Peregrinating
2010

October

1 October
Saddle West RV Park
Pahrump, NV

Today was mostly a repeat of yesterdays weather but we did get a few sprinkles and more humidity. When I just started my walk I was hit by a few drops and looking for any excuse to quit thought I had one.

But, it didn't work out, very few rain drops fell, not enough to even call it rain, not measurable.

After my walk I went to Smith's for gas and groceries. Then to the UPS Store where my package had come in from Amazon. That was good news, no forwarding involved.

I also had a VA bill for the visit here in Pahrump plus the meds from here. I had estimated what those charges would be and overpaid my last VA bill not knowing when I would get my next billing.

Well, VA has done it to me again! The Pahrump bill is for a different account, I don't have ONE account with VA. It is ALL one VA throughout the entire US of A but each Region operates like they are a separate hospital.

So I now have a bill due and an overpayment that MUST be refunded to me by check and by mail. The overpayment CANNOT be applied to the bill in the new account.

In the same mail that I picked up today is a notice of an appointment at the RENO VA for October 14th. I have transferred from Reno to Pahrump but that don't have that right yet either. This is the medical care that everyone will be receiving in a few years when the government finishes with the Health Insurance Reform Law.

Some more evidence of our government in action: yesterday there was an Associated Press article about the rejection of another first class postage increase. This is good news, for now, the bad news is that two of the Republican members on the Commission terms expire on October 14, 2010.

President Obama will certainly appoint one Democrat (no more than 3 members can be from the same Party) at that time. The Postal Service will also surly submit their rate increase again next year and will not address long-term structural problems. It is a postponement in the increase at best.

The independent panel that oversees the U.S. Postal Service has denied the agency's request to increase the cost of mailing a letter by 2 cents to 46 cents....
In July, the Postal Service proposed raising first-class postage from 44 cents to 46 cents as part of a strategy for dealing with a worsening financial crisis. The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year, and the agency has been seeking other rate increases as well, including higher fees for periodicals, post cards and parcels....
Chairman Ruth Goldway told reporters the Postal Rate Commission's vote to deny the rate request was unanimous on the five-member commission. She said that, in her view, the requested rate adjustment was not due to recent recession, as indicated by Postal Service officials, but was, rather, an attempt to address long-term structural problems....

2 October
Escapees North Ranch
Congress, AZ

My plans are usually carved in sand, the slightest breeze will wipe them out. That is what happened today. The breeze in this case was no one was at the RV Doctor in Las Vegas at 8:00 am.

That was my appointment time and their store hours as painted on the door. When I made the appointment they asked me to contact them if I could not make it. Sorry to say they do not offer that same consideration.

I waited until 8:30, left a message on their telephone answering machine and headed for todays camp.

The plan had been to stop at Blake Ranch RV Park near Kingman, AZ. However with almost no time spent in Las Vegas I went past there at about noon. I am now at what was going to be camp number two on the way to Douglas and I will just stay another day.

Total miles were 279 on NV160/Blue Diamond Rd, S. Dean Martin Dr, W. Warm Springs Rd, N. Boulder Hwy/US93, US93/I-40, US93, AZ71 & AZ89.

I crossed Boulder (Hoover) Dam and was subject to a search. That happened in 2006 also and the bridge was maybe 1/3 complete; I thought for sure it would be open by now. The Security Guard told me they will open it in November; maybe some of the Stimulus money speed it to completion (sarcasm intended).

The daily spaces (versus permanent lots) here at the Park are all full hook-up on gravel but there is good room between each space. I have a very scenic view of the mountains to the east of Congress, AZ. This afternoon they are crowned with some big thunderheads that offer only a slight chance of rain.

The temperature here is about the same as it was in Pahrump yesterday with a promised drop of 10 degrees over the next couple of days. I am ready for that promise to be fulfilled!

3 October
Escapees North Ranch
Congress, AZ

I did my 4 1/2 mile walk this morning and never went outside of the Escapees North Ranch Park. I started south on the street on the west side for 1/2 mile, then turned east for another mile and then north for about 1/2 mile.

To get back I then walked all the north-south streets weaving my way west. This worked out to be almost exactly 4 1/2 miles. I think this route would get to be very boring quite soon but it should serve me.

I saw a gate out of the Park on the east side to some dirt roads through the desert with a sign listing some points of interest. I think that I will give that a try tomorrow.

The remainder of the day was my usual routine. Reading the mystery book, which is so much better than that last thing I slogged through. I also checked out the Park's library, which is huge, for a possible exchange.

I web surfed for some time looking for a RV repair/remodel shop in Tucson, AZ or NM. I found one possible in Tucson and sent them an email to see if they would do the dinette area. It they will, I am going to try and stop to get an estimate.

Another surprise with the Health Insurance Reform Law, this time it is with the high-risk un-insurable that President Obama has touted as a great benefit.

It's a centerpiece of President Obama's health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them un-insurable.
But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn't living up to expectations. Enrollment lags in many parts of the country. People who could benefit may not be able to afford the premiums....
"The federal risk pool has definitely provided critical access, in some cases lifesaving access, to health insurance," said Amie Goldman, chair of a national association of state high-risk insurance pools. "That said, enrollment so far is lower than we would have expected."
California, which has money for about 20,000 people, has received fewer than 450 applications, according to a state official. The program in Texas had enrolled about 200 by early September, an official in that state said. Goldman, who runs the pool in Wisconsin, said they've received fewer than 300 applications so far, with room for about 8,000 people in the program.
That's not how it was supposed to work.
Government economists projected as recently as April that 375,000 people would gain coverage this year, and they questioned whether $5 billion allocated to the program would be enough. Federal officials won't provide enrollment figures, saying several large states have yet to get going.

The Obama administration said Thursday that its top health official will "exercise her discretion" in enforcing a new health-law requirement, a move that could help McDonald's Corp. and other employers from disrupting their health-care policies for hourly workers...
On Thursday, administration officials indicated they are hopeful that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will be able to allow certain waivers to the requirement, but that it was too early to confirm they will. She must wait for guidance from state insurance commissioners, and the administration doesn't expect to release the agency's final guidance until December. The agency said the law gives Ms. Sebelius discretion to apply the requirement.
"We fully intend to exercise her discretion under the new law to address the special circumstances of mini-med plans in the medical loss ratio calculations," said Jay Angoff, a director at the Department of Health and Human Services. "We intend to address these and other special circumstances in forthcoming regulations."

