Irene and I left beautiful Mardon Estate in Mission, TX on Wednesday, April 8th. It was a 2 day drive to Tucson and our visit with baby Bela and her parents. We had a wonderful time with her. She is one of the smilingest kids you would ever meet. It's always great to see your children "walking in the truth." Joshua preaches at the Old Spanish Trail church of Christ in Tucson. He does a great job.
We were in Tucson until Saturday the 18th. It was an easy 5 hour drive over to Copper Basin Bible Camp in Prescott where we would be involved in a physical sojourn doing mainly painting to get the Camp ready for its summer Camp sessions.
We left Voyager RV Resort (highly recommended if you are an RVer and need a place to stay in Tucson) at about 9:00 AM. Even stopping along the way for lunch we would get there by 3:00 PM easy-peasy. We were not quite to Phoenix when Greg Ryznar called and asked what time we were going to be arriving. I kind of jokingly asked "Is there a spot for us?" He replied "Yep, I got one saved for you guys right beside us." "Cool, sounds great" I replied.
Then about an hour later Del Ray, the team leader for the sojourn called us when we were already north of Phoenix.
"Hi, this is Del Ray. Are you guys on your way here already?"
"Yep, we are already north of Phoenix and should be there in about 1 1/2 hours."
"Well, here's the thing: I don't think I have a spot for you."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
"Really? We just spoke to Greg Ryznar about an hour ago and he said he had a spot for us right beside him."
"REALLY!" he replied. "Well, let me talk with him and we'll get back with you."
(I guess here is where you should be told that when a location asks for a sojourn the application asks SPECIFICALLY "How many RVs do they have room for?" Then THAT is the number of lines that are put on the request form for the sojourners to sign up on. The sojourn is "FULL" when that many Sojourners have signed up for that sojourn. So, theoretically, it should be impossible to ever hear: "I'm not sure I have a spot for you.")
About a half-hour later Greg called us back. "Yep, there's a spot right beside us. I do need to tell you though that there is a wash you'll need to go through with about an inch of water in it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker weighs 45,000 lbs (as in 22 1/2 TONS). What you talkin' 'bout a "wash with 1inch of water in in?" The LAST THING you want to do is sink 22 1/2 tons of RV up to the axles in mud or sand. The hairs on our neck stood up.
The next thing Greg told us was "We are going to put some boards in it to raise it up so you can get across it without dragging. There's a bank you have to go down into the wash and last year even in our 40 footer we drug the rear hitch going through it."
SAY, WHAT???????????????????????
The Trekker is 45 feet long. As in 5 feet LONGER then your 40 foot rig. If you dragged as you went through it we could get our rear end ripped off, destroyed or we could get stuck so our front end would be in the bank on one side and our rear end (which extends 8 feet PAST our rear tires) stuck into the dirt and all 8 wheels spinning in the air. YIKES!
So, Irene and I decided we should drive to the Walmart in Prescott; drop the Ford Flex; leave the Trekker at the Walmart and drive the Flex the 8 miles to the camp and take a look at the situation ourselves.
When we arrived we were, what's the proper word: shocked, NO, aghast, NO. Heck I don't even know what to call it.
The wash with 1" of water in it was the LEAST of the worries. The "wash" had concrete poured in it and could have easily handled the weight of the Trekker. The slope down into the wash was mild enough to make it down into the wash. The REAL problem was the grade OUT of the wash on the other side. It was a steep enough grade that I can guaran-ding-dong-tee you we would have caused major damage to the rear cap of our rig if we had tried to go up it. But for the moment I'll humor you and say we could make it.
The bigger problem was, how could we get into the camp itself. Have you ever seen the sign on a tractor trailer truck that says "This vehicle makes WIDE right turns?" It's because of the length of the trailer (usually 54 feet). The trailer (or in our case the RV) has to drive until its REAR wheels are past the corner or building or tree BEFORE it can start its turn or BAMMMMM! the truck trailer (or our RV) creams the side of the building, tree or the pedestrian that was standing near the curb it just jumped up onto.
