretty fast. Before long I will be with all my friends at Quartzsite, AZ.

2nd Year on the Road

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Jim Melvin

On July 12, 2012 I just completed my second year of fulltime RVing. I can’t believe I have been on the road so long. So once again, as I did last year, I will summarized this fantastic year with some of the highlights.

Remember you can click on any pic then click again to enlarge.

Working in Texas

To start I was in Texas and decided to work for a month to help defray costs of traveling to Texas to see my family. What a mistake that was. It was 106 degrees and higher the entire month I worked. Oh well I will definitely know better next time to stay away from there during the summer.

Grand Canyon of Texas

After my work duties were over I headed to Palo Dura State Park in northwestern Texas. It is know as the Grand Canyon of Texas and a very beautiful place. While there I hiked the Lighthouse Trail and took this pic of myself standing on the plateau in front of the lighthouse.

Taking advantage of my NM state pass

Then it was off to New Mexico where I wanted to take advantage of the last few months of my New Mexico State Pass. My first stop was Clayton SP.

Then on to Sugarite SP, just south of the NM/CO border. This next pic shows Lake Dorothy just north of Sugarite SP.

My next stop was Cimmaron SP and the town of Cimmaron.

Fulfilling a boy scout dream

I also visited Philmont Scout Ranch, which had always been a dream of mine ever since I was a Boy Scout.

More of beautiful new mexico

After that it was Eagle Nest SP, Coyote Creek SP (where I saw a bear), Storie Lake SP and then on to Villanueva SP where I got my semi-annual haircut. Finally it was off to Hyde Memorial SP.

Then in October I met up with all my good friends at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta where I stayed and partied for 10 days. Even had a balloon land on top of my rig. HA!

After the Balloon Fiesta I drove south to Poncho Villa SP to enjoy a Escapees Chapter 21 Rally. Of course that also included a trip to Palomas, Mexico where I had to have some dental work done and make sure the margaritas still tasted as good as always.

A visit to the Whitehouse

Next stop on my route was Canyon de Chelly (pronunced d’Shay). Located on an Indian Reservation it is a beautiful place and a must see for anyone in that area of Arizona. Of course I had to hike the Whitehouse Trail, which is so beautiful.

Monument Valley

From there it was to Monument Valley, UT. Talk about a fabulous area, don’t miss out on seeing this.

On my way to Amazon

Then I drove north to Interstate 50. It is known as the loneliest highway in America. And believe me it really is. You could drive for miles and miles and never see a car or truck in either direction. You would not want to break down on this road.

My destination was Fernley, NV, where I worked for Amazon for 8 weeks. By the way it was probably the hardest job I have ever had. Thankfully the 8 weeks went by fairly fast, although it took a couple of months to get healed from the aches and pains I suffered at that job. OUCH!!! On top of that it was very cold as well. Four degrees when I left there.

I then drove to Reno, NV and parked my rig and flew to SO CA to spend a week with my family over the holidays. It was really great seeing everyone and getting caught up. I even played some golf. Actually I tried to play some golf. HA! What a joke!

Time to warm up

Then I hit the road to get out of that cold weather up north and drove down to Quartzsite, AZ. There I met up with a whole bunch of Lazy Dazers (about 20 rigs at different times) and relaxed in the wonderful Arizona sunshine. Of course I also saw the crazy RV show and even saw a concert by Paul Winer (the Naked Book Seller) although he was fully clothed. Great show by the way with SRO.

With the help of all my friends I was able to upgrade my rig with new LED lighting, another 12v receptacle and an outdoor motion sensor light.

Next stop – Imperial Dam

In February I left Quartzsite and headed to Imperial Dam just outside of Yuma, AZ I really enjoyed my stay there with more friends. Got to do a lot of hiking in the desert. Plus don’t forget the wild donkeys. HA!

Heading south of the border senor!

Then it was south of the border to Mexico with the Harvest Host Wine and Whale Watching Tour. What a fabulous trip that turned out to be. Visited 5 wineries, with great wine tasting at each. The wineries were located in the Valley of Gaudelope with very beautiful scenery around. Also stopped in Ensenada for a day, where we had a great lunch down at the fish market and an opportunity to stock up on lots of great seafood. Of course we also had to have some cervasa’s (brewskies) at Hussong’s Cantina.

Later visited La Bufadora (the blow hole). Another very scenic spot.

