This blog is to document my life and adventures living full time in a motorhome. Volunteerism has always been a big part of my life. Join me as I highlight my trips, adventures, work for California Department of Technology and enjoying life with dogs.
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.
It's funny, every time that I come towards the end of a month, and download the stuff from my phone for the month, I always think, there isn't much to write about, but then when I start to review the video footage from my phone I think "Wow, look at all this stuff I did this last month..." and the month of April is no different. I really do live a full life. I admit, being single again, in some ways gets harder and harder each month since my divorce, but I through the good fortune of a couple of friends of mine, I do manage to keep my spirits up most of the time. If it were not for some of the friends that I have met through rescue, I would be facing a much deeper challenge than I do.
One of the first things I did this month, was I met up with my stepdaughter Katie who I occupied 20 years of her life as her stepdad. Many of her years were her teenage years, but once she moved out on her own and spent a little time facing them with her guy Russell, she came to appreciate how I tried to be a good stepfather for her, and that is all that I can ask for. I drove up to Pine Grove and met up with Katie, Russell and their son Jack. It was a beautiful drive up. This time of year in Amador county is simply amazing with the green rolling hills, which will eventually turn an amber brown. We had a really nice visit for a couple of hours. I truly miss them, but I am glad that she responds when I reach out to her and that we have the positive relationship that we do. Jack their son is just a amazing and happy little guy. I'm glad that he is healthy and growing and learning so well. I wanted to get Jack a little something, and I asked Katie if he had any Tonka toys. She told me about the one I had, so I got him another one to compliment his first one.
One of my co-workers at the California Department of Technology bought herself a 3-D printer. She found the plans online for making a classic Willies Jeep snap together model. She mentioned at work how she made a model kit for someone else she knew and I said, I'd love to pay her for a copy if she is ever so inclined. Well, she made me a model, but she wouldn't take any money. So, I got her a gift car and thank you card and dropped it off with her. Over the next few evenings, I painted the model pieces while they were still in the frame, and then assembled the jeep. Though the tolerances are pretty tight on some of the parts, I got it painted and all together. I love it!
This month has been an emotional one for me. I admit, I'm a bleeding heart liberal. I didn't start out that way, but with each passing year, I definitely lean more and more liberal. I think a lot of it has to do with the political changes our country is going through. I've really started taking an interest in those that are truly homeless and especially though that have pets. The last thing our shelters need, is more dogs being brought in, so if I can help a homeless person keep their dog I want to. So, now, I'm carrying care packages for homeless people with dogs that I run into. I gave one to a lady in Rancho Cordova who was going through the trash at a gas station so that she could feed her dog.
This month of April, May and to some degree June, are going to be busy with a lot of NVADG training. I'm looking forward to getting into the training this year because last year, I was so busy with work, that I just couldn't break away for some of the training. Thank goodness we didn't really have any incidents where I had to decline deployment requests because of work. I attended a great training on power and gas line safety given by PG&E and also a great joint exercise between NVADG and Nevada Counties Humane Emergency Animal Response Team on handling of livestock. both of these classes were great and I learned a lot.
This month, because of NVADG training, and also because of some SNAFU's of my own doing, we moved the motorhome a bunch of times. We spent time at Lake Minden of course, our Defacto home base, Lake of the Springs in Oregon House, Oroville at River Reflections RV park, and in Lodi at Flag City RV Resort. one of the wonderful things about living full time in an RV is the change of scenery, and this time especially we get to see some amazing sunrises, sunsets and we even get some great rainbows too!
Because of the budget shortfall for the state of California, we are doing a lot of work to see where we can save money with the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative network. There have been lots of meetings between the project leadership and the Governors office, but I was asked to come in on a Wednesday to the office and be prepared to be present at at the Governors office. Though this is quite an honor, I wasn't sure if I had the correct clothing ready for such a meeting. Fortunately, I did with some fashion advise from my friend Ally, I had my outfit ready to go. Though I didn't meet with Governor Gavin Newsom directly, I and some of the project leadership did meet with the Governors staff, and it was really interesting to see how the process works in making decisions.
One of the dogs that Ally and I worked with at the Stockton Animal shelter is a guy named Thomas. Well, the poor guy was starting to show kennel stress and was close to being put down because his condition was deteriorating. Thankfully, one of my previous video assistants, Tarrah who I worked with for a couple years at Front Street, stepped up and was willing to foster Thomas until he got adopted. Well, she and her husband Cisco had Thomas for about a week, when Thomas's owner showed up at the shelter to claim him. So, Thomas is back with his owner, and I am super thankful to have been able to reconnect with Tarrah.
As you know, Remi has been my constant companion for more than 3 years now. She is 8 and I adopted her from Rescue Ranch. She still loves to go and do everything that she can with me, and always does so with gusto. Sadly though, even though she is 8 years old, she is slowing down. I took her into the vet this month and had them check her out. She has hip dysplasia as well as arthritis. I'm pretty sad about this development, because she is such a lover, and loves to be with me, and loves to go for hikes. The vet suggested some medication to put her on, and see how it goes. Prior to this diagnosis, we had done some blood work, so I'll be taking her in again the first week in June to make sure her liver is handling the meds ok. I'm gonna do everything I can to keep her happy and comfortable for as long as possible. I love this baby girl. <3
Like I said though, Remi wants to do everything with me, and I so appreciate that. As you know, I have a good friend by the name of Ally and she and I do the Pit Saver Productions videos and posts together. Well, Ally bought her self a service van which was converted into a camper van and it is just the coolest. She could not have found a better van that fits her energy level. There are a few things that needed to be done on the van, and it has been fun to help her out getting them set up in the van like, installing the rear bumper, fixing the floor, putting in a backup camera and other odds and ends. Its like her little mobile yoga den. In fact she has a sign in there called the Zen den. :-) Ally being the dog lover that she is, more than welcomed Remi into her Zen Den. <3
