Northwest Lazy Daze GTG

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Baker City, OR

We made it to the small town of Baker City, OR for the Northwest Lazy Daze GTG. It was great fun and I met a lot of new friends there as well as seeing some old friends as well. The weather when we arrived was windy but the second day day was great.

Here is a pic of an entire row of LD’s that were parked at the Mt. View RV Park. It was really cool seeing so many LD’s all lined up.

Meetings and potlucks

We had our meetings and potlucks here. The group also supplied breakfast. What a deal!

Here is their General Store/Office.

Some of us were working

John received a new turret for his satellite TV. I helped him replace it as he has done so many things for me over the years. We got it all hooked up and he fired it up and it still would not work correctly. What a bummer!!! They are going to send him a new unit once he gets home to Colorado.

Learning Genealogy

Donna was teaching the fine points of genealogy. I have done some work on archives.com but was not very good at it. She gave all her students a packet with lots of great ideas on how to create your family tree.

There was also a GTG with Pete Reed for all those that were going on the Canada trip. We all went through our Itinerary together and everyone had a lot of questions. We are all very excited for the trip to begin.

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

A few of us went up to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center outside of Baker City. It was a very fascinating place and very informative. Here are a couple of pics from the center.

Thank you Northwest Lazy Daze

I want to thank everyone in the Northwest Lazy Daze group. I had a wonderful time and met many new faces as well as some I had met previously. It was a great time. I apologize for posting this so late, but the Internet service since then has been really lousy.

Quartzsite Car Show

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Classic Car Show

On our hike down to the produce store Ann, Jerry and I stopped in the big tent for the Annual Classic Car Show. There were still many vendors left over from the RV Show that were located in the center of the tent. On either end of the tent they had many classic cars on display. They were all shined up and looking good.

Tear Drops and smaller rigs

They even had Tear Drops and small trailers that were towed behind some classy trucks. They were really fixed up nicely. It reminds me of the time I was at camped at Camp Sherman in Oregon and was invaded by a “Sisters on the Fly” club. Some of those gals had small travel trailers, Casitas and Tear Drop trailers as well. You can see that post at Moving on to Camp Sherman. It was great fun seeing all the different types of rigs people own.

Finally this one was a small trailer that was nicely decorated and very comfy. Nothing I would want to live in fulltime though, but it sure would be nice for weekend jaunts.

Beautiful Arizona Sunset

After hiking back to out campground we had a small get-together for “Happy Hour” and I got this pic of another beautiful sunset.

More Quartzsite Happenings

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Jim Melvin

WIN’s Ice Cream Social

Saturday Andrea and I drove over to the WIN’s (Wandering Individuals Network) Ice Cream Social off Palomas Rd north of Quartzsite. The WIN’s had invited all the LOW’s (Loners on Wheels), Escapee SOLO’s and the Escapees Boomers groups over as well. They had lots of ice cream and it was really a fun time. I did catch up with a few of my friends in the LOW’s group and it was fun chatting with them.

Final Upgrades to “The Breeze”

I finally purchased a couple more of the LED lights to go into my rig. That will be the last of my purchases for this winter. John installed my RV Motion Sensor light which replaced my existing porch light. Later he adjusted it so that it wasn’t too sensitive.

Roger installed the LED lights that replaced the fluorescent tubes. What a difference. One LED gives off more light than two fluorescents. Thanks go out to both Roger and John for all their help.

Sunset and last campfire

We had our last campfire and burned up the remainder of the wood that John supplied from his property in Colorado. We sure had a lot of campfires from all that wood. I also took a pic of the sunset.

Sunrise and farewell

I got up early to bid farewell to all the people who were leaving this morning. I even got to see this beautiful sunrise.

There were six people and three dogs who departed this morning. They were Ed and Carol (and gopher), John and Linda (and Sadie), Roger, and finally Steve (and Jiggs). We all had a wonderful time together and they will be missed. Annie and Rick (and Dweezle) were going to leave but Rick was feeling much better from whatever was ailing him and the day was so nice they decided to stay another day.

