Weekly Update - a day for conveniences!

I apologize for the delay in posting and updating, however, I have had some minor technical issues. When I upgraded my laptop and tried to install my design suite of software - Adobe Creative Suite CS3. Adobe quite abruptly notified me that I had reached my maximum limit of installs allowed....since the current version was now CS6, I missed the upgrades 4 and 5, due to a number of reasons, primarily financial, since the retail on the current CS6 version is $1,299.00!

Anyway, I was finally able to afford the upgrade and I am now operating on CS6 and it is great! Look for some updates on a few design projects I have been working on - the first is a magazine type publication called "Seasons in the Mist", which is a 48 page chronicle of my 6 years guiding at Yes Bay Lodge in SE Alaska! Has some great stories and photographs! I also just uploaded a calendar and when my proof copy gets here for both the calendar and the magazine links will be posted for those who would like a copy!

So without further ado, I will focus on yesterdays activities. Living in a very small confined space has it's own limitations and you quickly realize that everything has a place and must be kept there. I have had several items that I have needed to make my life easier and yesterday was the day to purchase a few small incidental items which will help me be more comfortable in my small space.

The first item was a window shade for my front door. This doesn't sound like a huge deal, but where I am currently staying the door faces east and I get the bright morning Arizona sun beaming in my door window. The window is frosted so I don't get to enjoy the view, but only have the harsh bright light to deal with. Which is nice in some ways for warmth and such, but when trying to get work done on the computer it is quite annoying. So I installed a nice window shade that cuts the light down perfectly! It was somewhat an engineering nightmare since I wanted to retain access to the door and the door has a screen door on the inside, so I mounted it above the door and need only to raise the blind when I go in and out.

Here is a pic. This isn't an item of convenience as much as making my workspace more comfortable.



Next - I use the plastic grocery bags as trash bags most of the time, with no real room for a "trash can". floor space is a premium, so a grocery bag hung up on a cabinet door knob above the dinette is the easiest. Well trying to store the supply of grocery bags was an issue, since getting the trailer I have been stuffing them in a cabinet where I store my pots and pans and some other supplies, it has worked fine, however, when I need something from that cabinet, I generally have to move a ton of bags out of my way to get what I need...a pain in the ass!

Yesterday at Wal-Mart I discovered an inexpensive solution. Made specifically for grocery bags. So $3.59 cents later it was in the cart and on the way home. I mounted it in an unused wall space next to the galley and it works perfectly.

Amazing how something so simple can remove so much clutter and make things easier!





Kitchen Knives - I love my kitchen knives and have struggled since moving into the camper to find a place for my huge "block" of knives, you know the one, a wooden block with slots to store a set of knives on the counter. This did not work well in a mobile environment. So again while shopping I saw what seemed to be a perfect solution. Another $5.00 dollar or so item, designed specifically for an RV. I mounted it on the door to the cabinet under the sink and now have easy access to my knives and they will travel well there as well!

Great simple solution for kitchen knife storage!



Dish Drainer - Most people use one daily and I have struggled without one for nearly a year! I could never find one small enough for the camper sink. Well yesterday I did and it fits perfectly...another less than $10.00 item that will make things so much easier. It will even fit down inside the second sink and can be used while on the move! Right now I have it sitting on the insert counter top for the second sink which I use when stationary although, if I can find a suitable place to store the inserts for the sinks I may move it down into the sink itself for better draining of the wet dishes.



Now a few pics...first a Wonderful Arizona Sunrise!



And some of the snowy weather I have experienced the past few days!



And finally an old water tower from a Ghost Town I discovered!



And finally a little map I made of the States I have visited since going full time in the RV!



Stay tuned for more updates now that I am software upgraded!



Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

February 17th - Road Trip to the "Desert Bar"

Several weeks ago on an RV Forum I participate in had a reference to a bar in the middle of the desert, off the grid and a great place to visit. I looked it up online and realized it was not that far from where I am currently camped for the winter, so I started watching the website and Facebook page for when they would be open and if there were any special activities planned.