The wineries were great plus the wine was even greater! Even got to see a colt that was born that very day. How exciting!

I am NOT an illegal alien!

After crossing back into the US I drove to Tamarisk LTVA where I stayed for a week and met some really wonderful people. We hiked ever day in the desert and one day we were surrounded by Border Patrol cars who thought we were illegal aliens. No comprende Senor! What a trip that was!

One of my very favorite spots

After spending so much time with so many wonderful people, I needed a break and decided to head for one of my most favorite spots in the Clark Dry Lake bed of the Anza Borrego desert in southern California. It is 7 miles outside of Borrego Springs. This place is so peaceful and always gives me a chance to reflect on my future plans. It was here where I made my resume on workamper.com and emailed it to various people. Within 10 minutes I had a call for the job I would be working at this summer. More on that later.

Back to the coast

Then it was off to the west coast to Oceanside, where I parked my rig at the Elks Club and took the train up to Orange County to see family. It was back and forth visiting different members of my family and it was great seeing my Mom. Love you Mom!

Heading up north

Then it was time to hit the road and head up north. My first stop was the Trona Pinnacles outside of Ridgecrest, CA. It is like a trip to another planet.

From there it was off to the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine, CA. This has been one place I always dreamed of venturing to even before I had an RV. An absolute MUST SEE.

From there it was off to Mona Lake, where I stayed for about 5 days and ventured around the area seeing the tufa’s at the edge of the lake and the weird cloud formations.

I also took a side trip to the old ghost town of Bodie, CA. Much of the town is still intact as it was a hundred years ago. Really neat and another MUST SEE.

Then I finally made it to Oregon where I stayed at Goose Lake SP, La Pine SP and finally Crooked River Ranch.

My workplace for the summer

I met up with my area managers who I would be working for the summer in Prineville, OR. I am the camp host at the Ochoco Divide, a NFS campground. It is on the summit (4,726′ elevation) of Hwy 26. This campground is nestled among giant (200′) Ponderosa Pines among other pine trees as well. I have now been here 2 months and love this job. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and have lots of areas to hike in.

Well that about wraps up another fabulous year of my fulltime RV lifestyle. There were some tough times (truck breaking down) and some great times (caravan trip to Mexico) as well as taking time out to see my family, which is very important to me. I had lots of times spent with great friends and even some time to myself to ponder how lucky I am.

I almost can’t believe it has been two years since I have set out on the road. I would also like to thank all my wonderful followers who have been with me as I experienced each and every day. Every day is a new adventure.

RV Show

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Lots to see at the big tent

I decided to go down to the RV Show at the big tent and leave my wallet at home and take my camera instead. It was certainly a lot cheaper that way but also a lot of fun. Here are some of the pics I took. If you enter the tent from the south side you are greeted by the Michelin Man.

Everyone likes FREE camping

Once inside the tent don’t forget to stop by and say hello to Don and Kim Greene. They are the nicest people you will ever meet and they run Harvest Hosts where you can camp overnight for free at many wineries, orchards and farms. Just click on the link below to be taken to their site for more information.

Right now they are running two tours of wineries in Mexico and in the Fall they will be running a 23 day RV trip to the wineries in France. In the works is also an RV tour of the wineries in New Zealand.

Here is a pic of Don Greene posing in front of his booth.
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If you get hungry

This is the soup lady where you can get easy to fix packaged soups. I bought them from her last year and they were really great.

When lunch time rolls around you might want to stop off at J T’s Louisiana BBQ. They have both beef and pork sandwhiches for only $4. They are soooo goood.

This BBQ is operated by JT and his family. Here you can see them cooking up that delicious BBQ in the back.

And then top that all of with an ice cream cone.

We all could use extra money

If you are looking for a great job next winter check out the Amazon booth. They will sign you up for a job at three different fullfillment centers. I signed up here last year and worked at the Fernly, NV center. It was a good job that gave me some extra spending money.

While walking through the tent I ran into Clay and Tami who I worked with last winter at Amazon. In fact I saw quite a few co-workers while walking the tent.

Lots of other stuff as well

This guy takes laying down at the job quite literally. He is selling bedding.

Need a hat?

Checkout these butts! HA!

Old guys rule!

If you have any pains you might want to stop off at this booth.

Maybe you just need to clean your RV.

No need to be in any hurry. We all have plenty of time.

Finally you might even hit the jack pot! Great name for a toilet.

