New Home - almost cleaned!

I have spend the last four days cleaning and emptying my new RV. Today was dumpster day - had a bunch of stuff that I did not want left over from the previous owner - some things were given away and some things went to the thrift store in town and some went to Catholic Charities...today the balance went to the dumpster!

All the cabinets are empty and only need wiped out and rubber shelf liner put in, that will be done over the next couple days. Still trying to get the hydraulic pump working for the slide and electric to the front landing legs. They both work fine manually and may do that to get it moved next to my site, so I can begin the task of emptying mine and moving in....should do that next week.

HERE IT IS!

Stuff that went to the dumpster today!

GONE!

Bigger Fridge and Kitchen!

Finally a real Bed!

Even had my first visitor - glad Wiley E Coyote didn't show up!

Moving day is rapidly approaching and will update again during that, I am looking forward to the extra space and comfort!

Stay Tuned for more details!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

Potential New Home

I have been looking for a little larger RV now for the past couple years...this may not be the most opportune time, however sometimes you just have to keep moving forward. Still have some truck issues to deal with, but have all winter and the opportunity for a larger unit at a very reasonable price with some sweat equity in a major clean-up for a unit that looks great on the outside and no damage on the inside other than a good cleaning is hard to turn down.

One of our long term winter guests from Canada is having some health issues and will not be returning, so he asked to have the trailer cleaned out and sold.

My little trailer has served me well and I will be sad to see it go, however, the crawl up bed is becoming more and more of an issue and I need a regular walk-around to make my life more comfortable as I get older. I am hoping this will be my last RV and serve me until the end of my traveling.

My little trailer is listed as an 18.5 foot but measures about 20 feet, this one is listed as a 25 foot and has a slide out which expands the inside significantly. I am looking forward to the additional space although I fear getting lost!!

Here is a picture of the actual RV!

Still some mess to clean-up!

This is a picture I found online from the same model, showing the entire living area!

I hope to get confirmation of acceptance of my offer today or tomorrow, with plans to move it next to mine in the next week or so and start the task of getting everything moved over and my small one cleaned up and ready to sell!

At least it will have a full sized bed with room to walk around! Obviously needs stripped down and cleaned up!

Stay tuned for details as I move in! More pics when it is all cleaned up!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

Trip West 2700 miles of Bad Road and Friends!

OK - Let's just say it was a memorable trip!

The trip took exactly 21 days total - start to finish including a couple breaks, two by choice and two not by choice!

I departed Hartville, Ohio on October 15th with plans for one stop on my way to Great Smokey Mountain National Park to visit friends and camp for 3 nights. Almost immediately upon departure the truck developed a slight miss when under load with the trailer - like going up hills. I planned to drive further but when I stopped for gas on the West Virginia Turnpike I realized I had no running lights, had brake lights and turn signals but no running lights, not feeling like fixing or researching in the dark I spent the evening in the truck stop. Had two days to get there so not an issue.

The next morning I left early and drove all day to arrive at my reserved campsite next to Sherry and Bill LeVines in the Elkmont Campground in Great Smokey Mountain NP - It was beautiful and there was Bill and Sherry as I arrived, wondering what took so long!

A few beers a great campfire and dinner already prepared was waiting for me, who could ask for more! Sherry directed me to my back in site and we settled in to catch up on old times and relax. Which I was more than happy to indulge in!

Sherry and Bills Wonderful little A Frame Camper!

Sherry and Bill!

The rest of the Family!

Dinner was waiting!

My secluded site across the road from Sherry and Bill!

After a wonderful evening the next day we took a drive looking for some fall colors! I found some!

I forgot to mention I had a tooth ache...UGH!

I did manage to dig out the camp chef and fire up some appetizers for our last dinner!

We had a wonderful time catching up on old times and enjoying each others company, need to do it more often! The next morning I departed and headed West with hopes of getting just past Nashville on my way to Memphis to see another old friend. On I-40 just East of Nashville near an exit to Mount Juliet the traffic came to a screeching halt - I was stopped for close to 30 minutes - now worried about darkness and no running lights, I eased off the exit and pulled into a Cracker Barrel for dinner and hopes for room to park for the night and meet up with my friend the next day near Memphis! Tooth still hurt and truck still with a slight miss. Had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel and they said no problem parking for the night, I was well away from the restaurant in the back of the lot.

NOW COMES THE INTERESTING PART and DIVINE INTERVENTION!

The next morning after posting my location on Facebook I get a message from the friend I was to meet in Memphis and he calls me and says, I have been having tests done at Vanderbilt Medical Center and I am not in Memphis I am near Nashville and my daughters home...here is the address of the hotel I am staying at come here instead. So I agree and sit down at the computer to put in the address to my trip planner and it says you will arrive in 2 minutes! LOL! He was in the hotel directly behind the Cracker Barrel! So I text a smart ass remark for him to look out his window I am already here!! He walks over and we make plans to have dinner and find an RV Park for me to stay for a while!

