November 2023

 Hi there everyone, 

We are approaching my favorite time of year, the holidays... I love the holidays because it means family get togethers, sending Christmas cards, and decorations. I truly love this time of year, because the holidays have always been a time of the year that brings some happiness. November started out a little rocky this year... the Motorhome ended up in the shop, and I got in a small accident with it, however the two incidents were not related. I've been driving the Allegro bus for 14 years now and I've put a lot of miles on it, so I guess I was due. As we arrived at the Ponderosa Thousand Trails park in Lotus California, I was backing it up into is spot, going up a hill and doing a blind side back, in other words, I was turning towards a direction on my blind side. Well, I hit a concrete pilon in the process, but it was only slightly more than a tap. About all I did was scratch the paint. 

One of the weird things we have had, virtually since the day we bought this motorhome, is it would occasionally get a check engine light in the weirdest times. I talked to the Freightliner dealer about it and they said it was probably an injector going bad, but they said that we would have to have a constant Check engine light to really diagnose the problem. Well, fast forward... 14 years, though the Check engine light was not on any more than normal, I was leaking diesel like a sieve. So, I figured it would be better to take the motorhome into the shop before it completely died in the middle lane of I-80 someday. So, I made an appointment and took it in. The Frieghtliner dealer found the leak and it was the fuel pump. So, while they awaited parts and Remi and I found a hotel that we could stay at while the motorhome was repaired. 

They told me that it would cost about $2,800 to get it repaired and they were pretty much true to their word. I found out that mechanic Labor rates have gone up more than my salary. Over the last 10 years my salary has only gone up about 20%, Labor rates have almost doubled over that same time frame. 

As you know, the main reason I returned to the Sacramento area is because I have to report to the office one day a week, and the commute from Yreka was insane. Though there is nothing wrong with the office that I have to report to, because we are hotelling (sharing our cubical with others), we can't personalize them. Plus, I've become more productive teleworking and most of the people I deal with don't work for CDT, so, at least for me, I don't see a benefit to reporting to the office. Some of the draw backs are is I spend way more on gas, I'm eating more fast food, and as a result my diet is going to heck. About the only thing good about reporting to the office, is I get free parking as well as there are charging stations at the office. Oh, and I LOVE the Jeep Wrangler 4XE... I'm 28,000 miles in and it is my favorite car ever. 

Traditionally the month of November is when I start to decorate the motorhome and send out Christmas cards. And while this year, the decorations are the same, the decorations and the emotions related to the holidays, never get old. This year, sadly, I didn't get to go to Oregon for Thanksgiving because Karen and Mike went back to Connecticut. So, I bought myself a hungry man TV dinner, and it actually was pretty good. 

As lives go, I know I've got a pretty good one. Remi and I are very comfortable in the motorhome and we get to stay at some really very pretty RV parks. Just about every Thousand Trails park has some sort of water feature near it. Lake Minden and Lake of the Springs both have lakes. Ponderosa has the South Fork of the American River and Snowflower has Snowflower lake. Some of the sunsets that we experience just can't be beat. Remi and I have really hit a rhythm with our stays at Thousand Trails parks and we are getting to live a pretty good life and enjoying the scenery along the way. And, as a bonus, I am permitted by the good people at the City of Stokton Animal shelter to work with some amazing dogs, every single week! 

Please check out our VLOG for the month of November. 

Safe travels all... 

Remi and Eric too! 

October 2023

I don't know if it is good news or bad news... but it could be said that Remi and I have kind of entered a routine into our life. That routine is that typically every three weeks, we move from one Thousand Trails Park to another. And, I gotta admit, at least at this point in my life... it works for us. Remi is a pretty easy keeper. As long as she has her couch to lay on, and her dad is nearby, she considers her life to be a good one. 

This month we find ourselves starting out the first half of the month saying at Snowflower Lake Thousand trails park. This is without a doubt, my favorite Thousand Trails Park I've stayed at so far. The only drawback to this park is that it is just east of Nyack. And anyone who travels to this area at all, knows that in the winter time, this area gets a lot of snow. As a result, this park closes at the end of October and doesn't open until spring time. Regardless, this park is simply amazing. 

The area that we chose to set up camp, is a part of the park referred to as the Cliffs. As you look at the following pictures, you will get an idea as to why it is called that. The park has a lot of tall pines and cedar trees throughout it, and since I telework 3 days out of the week, I really needed a site that didn't have a lot of tree coverage. As you can see, though it is nothing more than a glorified parking lot, it truly does have a stark beauty all its own. 

One of the things I want to put on my bucket list for some time is to stay in a yurt. I think when I choose to do that, I will stay at one of the Yurts here at Snowflower lake. 

There are so many attractive features of about this park,, one of them is the lake itself. Remi and I found ourselves up here almost every day enjoying the beauty of the lake. Another thing that is fun about this park is that they have good old ranger programs. Every weekend, they have a campfire to do marshmallow roasting (when permitted by the forest service) and it is so fun to see all the families having such a great time. 

Snowflower lake is just a little bit over an hour from the office in Rancho Cordova. Though that isn't a short commute, for staying up here for a week or two and only going into the office two days a week, it isn't too bad. One of the things I love about Ranch Cordova is Brookfields restaurant. It is just good casual dining and the food is always good as well as the service. As you can see, I always park the jeep in such a way to pass along the good word about Adopting and not going to a breeder for dogs. 

There are always times in our lives when we get frustrated, and I certainly have had those times. If there is one thing I have come to appreciate the last 2 or 3 years, is the people who have come into my life to enrich it beyond my wildest dreams. When I relocated to Yreka, I made so many new friends in the rescue activity, I have just been bowled over by the amount of love in the hearts of all the people involved in this activity. I was very sad, and still am, about leaving the Siskiyou county area, but I am truly enjoying a new partner in crime that I am spending a lot of my Sundays with doing dog videos. Ally O'dell is someone that I first met when I lived in Sacramento and Carol and I were volunteering for Chako Pit bull Rescue and Advocacy. Ally has been such a joy to work with. She is a great dog wrangler and she has a compassionate heart of gold, that is also pragmatic. She is becoming a good friend, and I hope I never lose her as a friend, because she is very wonderful. 

Despite being sold a bill of goods about my new job at California department of Technology being 100% telework, I must admit, I work with a simply amazing team. From our MMBI Project Manager on down, everyone works so hard and gets along so well. Speaking of our project manager, who is a guy named Robert Payne, this guy is amazing. His family owns a Lavender farm west of Sacramento, and they hosted a "Pot Luck" for everyone to come and celebrate the progress we are making on the project. Robert's contribution, was roasted pig done in an underground pit. 

The following is a video of some of our adventures in the month of October, and there is some great aerial video that I shot with my drone at Snowflower Lake. Check it out. 

Safe travels everyone! 

Eric and Remi too!