November 16, 2007 Friday Tecopa Hot Springs
Morning comes early in the desert. I was up by 7 to take the dogs out. Poor Byrdie has cut the pads on her paws on the salt flats. She is so intent on chasing the ball she doesn’t seem to feel pain. I will have to figure out some type of dog shoes for her.
(The German is out hand cleaning his car--washing of rigs and vehicles isn’t permitted in RV parks so he has a squirt bottle of something and is doing it one spot at a time. When asked why he was washing his car he replied that they’d had a few drops of rain and it had made dusty rain drop marks on the car. Well, duh!! It’s freakin’ Death Valley and there’s dust and the most rain ever seen at one time is 6 drops--guess they all landed on their ride!)
Coffee is served in the common room beginning at 7am--bring your own cup. I opened the door and was immediately greeting with “Good mornings!” and invitations to sit at the women’s table. Introductions were made all around. They seem to know each other and mark their calendars to be at this particular RV park at the same time every year. They have their Thanksgivings and Christmases here. I was invited to spend Christmas here if I wanted but I’d better hurry and get a space because they might already be filled up. The park supplies the turkeys and hams and there’s a sign-up sheet for everything else. When I told them our house had sold and we’d be living in our RV at Christmas one of the women said so matter-of-factly, “We got kids the same way--that’s why we’re here--please join us.” They cut to the heart of the matter so quickly.
I got some good advice during coffee: don’t back up your rig if you’re towing a vehicle! You get in the vehicle and back that up while pulling the rig the way you want to go! This was pure brilliance and I never would have thought of it. I just might get my nerve up one of these days to tow the Jeep.
Doggy advice from new best friends: take Byrdie down the road to the mud baths and let her swim in the water. The water is 118o in places?? Doesn’t bother dogs! The signs say to beware of mud mites but not to worry! The dogs swim, not walk in the mud. Smell like sulphur and mud when they get out? Not to worry! They smell better than when they went in! )
After coffee it was time to “take the waters” for the first time today. I solved the problem of the water making it hard to breathe if I have my chest below the water. I took an empty 2 gallon water container and used it to hold me up. It worked great and the 20 minutes flew by.
Inspired by the Germans I did a load of laundry and thoroughly vacuumed the inside of the RV. It has been so long since I’ve had the energy to do anything that it was actually enjoyable being able to be useful.
I have a busy afternoon lined up: get the washing off the line, “take the waters” again, walk the dogs, and be ready for Happy Hour at 4pm back in the common room! I could get into this routine very quickly. Dr. Dean Adell on TV says that the retirees who do the best both mentally and physically are those who have taken up Rving. I can see why--the people are so nice, there are lots of stories and an exciting pioneer spirit.
Morning comes early in the desert. I was up by 7 to take the dogs out. Poor Byrdie has cut the pads on her paws on the salt flats. She is so intent on chasing the ball she doesn’t seem to feel pain. I will have to figure out some type of dog shoes for her.
(The German is out hand cleaning his car--washing of rigs and vehicles isn’t permitted in RV parks so he has a squirt bottle of something and is doing it one spot at a time. When asked why he was washing his car he replied that they’d had a few drops of rain and it had made dusty rain drop marks on the car. Well, duh!! It’s freakin’ Death Valley and there’s dust and the most rain ever seen at one time is 6 drops--guess they all landed on their ride!)
Coffee is served in the common room beginning at 7am--bring your own cup. I opened the door and was immediately greeting with “Good mornings!” and invitations to sit at the women’s table. Introductions were made all around. They seem to know each other and mark their calendars to be at this particular RV park at the same time every year. They have their Thanksgivings and Christmases here. I was invited to spend Christmas here if I wanted but I’d better hurry and get a space because they might already be filled up. The park supplies the turkeys and hams and there’s a sign-up sheet for everything else. When I told them our house had sold and we’d be living in our RV at Christmas one of the women said so matter-of-factly, “We got kids the same way--that’s why we’re here--please join us.” They cut to the heart of the matter so quickly.
I got some good advice during coffee: don’t back up your rig if you’re towing a vehicle! You get in the vehicle and back that up while pulling the rig the way you want to go! This was pure brilliance and I never would have thought of it. I just might get my nerve up one of these days to tow the Jeep.Doggy advice from new best friends: take Byrdie down the road to the mud baths and let her swim in the water. The water is 118o in places?? Doesn’t bother dogs! The signs say to beware of mud mites but not to worry! The dogs swim, not walk in the mud. Smell like sulphur and mud when they get out? Not to worry! They smell better than when they went in! )
After coffee it was time to “take the waters” for the first time today. I solved the problem of the water making it hard to breathe if I have my chest below the water. I took an empty 2 gallon water container and used it to hold me up. It worked great and the 20 minutes flew by.
Inspired by the Germans I did a load of laundry and thoroughly vacuumed the inside of the RV. It has been so long since I’ve had the energy to do anything that it was actually enjoyable being able to be useful.
I have a busy afternoon lined up: get the washing off the line, “take the waters” again, walk the dogs, and be ready for Happy Hour at 4pm back in the common room! I could get into this routine very quickly. Dr. Dean Adell on TV says that the retirees who do the best both mentally and physically are those who have taken up Rving. I can see why--the people are so nice, there are lots of stories and an exciting pioneer spirit.
1 comment:
Hello
I visited your blog.
I am Brazilian, Sao Paulo and I have a blog on varieties. Visit:
Http://vagandopelaweb.blogspot.com/
Good luck!
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