February 2024

 Well, February is my birthday month, and it sure was an amazing one. 

As you may have heard from my January Blog entry, there was a dog that did not make it on a transport to Canada, because he kept getting out of his Kennel. Well, that dogs name was Terrence and I first met Terrence last month, when the call went out that Terrence's days were numbered at the shelter. Ally and I took Terrence out for a few minutes just to spend some time with him. But, never being one to miss an opportunity to help a dog find a home, I took some footage and put together a video for Terrence. it wasn't a full-fledged video as I have one in the past, but I figured anything could help. Well, it turned out that Terrence had a guy in Canada that was interested in adopting Terrence. But, since Terrence couldn't make the trip, his future was once again bleak. Any dog that I meet and work with, immediately captures my heart. I am for the most part able to put a protective wall around these sorts of situations, but it is still hard. I did some quick calculations when Ally told me that Terrence needed someone to step up to do a solo transport to Canada, and I figured if everything went just right, I could make a speed trip to Canada over the course of 3 days. So, on Friday, the 2nd of February, I picked up Terrence and headed to Canada. We ran into a hickup with the paperwork in Canada, but after about an hour and a half, we had that worked out and I was able to hook up with Terrence's adopters. Terrence did absolutely wonderfully in the car on the almost 20 hour ride with me and he now lives in Alberta Canada. This months VLOG is extra long because it explores the trip to Canada behind the scenes, so there is also a abbreviated version of the story in a separate video as well.

I pretty much love all seasons, except for maybe Fire season, but I truly love winter. and spring. Those two seasons bring lots of great clouds and opportunities for amazing sunsets and sunrises. Lake Minden is pretty much our home base RV park and one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is sunsets and sunrises that we have there this time of year. And because winters can be so rain filled and dreary sometimes... I love when we get a pleasant clear day where the sky is clear and blue.

Though some could accuse me of having a mid-life crisis when I got my new job at CDT and I bought the Jeep Wrangler 4XE, I certainly didn't see it that way. I really wanted to get another electric vehicle. But I also felt that if I bought one, I needed to be able to pay it off around the time I retired. I didn't want to work 2 extra years just because I had bought a car. With the timing I used to buy the 4XE, it will only extend my working for another 3 months past my 65th birthday. That leads to a gift that I bought myself for my 62nd birthday. I finally bought myself a true smart watch. I've had a few that were less than $100, but they have all been just "Ok". So, this year, I bought myself a Samsung smart watch through my Verizon dealer and I am absolutely in love with it and the fact that I can customize the screen. 

On the 13thd of February, I got to see Woody, a dog that formerly belonged to Karen and Mike as he made his way down to a Rescue in the bay area. I was so thankful for Michelle, a volunteer at Rescue Ranch for allowing me to hook up with Woody for a few minutes to tell him I loved him. Later this month, Woody was actually adopted into a forever home which gave me much relief. 

On the 16th of February, Remi and I loaded up  into the Jeep to make what may be our last trip to Phoenix Oregon to help Karen and Mike pack the Pod, with stuff that they are taking with them to New London Connecticut. I truly love Karen and Mike as well as my whole extended family. Though the Christmas and new years holiday was hard for me in knowing that I couldn't get Woody rehomed the way I would have liked, I truly enjoyed being able to go up and help Karen, Mike, Chuck, Tery, Steve and Elena get Karen and Mike packed for the move. This was a very somber trip, because I'm afraid it may be the last time the "Brothers Wraight" ever get together again as a foursome... but I'm so glad we did. We actually went out to dinner twice for my Birthday. I am so glad we got to spend some quality time together. I will miss coming to visit Karen and Mike at 202 South Rose street. But, Chuck and Teri still live up here, and I hope to visit them sometime soon, and it will be my turn to take them out to Omars for dinner this next time. 

On my way home from Oregon, I hooked up with my friends Amy and Kary at the monthly Masons  breakfast. This time, the proceeds go towards Rescue Ranch. Amy and Kary both are such dear friends to me. I am truly lucky to have so many wonderful people who I have met through Rescue Ranch and other rescue organizations up here such as those at Siskiyou Humane Society. 