4 October
Escapees North Ranch
Congress, AZ

I did my desert walk this morning. The trail that I went out and back on was a well used ATV trail that has a lot of cross trails. It winds through the desert with one of the side trails going to the Lonesome Saguaro.

Lonesome Saguaro is the only one of its kind in the area. In fact, there are not many cactus of any kind; it is mostly mesquite, greasewood and other desert shrubs.

Not long after I got back and had breakfast there was a very short rain shower come through. It was not much more than a sprinkle but I had to close the door and window on the south side.

I then had all the windows open all day to a very nice breeze and the high near 85. But, at 3:30, the rain that I saw at 3:00 to the south hit with a vengeance.

It rained very hard this time and the winds were rocking Desperado like I was at sea. It looks like my neighbor has lost his awning. It was flailing around badly soon after the winds hit. This was a bad one!

If there is anything good to say about it it would be that it did not last long, maybe 10 minutes. The wind then died down and the rain turned into a soaker with some clearing to the south where the storm came from.

This is not News, at least the lame stream media does not devote time to it now that Obama is President; it was News when Bush was President. The Iraq and Afghanistan Causality Count; this is for the first 9 months of each year in the table.

5 October
Escapees North Ranch
Congress, AZ

I was laying in bed at 5:15 this morning waiting to get up at 5:30. At 5:20 it started to rain so I snuggled deeper under the quilt and went back to sleep.

My first trip outside was when I thought the shower was over but I caught a few drops before I got back. I then went out again when it looked like it was clearing. I managed to dump my black and gray tanks in full sunshine but got rained on before I could put everything away and lock up.

The forecast is for continuing showers tonight and tomorrow. With that possibility here, and no rain predicted for Mesa, AZ, I'm leaving early in the morning.

I'll stop at a RV repair shop for an estimate on the dinette remodel. Then if time permits I'll continue on to Tucson, AZ. If I'm short on time I'll stay somewhere in the east Phoenix metro area or maybe north Tucson.

Finished the mystery book that I was reading, it was a good day to read, and then exchanged it for another one from the Escapees library.

I found an analysis of Obama's rise and fall and another supporter with buyers remorse; but they seem to be rushing to 'express disappointment' in Obama rather than admit that they were conned.

Archaeologist Paul Zanker's Power of Images in the Age of Augustus describes this contrived likeness as calm, elevated expression, marked by a timeless and remote dignity not unlike the blue-and-red portrait type designed for Obama by guerrilla-marketer Shepard Fairey....
Obama's rise relied on images, emotions, and themes; his fall has been the impossibility of making good on the superhuman expectations of a plugged-in populace. Even Shepard Fairey himself, the self-described propaganda artist to whom Obama's campaign owes so much, has recently expressed disappointment with the President's performance in office.

6 October
Cactus Country RV Resort
Vail, AZ

I covered 238 miles today or just a little over 25 mph with all of my stops. The route avoided all Interstates and I drove mostly city streets through the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas.

If you wish to do the same this route was rather hassle free: AZ89/US93, US60, AZ74/Carefree Hwy, N. Scottsdale Rd, E. Westland Rd, N. Pima Rd, AZ101, Shea Blvd, AZ87 (Beeline Hwy), N. Gillbert Rd, Main St/Old West Hwy, S. Goldfield Rd, US60, AZ79/AZ77, W. Ina Rd/E. Skyline Dr/E. Sunrise Dr, N. Swan, E Speedway & N. Houghton.

I wanted to see the area along Carefree Rd which I had not seen for over 30 years; a lot of construction that certainly was not there way back when (I quail hunted in that same area where many homes are now). Part of the route across north Tucson was also part of a 106 mile bicycle 'Around Tucson Ride' that I did three times in the mid 1980s.

I got up a little late this morning an was not on the road until 6:45. As I was driving into the Phoenix area I heard that there were two tornadoes hit just west of Flagstaff.

One of them went through Camping World's parking lot and destroyed over 15 trailers (I had considered this for one of my camps on the way to Douglas). The other one de-railed about 30 railroad cars that were sitting on a siding.

I got into Mesa, AZ at RV Renovators around 9:30 and had my estimates within a half hour. More money for the dinette area than I had thought, and more than I have. The water leak issue was closer to what I thought it would be but it is also a lot of money.

I then stopped for brunch and filled up with gas in east Mesa or Apache Junction. As soon as I turned onto AZ79 I got a strong cross wind from the west. I had noticed the better handling with Desperado's new shocks but they were really worth the money today as I drove south.

I also heard that there had been another tornado sighting in the Carefree area (I had just come through there around 8 or 8:30).

One more stop just north of camp to pick up groceries. Then into my new campsite for 3 days. I had reserved for the 7th & 8th but arriving a day early was not a problem. I have a very big site with desert landscape on the left then the street (maybe not so good), no neighbor on the right at this time.

It is probably in the 80s now with a very nice breeze. This should be the coolest place that I have been this summer since Ely, NV and Charleston Mt. near Las Vegas, NV.

7 October
Cactus Country RV Resort
Vail, AZ

Almost all day today was devoted to visiting. My cousin Violet picked me up at 11:00 am then she and husband brought me home at 7:00 pm.

It was non-stop talk for the entire time except when our mouths were full of a great lasagna dinner with pie for desert.

We decided that the last time we saw each other was probably 53 years ago. That called for a lot of telling of life stories and I probably only repeated a couple of them when her husband came home.

As a bonus I got left-overs for tomorrow. As a double bonus I get to see them again on Sunday at a larger group get together of cousins.

My morning walk was along Houghton which is a very busy road in the early morning and evening � commuters. I will give some desert trails a go tomorrow!

8 October
Cactus Country RV Resort
Vail, AZ

I did very little today, resting up from all that talk yesterday.

I did have something happen on the 6th that I didn't tell about. When I left Congress in the morning the coach water pump was working. When I arrived here at Cactus Country RV it would not pump any water.

