Tag Archives: Workamping

Gettin Cold in Fernley

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Cold spell

We had a cold spell go through here and dropped some snow on the local mountains.  We didn’t get any snow here in Fernley, but the mountains sure looked nice.  The temps dropped down into the low 20’s at night so got out the electric heater.  I bought a Lasko oscillating heater last year at Walmart so I fired it up to keep Chica warm.  I am still learning the best setting for it during the day.  Yesterday I came home and it was 89 degrees inside the rig.  Chica thinks she is in Hawaii.  HA!  HA!  I am thinking of buying a timer so I can only keep it on during the cold parts of the day.  During the day it warms up nicely (so far anyway) and she gets direct sunlight through the side window so she can lay on the couch and bask in the sun.

Sore muscles 

My back has been killing me this week so I have been taking Aleve on a daily basis to cure the pain.  It is usually bad the first couple of weeks until your body acclimates to the punishment that Amazon doles out.  After all life is not east when your making the big bucks.  HA!

Chica’s walks

Diane takes Chica for a nice long walk during the day.  It breaks up the monotony for her and gives her a chance to get some exercise while the sun is still out.  I leave for work in the dark and it is almost dark when I return.  The other day I got a note from Diane stating Chica had hid from her and she didn’t take her for a walk that day.  She said she wouldn’t come when she called her name.  I left a note for Diane stating she sometimes curls up on the seat in the cab where the sun shines in.

By the way I ordered a bed warmer for Chica’s bed so I can turn the heater down lower at night.  I am testing it now and should be able to place it under her bed to keep her nice and snugly.  Chica sure hates it when I am gone all day and goes crazy when I get home.  It takes her about 10 minutes too calm down as she gets very excited when I walk in the door.

Great dinners

I didn’t do too well on cooking for the week last weekend.  After working 10 hours I really don’t fell much like cooking.  So I looked over Casey’s menu and decided I would give her cooking a try.  She doesn’t cook on Sunday so I was on my own.  Monday I had spaghetti and meatballs with cheese garlic bread.  WOW!  It was a real feast.  Then Tuesday and Wednesday I got her soups with garlic bread.  Very yuuuumy!

Overtime

I was assigned Thursday as my mandatory overtime day.  So now I will be working 5 days a week with Friday and Saturday off.  Also our starting time has been moved back to 6:00am.  The best part is that we get off work at 4:30pm.  We can also get voluntary overtime if we want it, but I am not too excited about working 11 hour days.

I hope everyone has a nice safe Halloween tonight!

Love Trader Joe’s and the Apple Store

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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!

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

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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.

 

Marriage, Pack rats and new schedule + results of the poll

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Cycling and marriage proposal

Don’t get any ideas that I’m getting married cause that ain’t going to happen.  I am referring to a couple of cyclists that rode in here looking for water and a place to eat lunch before they headed on down the road.  Julianne and Bjorn looked pretty worn out when they arrived after climbing the long hill from Prineville, OR.  I gave them water and they plopped down to have lunch and take a relaxing break.  They are both from Spokane, WA and they drove down to Walla Walla where they started their adventure.  Then they cycled down to Crater Lake, OR which is quite a ride.  I asked them what was the biggest thrill during their trip and they mentioned that it was at Crater Lake where Bjorn proposed to Julianne and she accepted.  That is a day they will never forget.  You can read more about it at their blog at dryearthandfloods.wordpress.com  

Congratulations Julianne and Bjorn.  May you have a wonderful life together cycling all over the country.  They deserve a high five for not only their engagement but also for that fantastic cycling trip.

Discovered a pack rat

I popped my hood this morning and this is what I saw.  I actually saw the rat as well as it was sitting cozily on his bed.  I almost felt like grabbing him by the tail but I knew better then that.  It was a big one too and scampered off to another section of my engine.  Tomorrow I will head into Prineveille and see about getting something that I can kill the dirty bugger with.


I thought I would be leaving my camp hosting job at the end of September.  Now they are asking me to stay for another week until October 6.  The campground has been surprisingly busy for this time of year.  Probably has to do with the GREAT camp host, but more likely it is due to the extremely warm weather.  It has been in the 90’s three days this week and will be in the upper 80’s almost all next week.  People still want to get out and enjoy this wonderful weather before the rain begins.

It will give me about a week to travel the 400+ miles to Fernley, NV to work for Amazon.

The votes are in

I would like to thank everyone for voting in the poll last week regarding the new look of Jimbo’s Journeys Blog.  Out of 81 votes received, I have 77 (95.06%) in favor of the new look and only 4 (4.94%) in favor of the old look.  It looks like the new look is here to stay.  Thanks again for letting me know.

Only a couple of weeks to go

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Winding down

It doesn’t seem possible that I have been here at Ochoco Divide NFS campground for almost 4 1/2 months.  I am scheduled to close up the park at the end of the month.  I still keep getting a steady flow of campers although not as many.  I think it is due to the fact that this area has not gotten any rain yet, however it is getting colder at night.  Day time temps are still in the 80’s and Thursday it is supposed to go up to 90, but the night temperatures have gone done to the 40’s and even the 30’s.  There is still much to do here as I have bathroom floors and picnic tables to paint on top of the regular routine.

Not too many cyclists left

I am still getting a few cyclists coming through the campground usually looking to just take a break after climbing a long hill from Mitchell, OR and also needing water.  Dan and Isabella are from Sisters, OR and they came through here headed east about a week ago.  I gave them some water then and they headed on their way.  This past week they came through on their return trip and also stopped for a rest and some fresh water.  They had cycled to Joseph, a little town next to Hell’s Canyon and east of the Wallowa mountain range.  That must have been some beautiful scenery.

Almost to the East Coast

A few days ago I sent my friend Jack an text message asking him how he was doing and where he was.  Jack started out his cycling adventure in Florence, OR and his goal was the Atlantic Ocean.  He called me and said he was in Kentucky and only had about 450 miles to go to finish.  What an accomplishment!

Not really too much else to report but I am looking forward to hitting the road soon.