Tonight at our Happy Hour was Ann and Jerry, Chuck and Beverly, Annie and Rick, Andrea and I. We had a nice time but it was a bit quieter.

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.

Quartzsite Happenings

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Jim Melvin

Warm and sunny days

I just wanted to update you on all the latest happenings in Quartzsite. The weather has been getting much warmer with temps being in the low 70’s during the day and high 30’s at night). The last couple of days have really been beautiful with calm days and no clouds.

A real jackrabbit

A few of us decided to walk into town to the produce market next to the post office. They have some really nice produce. On the way as we were walking down Old Yuma Road, Frank and Cookie drove by with their dog Buddy in the back seat. That really set off Sadie (John and Linda’s Labradoodle). She wanted to see Buddy. She started jumping up and down like a jackrabbit. I took a couple of pics but it didn’t really show how she was jumping. At times all 4 paws were off the ground.

A neat toyhauler

On the way we ran into this guy who had a really neat red RV. He happened to be working on his engine so I stopped by to have a talk. His rig was actually a custom built toyhauler with room for a small car under the back bedroom. He even gave John and I a tour of the inside. It was very spacious and very well built. We didn’t recall seeing any windows but after looking at the outside pic there is a couple. They must have had the blinds closed because everything looked rather dark. Not like our bright Lazy Daze rigs.

Wash day and lunch at the Grubstake

The following day several of us headed to the Laundromat and then off to the Grubstake for lunch. It is getting more crowded every day as it approaches time for the RV Show which starts on Saturday 1/21. We were all lucky to get to the Laundromat without having to fight too many people for either a parking space or a washer/dryer. In a few days it will be an absolute madhouse all over town. Linda and I walked down to the bakery about 2 blocks from the Laundromat while our clothes were washing. As you approached the building you could smell all the wonderful things they were baking. I picked up a loaf of freshly made French bread and a couple of apple fritters, while Linda got a loaf of bread and a couple of bear claws. Then we returned and finished our laundry.

We all planned to meet at the Grubstake for lunch later on. Their food is sooooo gooood!!! Most of us had the $5 fish special and Roger had the hamburger. I didn’t hear any complaints about the food whatsoever. It is a great place to eat. Again we were able to walk right in and get a table. I wonder what it will be like in a few days.

Improvements on my rig

On Friday John and Rodger came over to install a 12v receptacle under my dinette. Previously I had to hook up my inverter on the other side of my rig and run an extension strip to my dinette to power my computer and charge my phone, camera and both of my Kindles. This is a pic of John installing the receptacle.

That is one of the GREAT benefits of meeting up with other Lazy Daze folks. Everyone has great ideas and they are willing to help you with improvements on your rig. Here is a pic of my inverter at work in its new spot. This is so much better than dragging the 10 ft extension across my floor.

A great wiener roast

That evening we planned a wiener roast for dinner. We had all the hot dogs and fixin’s and a lot of GREAT side dishes. It was a super meal and everyone had a good time. Then we all sat around and had great conversations about anything and everything.

I think everyone has decided to stay home for the weekend and refrain from going to the big tent which contains the RV Show. I went last year on the first day and it was way too crowded. So we will probably head up there either Monday or Tuesday. I will take lots of pics to show you what is going on.

Pinata Party – Ole

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Jim Melvin

POI Instructions for our Garmin GPS

A couple of days ago Ed, Jerry, Beverly and myself all got together in my rig so that Ed could show us how to add POIs (Points of Interest) to our Garmin GPS. We were all able to connect to my 3G/4G Hotspot to get on the Internet. Ed went through all the steps explaining everything at each step. Once we had everything set up it was quite easy. I was able to add Wal-Mart, Reststops, and Pilot Gas stations to my Garmin. Then he showed us how to access it on our Garmins. How cool!!! Thanks Ed for being so patient with us. Here is a pic of all of us (except me) working on this project.

Later on everyone made a mass hike to the dumpster about 1/4 mile down the road.

More shopping

We also did a bit of shopping on Kuehn St. Lots of vendors. I bought an Indian Taco at Ed’s advice and was it ever good. Shredded beef on Indian fry bread. Very good! I wish I had taken a pic of it.