I could not hear it doing anything, Violet said she could hear a 'hummm'. I checked all the fuses and they are all good. So, I now still have the leak, can not stay hooked up to city water because of the leak and can not pump water from the fresh water tank.

I also tried to fill the fresh water tank and don't think it is taking in any water. ALL of these problems are behind a partition that is impossible to remove without lots of man hours and therefor lots of money.

I'm thinking that I will try and get this mess fixed when I leave Douglas and get into New Mexico.

My morning walk through the desert was much better although only 2 miles of it was on trails. I reached a paved street northeast of camp and looped back on Houghton (traffic was not as bad as yesterday) and then 'home'.

That was just over 5 miles rather than my planned 4 1/2 but I felt fine. Tomorrow I'm going to loop back on a dirt road that I crossed this morning and think I'll be closer to my 4 1/2.

Tomorrow will complete the week and I'll start targeting 5 miles everyday for the next few weeks. Depending on how I feel maybe 1-2 day a week after that at distances greater than 5.

9 October
Grandmother's Homestead
Near Double Adobe, AZ

This was another visiting day with my cousins Peggy and Bernice. It was also a very short drive of only 84 miles on Houghton, I-10, AZ80, Davis Rd, Frontier Rd & Buford Ln.

I stopped in Benson, AZ at Wal*Mart to pick up something for tomorrows pot luck. I had not been in a Wal*Mart for quite some time but they were so glad to see me back that they had someone at the door to greet me.

From there I went to Apple Farm, a 2 link chain of restaurants, in Benson and Willcox. As I was leaving Benson I started to see a few bicyclist that were riding the 23rd Annual Cochise County Cycling Classic.

These first riders that I saw were doing the 157 mile route. After I turned onto Davis Rd I saw many more riders that were on the 92 mile route. The other distances offered were the 234 mile, starting at 2:00 am, and the 45 mile routes.

The short drive day had me arrive at 'The Homestead' by 10:30 and visiting began. I also unloaded the quilts that I'm giving away; or more properly have my cousins give away for me. They will pick out the recipients and which quilts go to whom.

Two quilts will be held in reserve to be sent to my foster sister's daughters in Alaska. This will complete my purging of 'stuff' for now; I am still carrying more than I need but not ready to get rid of yet.

10 October
Grandmother's Homestead
Near Double Adobe, AZ

This morning was the first day of my 5 mile walks. It was done on an out and back route that is never my preference but was the best I can do here.

It was also cold. Well, maybe not cold at 46 degrees but felt that way to me after the month of September in Pahrump.

The pot luck was a big feast with cousins 1st through 4th in attendance; the only family that I have left are cousins. Three of the 1st cousins I had not seen since the early 1950s. One of them I may have never seen because he wasn't born yet.

The quilts and afghans were bequeathed as follows: Eva S. - Drunkards Path
Mini S. - Grandma's Flower Garden
David S. - Star
Julia S. - Butterfly
Paul S. - Bow Tie
Bernice K. - Double Bitted Axe
Donna (Marjie S. daughter) Hummingbird
Daughter's of Margaret (foster sister) Double Wedding Ring & Nine Patch
Marjie K. - Afghan
Wilford K. - Afghan

A lot of visiting was accomplished and a lot of food eaten as well. Tomorrow after I finish my walk I'll move on again to Douglas.

11 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

I did another out and back walk this morning which took me past the 40 acre place where I lived during the years 1946 to 1952. The house was just over one mile from The Homestead by road or a little less if you cut through the fields.

There is a new house on the property now and new out buildings but the windmill and the water tank look to be the same as when I lived there.

My drive today is among the very shortest between camps and it included a 10 mile off-route excursion. The total was 38 miles on W. Buford Ln, Frontier Rd, Double Adobe Rd, AZ80 & Leslie Canyon Rd.

The off-route excursion was to the community of Double Adobe where I attended the 6th grade in a two room school house. It has been expanded with a large community room add-on and a new four room school has been built to the east of it.

The market across the road to the south from the school has also been expanded from the years that Mr. Walker owned it and my family traded there. The Walker's sold this market in the late 1950s or early 1960s and bought the store in Portal, AZ which they ran until sometime in the early 1970s.

I also stopped at a RV Park near Double Adobe to have my propane tank filled. However, after ringing a door bell 3-4 times and walking around in a circle for a few minutes a park resident came over. They called the owner on their cell phone and he was going to be away for at least another hour so I went on to Douglas.

All of these memory diversions kept me from arriving at my new home site until around 11:00. The first thing I then did, after getting hooked up, was my laundry. Then it was back to my usual routine of day to day living but with a different front and back yard.

I don't have the most scenic views that many camps have but the weather is nice and I'm close to all the amenities of the Club House. To compensate for the view, the price for this week makes up for it - I need more weeks at this price.

12 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

I am completely back into my daily routine. Not quite a habit yet but getting up and out the door to walk is not as mentally difficult as it first was.

I walked into what the signs proclaim to be 'historic Douglas'. This is the downtown of my growing up years. Many of the original buildings are in very bad shape, even those that are still in use. There are also many closed stores which probably will never open again.

I also went past the school where I attended 7th, 8th and 9th grades. My graduating class was the last one to enter High School as Sophomores.

I was also browsing the web today and found some archive articles of the local newspaper. One of them listed the top 10 employers in the Douglas area. The number one employer was the State Prison at the Bisbee/Douglas International Airport.

The second place went to the School District and there were only 3 employers that could be considered private industry in the top 10, all the others are some level of government.

The town is now almost 90% Hispanic/Latino, or whatever politically correct name they are now called. The US-Mexico fence separates Auga Prieta from Douglas but Douglas is more of a Mexican town than Auga Prieta ever was American.

La Raza has succeeded in taking back this bit of the country and there are 'Americans' that are very pleased that it has happened.

13 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

My day was much the same as all others. The excitement, such as it was, came all wrapped up in the early morning walk.

I did a loop to the east along AZ80 then south on Washington Av. A good friend of mine during High School had lived near that intersection but there is no sign of any building remaining.

There are a lot of small houses and mobile homes to the east of Washington however that did not exist back then.

