Seven More Weeks

Not that we are counting or anything but we are getting major hitch itch. It usually attacks us about this time of the longer term commitments we make, but this one seems to be really taking a toll on us. Anyone who thinks cooking/baking is something they may want to try, will need to understand that unless you truly LOVE cooking and baking then it may not be for you. We thought we would enjoy doing something different and we are really grateful we tried it, but as for doing it again, well…

We are really looking forward to the vacation time that comes afterward so we are getting antsy to get back on the road again. Our plan is to leave here mid September and head up to Washington, and then head down the coast of Oregon and into California through the Redwoods, driving the coastal waters for the most part. We have made plans to work a Pumpkin Lot and then a Christmas Tree Lot in the San Francisco area, so we only have a little less than 2 weeks in between the jobs that we plan to do plenty of sightseeing.

We want to welcome and thank each one of our followers, old and new. With all the comments lately and sharing of our blogs, we are really getting to know you all and just cannot wait to eventually meet in person. It warms our hearts having such great friends. As many of you know since we came out here, we have totally lost all of our family members, so it is great having a great community of friends. Again, thank you for all of your comments and please keep them coming.

We went down the to the Canyon again to serve our guests lunch while they came in from their horseback riding for the day. We love it down here, even though the weather was a bit threatening, we made it back just moments before the skies let loose.

Life is Grand!

Found a feather...

Jerry stuck it in his cap while...

Cooking burgers for more than 50 guests!

Gadgets…Can We Live Without Them?

We have really gone in the totally opposite direction as we were when we were back in the stationary lifestyle but is it too much?

We now live a very meager lifestyle, no frills, no fancy things, just enough to live a happy and joyful life and we are happier than we have ever been.

But, then we read about a new gadget and we really think, “We have to have it”. Most of the time, we justify the cost and usually choose against it. Now we did get the Reader, but that was an investment that was worth it.

Lately we have been wanting to get the latest and greatest phones, especially the iPhone. We chose not to because we did not want to change from Verizon to AT&T, well now the iPhone is coming to Verizon. Then to make matters even worse, we have been looking at the Droid X and loving all the neat things that are available on both of these phones.

Let me first explain, we hardly use the phones we currently have, we have a great unlimited plan for a fantastic amount, that if we choose to change it we will lose all the free stuff that comes along with it, plus what we pay is so much less than what others pay for even less than what we have in our plan. All of this is because we have been with Verizon from the beginning of time and our plan is grandfathered in.

So why on earth would we want to change all of that for something that we would hardly ever use?

Sure, at first we may use them, but eventually the novelty would wear off and the only thing we would end up with, would be a much higher bill.

So, instead, we will learn to live without the latest and greatest gadgets and just learn to love all that we do have and not always want something more. Because, all we currently have is all we truly need. Taking time to smell the flowers or stop to enjoy the rainbows in life.

Maggie Gets New Shoes & Guess What We Found Out…

Our tires only have a few years and under 20,000 miles on the one, the other was less than a year old and only a few thousand miles on it but it all needed to be done. They were not wearing correctly...



We thought we needed a front-end alignment, so we first got two new front tires from Good Year. We usually try to deal with Wal-Mart as often as we can because of their exceptional customer service ethics, but this time we are in an area where neither Wal-Mart worked on RV’s which also meant they could not even get the tires sent to there store. Apparently, if the warehouse where they get their stuff from does not carry an item, then they cannot have it delivered to the store location and the tires are not available in this area.

Which meant we had to deal directly with Good Year...



This was not the first time that we have had to do this and one of the reasons we buy the Good Year tires, because we can go to either place to have our tires taken care of…not so in this instance.

We ordered the tires from Good Year and they said they would be delivered on Friday and we would then come in on Saturday to have them put on and then we scheduled the front-end alignment elsewhere since they did not do that type of work. Luckily, we called before driving all the way to Durango, Colorado to have this done, because the tires did not arrive so they had to reorder them…another week went by and finally they did arrive. We scheduled the tires and then the alignment and arrived on time…they were not and even worse, they baulked about giving us a prorate on the tires we were taking off. Now, remember especially one of them had only a few thousand miles on it.

The customer service was so bad, he was not listening to us and tried to tell us that the tires we bought from Wal-Mart were actually a lower quality that Good Year gives to them. That is why the tires that they were going to put on, even though they were the exact same tires were more expensive because they were better quality.

How can this be?

Good Year makes less quality tires, with the same name brand, same type, same everything but because they give them to Wal-Mart to sell they are not the best? They charged us $70 per tire higher and then added on all sorts of charges until we were paying as much for 2 tires as we did for 4 of the same exact tires at Wal-Mart just a few years ago. We were desperate since we had no other choices in the immediate area, so we took notes and pictures of the tires and had them measure the thread so we can contact Good Year and find out what can we do about this. We will let you all know the outcome.

When we went to McNeal's for the front-end alignment...