This winter started out pretty dry, but this month of February has been a pretty decent one from a moisture perspective. On my way home, I am finding myself a little stressed still about Karen and Mike moving to Connecticut. I felt like I needed some snow therapy to go play in the snow with the Jeep. Shortly after I bought it in 2022, I took the Jeep to go play in the snow, and it did great, so I thought I would do it again. As we made our way south, I first pulled off the side of the road to take a picture of the Jeep with Mt. Shasta in the background. I love the Jeep and Mt. Shasta so much I enjoy mixing them together when I can. As we continued to head south towards the town of Mt. Shasta, I recalled that there was a forest service road no too far off of the I-5 where I had taken the jeep in the past. Well, I found the forest service road and plunged the Jeep into the snow... Ya, there is only one problem, though the tires look wide and good, they are not really snow rated tires. And, they have 35,000 more miles on them than the first time I tried this. So, Remi and I got stuck. I called my friend Austin Browder and asked him if he could pull me out and he said though he was on a hike, he was on his way, but it would be a while before he got there. So, I told him I would keep working to get the Jeep out while he made his way to me. So, I dug, and dug, and dug the snow out from around the tires, but I just didn't make much progress. Fortunately, a guy saw me stuck and backed up with his big 4X4 truck and using my recovery rope, pulled me free. 

In addition to the moisture bringing us lots of snow, the extra moisture can also bring us Rainbows, which I will admit... seeing them, never gets old. 

Saving Terrence

The February VLOG

Safe travels everyone

Eric and Remi too! 

January 2024

 Hi there everyone, 

Well, the holidays did not go any way in which I had hoped. I pretty much was shamed into having Rescue Ranch take Woody since we were not able to find him a new home in the short few days that I was given. I know this wasn't easy on Karen, or maybe even Mike, so I've tried to not say too much to them about it, but I am surprised as to how easy my other family members seem to think it might be for me to deal with finding Woody a new home. They have no concept as to how hard rescue is, or how much energy I put into it. I know I will move forward, but asking Rescue Ranch to take Woody is probably one of the most disappointing things I have ever had to do. It took a few days, but Rick at Rescue Ranch did agree to take him. Once Woody arrived at the adoption center, he was relocated to the Sanctuary. Sadly, this time of year, was not optimal for Woody to be at the sanctuary because it gets so cold at night and there are no kennels where Woody can be indoors at the sanctuary. Eventually, Woody found his way to a foster in the Mt. Shasta area... I'm hoping he finds an adopter soon. 

Aside from the drama associated with Karen and Mike's relocation to Connecticut, the month of January was fairy uneventful. I did have a recall on a coolant valve on the Jeep. I had not experienced any problems with the Jeep, but if I'm told to bring it in to have a recall item addressed, then I'm willing to follow up on it as soon as I can. One problem that I am having with the Jeep is a problem with the screen on the infotainment system. Every once in a while, about every 6 months, the screen goes black and will not turn on and then eventually does turn on and resolves it self. I have brought this to the attention of the dealership, and they are tracking the issue. Hopefully a recall on the infotainment system will be forthcoming as well. Despite some of my concerns about certain aspects of the Jeep, I absolutely love the vehicle and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, I might like to have a 2024, but that would only serve to delay the time with which I get it paid off. Though I have no love for having to drive into the office, I sure love driving the Jeep if I have to go into the office. I love being able to charge it for free at the office, and it is just a smooth riding vehicle that is very comfortable. 

This month we are for the most part in a Rinse and Repeat of every other month of my life where I move from one RV park to another every 3 weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love this life and I enjoy the various locations that we find our selves in. However, I don't mention Remi much. Remi is my dedicated travel partner who is always there for me if I need her, and always curls up next to me on top of the covers of the bed at night. 

This time of the year, when the temperatures are cooler, it is much easier to have her come along for the ride. With the cooler temperatures, if I need to leave her in the car, I don't have to worry about her getting too warm in the car. Whenever the opportunity arrives, I like for Remi and I to be able to go on a day trip where just Remi and I are spending time together. Sadly, this probably doesn't happen enough, but I try to make time for us to do these sorts of outings as frequently as I can. 

One such day trip was to go up Interstate 80 towards Nyack and hopefully take Remi to go play in the snow a little bit. Remi and I stayed up at the Thousand Trails Snowflower Lake location last year (2023), just before the closed for the season in late October. So, Remi and I loaded up the car and headed up Interstate 80. Remi first stopped for a Pup-cup (a cup of whipped cream) from Dutch Brothers. We then ventured up the hill to do some exploring. When we got up there, we found a lot of other people up there as well, playing in the snow. Remi loves the snow, and in typical fashion, she went with me to explore it a little bit. 