We visited 5 different parks in and around Nashville only to find them either full for the weekend or closed for the season! We looked back two exits and finally found one with space after the weekend, made reservations and paid for a week and went back to Cracker Barrel to ask if I can stay - they are most cooperative and say no problem!

The next day Roy Groover who I was visiting informed me that he had made a dentist appointment for me for Friday! However after the dentist and I discussed he wanted me on antibiotics for a couple days, so another appointment for Monday. I moved to the campground on Sunday the 23rd of October with reservations to leave on the 28th! Monday morning I had two teeth pulled and recuperated then spent the week getting a few other tasks resolved like visiting a mechanic shop to investigate the truck issue. Roy and I had a wonderful time catching up everyday and enjoying a few cocktails and dinner each night! I pulled out with the truck running much better and a little behind schedule so planned to get West with a vengeance! Still had a long drive through some pretty boring areas and wanted to make up some time through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico! This took me three days of driving with the truck running pretty good, although still have the slight miss.

Now the tragedy!

As I pulled into a campground in Gallup, New Mexico I felt a slight rumble as I pulled into my site, thought more wires were loose on the truck, so decided to spend an extra day and check oil, tighten wires and fix the plug on the trailer so I had running lights!

So I stayed Monday the 31st of October and Tuesday the 1st of November in Gallup with plans to drive from there to either Kingman, AZ or if all felt well with running lights make the run right on into 29 Palms.

Well that didn't happen!

After leaving Gallup and driving at 64MPH with the truck running pretty good, I stopped at a rest area and as I pulled out I felt that rumble again. Only in 2nd and 3rd gear - once in 4th it seemed to smooth out. Drove a total of 157 miles then felt a huge bump and crash and the truck slowed down and I eased off the road - thankfully a nice wide paved berm and was able to get completely off the road! Get out to investigate and realize the drive shaft is gone - same problem I had last year in Tulsa. SHIT!

Check the GPS and realized I was 40 miles or so out of Flagstaff and made the decision to call a tow truck and head back to an Aamco and see about arguing about the repair! Waited about an hour and a half for the tow truck and walked back about 200 yards and found the drive shaft. Tow truck driver real nice guy and towed me into Flagstaff and the Aamco shop. Dropped the trailer in front of the shop and ran an extension cord for me to hook to electric - they were about to close, so I hooked up the sat dish and got the last game of the World Series on and settled in for the evening.

Next morning the boss was there, the truck went on the lift and he started looking for parts...which ended up being quite an undertaking. Seems Ford no longer manufactures the parts considered obsolete and no junk yards had what we needed so found a place in Phoenix that could make the complete drive line...got that ordered on Thursday the 3rd of November and I settled in for another night. The driveshaft arrived up on Friday and we realized one part was wrong so made arrangements to get that replaced and be back up here early Saturday morning.

New Drive Shaft!

Missing part!

Nice shiny new drive shaft!

Truck was finished by 9 am on Saturday - test drove and double checked - only thing we can figure is when it was last repaired they did NOT replace the cutlass bearing and it failed which caused the catostrophic failure of the drive line! Well it is all new - the Aamco in Flagstaff was fantastic charged me no labor, parts only which was bad enough, but they kept me on the lift and at the top of the list to complete - They were great!

the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful - made good time and arrived at 29 Palms in time for Saturday night dinner and a few beers with my winter friends.

HAPPY TO BE HERE!

All settled in!

Plenty of room for more winter guests!

Grill is ready for a nice steak tonight - propane refilled - ran out in Flagstaff which made cooking impossible so snacked. Just for the record - I kept track - I said "Step on the gas you dumb bastard" 453 times as people got on the highway and would not speed up when I could not pull over! I burned 280 gallons of gas at an average of $2.12 per gallon or about $600.00 and that averages out to 9.6282 MPG, even with the miss!

More people arriving daily - good friends and neighbors Ed and Shirley arrived yesterday...

All is well, Life is Good!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

Cleaning and Getting Ready to Travel

The next few days are busy ones as I prepare to travel 2700 miles back to S. California...I am anxious to go, I love my life on the road, but will miss my family and good friends here in my hometown. The first long visit with family and friends in 40 years.

Tomorrow I will be heading to BTown to deliver some calendars and then meeting up with LMNM to see more friends...Looking forward to the fun times and something I will truly miss, even time spent with Democraps...

Today was cleaning day - last deep clean was back in California, so it was over due.

A summer worth of cooking!

ALL CLEAN!

Deep clean under the dinette, who knew the hidden shelf would collect so much!

