desert oddity ... UPDATED ...

every now and then, we see something unusual out here in the boonies ... this time, it was a semitruck that came out here, to go '4-wheeling', I guess ...

the day before yesterday, a semitruck and trailer came out here, on our dirt road ... being a retired longhauler, I watched with amused interest and more than a little curiosity ... (I've done my share of dumb shortcuts, too ! )

" I don't think we're in Kansas, anymore, Toto "

while the dirt road coming thru here is in pretty good shape, I can't imagine what he was thinking when he turned into this area ... the access from the highway is pretty 'non-existent', just a path dropping off the pavement ...

he got up to the end of our road (I'm not sure if he has enough room to turn it around, or not, as I can't walk that far, to see for myself) ...

end of the road ...

reaching the end, he backed up a few feet, and parked ... we never saw him get out of the truck, or attempt to get turned around ... he evidently stayed in the truck, and was still there the next morning ...

so, yesterday morning, as I was headed out for some shopping, I met a San Bernardino County Sheriff's car coming in ... he asked if I'd seen a semitruck out here ... I told him what I knew, and he headed on back there ...

when I returned about 2 hours later, the same cop was leaving the area ... but, I didn't get a chance to ask how it turned out ...

the neighbors said 4 different kinds of cops showed up, and were up there at the truck for the entire 2 hours I was in town ... (doesn't surprise me, the longer the cops sit out here, the more work they can avoid) ... nobody saw the other cops leave, so we don't know if the guy was taken away, or not ... 

the truck is still there, and I would guess I will see someone come get it soon ...

Possibilities, as I see it :

1. driver was confused, saw RVs up here, thought he could get a nice, quiet night's sleep, and can't get back out ... (although, it didn't look like he tried to get turned around, or anything) ...

2. angry driver took truck out there to abandon it, and hitchhike back home (VERY common situation) ... the way most trucking companies treat drivers, most drivers can't handle it, and quit like that ... I suspect this explanation is the most likely ...

3. possibly a theft in progress - I watched most of the night, to see if smaller vehicles arrived, to start stealing the cargo - (no sign of anyone arriving, so probably not) ...

his trucking company, 'Celadon', based in Indianapolis, is a pretty lame outfit ... they have so much trouble finding anyone to work for them, they started sending hiring teams to eastern Europe years ago ... I frequently came across Celadon drivers that couldn't speak a word of English, being from Russia and their eastern- bloc countries ...

one RV neighbor 'thinks' he saw the driver hiking with a backpack, and was just a rockhound, doing some exploring ... I suppose, IF he didn't speak English, that might explain why so many cops were here, for such a long time ...

I LOVE a mystery !  (and, have trouble minding my own business !)


no worries, Sybil will sniff out the truth !

no worries, Dad, I'm hot on the trail !

                          **************


UPDATE:   this afternoon, the truck turned around, and drove out ... I assume it left with the same driver it came in with ... yawn ...


see how uneventful my days are ? ... 

taking a break ...

I received some very considerate messages, regarding my dropping the Blog ... I was surprised it got any attention ... Sybil and I are doing fine, no need for concerns ... but, I tend to be moody, and won't try to explain now ...

the Blog was for the purposes of putting up photos, so, I get bummed out when I don't have any new, interesting pics to post up ... I am just not able to do the traveling I always planned, now that I have the time ...

supposedly, John Lennon said "Life is what happens, while you're making other plans" ...

Sybil's happy, because she stops to sniff the flowers ... I could learn from her ...

anyway, I probably won't be posting too often, but I will try to come up with better photos, at least ...

I feel the sun goin' down ...

END OF BLOG

originally, I thought my 'travels' and photos, might be interesting - well, obviously, they're NOT, and I am only embarrassing myself, with my boring, sit-on-my-ass lifestyle ... 