Well yesterday was the day I was waiting for. They have an annual event which kind of kicks of their Spring season. They call it the Desert Dash and it is a 5K run, walk, bike, crawl from a location not far off the main highway and down the 5 mile dirt road that leads to the bar. The term road is used loosely, it resembles a road in that it is sometimes wide enough for two cars to pass each other and it has been graded at some point in time. However, I saw two people in standard automobiles changing tires along the way. It is rough and can easily damage a normal car tire. There were a couple times I was worried about my 10 ply All Terrain tires on my truck. I didn't need 4 wheel drive except at one point when I moved off the road to allow a regular passenger car to pass coming the other way hogging the middle of the "road"!

For me it was about a 100 miles each way with the last 6 miles on the dirt road...it was an adventure to say the least and great fun!

History of the Desert Bar
Ken Coughlin, founder of this saloon, built the Desert Bar at the site of an old copper mining camp in 1975. Although all remnants of the original camp are gone, its spirit lives; its parking lot is located directly on the site where the mining camp once stood. At first, the saloon was a three-sided enclosed room, not much bigger than a small storage shed. Today, while maintaining its Old West character, Coughlin has expanded it substantially.

The bar has a website and you can see it HERE!

Some more good reading and history HERE!

Parker Arizona Rotary Presents the 20th Annual Buckskin Mountain Desert Dash. This is a 5 mile mountain bike-5K run - 5K fitness walk out to the Nellie E Saloon aka The Desert Bar. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT the course runs through the Buckskin Mountains. The course is a graded road. This course lends itself not to a race but to a test of determination and adaptability. Vehicles will be parked at the registration area or continue to the Nellie E. Saloon finish line. THE COURSE WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL NON-AUTHORIZED TRAFFIC FROM 9:45 AM TO 11:00 AM. Since this is the only route, vehicles must be off the course by the 9:45 AM closure. Transportation will not be provided from the Nellie E Saloon finish line back to the parking (start) area.

Needless to say, I took some pictures around the bar and the desert to and from!

First thing I did was check the morning sky for any bad weather headed my way...clear as a bell and beautiful!



A cactus along the road.



Now for some scenes around the bar and party after the Desert Dash!

















It was a great road trip and a fun time. If you are ever in Northern Arizona during the winter you must plan on a trip out to this place on a weekend as that is the only time it is open.

On another note - I have put a link to my latest publication - "Seasons in The Mist" about my last 6 seasons guiding in Alaska! The link is in the upper right corner of this blog or HERE! Feel free to preview it and order one if you are so inclined. It is published in a magazine format!



Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

February 3rd - Update

Not much been going on the past few days, doing some work for the Lodge and some small projects around the trailer. A little frustrated today ran out of propane, of course right when I was cooking my lunch, but I survived.

Took a short walk here by the campground yesterday and shot a couple pictures, then went to a old car show by the Route 66 Hot Rod owners, it was great fun and some nice cars and some good music! I like looking at old cars!

Here is a distant view of the campground!



Found a cactus getting ready to bloom!



Now for some old cars!









And a composite from some of the various emblems to bring back some memories!



And a pretty girl singing some good country music!





Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Little things are important - and some pics - January 29th, 2013

I will start out with a couple pictures then we will get into the a little thing I have missed while in the RV.

I took a drive to a State Park close to the campground and it was pretty lame, but did manage to get up close and personal with a nice small buck. I was only about 15 feet from this guy and he showed no fear! Amazing.



And another



I have been seeing a nice Red tail hawk along the highway near the campground and today I had the camera and stopped to take a pic. I hate that he is on a electric pole rather than a tree, but you take what you can get!





Now for the little things that are important and something I have really missed. I really love poached eggs and have missed them here in the camper, I had a little one egg poacher and I lost the lid, plus I never really liked it because I usually want two and by the time the second one was done the first was cold. I love them on toast and also on corned beef hash or roast beef hash or as eggs Benedict. My mother used to just dump the egg in boiling water and swirled it around, but I never perfected that method and always ended up with a mess.