For part of the month, Remi and I found ourselves at Lake Minden, one of our favorite parks and one night there was a knock on the door of the motorhome. It was a little girl, maybe 11 years old asking for some food. I knew which RV she lived in, and there was a man, a woman, 2 dogs and 3 kids living in it. It broke my heart to think they may not have any food, but also based on what I had seen in the way of things being brought in an out of the RV, I wasn't surprised that they didn't have a pot to piss in so to speak. So, I went to the grocery store the next day and bought them some groceries and some dog food. I left the items in a bag, under the cover of darkness for them to find the next morning. I hope if nothing else, that it brightened their spirits a little bit. 

Something else I did this month, that I've never attempted before was to do the Martin Luther King Jr. Day walk in Sacramento. I got up super early and headed off to Sacramento City College to hopefully participate in this years event. Well, I made it to the event, but my feet were bothering me and so I didn't attempt the walk this year. I did however get to see Secretary of Technology Amy Tong address the crowd, along with Sacramento Mayor Steinberg. I have great respect for both of these people, so I was glad I got to see them in person. 

As the end of the month approached, I did make a trip up to Phoenix Oregon to help Karen and Mike get started on packing. Kris and Laura's adopted daughter Eliza wanted a neon "Music" sign that Mike had, so that is one of the things I helped them to pack. We also got an early start on my birthday and we went out to dinner. This time we went to a place I had never been too before, but it was very good, and had a yummy chocolate cake desert item. I was glad also that Chuck and Teri were able to join us for this evening as well. 

Well, that pretty much makes up what happened in the Month of January. Please feel free to check out my two videos this month. One is my VLOG, and the other is a tour of the motorhome.  

Safe travels all.

Remi and Eric Too! 

December 2023

 Admittedly, the holidays have always been a very happy time of the year for me, but this year is different. Karen and Mike have made it clear that their intention is to move to Connecticut. This leaves me feeling very sad and admittedly lonely, but I understand why they feel they need to make this move. More on that at a later time.

I have had my 2022 Jeep Wrangler 4XE for 17 months now, with 30K miles on it, and I feel like I love it more each day. I wish I could explain it, but even though it has had a recall that I had to take it in for, it is just a blast to drive. It is the fourth Jeep product that I have driven over the years, and it has been just the best. It is the most comfortable Jeep I've ever driven, and I've even owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee at one point in time in my life and I absolutely love the fact that it is a hybrid. I love being able to run errands and not use a drop of gasoline. I also enjoy the fact that it is super quiet. I really have no complaints about the vehicle. Sure, there are things I would change about it if I could like a flat folding back seat so I could camp in the Jeep, or a longer range battery, but we all need to remember, Life isn't perfect and life has it's trade-offs... and the things I love about the Jeep far exceed those couple of things that I wish were different. 

I especially love it when the weather cooperates, and I can take the freedom top off. 

As you saw in last months post, I started working on a sign stand, well this month I finished it. You see, years ago when I was married and we were down in the vicinity of the Yosemite Area, we found a wood sign maker who had some really cool looking signs. We asked him if he could make a sign with our motorhome on it and he assured us he could. Well, he told us there was a lot of labor involved which we understood, and so we paid him in advance. We then got the run around about getting the sign from him. We were persistent and even had to make a second trip down to Yosemite to get the sign once it was finished. This was at least 10 years ago. Well, for years it hung on a bear carved out of a tree and I didn't want to tote the bear around after the divorce, so I gave the bear to Carol. I still held on to the sign and needed some way to display it so that it wasn't hanging on the motorhome and banging on the paint job. So, I made a stand to display the sign and also serve as a way to hold up the banner Stand. You see, most RV parks have gravel or asphalt common areas, and it is really hard to drive it into the ground. So, with some scrap plywood and a little stain, I made the stand. I don't know how well it will hold up in the winter or summer weather, but hey, lets see how it does. 