I turned back west on 15th street and went past the High School which is all fenced and gated and closed down for Fall Break. This is something else that did not exist during my school days.

As I remember it, we started school the day after Labor Day, got off Thanksgiving and the following Friday (it was not called Black Friday back then) and then were off Christmas through New Years Day. I don't remember a Spring Break in High School either, College yes High School no.

To close the loop I turned north and stopped at the Spice Cafe for breakfast. This small cafe is run by an Indian (and family) that grew up in Fiji, lived in Vancouver Canada and came to Douglas 32 years ago.

He had Bollywood DVDs playing on the TVs and served naan as my bread choice with an Indian omelet.

The total distance was 5.80 miles but with the breakfast stop it did not feel bad at all.

The lame stream media has come to the party late but they have finally arrived, this was written it part to explain why Barney Frank is in re-election difficulties.

What qualifies Barney Frank to reform the housing market? His track record is not auspicious:
By late 2003, the firms (Freddy Mac & Fanny Mae) had taken on more than $4 trillion in debt, rivaling that of the entire federal government. Yet Frank, who had by then become the top Democrat on the influential House Financial Services Committee, still wasn't focused on the risks. He had his sights set on what else they could do to promote for [sic] affordable housing, particularly low-cost rental housing.
At a hearing called by Republicans, who controlled the committee, Frank made clear that he was reluctant to tighten oversight because it could limit the ability of Fannie and Freddie to help people get a roof over their heads.
The companies, he urged colleagues, "are two of the very important tools that we have" and had to do what "the market in and of itself will not do. "They were "not endangering the fiscal health of this country," he continued...
"I want to roll the dice a little bit more in this situation towards subsidized housing," Frank said.
The result of Frank's gamble:
For all his efforts, Frank readily acknowledges that there are more people needing decent housing than there were when he started in Congress. And with millions of others losing their homes to foreclosure, Frank asks to be judged by how much worse things would have been without him.

14 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

I did an even longer walk of 6.82 miles this morning. The legs felt fine (maybe not so fine tomorrow morning) but my feet were not too happy.

It was another out and back route to the 'new' Commercial Center of Douglas. This Center is the duplicate of any big shopping area in any subdivision of any city in the U. S. of A. It you only saw this shopping area you would say that Douglas is very up to date and quite modern.

The location was also picked to make it convenient for Auga Prieta residents to cross the border and shop. Only about a ¼ mile from the border gate.

For Douglas residents it is almost outside the city limits to the southwest, but in our society it is assumed that everyone has a car so that is not an issue.

My goal, other than the miles, was to go to Wal*Mart and buy water, juice and toilet cleaner. This added about 10 pounds more for me to carry home than I started with. To gather strength for the hike back I stopped at Denny's for breakfast.

I went by the old Y.M.C.A building, built in 1909, that is now looking very shabby. It does not appear to house the YMCA anymore but has some commercial business using part or all of it.

The route took me past the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad depot, built in 1913, and later bought by Southern Pacific. It is now the Douglas Police Department; restored and refurbished with drug money confiscations.

I remember riding, by myself, the Sunset Limited to California and Grandma's house for the summer in 1950, 1951 & 1952. I left from this depot and was met at it when I returned; I think the last trip was during the summer of 1958.

The trains stopped running in 1961 and several years later all the rails were torn up. The rail bed can still be seen but nothing has been done with it; it would make a great Rails to Trails route but there just isn't enough population in the area to make that happen.

There is also a very nice Memorial for Douglas war dead from World War 1 through Iraq near the depot and the welcome/information center.

The balance of the day was devoted to relaxing.

More and more Health Insurance Reform Law is now coming to be understood, now that it has passed, and the media is NOW printing that understanding rather than attacking critics of the Law.

For the first time in years, your benefits could well be getting more lavish—but they could cost more, too.
Companies are scrambling to comply with early provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, such as a requirement that plans cover dependent children up to the age of 26. Many employees will be able to count on their companies paying all their bills for preventative care, and plans must eliminate lifetime limits on coverage.
But some companies, citing the new mandates, say costs are rising too fast: In a survey of more than 1,000 employers, Mercer, a human-resources consulting firm, found that corporate health-care costs would rise by 10% next year if firms made no changes to their plans. Many are finding that they have little choice but to switch a greater share of costs to employees.

The elements of these market-based exchanges are already buried deep inside ObamaCare. But they remain under a lethal dose of regulation that rules out every choice but those made by the bureaucrats working inside the president's "Office of Health Reform."
ObamaCare was not about fixing the insurance market. It was about seizing control of it. Thus it shouldn't be surprising that a new analysis by the Congressional Research Service says that states can use ObamaCare to erect a de facto single-payer system by simply excluding from their exchanges every plan but a state-run "public" plan. "There is no specific language in [the president's health plan] that would prohibit an exchange from denying certification to every private plan that applies," the analysis finds.
California is already headed down this road. Voters have opted for a "selective contracting" scheme in which a five-member board of unaccountable appointees will tightly control which insurers operate in the California exchange.

15 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

I looped to the north this morning and then east on what was a dirt road in 'my time'. It is now paved and has a street sign.

The six sections of land that our 3 cow herd grazed on the north side of that road has been partially sub-divided. Roads have been cut through but not paved and no other improvements made.

The road scars will take a couple of hundred years or more to heal. It is very doubtful that anything will ever be built there. A smaller sub-division on the south side of the road and east of the golf course has paved streets and utilities with two houses, one of them for sale.

At the corner where I turned south on Washington there is an 'orphan' development that looks to be maybe 15 years old and starting to age somewhat. I can just imagine some of the owners in there with 2nd mortgages and the current real estate market.

Before closing the loop I did about a ½ mile out and back to Spice Cafe for breakfast. This gave me almost the identical miles as what I did on the 13th.

The 50th reunion of the graduating class began registration at 1:00. When I got there at 1:00 about 15 people were already in attendance with their reunion shirts and picture name badges on (our graduation pictures, a good idea). I was late to the party again!

There is a no host cocktail hour at 6:00 pm and then dinner. That is almost past my bed time. LOL

Just as I started to walk over to the Club House for the cocktail hour it started to rain very hard. It did so for at least an hour but did not dampen the enjoyment of the reunion; it was well organized and a good time.