So the other day I did some research and found some silicone egg cups you put in boiling water, well they seemed perfect for the camper, take up almost no space and easy to use. So I ordered two and tried them out this morning when they arrived.

Real simple and a great idea...why didn't I think of this???



I just put some water on to boil and buttered up the cup and dropped in the egg while waiting for the water to boil.



Once the water was boiling put the cups in the water, turned down the flame and put a lid on and cooked for 4 minutes.





A great breakfast!





Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

The Best of 2012 and 2013 so far!

I decided to put a new gallery together while entering some photo contests and used the gallery to create a new slideshow of what I feel are some of my best photos over the past 18 months or so.

Sit back and enjoy the show! In no particular order





Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Yesterday January 23rd - 150 miles for nothing!

Yesterday I decided that an early rise and some exploring was in order, time to see some of the sights around here.

I woke before the sun rose and just as I was preparing my coffee I glanced at the frosted window of the door to the camper and was struck by very vivid colors of the sun rising, so I peeked outside, turned and grabbed my camera and went out to capture this!





Figuring now it had to be a great day to explore, I looked at the map and decided a little circle trip back RT 66 was just the order for the day. Hoping to find some interesting old buildings and scenery to photograph. Well let's just say, I drove 150 miles and had a hard time finding anything to shoot, ended up with about 12 or 13 photos...a lesson learned and now I don't need to go there again.

Here is what I found!!





One of the more interesting things was several Burma Shave signs still kept up and looking good! Brought back memories for sure!



I did some more research today and plan on another hopefully more productive outing tomorrow!



Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest

Trying Times - But fun! Weekly Udate 1-21-13

I left Moab, Utah on the 8th of January with predictions of -25 degree weather, some people have suggested that my winter plans and location were not the best choice and I would have to agree. I spent over two weeks in Moab suffering through below zero weather, dealing with frozen water pipes in the camper, frozen waste tanks and downright cold weather. I can report that the little oil filled electric heater in the camper kept me pretty warm even on the coldest night, so that was good. But I can also report that a camper is not the most comfortable place in weather like that, outside was pretty much off limits and just dealing with the frozen waste tanks was a huge ordeal which required some creative thinking on getting them thawed out so they could be emptied.

I also discovered what happens when the grey water tank is frozen and full. The lowest "drain" in the grey water system is the shower and once the tank is full everything drains into the shower...the shower will hold quite a bit of water and had I not been using it for storage, it would not have been a big deal, but when I discovered it was full of water and removed what had been stored there. A bag full of external hard drives for my computer was a loss. I managed to recover a few of them, but lost two large ones. Happily they were "empty", I had purchased a very large external drive and had emptied all the smaller drives onto it. But a couple hundred dollars worth of hard drives were ruined and made their way to the trash.

So when I saw the prediction of negative 25 degrees it was time to head further South. As it turns out my choice of Kingman AZ was a good one, although when I arrived the weather which was going to affect Moab also arrived in Kingman, being further South it wasn't nearly as bad, but I did experience sub-zero weather, but warmer sunny days to deal with frozen waste tanks and frozen water supply line etc. Much more manageable.

The primary reason I chose Kingman was a wonderful in-expensive campground and it was close to an upcoming Balloon Festival in Lake Havasu City this past weekend, but there was one more trauma to deal with before that!

I live with my computer, it is as much a part of my life as my cameras. I use it in my photography, for work for the Lodge, ever important email, accounting software and online banking and bill paying. It is probably the top asset in my humble abode.

