We spent Thanksgiving week in the desert camping with family and friends.

I went out to California City the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and staked our claim to a nice, flat spot on a corner that was about 2 acres in size...plenty of room for the expected 8 RV rigs that were to arrive. My buddy, Reggie, and I set up our RV's and settled in for the day, anxiously awaiting the arrival of other rigs on Wednesday.

After getting everything set up, Reggie and I did a little desert exploring and found some interesting stuff as usual. It amazes me how we continually happen upon things we've never seen out there.

The weather was not ideal. We've had better and worst in years past. Last year at Thanksgiving it was perfect in the desert. As a matter of fact, we even ate outside...it was that nice. Not this year though. We had lots of wind and chilly temperatures. It got down to 19 degrees one night! But we had a continual roaring campfire for 6 days and nights. Everyone brought firewood and we made good use of it! After everyone headed in to their respective RV's for the evening, the comforts of home awaited...hot water, a furnace for warmth and plenty of electricity provided for by onboard generators. Oh boy, we were roughing it!...NOT!

This outing was not without mishap though. One of our Rving buddies let their kids go for a ride in their new Polaris Razor and ended up in a ditch. They did some major damage to the Razor but luckily only bumps and bruises for them.

Overall it was a good time spent with friends and family. We could of had better weather but you have to take the good with the bad...we never let the weather keep us from having a good time! Here some pics---->PICS

Last weekend we spent Halloween at Calico Ghost Town in Barsgtow, Ca.

We had a nice time with friends and the weather was pretty nice for the most part. As with most of our RV outings, we had a couple unexpected mishaps. you'll see them in the pics. Here's a link----->PICS!

It's about time for an update. I've been working on a backyard project for a few weeks. I'm building an outdoor fireplace.

I didn't necessarily want a fireplace in the yard but I found a used one on Craigslist and figured, what the heck! Oh. it was located in Spokane! A heck of a good price but the shipping was out of this world! Not! Shipping wasn't even an option. But since we had planned a trip to Washington this Summer anyway, I went ahead and bought it.

We took the toyhauler on vacation so it was no sweat to put the fireplace in the garage and bring it home.

I'm just about finished. I just have to stucco it and lay some hearthstones. Here's some pictures of my almost completed project.PICS!

We recently returned from a 3 week vacation.

Our travels took us to Oregon and Washington where we visited our kids and grandchildren. My goal was to escape the July heat in Bakersfield...mission accomplished! Most of the temps. our first week and a half were in the 60's and 70's., a welcome relief. We spent about a week at Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria, Oregon. At 3700 acres Fort Stevens is one our nations largest state parks. the park is well layed out with plenty of hiking and biking trails. When our reservation was up we moved across the street to the KOA in Hammond, Oregon (a neighboring town of Astoria). The KOA was one of the largest I've seen. There was tons of stuff for family entertainment; horseshoes, vollyeball, indoor pool and a huge inflatible bouncy thing for kids.

After we left the KOA we meandered our way to Spokane, Washington avoiding the interstates. I like to drive the byways instead of the highways...it's more relaxing and usually more scenic. We spent a night along the Tieton River at the Hause Creek RV campground on Highway 12. The next day we arrived at David and Angees place in Liberty Lake, Wa. a suburb of Spokane. We helped celebrate Reeses 3rd birthday at her Grandmothers house at a backyard pool party in Spokane.

When we left David's we set our sights on Prineville, Oregon where one of my wife's nephews lives. Prineville is high desert country about 40 miles or so from Bend, Oregon on highway 97. We spent 2 days in Prineville then started heading back home. One last night of camping along a turn out on highway 97 just above Weed, California would bring our vacation to a close.

It was sure nice to get out of town for a few weeks and see some different country. I guess no matter when you live, it's nice to see other places!

We had a great time visiting 3 of our 4 kids and their families. Our trip was 3,000 miles and about 300 gallons of diesel fuel...well worth it!Here's some pics----->PICS! More---->Pics! 300 or so!

You gotta like this one!

Today we remember those who gave their lives while serving our country.

We spent the weekend in the Mojave Desert in California City. We went by ourselves this time and the spot I chose really did make us by ourselves! We ventured away from our usual location to find some a new spot. We didn't have to go far for some solitude. About 3 miles away from the aforementioned area we found some more spots to camp. It's not like you have to look for a spot...there's thousands of places to pull off and park. Pick a street, any street! To get an idea of the vast area where we camp, just do a Google search of California City. Include, RVing or camping in your search criteria. You'll be amazed. There's some pretty interesting history of the area. Here's a little info I found:

"Developer N.K. “Nat” Mendelsohn had a dream of building a large master-planned leisure community in the area as early as 1956. He envisioned converting M&R Ranch, a 208-square-mile stretch of land northeast of Mojave, into a residential area that would house up to 1 million people by the turn of the century. Mendelsohn’s planned community was premature, but he created a lot of hope and enduring loyalty in California City’s residents. Like Mendelsohn, many of them still think their town is a “sleeper.”"

I got there Friday about 9 am and set out to find a new spot. It didn't take long. Jan had to work Friday so she got there about 7pm. I didn't want her to have a hard time finding me so I put out this sign.I went out early to avoid the Friday evening dash for the desert. I don't think the dash happened though. Maybe it was the report of high winds that kept people away or something else but it just didn't seem like there was the amount of campers we've seen in the past.

I found a neat spot that could easily hold 20 RV's or so. (It would be perfect for next Thanksgiving.) I figured sometime during the weekend we would get some immediate neighbors but it never happened.

As promised by news reports, it was windy. Friday night was the worst but not near as bad as I've seen. Saturaday, Sunday and Monday...PERFECT!

We took the Ranger for a ride to the Husky Monument. Unfortunately there were some new memorials added to the site.

We had a nice weekend. We played cards, did some off-roading and enjoyed nice weather. Can't ask for much more!

Here's some pics----> PICS!

Once again we spent the weekend at California City camping and off-roading. We were joined by my wife's sister and her family. It was a bit windy but not so bad that it made for a terrible weekend. We had a good time visiting and playing cards with nephew Jeff, his wife and their two kids. All in all we had a nice weekend in a mostly deserted desert. Here's some ----->Pics!

I went to the annual Hot Rod Show at our fairgrounds today. Lots of cool old iron there. Here's some pics.

Hooray! I broke the 600 days-left-to-work mark!

We went to a taping of the Bonnie Hunt show today. The guests were Ashley Jensen, James Vanderbeek, Kristin Cavallari and comedian Kathleen Madigan. It was a pretty good show. Bonnie is very quick witted! It airs tomorrow so watch for us in the audience...and they did give us a hot dog and root beer as promised!

Our Jack Russell, Daisy, recently had surgery to repair her knee. There will be no ball playing for at least two months!

Happy 25th Anniversary to my wife! Where did the time go? It seems like yesterday I was only 35 years old and getting married in the judges chambers on our lunch break! Yep, on our lunch break. It was the second marriage for both of us and we didn't want to make a big deal out of it. But a PR person where we worked got wind of it and she wrote a short article about us in the local paper.

Today I made my usual trek to the Harley dealer to hang out with the boys for a while.

My saturday morning routine usually includes giving money that I happen to have on me to the girls to put on my account...sort of like a lay-away deal without any specific purchase in mind.Today I pretty much blew the wad! I had about $900.00 in the kitty and decided to have a chrome front end package installed. Now she looks much better! Like the old biker saying goes, "Chrome won't get 'cha home.", but it sure will look nice sitting along side the road waiting for a tow! NOT! These bikes don't break down like years past. Anyway, Here's a few pics of the new chrome.

We had another nice weekend in the desert. Saturday it rained off and on but the rest of the time was perfect! My brothers and sister came out to visit and we all had a great time. Here'a link to the pics--->LINK

Today is my 18th year with the State of California.

Today I went to the 2010 International Ag Show with co-workers. Hey! It was a day off with pay! Believe me, if you weren't wearing a Carhartt jacket and had a wad of tobacco in your mouth, you were out of place. I stand guilty as charged!

1. My brother and sister-in-law spent the weekend recently. They brought their Christmas present, Rudy, a chiquaqua. I suggested Rudolph as his name since he was a Christmas present.Here's some pics... Rudy

2. My WW weigh-in -0.6 pounds. That's good for being in the maintenance phase.

3. Congrat to my cousin, Dan, on the purschase of his first Harley, a 2008 Electra Glide Standard. She's a beauty! Dan lives in Tucson, Az.

Happy Birthday to my lovely wife...and many more!

I just got back from my first check-up since starting Weight Watchers last March. My BP: 124/74. The lowest it's been in over 30 years! Exercise+weight loss= success!

My first Weight Watchers weigh-in of the new year went well. I lost 2.8 pounds. that makes up for the 2 pounds I gain Christmas week! Hey, you gotta treat yourself every now and then just to remind yourself that it's possible to splurge and not lose total control.

I'm at 220.6 pounds. The new year is off to a good start...let's keep it going!

On Dec. 7, 2009 my wife had a total hip replacement. The surgery went well and she is recovering just fine. I find the technology just fascinating. It's amazing how medicine has progressed to what it is today.

The artificial hip joints are mostly titanium. The pelvic bone is shaped (rounded) with a rasp-like tool to accept a new socket and a screw installed for extra added support. The femur is cut off flush allowing the surgeon to actually hammer the shaft of the new hip joint directly into the bone. Amazing! The surgery took 2 1/2 hours...just as the surgeon estimated.

A new year, a new page!