I had seen only 2 of my classmates since 1960 so it was like meeting a large room full of strangers. There were about a dozen High School friends that it was so good to see once again. Then there were others that I talked to more tonight than I did during four years at school.

It was almost 10:00 pm by the time I got got to bed – way past my bed time but well worth it!

16 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

Although I went to bed later than usual I was awake and up at the same early hour. I then did a straight out and back along 'A' avenue that gave me my 5 miles.

It also had me pass the restaurant where the 50th reunion will have a no host 'goodbye' breakfast. One more opportunity to get together if one so desires.

I have planned a route that will get me there at 7:00 am and then return along 'A' avenue again. I doubt that I'll see many other reunion participants at that hour but there will be some.

Tonight the no host cocktails and then dinner will begin at 6:00 pm. There will also be dancing after the dinner but I will not be doing it.

I sat with Steve and his wife during dinner. Steve was probably my best friend in High School and I also saw him for one or two semesters after I transferred to the University of Arizona.

He dropped out, I got thrown out and we next saw each other in 2008. The dinner was good and allowed some visiting but my hearing is bad, as was the P.A. System, so I can not tell you what the after dinner speakers had to say.

Then when the band, singers and people around me talking all kicked in at the same time I could hear almost nothing clearly and called it a night.

It was good that I attended this 50th reunion, also good that I had never attended one before or I might not have been at this one. I may attend another one but will not go much out of my way to do so.

17 October
Douglas Municipal Golf Course
Douglas, AZ

The route to El Chef, where the no host breakfast was held, was an out and back on Leslie Canyon Rd with a loop off it to the west.

On the loop I saw the Border Patrol horse stables and the Douglas Maintenance Yards (possibly the police impound lot also). There was a residential area that I'm sure was not there 50 years ago nor was the road that I walked.

I then went east on 15th St past a school where I painted classrooms during the summer of 1964 (I think). The school building is currently undergoing a remodel into a County Medical Center.

Then it was south through some of 'historic' residential Douglas that has deteriorated a lot. There does not appear to have been any pride of ownership shown for quite a long time.

I arrived at the restaurant about 5 minutes early which I considered to have been a well planned route. I was also correct about the 50th reunion participants. There were three others come into the restaurant when I was almost ready to leave. I did not know them, nor did they know me and we left it that way.

The most important thing that happened during the rest of the day was my dumping tanks and preparing to leave early in the morning. I will take a break from walking and focus on getting to Sierra Vista to have my fresh water pump and leak fixed.

18 October
D & J RV Center
Sierra Vista, AZ

It has been a very long day. Not that I drove a long way or did a lot, actually the opposite.

I only drove 52 miles on Leslie Canyon Rd, AZ80 & AZ92 to D & J.

What made it such a long day was waiting for them to fix the leaks and water pump problem.

The leak behind the bulkhead at the water intake was fixed in about 2 hours. The bulkhead has also been cut away to allow additional work to be done if necessary.

Everything has not been put back in place but the leaks are fixed (there were two of them rather than one) and after that the pump started working again.

I then talked about the leak at mid-coach and found out that was where my fresh water tank was. It was a bigger job to get the tank out and test it than the bulkhead was. A lot more waiting around.

The tank tested out OK but the outlet fixture to the pump was where the leak was. That fixture will be replaced and a second vent will be added to the tank; this will keep it from swelling up with air when filled full.

The rotten wood under then tank will be replaced. There are also two metal cross members that support the tank; one of them has a noticeable bow in it from the weight of the water. That will be straightened and possibly re-enforced.

As they work on all of this I can see the bill mounting like watching your electric meter spin. It is all going to cost me a lot of money that I don't have. Any thought of re-modeling the dinette area is but a dream for at least a year.

My needs have imposed themselves before my wants!

I did get in my 5 mile walk today. I did it to get lunch and a take out supper. It is always harder for me to do a walk during the day rather than first thing in the morning, today was not an exception to that.

19 October
D & J RV Center
Sierra Vista, AZ

About the only difference between today and yesterday was things got done that I said were going to be done.

The cross member was straightened and two additional steel supports were added; they sagging sub-floor and tank are now flat. A second vent was not added to the tank but the existing one has been opened up – it was restricted by a valve that was not needed. The 'tech' doing most of the work thinks that there has been some tank work done before.

Everything is now almost complete. I'll keep the water system under city water pressure all night and then check for leaks in the morning. I will also use the water pump from the fresh water tank in the morning to test that system.

The cross members need to be painted with some undercoating and I then should be good to go.

20 October
The Homestead
Near Double Adobe, AZ

When I got up this morning I turned off the city water and went to the pump and fresh water tank. I also turned on the hot water heater (this puts added pressure on the water system).

Then at 7:30 when the 'tech' was about to arrive I checked for leaks. The water intake area looked good but there was still a leak from the water tank area.

So, it was back to waiting once more. The good news was that the leak was coming from the water pump and not from any connection or the tank (which we had tested well).

The pump was replaced and I was on the road by 10:00. The credit card balance was much higher but having the work done now probably saved me money. If the cross member that was bowed had given way the cost would have been much more.

The hourly rate that D & J charged me was also the lowest of the three RV repair places that I have had contact with.

I filled up with gas and groceries at Fry's in Sierra Vista. Then it was east on AZ92, AZ90, AZ80, Davis Rd, Frontier Rd & Buford Ln to The Homestead once more. Another short driving day of only 60 miles.

The afternoon was devoted to a lot more visiting with cousins Peggy and Bernice. I also had a Thank You Card waiting for me from Mini S. that told me she had passed on the Grandma's Flower Garden quilt to another cousin, Betty.

I has some troubling side winds from the south. There is a storm blowing through that may bring rain tonight. If the weather if good and I have no leaks I'll be continuing into New Mexico early tomorrow.

21 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

I saw no leaks, the wind was not blowing . I left in a light rain and arrived in similar conditions. It was not a long day at only 184 miles along Buford Ln, Frontier Rd, Davis Rd, US191, I-10, US70, NM90, US180 & Memory Ln.