I'm finished with the blog, I'm sure better reading is available everywhere you may look ...

best wishes,         

                                - Sybil & 'whats-his-name'

great weather ahead, we hope ...

our weather forecast for the next 10 days, is indicating sunny days, and temps of 45 lows, and 75 highs, on average ... great weather for late January, no doubt ... we're hoping this trend continues, and we can go 'home' earlier this year ... we miss the canyon, it's heavily forested, a rushing river nearbye, and friends within driving distance ...

I'm sure Sybil misses the critters up there, too ... we do have an assortment, squirrels, fox, bears, cougars, skunks, bigfoot, ravens, crows, etc ... 

well, maybe not bigfoot ... but, Sybil swears he is real, and promises to bring one home to Daddy ... great, that's all we need, another mouth to feed ...

thanks to reader Emily, for reminding me of the name for the sticker-bush here ...

known as the 'jumping cholla'  (choy-yah) ... nasty spines, to be sure

warm & sunny, but breezy !

Sybil and I are enjoying this winter, more than usual ... the weather has been much milder, and our entire camping area is clean, very scenic, and convenient to city services, to boot ! ... our current neighbors are active, and take Sybil with them on their morning hikes ... I'm not able to walk around much, so I am VERY happy to see Sybil get some exercise while she goes 'exploring' ... yesterday morning, she scared up a large jackrabbit, and off she went ! ... for a dog that has never gotten enough exercise (MY fault, not hers), Sybil really is amazingly fast ! ... I was worried when we first arrived here, that the sharp, lava-type rocks would hurt her feet ... I check her foot pads occasionally, and so far, she seems fine with it ... I sure couldn't go barefoot out there, for long ...

typical ground surface here ...

not to mention, having to dodge the occasional 'speed-bump' !

OUCH !   that's gotta hurt !

then, there's these nasty things, too,

I don't remember what they call these, but they have nasty, needle-like thorns !

no wonder Sybil runs so fast - she's probably trying to stay ahead of the pain !

sunny days

it has been pretty windy the last couple days, but has settled down nicely ... now, we are bright and sunny, and the upcoming weather looks pretty nice, too ... 

Sybil glad to be back outside with her rope-toy

 windy weather in the desert tends to be miserable, but it wasn't too bad, this time ... we just stay indoors when it's too windy, and EAT too much !
last night, we wanted something different, so we whipped up a plate of 'fettucini chicken', or whatever you'd call it ... luckily, we had a break in the wind, to allow us to grill the frozen chicken breast ...

tasted even better than it looks !

that white 'lump' in the middle of the plate, is a nice, juicy, boneless/skinless grilled chicken breast, on a plate of fettucini, with provolone/mozzarella cheese melted over it ... then, Paul Newman's 'Sockarooni' spaghetti sauce is spooned over the whole mess, with some parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top ... oh, boy, that was some good eatin' ! ...

still alive ...

I have to post up my 'still alive' comments, from time to time ... I occasionally 'disappear' from my blog for a few days ... nothing amiss, I just have to force myself to update the blog, sometimes ... if the blog is boring for you, you can just imagine how it is for me ...

my life in the RV isn't nearly as interesting as I'd like, that's for sure ... sometimes, it's downright boring ... it's my own doing, of course, I am very reclusive ...

or, as I often say " camping is lots of fun - but, it's even MORE fun, when you have a CHOICE ! " ... hahaha ...

part of my laziness, is really due to my current satisfaction with my present camp ... I am not really a 'desert rat', I prefer mountains, forests, and streams, but as far as desert camping goes, it is GREAT here for Sybil and myself ... although, I'm sure Sybil misses her 'critter-friends' up north, the rabbits, squirrels, etc ...

our weather was quite windy a couple days ago ... yesterday was nice, but tonight we are supposed to be getting more wind & rain, thru tomorrow, too ... but, our extended forecast is looking great - high 70s, sunny, and lows in mid to upper 40s ... we like it like that ...

when the weather keeps us indoors more, I mostly tinker with my photographs that need to be printed ... I recently used an online professional photo lab to print a few pics, and received my first few test prints, over the weekend ... 

I liked the results enough, that next month I may have several printed up, and 'test-market' them in a couple small businesses that expressed an interest in my images ... nothing too ambitious, just a little tourist-type gift shop sort of thing ... this present economy is certainly not the time to try selling anything, let alone a photograph ...

in my younger days, I was quite the photographer, developing my own film and prints, and even sold a few ... 

then, the camera industry came up with automatic cameras ... auto-focus, auto-exposure, etc... while true photographers had to know all about exposure, shutter speeds, f-stops, 'depth-of-field', lens speed, etc.., nowadays, everything is automated and 'push-button simple' ... someone with absolutely no photographic knowledge, can literally take an award-winning photo ... 


of course, that is a good thing for most people, but it forever changed an art form, let alone, an entire industry ... I still have this attitude of " why would anyone pay ME to take a photo, when they can do it themselves, by just pushing a button ? " ... 


well, just maybe, the technology itself, provides the answers ...

everyday, cameras are being replaced by the 'cellphone with built-in camera' ! ... good Lord, people ! are you blind ?, take another look at the fuzzy little images from those plastic craptoys, and go buy a cheap camera, instead ... 

the good news: as long as people can be impressed with a cellphone's 'image quality', they may still be willing to shell out money for technically superior photos ... well, that's a big 'maybe' ...

if my statement offended anyone, that's definitely not my intention (it's just my little attempt to 'save' photography !) ... here's a short article to better illustrate my point :

http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/opinion-why-you-still-need-a-digital-camera/  

         ***********************


see what happens when I don't write for a few days ?  I go off on a tangent, and can't shut up ! (it's just like 'being there' !) ...

thanks to Roger + Gail for this cartoon (they sure have me figured out ! )

slept better ...

Sybil slept much better last night ... or, she should have, anyway, as I don't think I was making as much noise as the night before ... I am 'slightly' better this morning, and finally got some sleep last night ... 

today, or possibly tomorrow, I am going to TRY to break camp, and drag the trailer into town to empty my tanks, and get water ... I hope I will be able to manage, but, I am dreading how I will feel the day after I do it ... but, it has to be done, I can't delay it much longer ... I can remember many days I was was sick as a dog, but I still drove the big truck and made on-time delivery ... 


all those days and nights of non-stop driving, sick or healthy, tired or hungover, made me what I am today !  (a wornout, broke-down, beat-up, old body with a twisted mind !) ... like Popeye says, "I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam !" ...

Sybil checks out the new neighbors ...

another loud night ...

Sybil and I didn't get much sleep - someone was screaming in pain most of the night -

oh, it was ME ! ... my neck triggered more spasms in my back, again ... I was 'down' all day, unable to do anything (yesterday was my much-needed trip to town, for dumping tanks, getting water and groceries) ... 

Sybil has been sleeping inside lately, and every few minutes, I would groan and holler, scaring hell outta her ! ... poor thing, she's getting bags under her eyes, from lack of sleep ! ... well, not really, but she likely isn't too happy with me, today ...

I'm still laid up, but hopefully, will recover soon ... as soon as I return to my summer camp, I am getting into a specialist, and finally get this darned neck fixed !, I can't take this much longer ...

sybil's sleep schedule is suffering, too !

 

short on bandwidth - and, a good product ...

here we are, running out of bandwidth, and still a week to go ... our Verizon cellular internet allows for 5gb per month of usage, and the last couple months, I have hit my limit well before it 'rolls over' on the 20th of the month ... I have been thinking that my computer usage hasn't changed lately, but then it hit me ... during the summer, I seldom used my account on weekends, as I was usually in town ... that's enough to account for the recent boost in usage, almost another 8 days per month of usage these days ... regardless of the reason, it gets pretty pricey, if I go over my limit ... 5 cents a megabyte, to be exact ... so, the rest of the week will be limited for me, again ...