You see there were these trees next to the turn-in to the camp. The turn-in to the camp that is much to small for a 45' rig to turn into without the tree on the driver's side removing the final 10 feet of the driver's side of the Trekker. Apparently whoever planted these tree had never heard of the law of physics that "No two pieces of matter can occupy the same space at the same time" and this tree already has THIS space occupied. It was making the entrance to the RV area impassable to us in our 45' rig. When the camp was opened the longest RV was probably only 30' long so there wouldn't have been a problem.
We spent about an hour calling RV camps around Prescott and driving to them to see if one might have an opening for the 2 week of the sojourn. No such vacancy existed. So sadly we had to leave and not participate in the sojourn. We also called Camp Bee and told them that there needs to be a place on the application for a sojourn and on the sojourn sheet that states the MAXIMUM length of a rig that can get into the camp, church parking lot, etc.
So, we have come back to Tucson to spend the 2 weeks that we were supposed to be at the Copper Basin Bible Camp with our grand daughter beautiful Bela. It's given us time to prepare for our sojourn coming up in Kayenta and our Sojourn in Cincinnati, OH.
We leave this Saturday morning for Kayenta AFTER Josh and I go see Avengers: Age of Ultron Friday night.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
A Virtual Potpourri!
Let's start with a tech note. I got a new laptop about 3 weeks ago. It is an Apple MacBook Pro 15" with 500 GB SOLID STATE memory. Talk about blazing. It take 10 seconds from being Powered Off to being Turned ON and up and running. Everything loads SOOOOOO quickly. It's amazing to work with. PLUS, it has the retina display on it. I have NEVER seen a screen that is so sharp. Everything seems to just POP off of the screen. I highly recommend solid state memory in your next computer. If you don't like Apple you won't be able to get Retina Display. If that's the case then get a PC notebook with a video card that is 4k UHD (Ultra High Definition).
I think I've shared on this blog that I am a LITTLE BIT of a TV-aholic. So, when the 1 to 8 splitter (1 HDMI input, 1 HDMI output and 7 CAT6 outputs) that was fed by our Winegard DirecTV Trav'ler antenna went bad it was "Katie bar the door time." I got hold of David Bott (an A/V genius) that is also an RVer to get a handle on what to do. It necessitated my ordering a replacement splitter from Tiffin. I also replaced both of the HDMI cables that went from the sources (the DirecTV antenna and the BlueRay DVD player) to the 2 splitters. Now I'm happy again.
While we have been here in Tucson, AZ, I also have taken the opportunity to wash the Trekker. We used the formulation given to us at Tiffin for our washing solution - 4 ounces of Baby Shampoo; 4 ounces of Vinegar in 5 gallons of water. The rig just shines. It's such a beautiful home to live in and to drive down the road. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E we see (even other Tiffin Owners) comments on how "lovely" and "unique" our rig looks. "They all look so much the same, but yours is beautiful." I think anyone that gets a customized paint job (like us and the Botts got) gets more compliments about our rigs and the way they look. Today, I took about an 1 1/2 hours and cleaned the aluminum wheel rims and shined the tires. POP! POP! POP! Looking sharper than sharp.
On to our Port Lavaca church of Christ sojourn. We had a great team of 11 sojourners. The dates were from March 16th to 26th. On the 21st they had a Ladies Day at which Irene was the primary speaker. The theme she developed was "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)." They also wanted to have a Gospel Meeting from the 22nd - 25th. I taught Sunday morning class and preached both sermons on Sunday. David Johnson preached the Mon, Tues, and Wed night sermons. They were all based on the names of well known Hymns. Mine were titled: Holy, Holy, Holy; Why Did My Savior Come to Earth and Nothing but the Blood. David's were Jesus Loves Me; Old Rugged Cross and He Lives.
