Peregrinating
2010

July

1 July
Leeds RV Park & Motel
Leeds, UT

About the only thing I did today was put in some quality time upholding the Manifesto of the IINDM.

It was over 100 degrees once more today and the forecast is that it will stay that way through the 5th. I intend to leave here on the 6th but will not get into cooler temperatures until I get further north. I will just keep watching the forecast and make a decision on the 6th.

I did get a lot of the book read that I picked up in the Club House. Also made some progress on the two blogs that I'm catching up on.

Least we forget, I believe that it is time to report the casualty count from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for which the 'lame stream media' condemned George Bush almost daily.

The media has for the most part given a pass to President Obama. I wonder why Cindy Sheehan in not in the news almost every day now as she was when President Bush was in office?

The chart shows casualties for the first six months of each year.

2 July
Leeds RV Park & Motel
Leeds, UT

I did nothing today but read the Club House book and blogs. Well I did check email and sent a couple but that is as routine as brushing my teeth.

I'm simply trying to stay inside where it is cool. Also just sitting tight and letting the Holiday traffic get off the roads and out of the campgrounds. That is my plan for the next 3 days!

I did go outside, very briefly, this afternoon and there was a wind, maybe 10 mph, that felt like a blowtorch. Temperature was about 102 and that is expected to last for the next 5 days. It might drop down below 100 on July 8th.

3 July
Leeds RV Park & Motel
Leeds, UT

Today, as well as the next two will be, was an do nothing day. There may be some unexpected happenings that I will comment on but they will certainly be unexpected.

The big activity of the day was to make another batch of pozole in my Thermal Cooker with the other half of the pork stew meat that I had. This will last me through the 5th and I'll buy more groceries on the 6th when I leave here.

4 July
Leeds RV Park & Motel
Leeds, UT

Happy Independence Day!

The unexpected happened soon after I posted yesterday's blog entry. I had a knock on my door (that is unexpected enough right there) while I was in the bathroom. I called out to wait a minute but when I got to the door no one was there.

But within a few moments the son of the Park Managers came up and said that there was a 'situation' and I needed to evacuate the Park for an hour.

I had wanted to see downtown Leeds but have been too lazy so I walked to the small strip mall that makes up 'downtown.' There is a market and a couple of other shops; there had been a restaurant but it closed a couple of years ago.

I also stopped and read some historical markers and then sat in the shade near the markers and read my book for a few minutes. This got me back to the Park just as the Sheriff Deputies were surrounding a motor home about 200' in front of me.

There was a Deputy using Desperado's driver mirror as his rifle rest but he allowed me to enter my 'home'. However, after about 20-30 minutes he thought it best that I evacuate to safer ground and knocked on my door to tell me so.

I had no more than got to the Park Office than the son said he could see that they had a guy out of the motor home and in cuffs. From what little I could pick up from the conversation going on around me the guy has had prior mental problems.

He seemed to have gone off again today and they loaded him into an ambulance and took him to the hospital once more.

The Sheriff department was still going through the motor home when I went to bed.

If it were not for this unexpected activity of yesterday evening today's posting would have been a repeat. Except today is July 4th my Mother's Birthday although she is not getting any older. I'm not maudlin when this day comes but do remember going on picnics to celebrate her Birthday.

This was when I was younger, maybe 6-9 years old. We would go someplace in the mountains to celebrate; then we quit going for some reason?

Happy Independence Day, Happy 4th of July & Happy Birthday!

5 July
Leeds RV Park & Motel
Leeds, UT

No more unexpected events since my last posting.

That means I have very little to report today. It is not a hot as it has been but still nearly 100 degrees.

I went out in that afternoon heat and dumped my holding tanks. This was the first step in my preparation for leaving tomorrow morning. Another step was to stop by the Park Office and say thanks. I also inquired about stopping during the first week of October – glad I did.

They said that the Park fills up during that time every year because of the Huntsman World Senior Games. This year it will be held from Oct 4th through Oct 16th. I need to schedule my trip to Douglas, AZ on different dates or a different route; I had thought about coming this way.

I don't know what my WIFI or Verizon Air Card availability will be for the next week but will post again when I can.

6 July
Snow Canyon State Park Campground
Near Ivins, UT

Today I traveled 27 miles; it was a tough drive. The route was back to the west on I-15, Exit 10, Red Rock/Snow Canyon Parkway, Snow Canyon Road to the Campground.