We found out that Maggie has a slight disorder about her front end, it is not what is found in today’s front suspensions, instead it is something that is normally seen in vehicles from the 70's, she was born in 1992.



Not sure what exactly happened but we could not get her aligned. They suggested either to go to a place that works on frames and they may be able to adjust it, or, they could have put in coil springs but eventually that would have been a bad fix. They suggested for now to continue to rotate the tires so not to wear in one spot and we will get a longer life from them and that is what we plan to do.

If you are ever in need of any vehicle repair while in the Durango, Colorado area, be sure to look up Mike at McNeal's, located at 20447 Highway 160 W, 970-259-6472. They are what small towns are made of and so much more.

A day off a week just isn’t enough to do all we need to do, rest and then have some fun too. But now most of the stuff is done and the rig is almost ready for travel…we are not yet…since we do have 8 more weeks…but then…so much travel, adventure and fun. Hitch Itch is setting in…but it was a great drive from Mancos to Durango to Ignacio.

New Light Holders

We found these lights at Wal-Mart last summer and have been looking for the right wood block to create a holder. Well, we finally found them. These pieces were cut from the new posts they put in the dining area at the Ranch. The great thing about them, they hardly weigh anything, very light but sturdy enough to hold the lights. The only thing left to do is to pick up a few NASCAR miniature cars to put on the top and some polyurethane to complete the holders.

Sony Style Online SUCKS!

We both love to read but carrying books has never been a good idea. When we first started out, we had so many books but in the past few years, we have donated all of them. Finally decided it was time to get a Reader, we did major research as we always do when making a purchase of this type.

After extensive research, we made our decision, we chose to purchase a Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS 600. Once we made that decision, we began pricing it online. We usually shop at Wal-Mart, especially online, but then we researched and found it on Sony Style Online for $22 less.

We began the transaction and during the process, something went wrong and I never received an order number. On further investigation, they claimed there was no order placed. But wait…what about the charges on my bank account.

Each time we spoke to a representative, they began to give me the script.

“We at Sony Style do not and never have taken money from an account until the order has been processed. It is quite clear that your order was never processed, so there was no transaction completed.”

All the time I was looking at my credit card statement as we spoke and seen that they not once but three times put through an amount of $177. How could that be since of course, they NEVER put through a transaction until the order has been processed? They kept insisting that an order had never been made, so no cancellation was necessary.

That was all fine and dandy but what about the three charges that they insisted was never charged.

Several representatives and/or supervisors and a week later…still no reversal of the charges and still the same script being told to me every time we placed a call. In the meantime, we ordered the Reader from Wal-Mart online, where we should have gone from the beginning but proceeded to make a call to Sony Style Online every other day and an email every day, with of course the same script being said and no reversal of our funds.

Customer service is the worse we have ever experienced and would advise anyone who considers ordering anything from their company to think twice about it. They have sent several surveys for our opinions from our experience, which we did complete them but have not received any response from the company regarding their error.

Finally, the day we received our Reader from Wal-Mart, our funds were returned from the fiasco at Sony Style. It took many calls and emails and 14 days to get this resolved and still no apologies or anything that might make it more tolerable.

It is so neat to be able to read books all in one location and not take up any weight at all. Plus, this Reader is so cool…

• It has a touch screen or you can use the stylist (pen) to turn pages and so much more.
• When reading and you come across an unfamiliar word, just double click on it and a definition appears.
• For us who need our reading glasses, just click and voila the words get larger.
• When you read a book and shut off the Reader, whenever you return to that book, it starts you where you last stopped. This can be good, unless of course more than one person is reading the same book, then you would need to keep track of what page you are on and then go to that page.
• You can highlight words or write or type notes and then whenever you open the book, you can click on notes and read them.
• Getting books are easy; PDF’s can be downloaded onto the Reader, local libraries offer many books that can also be downloaded for free, all you need is a library card. There are several other places online that you can purchase books at a lower cost than an actual book costs. This reader holds tons of books and a card can be purchased to load even more books.

I am thinking that quite possibly…books on our Reader can somehow be shared with others? If anyone else has a Reader, let me know if this is possible!

It is so nice to be reading once again…Life is Grand!

More Ranch Photos & Really Enjoying Ourselves Now

We are now about done with our overtime hours, the new night cook has arrived and is just about trained to be on his own. No more night cooking…no more extra hours…YEA…more time for writing, taking photos and reading on my new Reader (more on the purchase fiasco later).



We ventured out of the kitchen for a few minutes to check out the rodeo they put on every week. It was really fun to see the skits, games and just all the fun they have.





Also took several photos of the horses, just love them, especially the new born, Opal. Every time we went over to her, she had been sleeping but this time she and momma was up and even a bit frisky.



The recent photos have been uploaded to our Picasa albums, check them out.

We are having the time of our lives. Hope everyone has a great 4th, safe travels to all!