Tuesday Morning January 15th, I awoke and put the water on for coffee and as always opened up the laptop to retrieve email and read the news. Well the computer would start up and run, but nothing could be seen - not the Blue Screen of Death, but rather the black screen of nothing. So I set about to try and solve the problem. Quickly realized the hard drive was operating but the visual part was not working. For those who are familiar with laptops the visual part if built in to the motherboard. So packed up the computer and found a repair place in Kingman, there is really only one, but good people. Bits & Bytes! They ran the usual checks and sure enough the motherboard wad "fried" and I proceeded to shop for a new laptop. The choices in Kingman were not that abundant...Wal-Mart, Staples and the place I took my computer to be analyzed. They had the best offering albeit a touch more than I wanted to spend, but manageable. So on Thursday morning after two days without a computer, getting money transferred etc...I picked up a bright and shiny new laptop. Then the trials of getting everything transferred to the new computer from the old.

I was fortunate here in that I store 90% of my crap on an external drive and I am fairly religious about backing up and copying files to the external drive, but not everything. But, you might remember that the hard drive was functioning, so I removed the hard drive from the old laptop and just so happened to have an external USB case which would hold the drive...remember the flooded shower, it was one of those drive cases. Put the drive in the case and magically everything from my old computer was available to transfer to the new one. I was happy again!

So I spent all day Thursday, well into the evening, digging through an office box I had stored in the front of he trailer with all my software etc. and proceeded to get everything installed and files transferred. I was operational with email and accounting by the end of the day.

My original plans of going to the Balloon Festival on Friday the 18th was still a reality, so off I went for the 1.5 hour drive to Lake Havasu. I arrived and found it to be little more than a glorified County Fair - with rides, food court, dog show, old hot rods and a huge field with 10 or 15 little trailers with balloon stuff, but no balloons up and inflated. Seems it was too windy...disappointed I spent the day wandering aimlessly waiting for the scheduled 3:30 launch. I mingled with the Balloon folks and they all said it was still too windy and they would not be dragging the balloons out to only not be able to fly. But I had a recovery plan, so I headed back to the truck and made plans to drive to an old Ghost Town / Tourist Trap called Oatman, AZ. So off I went, filled the gas tank and took off for the hour long drive, it was a slight detour from a direct path back to the campground, but "on the way" in a circuitous sort of way.

I know most people come here to see my photography and not read a book of all my trials and tribulations, so here are some pictures.

How windy was it...when i returned to the campground, it was my plan to enjoy a very nice Rib-Eye steak on the grill...but the grill refused to stay lit due to the wind, but I seared it, then finished it on the stove in the camper. It was very good!



Now for some pics around the Balloon Festival!

















Now off towards Oatman!

















Needless to say, Oatman was a worthy side trip and I will return again when I have more time to explore. By the time I got there, many of the stores were closing and so I didn't get to browse much.

Upon my return I went to process my photos only to discover that my version of Adobe Creative Suite had run out of installs and could not be used. I had neglected to upgrade over the years, I was on CS3 and they are now on version CS6, I missed 4 and 5. So I downloaded from Adobe the trial version of 6 - took almost 11 hours, then installed it, took another 2 hours. All during this time, Windows 7 needed 154 updates to be current, as well as Quickbooks 2008, and Microsoft Office etc. So most of Saturday and Sunday was spent getting the computer totally up to date. Restarted the computer a zillion times.

I would have to say that my winter since Pat and I's vacation has been trying to say the least. But all is well now and have great plans for the rest of the winter and next summer.

Good News:

Pat has flight reservations to fly in to Las Vegas for Spring Break and will join me here to explore the area, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Fire Valley State Park are on the agenda!

She has also planned a trip to Alaska and Denali where I will be this summer, so all that is very good news.

Still making plans for the huge adventure of driving the truck and trailer to Cantwell Alaska in late April! Should have some great photo ops on that trip.

Thanks everyone for following along and enjoying my mobile life!

One other bit of good news - an interior designer called the other day and has a client he is working with who wants 6 of my pictures of Antelope Canyon. So those have been processed and sized properly for 16 X 20 prints. Now to get this deal done and finalized...it will more than pay for the new computer!



Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest