Blog for May 2024

 

Total camping trips in the motorhome: 148

Total solo camping trips: 85

Well, the month of May of 2024 has been one of the busiest months in a very long time where a wildfire was not directly involved. This month had a lot of training involved in preparation for wildfire as a volunteer for the North Valley Animal Disaster group. 

The month started out like any other, finding ourselves in a different RV park than we started out last month, working, enjoying sunrises or sunsets, going grocery shopping and paying bills. After helping my friend Ally last month with her van conversion, we concluded our visit to the Central valley campground of Flag city. As you know, I love my Jeep Wrangler 4XE and I frequently mention that fact on Facebook. Well, a while back, a representative of Jeep reached out to me and said they loved my positive attitude and they wanted to send me a thank you gift for my support of the Jeep brand and being such a loyal customer. So, they sent me a cool Jeep branded vest Jacket. I don't know that it is exactly the sort of fashion statement I am use to making, but I appreciated the gesture none the less. 

Prior to departing Flag City, which happens to be home to a couple of truck stops, I wanted to get some footage of a livestock trailer for a video to help to motivate people to get their livestock trailers prepared for wildfire in the event that one happens to take place. The day we were getting ready to leave, I came across a gentleman who was pulling a trailer and he allowed me to take some footage for the effort. 

The following is a PSA that I put together with Ally's help on the topic of preparing for wildfire. 

Remi has been such a wonderful constant companion since my divorce and everyone that meets Remi loves her. If you have been following my blog for a while, early on in our relationship, there were a couple of times that Remi escaped from the motorhome using her amazing nose to slide open a window. Though at the time when those happened, the doctors saw no damage such as fractures or anything like that, I was warned that Arthritis might be something that she would be facing later in life as a result of the trauma. And though I would not say that I am seeing any sign of her slowing down or loosing desire to go on our adventures, I can see that she appears to be favoring her left hind leg a little bit more than usual. So, with our departure from Flag City and our next stop being Chico for training later in the week, we would be going right by her veterinarian, to have her checked out. Sadly, the diagnosis was one of not only Arthritis, but also Hip dysplasia. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything that can be done for her other than pain relief meds. I've been good about keeping her weight off, so other than pain relief, there really isn't much else that can be done. 

 Once we were done at the vet, we pushed on to Chico to set up our base camp for the next few days at the Chico Airport as I prepared for a Technical Rescue Course that I signed up for which will provide me with certification by the State Fire Marshall to participate in those sorts of specialized operations. This class was really well done and with great instructors and an adequate number of them, I felt very safe in what we were being instructed on what to do. The training was over three days and i felt like I learned a lot over those three days. The course cost me $600.00, but I can take it over again for free any time that I would like. 

Here is a brief video recapping the Technical Rescue training I and the other students, mostly fire fighters underwent. 

Though I absolutely love my 2022 Jeep Wrangler 4XE, there is one trait to the vehicle that is a little frustrating. Because of the profile of the vehicle and the front windshield that is practically vertical, they are subject to taking rock strikes to the windshield and needing to be replaced. Though I had the windshield replaced in early March, it didn't take long for another rock. Like the first rock strike, this one hit right near the edge of the glass by a sticker I had on the front windshield, and the strike was not somewhere that I could see from inside the vehicle. So, by the time I saw where the crack was running, it was too late to repair. 

Later on in the month of May, I had a two day training to attend through NVADG. On Saturday we were re-certified at Fire Shelter deployment, Fire Line safety, communications and Personal Protective Equipment. This training was held at the NVADG Richter Facility where the vast majority of our supplies for Evac operations are held. Though we don't handle any Shelter operations here, this is the supply warehouse where stock is stored. As always, the training at this session was really good. 

On Sunday, we reconvened, this time at the Camelot location for  physical abilities testing and training on animal health assessments, wound triage, and testing to ensure that we were able to load and unload livestock from a stock trailer. I especially enjoyed this day because I learned a lot more than I knew about taking vitals on a horse, what to look for, and how to treat injuries than before. 

Here is a video recaping the two days of training that I attended through NVADG. 

Despite all of the training, helping shelter dogs to find a new home, is still my primary volunteer focus. I am beyond thankful for the help that I have received from Ally at advocating for the dogs at the Stockton Shelter. She really embraces what we do and I am so thankful for that. She and I both enjoy wearing our efforts loud and proud for other to see. To that end, Ally and I ordered a bunch more stuff with the Pit Saver Productions logo on it. 

Well, that is pretty much a wrap for the month of May. Of course, life aside from disaster training took place, and the monthly VLOG post is available below for your review. 

Safe travels all... 

Eric and Remi too!