The Ladies Day attendance was knocked down some because of torrential rains they had in Port Lavaca that morning. Those that did make it had glowing, rave reviews of the material that Irene had presented. The gospel meeting was VERY well attended. The church there is growing and doing an excellent job of presenting a positive image of Christ to the community.
We leave Friday or Saturday for Kayenta, AZ. This is a second time we will have been there. We worked with the church for 2 weeks in 2013. It is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. We will be with Greg and Cathy Ryznar there. They are 2 of the sojourners we are closest to. They are very loving, focused, humble and willing to serve. It's always great to be "in the building" with them.
I think I've shared on this blog that I am a LITTLE BIT of a TV-aholic. So, when the 1 to 8 splitter (1 HDMI input, 1 HDMI output and 7 CAT6 outputs) that was fed by our Winegard DirecTV Trav'ler antenna went bad it was "Katie bar the door time." I got hold of David Bott (an A/V genius) that is also an RVer to get a handle on what to do. It necessitated my ordering a replacement splitter from Tiffin. I also replaced both of the HDMI cables that went from the sources (the DirecTV antenna and the BlueRay DVD player) to the 2 splitters. Now I'm happy again.
While we have been here in Tucson, AZ, I also have taken the opportunity to wash the Trekker. We used the formulation given to us at Tiffin for our washing solution - 4 ounces of Baby Shampoo; 4 ounces of Vinegar in 5 gallons of water. The rig just shines. It's such a beautiful home to live in and to drive down the road. E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E we see (even other Tiffin Owners) comments on how "lovely" and "unique" our rig looks. "They all look so much the same, but yours is beautiful." I think anyone that gets a customized paint job (like us and the Botts got) gets more compliments about our rigs and the way they look. Today, I took about an 1 1/2 hours and cleaned the aluminum wheel rims and shined the tires. POP! POP! POP! Looking sharper than sharp.
On to our Port Lavaca church of Christ sojourn. We had a great team of 11 sojourners. The dates were from March 16th to 26th. On the 21st they had a Ladies Day at which Irene was the primary speaker. The theme she developed was "Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:27)." They also wanted to have a Gospel Meeting from the 22nd - 25th. I taught Sunday morning class and preached both sermons on Sunday. David Johnson preached the Mon, Tues, and Wed night sermons. They were all based on the names of well known Hymns. Mine were titled: Holy, Holy, Holy; Why Did My Savior Come to Earth and Nothing but the Blood. David's were Jesus Loves Me; Old Rugged Cross and He Lives.
The Ladies Day attendance was knocked down some because of torrential rains they had in Port Lavaca that morning. Those that did make it had glowing, rave reviews of the material that Irene had presented. The gospel meeting was VERY well attended. The church there is growing and doing an excellent job of presenting a positive image of Christ to the community.
We leave Friday or Saturday for Kayenta, AZ. This is a second time we will have been there. We worked with the church for 2 weeks in 2013. It is on the Navajo Indian Reservation. We will be with Greg and Cathy Ryznar there. They are 2 of the sojourners we are closest to. They are very loving, focused, humble and willing to serve. It's always great to be "in the building" with them.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
I hear the clamor
My "Peeps" are in rebellion! The horde is charging the gates! The clamor for another posting has become so loud that I fear for my life?
Well, 3 or 4 of you all have asked "Do you still have your blog?" or "I miss your blog posts."
Thanks to each of you, your check is in the mail.
So, what have Irene and I been doing since December 18th?? (Wow, even I didn't know it has been 4 months.) Let's see.....
We moved into "Mardon Estate" (the name we have given our home) our "winter haven." As you may know from previous posts we purchased a winter "base of operations" in Retama Village in Mission, Texas. We spent January unpacking and trying to find a place for the stuff we shipped down from Lafayette, IN. And OH, that's right, in January we also had 2 sojourns we were involved with:
1. San Benito, TX - Sunny Glen Children's Home
2. Pharr, TX - North Church of Christ in Pharr, TX (the "HOME" church of Irene and I now that we've moved to Mission, TX.)