Swiffer mop with a rag to scrub the floor!

Floors clean!

My trip is almost fully planned - will leave here on Wednesday the 12th and head to friends in S. Ohio - then on to Great Smokey Moutain National Park to meet my good friends Sherry and Bill Levines for three nights of good food catching up and fall colors. Then leave there on the 19th and head a little west to see my old friends in Erin, TN on their farm, Larry and Michelle Burney, then on towards Memphis for a couple nights to see Roy Groover, then time to head west to California with stops at some scenic places along the way for some picture taking. Plan to take my time and arrive in Twentynine Palms around the 10th of November or so, depends on weather and what I find to explore.

Concern about the Hurricane!

I have concern for all my good friends in Florida as they prepare for the hurricane - I hope they all remain safe. I spent a long time in Florida and weathered my share of Hurricanes several times on sailboats.

I have to tell one particular story from back in my yacht delivery days. I flew to New York to deliver a beautiful 47 foot Gulfstar motorsaler from New York to Miami - hurricane Gloria was well down in the Caribbean and figured we would be well out of its way so left New York - after passing the Statue of Liberty and heading out into open water, turned the boat South and handed the helm over to a crew member and I headed down to catch a nap to get ready for a long night. After about 3 hours I wake to the boat really rocking and rolling and my crew at the door to my cabin - said you might want to come up and look around it is getting very rough, as I passed the radio I turned on the weather and it clearly stated that Tropical Storm "Henri" had developed off the coast of New Jersey...shit - so pulled out the local chart and looked for a safe haven. Nearest port was Mannesquan Inlet which was clearly marked local knowledge preferred...so plotted a course and hoped I could gather the local knowledge on the way. Couple hours later I see the breakwater and rough white water at the shoal...another sailboat was heading in, so dropped sails and motored in behind them. Found a place to ride out the storm and spent the night. Bad wind but actually could have sailed through it. Headed out early the next morning to calm seas. Headed south along the coast to only discover that Hurricane Gloria was heading right for Norfolk - so hurried up and managed to beat it there by about 8 hours - headed down the Intercoastal and found a place to tie up and weather the storm - winds in excess of 100 mph and most of the marina was destroyed but I managed to keep the boat safe with no damage, the owner could not believe it. The remainder of the trip to Miami was uneventful but it was amazing to have two Tropical Storms on one trip. It was an adventure and the owner was very happy and I delivered his boat South for several years after that.

Stay tuned and will see everyone at LMNM and distribute calendars.

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

A time to Share - Fishing and Photography!

Now that my guiding days as a Captain are over, it is time to re-focus my adventures to include my love for fishing and my love and knowledge of photography. Plus there are a few "Bucket List" trips that I still need to make.

I have spent the past week working with a wonderful tour operator to design a custom African Photo Safari. I have always wanted to take a trip to Africa and now is the time to get it planned and make it a reality. I searched far and wide for what I was looking for. Years ago I was in the travel business and owned a wholesale tour company. I know the business and know how to make the plans for a once in a lifetime experience. There are many places to go in Africa and it took some serious research to find the area that would provide what I was looking for and more important find an in Africa operator who would work with me to design the ultimate trip with the flexibility of vehicles and guides and remote lodges to achieve the results I was looking for.

I was lucky to find "proud African Safaris operating in Tanzania!

Why Tanzania?

Photo Credit - Sivani Babu, Suntrail Images

Basically, Proud African Safaris has chosen to specialize in Tanzania because it is simply the best game viewing in all of Africa including the highest concentrations of big game animals. We strategically design our itineraries to follow the migratory patterns of the animals in order to maximize game viewing for the time of year you are there. Plus we offer unlimited game drives which sets us apart.

With you being there in the green season the back drop will be lush and green (ideal for photographers), animals will be grazing by the thousands in the south, young are being born, predator-prey action will be very high and intense.

The Serengeti is vast (roughly the size of Connecticut) with various ecosystems... Open grassy plains, riverlands, mountain and valleys, marshlands, woodlands, etc. which helps offer a diverse and well -rounded safari experience. It truly feels "wild" and like you are stepping back in history. There are no fenced-in boundaries so the animals roam freely and the roads are dirt.

The Vehicles!

Proud African Safaris offers fairly new custom built Toyota land Cruisers - with seating for a total of 8 people including the driver guide. There are 3 rows of two seats in the back for a maximum of 6 guests. Proud African Safaris was willing to work with me and provide 2 vehicles and guides for a trip total of 9 people - 8 guests plus me. This allows for 4 guests occupying 4 of the 6 available seating which allows for plenty of room for cameras and the ability to shoot out the top from either side. This gives the maximum amount of visibility and comfort for an exclusive custom Safari! For any non-photographers this still offers the opportunity to view the animals in an uncrowded vehicle.