Then we also did some shopping in the Tyson Wells Flea Market. I ran into a neat collection of old bottles.

One of the vendors had this sign up. I guess we are all in the same boat. I would like a few of them myself.

Before we left I picked up my license plate holders.

Pinata party

That night we had our pinata party. Chuck and Beverly had been at Algadones, Mexico and purchased a pinata and also some tamales. Everyone furnished something for dinner and happy hour that had a Mexican theme. Here is a pic of our pinata.

After dinner we all tried to break the pinata. We all had a great time and Linda finally broke it and candy was everywhere. I put together this small movie of everyone trying to break the pinata. We all had a great time.

I took this pic of the Big Q on the side of the hill.

Back On The Road Again

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Jim Melvin

Back in the saddle again..

I was parked at the Balloon Fiesta for 10 days. It was wonderful, but it is always good to be back on the road. I am headed south to meet up with the Escapees Chapter 21 Rally in Columbus, NM. I attended it for the first time last year and became a member of their Chapter. Since then I have also attended their winter rally in Parker, AZ. They are really a fun bunch of people.

Stopover at Elephant Butte

My first stop was going to be Elephant Butte State Park for one night. It is about half way between Albuquerque and Columbus. This is one of my favorite New Mexico state parks. I also met Annie and Rick down their who are headed to Deming. They had me over for a delicious dinner and we sat and talked at their campfire for many hours. It is always a great time when you can spend it with good friends. Thanks so much Annie and Rick for everything. In the morning we said our goodbyes. We will be getting back together in Quartzsite, AZ in January.

I first met Annie and Rick at the Balloon Fiesta last year and we have seen each other several times since then. That is what I love most about the fulltime RV lifestyle. You meet really great people and then connect with them again and again at other places. This happens a lot of the time with many different friends. It is always so much fun comparing notes on where each other has been and what we have done between our meetings.

Elephant Butte is looking very different then when I was last there. Much of the water has gone away from the point at South Monticello campgrounds. You can really see the results of the terrible draught that has hit southern New Mexico. Here is a pic of our campsites right on a bluff overlooking the Rio Grande at sunrise. Annie and Rick’s rig is on the left with mine on the right.

Finally meeting RVSue and Crew

While there I had read RVSue and Crew’s blog and Sue had mentioned that she had been staying at Elephant Butte as well only in a different campground. I thought I would make an attempt at locating her and the crew on my way out of the area. I figured that I could easily spot her Casita and the PTV(Perfect Tow Vehicle). I managed to drive thru all the electric sites available near the marina. I was just about ready to give up, thinking she may have moved down the road, when I finally spotted them in the last electric site area.

If any of you have been following either her blog or mine you probably know that I am usually about 1-2 days behind her. She started out in the northern New Mexico state parks and made her way south, just as I did. In meeting her it was like we were old friends even though we had never met. Plus I got to meet Spike and Bridget her 2 rat terriers who were very friendly to me.

I did get a picture of her with her crew, but she asked that I not post it so I will abide by her wishes. Next time we meet Sue I want a picture!

I did take several pics of the marina area at Elephant Butte.

Tooth problems…

Then it was on to Columbus for the Chapter 21 Rally, where I stayed at Poncho Villa SP. I had already made an appointment with my dentist Dr. Karla. When visiting my family last August, I had chipped a back tooth and was afraid I would lose the entire tooth causing a lot of pain. I was very careful eating on one side. Dr Karla examined my tooth and came to the conclusion that the tooth was still entact, but I would need a crown. I walked across the border and she prepped my tooth for the crown and then gave me a temporary tooth. I am to return in a week for the permanent tooth and to also have my teeth cleaned.

Chapter 21 Breakfast and Meeting

Chapter 21 conducted their business meeting shortly after breakfast and then held a raffle. I won Microsoft Streets and Trips 2011 and a bottle of Chardonnay. Not too shabby!!!!

Crossing the border

Today a group of us walked across the border to go to the Pink Store for dinner and shopping. I have been there before and always enjoy the food and the great margaritas. Today when we got to the border the kids had just gotten off their school buses. They were really cute and all around us.

Meeting a new friend

Dan came to the rally to get ideas about what rig to buy and how people lived the fulltiming lifestyle. He didn’t own an RV yet but was planning to purchase in the next couple of months. I showed him my rv and several others showed them theirs so he had lots of ideas. He and I went on a walk from the Pink Store to the park in Palomas, Mexico.

Shopping and Dining at The Pink Store

Today was our day to meet at The Pink Store and get our fill of shopping and dining. The food was delicious and we all had a great time as you can tell from the following pics.

A mariachi band entertained us while we were dining. The food was great and everyone enjoyed themselves. It was the perfect ending to a great rally.

I will probably travel up to Deming, NM for a few days until I return to the dentist for my crown and cleaning next week. Maybe I can find some friends up at the Low-Hi RV park where all the singles meet.

Lets Hope It’s The Right Pump

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Jim Melvin

I am still w…a…i…t…i…n…g…

I spent the Labor Day Weekend in my room at InTown Suites online catching up on blogs and also watching TV. Fun eh! – NO! I would much rather be on the road making new adventures. Besides TV dinners are not the greatest either. YUK!!!

Part should be here today – HOORAY!!

According to the FedEx tracking system my fuel pump should arrive at the dealer sometime today. I called Daniel at the dealer to let him know the pump will be coming in today and to let me know when it arrives. With any luck it is the correct pump and I should be out of here in a few days.

Swype on my Droid is so fast…

I subscribe to a newsletter sent out by Geeks On Tour. In it they describe how to type on your Android phone a whole word at a time without removing your finger from the keyboard. WOW!! I love new technology and just had to see how this works. I read their article and within a half hour I was typing away on my phone’s keyboard with the greatest of ease.

I would highly recommend checking out the Geeks on Tour site. They have a lot of FREE articles and videos that cover things like Picasa, computer tricks. organizing your computer, Google Earth, Microsoft Streets and Trips, etc. Check them out. Like I said many are FREE but you can also sign up for their paid membership for $39 per year and have access to all of their videos on how to do many interesting things using your computer. I have a yearly membership and can’t begin to tell you how useful it has been. I have really learned a great deal from them. They also give seminars at many RV rallys throughout the country so look for them.

By the way, I am not affiliated with any of the above recommendations except to be a very satisfied user of all.

One Year On The Road

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Jim Melvin

It has been one year on July 12 that I started my fulltime RV’ing lifestyle. I can’t believe it has been a whole year. I took the time to go back through this year and show you some of the highlights of my adventure.

Be sure to click and then click again to enlarge all photos.

July, 2010 – Inyokern, CA – My very first campsite at the beginning of my adventure. I was really a rookie back then.

July, 2010 – Sequoia National Park – Boondocking in Fish Creek Campsite in the Sequoias.

August, 2010 – Sisters, OR – Camping on the Metolius River outside of Sisters, OR. What a fantastic spot.

August, 2010 – Crater Lake National Park. Words cannot describe this beautiful place.

September, 2010 – Eugene, OR – Getting my solar panels installed. My boondocking will be much quieter and more efficient from now on.

October, 2010 – Albuquerque, NM – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta – 10 fabulous days with other fun Lazy Daze owners.

October, 2010 – Palomas, Mexico – Central park. Visited there after attending Escapees Chapter 21 Rally.

October, 2010 – Deming, NM – Rockhound State Park – This a rock hounds dream park. Lots of different rocks.

November, 2010 – Socorro, NM – Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – Visited there during the Festival of the Cranes event.

December, 2010 – January, 2011 – Death Valley, CA – A beautiful view of Death Valley during an annual Lazy Daze Rally.

January, 2011 – Quartzsite, AZ – Got together with a bunch of Lazy Daze owners during the Quartzsite RV Show. It was a blast boondocking in the desert. Lots of food, a campfire every night and the BIG TENT RV Show.

February, 2011 – Anza-Borrego, CA – Boondocking in the Anza-Borrego Desert.

