Installing the Tow bar baseplates and a trip to Sacramento for a work related Esri conference

It's been a few months since I've been able to get the motorhome out on a road trip, and it probably won't be until well into January of 2023 before I get to hit the road again. When this blog got posted, I had the Jeep part-way ready to be towed behind the motorhome, but there is still more work to be done. In November I took the Jeep up to Karen and Mike's and worked on it in their garage and installed the base plates on the front of the Jeep. The base plates are basically the mounting hardware that allows the Jeep to be structurally attached to the tow bars on the back of the motorhome. 

In order to accomplish this, I had to remove the front bumper from the Jeep as well as a rock guard and then mount the base plates to the front of the Frame Rails on the Jeep. The process took me about 4 and a half hours. It wasn't any more complicated than when I installed the base plate on the Grey Jeep back in 2017. The nice thing in this case, was that it was two separate plates which made it a little easier to install them rather than one large heavy integrated unit like I did on Grey. 

The last time that I had the motorhome out was when I changed jobs from CDCR to CDT (California Department of Technology). As a result, it had been a few months since the motorhome has had the air rotated in the tires (Frank Leschinsky's euphemism for running it down the road), so I had a couple of spare hours and I thought it was a good idea. So, I fired up the trusty Allegro bus, checked out all the systems and headed to the Weed safety Rest area which is about 30 miles south of here. 

When I got down to the rest area, I put some anti-gel fuel treatment in the fuel tank so that the fuel in the motorhome will stay fresh through the colder months. The trip went just fine in the bus and it felt good to get it on the road. I did run the bus without the Jeep though since I don't have the braking system installed on the Jeep yet. I have ordered the Braking system components and will be installing them hopefully in December. There are a few parts that were missing from the kit that I needed to order separately, and I will be ordering them when I get paid. :-) 

As part of the change in the agencies policy to get staff into the office and back together, I was encouraged to attend an Esri Users Conference in Sacramento. I was asked to produce a hand full of maps that would be used in a presentation which would be given at the conference by our Agency Secretary Amy Tong. Unfortunately, this trip would be entirely on my dime. And even if the Jeep was ready to go, a short round trip like this isn't really cost effective with the motorhome. So, I put Remi in a boarding facility in Mt Shasta and made a two-day speed trip down to Sacramento for the conference. 

Though I now feel comfortable in calling Yreka home now days, I do enjoy Sacramento. I love all of the different classical architecture in the capital city and I love how it is so recycle conscious like the water bottle filling stations. I hope I don't end up needing to move back to Sacramento, but if I had to move, Sacramento is my kind of town. Secretary Tong was great in her presentation and was definitely the most engaging speaker of the conference. All of the sessions that I went to were great, especially the one on how they find underground water aquifers using a helicopter and a hoop that is 100 feet in diameter. Though it has been an expensive month, the trip was well worth it. 

I thought it was interesting that the homeless problem in Sacramento is not as bad as it was when I lived down there. 

Here is the video for this months installment. 

Safe travels all!

Eric and Remi too! 

Getting the Jeep ready to tow, volunteering and devastation from the McKinney fire

 

I simply love my new Jeep Wrangler 4XE. It is truly the perfect vehicle for me. I'm so glad I bought it and not waited for a Ford F-150 lightning. Because of the size of the battery on the Lightning, it would have taken forever to charge the truck at my RV site. The Wrangler I can charge over night while plugged into the motorhome. This month, I ordered the parts to be able to hook up the Jeep to the Motorhome so it can be towed behind it. Next month, I'll order the parts to be able to control the brakes on the Jeep when the motorhome brakes. I'm trying to do this in such a way that I don't have to accumulate any more revolving credit. $500.00 this month, and about $400.00 next month. 

I've been at my new position at the California Department of Technology for two months now, and I'm really feeling like I fit in. I'm learning alot, I'm enjoying what I am doing and I feel like I am making a difference. There have been some rumbles about employees having to come into the office once a week. But they have also said that they will try to make considerations for those that were hired from outside the area during the pandemic, so we will see what happens. 

In addition to feeling like I am making a difference at California Department of Technology, I truly feel like I am making a difference at Siskiyou County Animal Control. As I mentioned in previous posts, I put in a lot of hours to help support the Animal Control team during the fires this year, and they all took a collection up to give me a gift certificate to Callahan's Lodge. I was so beyond touched for their generosity, frankly it almost brings me to tears, and I'm having a hard time figuring out how to use it. 

I glad I am able to contribute to Rescue Ranch and County Animal control. I truly love working with the dogs... It gives me purpose, and as I get older that becomes more and more important. I now am understanding how those who get older don't feel valued. It's so rewarding to see the happiness in the dogs tails and their eyes when they light up when I come into the shelter. It makes me feel needed. I think we all feel completeness when we feel like we are making a difference. 

I was watching a new TV program called "Fire Country" on CBS the other night. It is based on Cal Fire and the Inmate camps that they run in conjunction with the California Department of Corrections and rehabilitation. And there was a line in there that really registered with me. One female character was talking about her father and how he talked constantly about Cal Fire and all the blood, sweat and tears that he put into it, but she then acknowledged, as she was going through the Cal Fire recruitment process, just how much she was putting into Cal Fire and how much she was getting in return. I found it a haunting echo to what I feel volunteering for Siskiyou County Animal control. There have been many times that I have found myself being so thankful that I get to volunteer at Siskiyou County animal control and feeling the need to thank them for letting me do what I do at the shelter. It is sad sometimes, when I go into the shelter in the evening, seeing all the dogs that just want a little attention with their water bowls full of debris from the day, and getting such satisfaction out of the simple things like rinsing out their water bowl, filling it full with clean fresh water, and then taking if nothing more than 10 or 15 minutes each, to pet the dogs and tell them they are loved. It leaves my heart so full. Full in ways I could never explain. 

A couple of months ago, the county shelter was in so much need of help, I didn't know where to start. With the donations that came from my Facebook post from my friends in dog rescue, I was able to focus on buying a wash tub so that we can wash dogs at the shelter. Prior to now, we've had to transport dogs over to Rescue Ranch to wash a dog, now we can do it in our own facility. I got some money back from the purchase of the Jeep, and put that money towards the wash tub. I love doing things like this that have the potential to make everyone's job easier. 

Stephanie from the County Shelter had told me about a road that she explored last year that was full of wonderful fall colors. She knows I enjoy the outdoors and suggested I go check it out. She did remind me however that this was an area that had been significantly impacted by the McKinney fire this summer and that it might not be quite as exquisite as it has been in the past. None the less, she was right, this is the sort of thing that I enjoy doing and I ran with her suggestion. So, one day, I loaded Remi up in the Jeep and we went for a ride. Sadly, she was correct, this area had been severely impacted by the wildfires. But, it was also interesting to see how despite the devastation, how some shrubbery was coming back, really quite quickly. 

Here is the link to this blogs video which is mostly having to do with the drive through the area of the McKinney fire. 

Safe travels all!

Eric and Remi too!