Another key and unique feature, is we will have the same drivers and vehicles throughout our entire trip. Many other tour operators use the local vehicles and drivers at the various safari camps. Our drivers and guides will remain with us the entire time offering their experience and input for planning the next days activities and assuring us the most personal service at the various Lodges we will use during our time in Africa.

Photo Credit - Zevy Yanovich

Imagine this could be you lining up a shot of a herd of Zebras!

Of course I will be along to offer my experience in photography to help you achieve the results you are looking for. We will create some very memorable images and a once in a lifetime Safari. I am looking forward to this trip.

I have updated my website with full details and a complete itinerary. Our departure date from Los Angeles is Tuesday February 13th, 2018. So we have over a year to make all our plans.

 A full itinerary and flyer is HERE!

The trip is not inexpensive but I have managed to put together a wonderful trip for a good value. The all inclusive price including Round trip air fare from Los Angeles LAX will be $6000.00 per person dbl occupancy.

Accommodations

In Africa our accommodations will be deluxe remote camps within the area of the safari. Most will be tents with with ensuite baths and dining facilities many have pools and are permanent. Very safe with great views of the surrounding area.

Take a few minutes and go to the page listed below and look at where we will be staying!

I have also created a page on my website which offers links to each of our accomodations! HERE!

If you are interested in traveling with me on this unique adventure send me an email or PM on Facebook. I expect this trip to sell out fairly quickly due to the limited space and the high quality and overall value of the trip.

This is a picture I want to get - similar to this one!

Photo Credit - Sivani Babu, Suntrail Images

Let me know if you would like to join me on this adventure!

Local News and Schedule!

For my Barberton friends I have received the calendars and will begin mailing next week - for those of you who regularly attend the LMNM Meetings I will deliver them to you personally at the next meeting.

I have pretty much finalized my plans for my trip west. I will be leaving camp here in Hartville around the 12th or 13th of October and traveling to Southern Ohio to visit my good friends, Chuck and Betty Bechter, then on down to Elkmont Campground in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and camping with my good friends Sherry and Bill Levines for three nights leaving there on the 19th of October, for a short trip west to Erin Tennessee to visit some more friends on their farm Michelle and Larry Burney, I will camp a few nights there then head to the Memphis area for a couple nights to visit my old friend Roy Groover, then head west toward California with stops in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, going to try and make it a leisurely trip with numerous scenic stops for fall colors. I hope to arrive back in Twentynine Palms around the 10th of November. And home for the winter.

In Twentynine Palms I have contacted a local guide and plan to offer day Photography trips into Joshua Tree NP and the surrounding areas and also offer some post processing Photoshop seminars at the RV Park.

I am also in contact with one of my all time favorite places in the Bahamas to offer a 5 day Bonefishing Trip for my angler friends, stay tuned details will be up soon.

Stay Tune More Adventures to come!

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!

Blog Update - Time for Changes!

As my time in Ohio winds down, I find it time to focus on some changes in my life. I am not getting any younger and it seems my bucket list still has a few missing items.

In April of this year, my United States Coast Guard Captains License expired, so I can no longer operate a boat as a fishing guide. This does not mean I won't continue to fish and maybe even guide, it just means that I won't be operating a boat that requires a Captains License to carry paying customers. Since I love to travel and take pictures, maybe it is time to utilize my photography skills, fishing skills and travel experience to have some fun, generate some revenue and pass along my knowledge. There are still a few places I want to fish and photograph so why not make it a business and check off a few things I still want to do?

Years ago I owned a Tour Company and enjoyed the business and led some wonderful trips - time to do it again and focus on fishing and photography.

Over the next few weeks I will be making some changes to my website and my blog to focus on some photography tours and fishing tours to knock a few items from my bucket list and travel and have some fun.

Today I have a phone call scheduled with a tour company that specializes in photo tours to Africa and they are interested in me leading a trip there, hopefully next year or the following year. More will be decided after the phone call. I will be promoting the trip along with other photo safari's and fishing safari's. This sounds like something I could do for the next couple years along with my own RV travels.

I want to get some photos like these...

I may also plan another Bonefishing Trip...maybe to Andros Island or back to Acklins?

In the meantime here are a few from around the park as the season winds down...(see my reflection in Yogi's nose?)

The new playground at the park!

I am also looking forward to my winter back in Twentynine Palms and will be holding a few day photography trips into Joshua Tree NP - I have contacted a tour company and hopefully will be helping them this winter.

I am also excited about my upcoming trip across country and have stops planned in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and also Smokey Mountain National Park for fall colors...

Stay Tuned - the calendars should be here before the end of the month...see everyone at the next LMNM.

Capt. Jim - "The Wanderer"

Traveling and photographing the Southwest and Alaska!