I stopped in Sunsites, AZ for breakfast and it looked to be clearing when the sun came out. That remained true until I was hooking-up at my new 'home'. It started as an on and off sprinkle but turned to some serious rain by the time I came back from my shower.

I have a semi- private space here in the Park with some cedar trees here and there and good room, for a commercial Park, between sites. I was told that they have WIFI but have not picked up a signal; my Verizon Air Card is working a little slow but is adequate.

There is a good chance that I will have some below freezing nights during the next 30 days but I'm here for a month. This winter RV living is a learning experience so I might as well get started.

I think I have some good walking route possibilities. If it will quit raining as promised I'll go out tomorrow and see what I can see.

The article shown below is mostly about the powers granted the Health and Human Services Secretary. Please note that the waivers that have been granted are temporary. In my opinion this points out very clearly that the Law was all about control and this Administration is now exercising the control that they have obtained. It is also only the beginning!

Wall Street Opinion
ObamaCare, for Some

Well, well. In the clearest evidence so far that ObamaCare is harmful in practice and an election-year liability, the Obama Administration has decided not to enforce some of the law's "consumer protections." At least when the results are politically embarrassing.
Over the last several weeks the Health and Human Services Department has granted dozens of temporary waivers to certain ObamaCare mandates so that insurers and businesses won't drop or cancel coverage. The most conspicuous went to McDonald's to protect the "mini-med" plans for some 30,000 hourly workers from a rule that prohibits annual restrictions on benefits. Mini-med policies offer modest coverage at low premiums and other low-wage fast-food chains like Jack in the Box and Denny's have been granted waivers as well.
Cigna, Aetna and a few other insurers have been given hall passes to continue selling mini-meds. Another went to the United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund. The New York union offers city teachers supplemental drug coverage that would have been banned under the new rules.
At least this sudden regulatory flexibility is protecting the coverage that people have today, as President Obama promised. But it isn't much of an improvement if HHS retreats only after a national political blow-up. After all, the essential point of the regulations was to destroy mini-med plans and other types of coverage that Democrats claim are insufficiently generous. Democrats from Mr. Obama on down call these rules "the patients' bill of rights," but people don't regularly need exemptions from a bill of rights.
And is it really better that HHS will impose destructive regulations and then decide on ad hoc basis who they'll hit? This is an invitation to play favorites, exact political retribution and pursue whatever arbitrary goals HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and her successors happen to hold. ObamaCare amnesty shouldn't go merely to the CEOs who can get White House aide Valerie Jarrett on the horn.
Recall, too, that the original McDonald's memo the Journal exposed was actually warning about the future damage that will be caused by the forthcoming definition of the "medical loss ratio," that is, what insurers are allowed to count as spending on health-care services. HHS said in a statement that Ms. Sebelius has the power to waive those rules too when they come out and "we fully intend to exercise her discretion under the new law to address the special circumstances of mini-med plans in the medical loss ratio calculations."
In other words, HHS is pre-emptively declaring that it will grant a special dispensation to rules that haven't even been finalized. Wouldn't it be better to write less destructive rules in the first place? Or why not give everyone a waiver from everything?
The reality is that ObamaCare assigns HHS vast, undefined new powers that will mean whatever Ms. Sebelius and her team decides they will mean. The bill uses the phrase "the Secretary shall" or one of its variants more than a thousand times. Earlier this year, the Congressional Research Service found that ObamaCare created a "currently unknowable" number of new boards, commissions and offices, adding that "it is currently impossible to know how much influence they will ultimately have." HHS is also not building this bureaucratic apparatus in a transparent way. Ten of the 12 new regulations that HHS has issued in the last six months have been "interim final rules" that are not open to the ordinary process of public comment.
The White House had to play favorites with Senators and special interests to pass ObamaCare, and its implementation is no less ugly. But the waiver wave is most telling for what it says about the architects of this plan. By bending their own rules, they're conceding their destructiveness.

22 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

It was 38 degrees this morning as I was starting my walk. I had picked out a route on Google Maps yesterday that would take me past Albertson's on the east side ¼ mile north then turn back to the west.

It looked good on the Map but the road shown going to the east did not exist. I was walking through very wet grass and had to cross a deep ravine. Turn around, change my route – no way!

The rest of my walk was on city streets; although not all of them had sidewalks the car traffic was considerate. The turn around, or mid point, was a Mexican restaurant in 'Old Town' just west of The Big Ditch in Silver City.

On the return I went past a Wells Fargo that I wanted to locate and did not pass a UPS Store that I also wanted to locate. Well, I did pass it but didn't see it.

By the time I got 'home' the wind had started to pick up and it felt colder than in the early morning. It remained cloudy all day with some wind and I doubt that it will reach the 62 high forecast.

I had one other small thing come up around mid-day. It finally dawned on me that all my watches, clocks, GPS, radio, computer etc had the wrong time. Arizona and New Mexico are both on Mountain Time but AZ does not go on Daylight Saving Time.

It is now going to really get dark early. LOL

Here is another article about the consequences of the Health Insurance Reform Bill. This is written by the Governor of Tennessee, a Democrat, that prior to the bill passing said that it would impose costs on his state that it could not pay. He has now found a way to avoid those costs and so will many others.