So, no TIME (or strength) to write blog postings in January.
We didn't get quite finished moving into the new house when .... (Insert the descending "duh, duh, duh, duh" organ music from the silent serials of long ago HERE) we got the "South Texas Crud." That upper respiratory infection that won't go away and always gets named after wherever you are living: i.e. "Indiana Crud;" "Southern California Crud" (Oh, no, that's smog), er, ah - "Florida Crud" etc. For some reason no one's figured out this is the "Universal Crud." However, it wasn't the Flu, since Irene had gotten the "Government Formulated and Approved" Flu Shot this year like every other year. BTW, the words "Government Formulated and Approved" are the reason why I have N-E-V-E-R gotten "the flu shot." Being a Jeffersonian Conservative I have an innate distrust of ANYTHING the government wants to control beyond what the Constitution says they can control. "That Government which governs least, governs best" as Thomas Hobbes said. (This has been an unpaid political endorsement for small government!)
Anyway we were laid waste for the month of February. We just laid in front of our 65" Samsung TV in the Living Room of "Mardon Estate" and watch all 7 seasons of "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgewick in it. We'd never even seen one episode before but with Amazon Prime it was an inexpensive undertaking. Just reclining on our couch watching something is easier than having to do all of the thinking and typing necessary to write these blog posts. So in February we were to SICK to write any blog posts. Though I did have to slog through finishing out the inside of a shed at Joel and Brenda's new abode in Odessa, TX. THAT was a real nightmare.
March came and we were getting over being sick but we had to prepare for the 1st Sojourn for which I would be team leader. This was in Port Lavaca, TX. If you are a follower of this blog from the beginning you will remember that we were at Port Lavaca last year also. Port Lavaca's sojourn finished on the 26th of March and we drove back to Mission, TX that afternoon (about a 6 hour drive). We had from the 27th of March to the 1st of April to hit it hard and get ready for the bulk of our Sojourning year.
The first week of April we spent back in Lafayette, Indiana. I am on the Board of Directors for Shults-Lewis Children's Home in Valparaiso, Indiana and we had a board meeting on the 4th of April. We flew there on the 2nd of April and flew back to McAllen on the 7th of April. During that time we spent most of our "Free time" with our granddaughter, Neo (yes, and her parents Kazumi and Steve also). We got back to Mission on the 7th and "hit the road" the very next morning.
If you've actually looked at our Website: www.JITrekking.com - you can go to the tab Our Sojourns and see our schedule for the year. You can see that our first "out of Texas" sojourn began on the 18th of April at "Copper Basin Bible Camp" in Prescott, AZ. This gave us the opportunity to see our newest grand baby - Izabela Rain Gordon (and her parents, our son Joshua and Cristina Gordon). We got to Tucson, AZ where they live on the 10th of April and were supposed to be in Prescott, AZ on Saturday the 18th. SUPPOSED TO BE...... we will leave that for another posting. Let's just say for now that we are back in Tucson, AZ and visiting with Bela some more and are leaving this coming Saturday for Kayenta, AZ.
We left Retama Village on the 10th of April and will not return to Mardon Estate in Mission, TX until AT LEAST the end of October (after the Camp Bee workshop) and quite probably the middle of November (if we need any work done on the Trekker at Red Bay) following this year's Sojourning season.
I'll give you the run down on the Sojourns we've had so far in separate blog postings. Hopefully, not that far in the future.
Well, 3 or 4 of you all have asked "Do you still have your blog?" or "I miss your blog posts."
Thanks to each of you, your check is in the mail.
So, what have Irene and I been doing since December 18th?? (Wow, even I didn't know it has been 4 months.) Let's see.....