I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about living exclusively at Thousand trails Parks for the foreseeable future, and moving every 3 weeks. For me, the lifestyle works... quite nicely. The best part about the parks is the nature-esqueness of it all. Just about every park in this area is near some body of water and I just love being in the trees and the scenery. Two of my favorite parks is Lake Minden which is between Yuba City and Sacramento, and Ponderosa which is out by Placerville. Both are reasonable distances from my office and I enjoy both locations immensely. Lake Minden as I have mentioned before is a small lake that is about a mile in circumference and is a very enjoyable walk to get exercise first thing in the morning, and late in the afternoon. The sunsets at Lake Minden are always enjoyable and even though I've been coming here for several months, I never get bored with it. :-)  

I typically love the holiday season. It gives me a chance to decorate the motorhome, the Jeep, myself, and even Remi when she is willing to oblige. Because we are going into the office two times a week, I wanted to dress up one day for the office when we were scheduled to have a office holiday party. It was nice to get a group photo of everyone in my division and not just my team. This year I changed from wrapping the spare tire in lights to putting a properly sized Wreath for the spare tire on the Jeep and I absolutely love it. I found the wreath at Home Goods for $25.00. They were originally marked $95.00, but marked for clearance because the light set that comes with them don't work. 

Me, Louie, Hang, Katie, A gentleman I don't know, Sam, Carmen, Mark, Analee, Michael and Liana a student assistant. 

, 

This holiday season is filled with lots of mixed emotions. A little over a year ago, Karen and Mike adopted Woody from a horrible situation in Montague California. I was so glad they saved him at the time, but now Karen and Mike are pushing me hard to get him a new home. I came up to Ashland for Christmas and New years and it almost feels like since I'm the Rescue guy in the family, that it is my responsibility to find him a new home. I get that it is hard for them to have to re-home Woody, but I wish they understood just how hard it is. I did a marketing video of Woody for them, and I created fliers, but they didn't really do anything to distribute fliers or anything for him. I felt like they just waited for me to come up to Oregon during the holidays to find Woody a home for them. Karen and Mike have been so good to me over the years, and I am not bitter about needing to find a new home for Woody for them, but I am pretty hurt that they are not taking any initiative about this, but it is what it is I guess. I'm so sorry Woody that you once again have to find a new home. Despite what I must do for Woody, I still managed to put on a happy face for the family and enjoy Christmas dinner with the family. 

As part of my trip, I wanted to make time for some of my friends that I have made in Siskiyou county. They were what helped me feel accepted in a very conservative part of the state. Of course, no visit to Siskiyou county would be complete without a visit to Rescue Ranch. I love what Rescue Ranch does and all of the dogs they have saved, but I am saddened by just how many dogs they are having to care for. They are having to care for over 200 dogs between the adoption center and the Sanctuary property. They have pulled  a lot of dogs from Siskyou County Animal Control, and one of those dogs was a guy named Romeo. Romeo is a super sweetheart and I hate seeing him still at the ranch after being pulled from the county shelter, but I am very thankful that they did pull him none the less. I've done a marketing video for him, but it hasn't seemed to help this pour guy. I love him so much and wish I could save them all. I worked with Romeo a lot at the county shelter and I think he recognized me. <3 Rescue Ranch really is well recognized for what they do. Some benefactor donated a bunch of kennels to help the dogs that prefer to be outside, warm at night. I am so thankful for all of the support that they get. 

I've learned a few things about myself since the divorce and been reminded of a few things as well. I've found that I am able to develop friendships, and I consider myself very lucky to have a couple of the best friends I've ever had in my life in Kat from Siskiyou County and Ally in the Central California area. Both ladies I have done animal rescue with. I've also reminded myself that despite if you have a pig with a golden heart that is well intentioned, even if you put lipstick on that pig, it is still a pig. I've found that it is possible for others to like me and respect me and all that sort of stuff, and love me because they know me, but loving me and being available to be in a relationship with me is a whole other issue. But, that is the extent that I will go into my struggles with my own self-image. All that aside, I consider myself very lucky to have Kat and Ally as two very wonderful close friends. During my visit to Siskiyou county, I was able to get together with Kat and have Remi and I go for a walk with her around Lake Siskiyou. I love this lake, and I always enjoy Kat's company. 

Though a lot of people in Siskiyou County would not understand me, I'm thankful that people like Kat do. Aside from my small cadre of friends in Siskiyou County, I love the area for its nature and beauty. I have so many favorite places in Siskiyou County, but Mount Shasta is definitely one of my all-time Favorite places. It really doesn't matter from what local I see Mt. Shasta from, it never ceases to amaze me.  Another cool thing about the Weed safety rest area is a monument dedicated to the military, fire and law enforcement personnel who work every day to serve and protect their community. This location has been many years in the making, but it is slowly getting there. 

Here is the VLOG for this months journey.... I hope you enjoy it! 

Safe travels all... 

Eric and Remi.