By Philip Bredesen
One of the principles of game theory is that you should view the game through your opponent's eyes, not just your own.
This past spring, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (President Obama's health reform) created a system of extensive federal subsidies for the purchase of health insurance through new organizations called "exchanges." The details of these subsidies were painstakingly worked out by members of my own political party to reflect their values: They decided who was to benefit from the subsidies and what was to be purchased with them. They paid a lot of attention to their own strategies, but what I believe they failed to consider properly were the possible strategies of others.
Our federal deficit is already at unsustainable levels, and most Americans understand that we can ill afford another entitlement program that adds substantially to it. But our recent health reform has created a situation where there are strong economic incentives for employers to drop health coverage altogether. The consequence will be to drive many more people than projected—and with them, much greater cost—into the reform's federally subsidized system. This will happen because the subsidies that become available to people purchasing insurance through exchanges are extraordinarily attractive.
In 2014, when these exchanges come into operation, a typical family of four with an annual income of $90,000 and a 45-year-old policy holder qualifies for a federal subsidy of 40% of their health-insurance cost. For that same family with an income of $50,000 (close to the median family income in America), the subsidy is 76% of the cost.
One implication of the magnitude of these subsidies seems clear: For a person starting a business in 2014, it will be logical and responsible simply to plan from the outset never to offer health benefits. Employees, thanks to the exchanges, can easily purchase excellent, fairly priced insurance, without pre-existing condition limitations, through the exchanges. As it grows, the business can avoid a great deal of cost because the federal government will now pay much of what the business would have incurred for its share of health insurance. The small business tax credits included in health reform are limited and short-term, and the eventual penalty for not providing coverage, of $2,000 per employee, is still far less than the cost of insurance it replaces.
For an entrepreneur wanting a lean, employee-oriented company, it's a natural position to take: "We don't provide company housing, we don't provide company cars, we don't provide company insurance. Our approach is to put your compensation in your paycheck and let you decide how to spend it."
But while health reform may alter the landscape for small business in unexpected ways, it also opens the door to what is a potentially far larger effect on the Treasury.
The authors of health reform primarily targeted the uninsured and those now buying expensive individual policies. But there's a very large third group that can also enter and that may have been grossly underestimated: the 170 million Americans who currently have employer-sponsored group insurance. Because of the magnitude of the new subsidies created by Congress, the economics become compelling for many employers to simply drop coverage and help their employees obtain replacement coverage through an exchange.
Let's do a thought experiment. We'll use my own state of Tennessee and our state employees for our data. The year is 2014 and the Affordable Care Act is now in full operation. We're a large employer, with about 40,000 direct employees who participate in our health plan. In our thought experiment, let's exit the health-benefits business this year and help our employees use an exchange to purchase their own.
First of all, we need to keep our employees financially whole. With our current plan, they contribute 20% of the total cost of their health insurance, and that contribution in 2014 will total about $86 million. If all these employees now buy their insurance through an exchange, that personal share will increase by another $38 million. We'll adjust our employees' compensation in some rough fashion so that no employee is paying more for insurance as a result of our action. Taking into account the new taxes that would be incurred, the change in employee eligibility for subsidies, and allowing for inefficiency in how we distribute this new compensation, we'll triple our budget for this to $114 million.
Now that we've protected our employees, we'll also have to pay a federal penalty of $2,000 for each employee because we no longer offer health insurance; that's another $86 million. The total state cost is now about $200 million.
But if we keep our existing insurance plan, our cost will be $346 million. We can reduce our annual costs by over $146 million using the legislated mechanics of health reform to transfer them to the federal government.
That's just for our core employees. We also have 30,000 retirees under the age of 65, 128,000 employees in our local school systems, and 110,000 employees in local government, all of which presents strategies even more economically attractive than the thought experiment we just performed. Local governments will find eliminating all coverage particularly attractive, as many of them are small and will thus incur minor or no penalties; many have health plans that will not meet the minimum benefit threshold, and so they'll see a substantial and unavoidable increase in cost if they continue providing benefits under the new federal rules.
Our thought experiment shows how the economics of dropping existing coverage is about to become very attractive to many employers, both public and private. By 2014, there will be a mini-industry of consultants knocking on employers' doors to explain the new opportunity. And in the years after 2014, the economics just keep getting better.
The consequence of these generous subsidies will be that America's health reform may well drive many more people than projected out of employer-sponsored insurance and into the heavily subsidized federal system. Perhaps this is a miscalculation by the Congress, perhaps not. One principle of game theory is to think like your opponent; another is that there's always a larger game.

23 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

This morning was a repeat of yesterday at the start of my walk. The Park Office Staff told me about a dirt road that runs south of here and a little to the east.

However, to get to it I needed to cross the ravine that caused me problems yesterday. It did it again this morning, but I did find my way across once more.

I then found the dirt road which had a two mile loop in it with part of the loop up along a ridge. This offered some good views of 'Old Town' and the small canyon with the troublesome ravine.

On the return I had that ravine to contend with one more time but saw two deer coming from that direction cross the road in front of me. I found their tracks and was able to follow them to where the dear had crossed after they had stopped for a drink at a pool in the ravine.

This is a lot easier to do in daylight, my problems have been in the early morning when it is still nearly dark. HA

The weather has also remained much the same. Still some cloud cover and winds with the high struggling to reach 60 degrees. The forecast is for some more warming during the next couple of days.

24 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

My out and back route was along US180 to the east this morning. There was a mixture of business and homes along the way with a wide shoulder and mostly a divided four lane highway.

There were also a few hills to make it interesting. I'm surprised that at 5,900 feet elevation I'm not huffing and puffing as much as I thought I would be. Maybe the walking is starting to pay off?

The other achievement today was laundry. This included my sheets which is not really a big deal. The challenge comes when I try to put them back on my over-the-cab bed. A lot of good exercise involved in getting the bed re-made.

I also stopped at Albertsons for groceries on the way back. The first morning that I walked I tried to go through the Albertsons parking lot but crossed the ravine to do it. Big mistake, there is a bridge over the ravine from Albertsons to the stores to the west and then a very nice trail 'home' – I took it today.

It felt a little warmer this morning and the wind did not pick up as early nor as strong. It also came much closer to the 67 degree high that was forecast for today. It may be even warmer again tomorrow through Thursday. It is only the wind that makes it feel cool; today was clear sky, lots of sun and warmer.

25 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

The weather forecasters had it all wrong for the next three days. They fixed their predictions today by lowering the above 70s to below 70 and the lows from above 40 to below.

The other thing that they forgot to mention was the high wind warning that went into effect at 10:00 am today. This was something that they usually got right in Reno, they could not predict rain, or snow, but they knew wind.

This did not keep me from my planned walk; I didn't know any of this until I got back. The one place of note that I passed this morning was the campus of Western New Mexico University.

It is a small campus up the hill and west of 'Old Town'. I climbed up to the western side of the campus then south and east (where the first buildings were dedicated in 1927). It was then down hill to the east, across the 'Big Ditch' and up hill again.

Higher up hill than I had been when at the University – this had me huffing and puffing. LOL

The wind had started to pick up by this time and I was chilled from sweat evaporation. So, to warm up I stopped at Grandma's Cafe, about 1 ½ miles from home, and had some coffee. When I continued on the wind was even stronger but was at my back pushing me along.