I had a request for a sunset photo, I hope this is OK :

 since losing all my film cameras to the forest fire, I have really begun to miss film - the digital cameras are fine, until you need really big, sharp negatives to make large prints, that's when you really miss the film ... 

just like my love for Kodachrome 64, Tri-X monochrome film, and a home darkroom, it has also joined my past, never to be regained ...

       ********
on rare occasion, I will purchase something that actually does what it claims, and I can't wait to tell people about it ... recently, I came across such a product ...

I have always owned, and recommended Epson printers, they are simply the best out there ... but, Epson is dedicated to guaranteeing you will buy your ink cartridges from Epson, and regret trying aftermarket cartridges ...
actually, if the manufacturer's ink wasn't so outrageously priced, the average person probably couldn't afford a printer, they're extremely complex ...  BUT, that doesn't mean we can't look for savings ...

my particular Epson printer is the 'Artisan 50', a photo printer that uses 6 ink cartridges ... a fine printer, Epson is quite proud of it ... so proud, they charge about $16 for each of the 6 cartridges ... you do the math ... 

I have been using aftermarket refilled cartridges, with mixed results ... Epson cartridges like mine, have an electronic chip on the cartridge ... this chip monitors ink level, and makes sure it is a GENUINE EP$ON cartridge you are installing ... that's the glitch, the chip must be reset each time it's filled and/or re-installed, etc ... (also, the ink itself wasn't as good, as genuine Epson) ...


HERE COMES A SOLUTION:

aftermarket empty cartridges, with their OWN chips installed, that merely monitor ink levels, not the cartridges origin, etc. ... like everything else these days, the cartridges and inks are made in China, but evidently to very high standards, in this case, anyway ...


I found an ink store on good old eBay, that sells everything you need, to easily convert your printers ink supply ... the factory cartridges are made to be hard to refill ... besides the chip fighting your switchover, there is a layer of foam in the top of the cartridge, making refills more difficult, and usually messy to boot ... while the factory cartridges could hold about 20ml of ink, they come from Epson less than half-full, about 7ml, to be exact ...

name and logo of the eBay store I used ...

this ink supplier is an 'eBay Store', located in Florida ... I received my package in Kalifornia in 3 days, they are amazingly fast ... Free Shipping, etc...

BOTTOM LINE :

the cartridges worked perfectly ! --- when switching, you have to switch out ALL the cartridges, and it's as simple and easy as installing your regular cartridges ... no mess, no fuss ... and, I was really surprised, to see how good the ink looked ... while I had gotten used to refilled inks, the ink used in these kits, looks much better, just like the original factory inks ...

when your ink level drops, and it's time to refill, you simply remove the cartridge, inject more ink into the cartridge (no blocking foam, no holes to drill, etc.) ... when you plug the cartridge back into your printer, it automatically resets, to calibrate your ink level back to Full ... simple ...

you can buy the pictured kit, like I did, or if your printer really gets used a lot, you can also convert it to separate outboard ink tanks, with ink fed to your cartridges via small lines ... I don't do all that much printing, so I settled for the refillable cartridges, and some bulk ink ... the kit I bought came with 6 pre-filled cartridges, six 100ml bottles of ink, and six syringes for injecting the ink ($ 36 total) ! ...

SAVINGS :

Epson Genuine Cartridges (7ml) - about $16 each (x6)
Aftermarket Refills (7ml) - about $7 per cartridge (x6)

this particular kit came with the 6 pre-filled cartridges, plus a 100ml bottle of each ink (x6) - about $36 total, so refills should work out to only a couple bucks, per cartridge, that's a HUGE savings ...

and, when I need more ink for them, they sell six100ml bottles of bulk inks for about $20, including new syringes, too ... 

anyway, you get the point ... now, hopefully, when it's time for my first refill, I won't wind up looking like I splashed around in the ink, and all will be well !

well, this post should have used up my daily bandwidth allowance, so I gotta go !