We moved into "Mardon Estate" (the name we have given our home) our "winter haven." As you may know from previous posts we purchased a winter "base of operations" in Retama Village in Mission, Texas. We spent January unpacking and trying to find a place for the stuff we shipped down from Lafayette, IN. And OH, that's right, in January we also had 2 sojourns we were involved with:
1. San Benito, TX - Sunny Glen Children's Home
2. Pharr, TX - North Church of Christ in Pharr, TX (the "HOME" church of Irene and I now that we've moved to Mission, TX.)
So, no TIME (or strength) to write blog postings in January.
We didn't get quite finished moving into the new house when .... (Insert the descending "duh, duh, duh, duh" organ music from the silent serials of long ago HERE) we got the "South Texas Crud." That upper respiratory infection that won't go away and always gets named after wherever you are living: i.e. "Indiana Crud;" "Southern California Crud" (Oh, no, that's smog), er, ah - "Florida Crud" etc. For some reason no one's figured out this is the "Universal Crud." However, it wasn't the Flu, since Irene had gotten the "Government Formulated and Approved" Flu Shot this year like every other year. BTW, the words "Government Formulated and Approved" are the reason why I have N-E-V-E-R gotten "the flu shot." Being a Jeffersonian Conservative I have an innate distrust of ANYTHING the government wants to control beyond what the Constitution says they can control. "That Government which governs least, governs best" as Thomas Hobbes said. (This has been an unpaid political endorsement for small government!)
Anyway we were laid waste for the month of February. We just laid in front of our 65" Samsung TV in the Living Room of "Mardon Estate" and watch all 7 seasons of "The Closer" with Kyra Sedgewick in it. We'd never even seen one episode before but with Amazon Prime it was an inexpensive undertaking. Just reclining on our couch watching something is easier than having to do all of the thinking and typing necessary to write these blog posts. So in February we were to SICK to write any blog posts. Though I did have to slog through finishing out the inside of a shed at Joel and Brenda's new abode in Odessa, TX. THAT was a real nightmare.
March came and we were getting over being sick but we had to prepare for the 1st Sojourn for which I would be team leader. This was in Port Lavaca, TX. If you are a follower of this blog from the beginning you will remember that we were at Port Lavaca last year also. Port Lavaca's sojourn finished on the 26th of March and we drove back to Mission, TX that afternoon (about a 6 hour drive). We had from the 27th of March to the 1st of April to hit it hard and get ready for the bulk of our Sojourning year.
The first week of April we spent back in Lafayette, Indiana. I am on the Board of Directors for Shults-Lewis Children's Home in Valparaiso, Indiana and we had a board meeting on the 4th of April. We flew there on the 2nd of April and flew back to McAllen on the 7th of April. During that time we spent most of our "Free time" with our granddaughter, Neo (yes, and her parents Kazumi and Steve also). We got back to Mission on the 7th and "hit the road" the very next morning.
If you've actually looked at our Website: www.JITrekking.com - you can go to the tab Our Sojourns and see our schedule for the year. You can see that our first "out of Texas" sojourn began on the 18th of April at "Copper Basin Bible Camp" in Prescott, AZ. This gave us the opportunity to see our newest grand baby - Izabela Rain Gordon (and her parents, our son Joshua and Cristina Gordon). We got to Tucson, AZ where they live on the 10th of April and were supposed to be in Prescott, AZ on Saturday the 18th. SUPPOSED TO BE...... we will leave that for another posting. Let's just say for now that we are back in Tucson, AZ and visiting with Bela some more and are leaving this coming Saturday for Kayenta, AZ.
We left Retama Village on the 10th of April and will not return to Mardon Estate in Mission, TX until AT LEAST the end of October (after the Camp Bee workshop) and quite probably the middle of November (if we need any work done on the Trekker at Red Bay) following this year's Sojourning season.
I'll give you the run down on the Sojourns we've had so far in separate blog postings. Hopefully, not that far in the future.
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