The rest of the day was my normal routine. Occasionally disrupted by some rocking and rolling of my 'home' by the 50 mph gusts.

26 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

Nothing unique about my activities today.

This mornings walk had me in the hills again, to the north of the Park. The city elevation shown on a sign as you enter Silver City is 5,900 feet but I was recording 6,200 at the top of my route.

I went past the Regional Hospital and a VA Clinic, neither of them appeared larger than those in Pahrump, NV. The High School campus, on the other hand, seemed much larger than that at the Western New Mexico University.

No wind this morning. It has been picking up as the sun comes up most mornings. It did arrive later in the day and became a little stronger than predicted but not like yesterday.

The high temperature struggled to exceed 60 degrees or 7 degrees less than forecast. I hope the below 40 forecasts are similarly wrong for the next couple of mornings but expect them to be colder.

I am almost finished with another book and have found the Park's exchange library. Will probably be going there tomorrow and trade the two books that I will have read.

27 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

I think that today was my last new walking route. It was an out and back along a ridge that allowed me good views down into 'Old Town'.

My route tomorrow will be almost the same one that I did on the 22nd and I'll have breakfast somewhere along the way. I also want to stop at a barber shop that I saw and make an appointment for next week. The beard and hair are starting to look real shaggy.

It was cloudy this morning but much warmer than predicted, this was good news. By late this afternoon there was a clear blue sky 67° and a gentle breeze. I had my windows open for the first time since I have been in Silver City.

I hope the forecast for this weekend proves to be true. It is to be over 70° for the high and the lows are to be over 40°.

HA HA I finally found out how to make the degree symbol using HTML; it doesn't take me long to pick this stuff up.

28 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

My walk took me into 'Old Town' again today. This time I walked the entire length of the old commercial district (downtown).

Most of the old buildings are still in use and appear to be in fair to excellent shape. This is in contrast to Douglas, AZ where the 'historical' district isn't in very good shape and isn't as old.

I also walked through a couple of blocks of the older residential area to the west of downtown. Next week I'll devote more of my time to this residential area.

A good find on the commercial street was The Hub Plaza where there is a Bakery/Deli that had espresso. I got a latte, the first one that I have had since I don't know when!

Almost next door is Masa y Mas, a tortilla factory, that sells blue or yellow corn tortillas and also tamales. I bought 3 pork with red chili and 3 chicken with green chili. They also make a vegetarian tamale that I'll try next week.

It was much colder this morning than yesterday but it also warmed up much faster. I saw a sign showing 36° and two hours later on my way home it was reading 56°. Still hoping for the warmer weekend.

29 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

I did even more of nothing today than usual. I did get up at my usual time to go walk but just did not feel like going. I went back to bed for another hour.

Then when I got up for good I did a .90 mile round-trip to Albertsons for groceries. Also stopped at Arby's for a cup of coffee along the way (don't think I'll do that again).

The high for the day exceeded 70°. A very light breeze or calm winds all day. The best weather of any day since I have been here. I had the windows open and spent much of it laying on the couch reading.

We have a couple of more days forecast to be this way and then getting cold once more.

I found a couple of articles written about President Obama by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. He has written many more articles directed toward the President's Middle East and/or Israel policies but these two are more about his personality.

Feb 1, 2010
Looking back at the past year one cannot but conclude that Obama was gripped by something of a Messiah complex. How else to explain a President who fired on so many dizzying cylinders that it was a challenge to simply keep up with his vast initiatives. This was a President who, in his first year, was going to tackle health care, rehabilitate the image of America abroad, modernize the Islamic world and make it more tolerant, fix the banking industry, end global warming, save Afghanistan, withdraw from Iraq, repair a shattered economy, bring Kennedyesque elegance to the White House, end the Middle-East conflict, and transform brutal dictators like Hug Chavez into huggable, peace-loving democrats through the power of his personal charm. Tack on ending global hunger and ushering in world peace and you essentially have it. Obama, savior of mankind.
Oct 26, 2010
The erosion of President Barack Obama's popularity has lessons in it for every American who wishes to remain interesting and current, both professionally and personally...
The real story of campaign 2010 is how boring Obama has become.
Obama, who had never run anything except a campaign in his entire life, performed an almost unprecedented conjuring act in 2008, getting the electorate to embrace him regardless of the utter absence of managerial skills....
As a connoisseur of great oratory, I used to love hearing Obama's staccato delivery, perfect timing and mesmeric self-confidence -- the mark of any great speaker -- even as I disagreed with him on many of the issues. But Obama's speeches have now become insufferable, devoid of charisma and personal magnetism.
Here are three principal reasons why.

1. Obama has utterly overexposed himself... Obama is forever in our face.
2. Obama has betrayed a lack of substance. .. Just give the man some time and out will come the magic. It turned out that vacuous speeches on hope and change were not the thin veneer that concealed great complexity but the very substance itself.
3. Obama comes across as perfect.... No-drama Obama evinces an imperturbable cool utterly bereft of inner trauma.

30 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

I said that my walk on the 27th would be my last new route. Well, I did an out and back that was partially new today.

It is doubtful that this one will be done again. There was a free range dog that was very protective of his territory. Fortunately I did not see him again on my way back but I think I'll avoid his wide domain.

It did reach the mid 70s this afternoon. That is the good news, the bad is the prediction for freezing as a low next Tuesday.

That just made this another great day to crash on the couch and read.

31 October
Rose Valley RV Ranch
Silver City, NM

This mornings walk along US180 was a repeat of last week. Nothing of note about it to report.

The remainder of the day was also a repeat. Although it was not quite as warm today it was another open windows kind of a day.

I did break up my couch and reading time with some web surfing. I was looking for a recliner to go in the dinette area. Also looking at lap desks that I could use while in the recliner rather than a chair at a built in desk. I think this combination would work and be a LOT cheaper.

I still think I need to get a cabinet maker to build a replacement for the overhead cabinets and the shelf that now hold a TV. The TV must go and I think an open faced cabinet/shelf is all I need; sort of a mini-library in the new den area. LOL