Want More Bandwidth?????

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Verizon Air Card UMW190

Many people utilize the Verizon Air Card UMW190 to connect to the Internet while traveling. It is a great tool and with some exceptions you can usually get online anywhere. I have used it for 2 years and was happy with its ability to wander the Internet. I read email, pay bills, purchase stuff online, read blogs and watch movies on occassion. However there is only one drawback to the air card that really irks me. It only allows you 5 GB per month.

you will NEVER use 5GB!!

When I purchased it and signed up for the 2 year contract, the sales person at Best Buy told me that I would NEVER approach 5GB. I guess he didn’t know me very well. I not only use all of the 5GB allotted per month, but there have even been times when I go over that amount. Then you are paying big bucks.

You ask how I am using so much bandwidth. Well I like to watch movies and I am also one of those people that click on the little arrow within blogs that take you to a 5 minute short video. What is so wrong with that? Nothing except it uses up all your allotted bandwidth. A movie can use between 1.5-2GB. I was limited to one movie per month and if I was real careful in my Internet reading I could squeeze a second movie out of it without having to pay out the nose.

To make a long story short (HA!), my 2 year contract on the air card expired in Nov and I was hoping I could come up with a better solution for my Internet viewing. In the meantime, I had also signed up for Amazon’s Prime Membership. They have over 11,000 movies you can stream to your computer or tablet and many of them are FREE. What a deal!

I contacted my friend Ed of “The travels of Ed, Carol & Gopher the dog ” fame. He suggested I might check out the Escapees Forum for more information. He also threw out the name Millenicom, which I had heard before. The escapees forum has loads of information but I wasn’t sure what to buy. But based on many of their readers I started to investigate the Millenicom 3G/4G Hotspot that so many people had mentioned. The more I read about it the more I liked what I saw.

Features

It is a 3G/4G Hotspot Samsung modem that will go out and try to obtain a 4G signal if it is available, otherwise it will get you a 3G signal.
There is no contract to sign and you can stop service anytime you like.
You are entitled to 10GB of 3G and an additional 10GB of 4G. Or you can get 20GB of and combination of 3G or 4G.
You can hook up to 5 wireless devises to it.
Only $69.99 per month. The price on their site states $80 per month but if you sign up now they will grandfather in the lower price.
Did I mention NO CONTRACT!

So I went ahead and pulled the trigger. It costs me a total of $221.82 which includes the hotspot modem, a one-time set-up fee, shipping and the first month’s usage. When it came it I followed their instructions and was on the Internet in no time at all. I was staying in Fernley, NV working at Amazon at the time and I was getting a 4G signal from Reno, NV. It was really fast. I still had my Verizon Air Card which I disconnected and stopped using in December as soon as I got the Millenicom hotspot. I didn’t want to cancel that service in case there were any problems using the Hotspot. I wanted to wait until I was traveling to see if it worked as well as the Verizon. I took it with me to SO CA and was using it there without any trouble. I used it at the airports both in Phoenix and Las Vegas and then used it on the road all the way to Quartzsite where I am able to get a good 3G signal.

I am hooked. They bill my credit card automatically. The only problem I see thus far is “How much bandwidth do I really use?” I wrote there support and asked them how I know the amount of bandwidth used in a month. They do not have that information available online, but told me they would be happy to send me the amount if I submitted a ticket. So when my first month was up I submitted a ticket thru their support system and they sent me a reply.

WHAT! I used 11GB!!!

I USED 11GB FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER!!! I couldn’t believe it. With my Amazon Prime Membership I was able to watch 8 full-length movies, plus all my other Internet activities and still have 9GB left over. If I had still been hooked to my Verizon Air Card my bill would probably have wiped out all my income for many months.

I still haven’t used my Verizon Air Card and had suspended service so I wouldn’t get billed. I am calling them and tell them to cancel all air card service from now on. The Millenicom 3G/4G Hotspot is the only way to go. Now I can watch a movie or surf the Internet anytime I want for as long as I want without the constant worry about going over the limit. I used to have an Excel spreadsheet that showed me how much I used daily and how much I have left. I won’t need that anymore!

I have included a pic of it. It is very small and can even fit into your pocket. It does have a power cord but also contains a lithium battery which lasts a very long time. It’s range is about 350 feet so you can have it in your rig and be outside enjoying the great outdoors while surfing the net.