February, 2011 – Niland, CA – Boondocking with the LOW’s (Loners On Wheels) at Slab City. Everyone should go there at least once.

February/March, 2011 – Benson, AZ – The winter SW Lazy Daze Rally at Pato Blanco RV Resort. Lots of great food and people.

March, 2011 – Picacho Peak, AZ – A civil war re-enactment at Picacho Peak State Park. Event lasted all week-end with gun battles and actual tents and other equipment during that era..

March, 2011 – Douglas, AZ – Visiting with friends at Bell Starr’s Silverado Ranch. Belle is wearing the pink hat. We all helped Belle work on her ranch projects. A MUST see. She is quite a lady.

April, 2011 – Alamogordo, NM – White Sands National Monument. Very surreal.

May, 2011 – Carlsbad, NM – Carlsbad Caverns. A MUST see.

May, 2011 – Melvin, TX – I just had to visit there.

May, 2011 – San Antonio, TX – The Alamo in downtown San Antonio, TX. Another MUST see.

May, 2010 – San Antonio, TX – The San Antonio River-walk. A really neat and fun place.

May, 2011 – San Antonio, TX – The Tower of Americas. The view from the top is spectacular.

May, 2011 – Luckenbach, TX. I just had to visit here because of the song made famous by Willie Nelson and Waylan Jennings.

May, 2011 – Blanco, TX – My campsite in Blanco State Park. How about that for a back yard?

June, 2011 – Fort Worth, TX. The highlight of my year. Being able to visit my family. It was sooooo much fun.

July, 2011 – Karnack, TX – Caddo Lake State Park. I spent a week here and loved every minute.

It has been a wonderful year. I have traveled 12,702 miles in 6 different states and 2 different countries. I have attended 8 RV Rallies where I have met a lot of people, learned a lot about things I never knew anything about, and spent money upgrading my rig.

This year has been much better then I even anticipated. I met a lot of great people who I continue to keep in touch with. I am looking forward this next year to travel to places I have never seen before and meet more wonderful people.

Blogs I Follow – “Lifes Little Adventures”

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Jim Melvin

In between my journeys I am going to write about the blogs I follow myself. I plan on telling you about each blog and the particular reasons I happen to be following them. The first blog I would like to mention is “Life’s Little Adventures” . This blog is written by Jim and Gayle who have been on the road fulltiming with 2 cats since Oct. 2008.

I first met Jim and Gayle in Albuquerque, NM during the 2010 Balloon Fiesta. We were all introduced to each other since we were with a large group of Lazy Daze owners. If you have never attended a Balloon Fiesta you are really missing out on a great time. Lots of wonderful fun people, great food and of course the hundreds of balloons that go over us each day. It was one of the highlights of my fulltiming adventures and I will be attending again this year.

After the Balloon Fiesta we each went our different ways and I didn’t catch up with Jim and Gayle until January, 2011 at Quartzsite. Again it was a Lazy Daze group that was organized to meet by my good friend Roger. We spent about a week boondocking about 1/2 mile from the big tent and everyone shared their experiences of the day at the campfire. Again it was a great time.

After that there was a 4 day SW Lazy Daze Rally in Benson, AZ over Feb/March where we met up again. It is amazing how you happen to meet up with perfect strangers and become great friends in just a matter of months.

I had scheduled to have my teeth cleaned in Palomas, Mexico by my new-found dentist some time in April, 2011 so spent a few days at Pancho Villa State Park. Just before I was going to leave I got an email from Jim and Gayle. They mentioned that they were staying at Rockhound State Park about 30 miles away and wondered if I would like to meet up with them there. I agreed and met them there the following day. While there we did a lot of hiking in the park and in the nearby parks as well. It was great fun.

At the time this post was written they are camp hosting at Lake Wappapello in Missouri. I don’t think they were planning on attending the Balloon Fiesta this year since they will be going to a Lazy Daze rally instead.

They are great friends and I have enjoyed both camping with them and reading about their adventures in their “Life’s Little Adventures” blog. By the way I am horrible about remembering names but their names were really easy for me. Jim and Gayle are the names of my parents. How could I forget them? LOL!!!!!