At Exit 10 I looked for a breakfast restaurant called 'Rise & Dine' that I had found on the Internet. When I could not find it I stopped at Albertson's Market and asked – it has closed.

The on-line review that I found said that it was better than Dorthalee's Cafe. However, I walked across the street to Dorthalee's and found them open, the food was good and at very reasonable price. So much for reviews!

The campground for Snow Canyon State Park is about mid-way between the Parkway and where Snow Canyon Road joins UT18 to the north. It is in a very pretty canyon of red sandstone formations with some lava overlay here and there.

The floor of the canyon is covered with high desert brush and a few trees – very scenic. There is a bike/walking trail from the Parkway to the campground that was being very well used this morning.

It was not the time for me to be out there, by the time I got set up (the site is not very level) I was sweating small rivers although it was probably only in the mid-80s. The high temperatures will most likely be near 100 for the 5 days that I am here.

After I got the A/C going and cooled down some I prepared 'linner'. I'll have some stew, with a nice loaf of multi-grain bread, for the next 3-4 days.

Prepared it by slicing up 3 red potatoes then added a bag of frozen stew vegetables, a can of beef with gravy, a package of stew seasoning and water to cover. Brought this to a boil for 10 minutes and into my Thermal Cooker. It was still steaming when I open it 5 hours later – good eating!

There was a special notice included in the maps and brochures I received when I checked in to watch for desert tortoises and gila monsters. I have not seen any of those yet but a pair of gamble quail brought their VERY small hatchlings to my space. They were about 15' from my coach door but scattered like – well scattered like – quail when I eased the door open to get a picture.

I have a good Verizon Air Card signal but extremely slow download speed; the Bandwidth must be overloaded all around Saint George, UT.

7 July
Snow Canyon State Park Campground
Near Ivins, UT

I didn't do much today and what little I did do was done early while it was cool. I was up at 5:30 and on the trail by 6:00.

My last 35 mm film picture; Snow Canyon at sunrise.

I walked the Hidden Pinyon Trail which is described as 'moderate' in difficulty with lots of sandstone, lava rocks and some deep sand. It was only 1.5 miles but a good starter trail that was very scenic and allowed me to get back for breakfast by 7:00

The locals were also out early, I saw 4-5 cyclist and 2-3 joggers. You must get out early during this time of the year, it had warmed up enough by 10:00 that I was happy to be inside with A/C.

My only big complaint with the area is the disgustingly slow Internet connection – it is much slower than dial-up.

I have other complaints of course and I fired off some scathing remarks to president Obama about his Immigration Policy. A summary of those comments would be find and deport illegal aliens in this country and close the borders to any new ones! If you can not or will not do that then let the States do it!

This article also gives a perfect example of the Ready, Fire, Aim solutions that Congress and President Obama have passed as law to solve all of the crisis that they see in America today!You can bet there are more of the same to come with Cap & Trade as well as Immigration.

CNNMoney.com
Jennifer Liberto, Senior Writer – July 6,2010
Wall Street reform calls for 68 new studies

In Washington, there's a code phrase for the middle ground that lawmakers find after a torrent of industry lobbying or partisan debate: "Let's do a study."

The Wall Street reform bill may be the most extreme example: The legislation, which could become law later this month, orders government officials to conduct some 68 studies, according to a CNNMoney analysis.

Instead of toughening up ethical and marketing standards for financial planners, Congress studies the issue in the financial overhaul bill. Instead of making it easier to sue lawyers, accountants and bankers who help commit securities fraud, Congress studies the issue.

The bill also studies, among other things: short selling, reverse mortgages, improved insurance regulation, private student loans, oversight of carbon markets and the "feasibility of requiring use of standardized algorithmic descriptions for financial derivatives."...

8 July
Snow Canyon State Park Campground
Near Ivins, UT

Today was another hot one that I enjoyed by staying inside with my A/C. There was a light wind come up in the afternoon but it was just blowing hot air.

The high was around 104 with a forecast of 101 for Fri and Sat then back up to 104 & 106 on Sun & Mon.

The only constructive thing that I did all day was finish one novel and start a second one. I'm now reading a Tom Clancy that I hope will last me until I can trade at a RV Park 'book exchange'.

That will be on Sunday the 11th and will probably be in Ely, NV. Today it is 85 there with a forecast of 92 on Monday; cooler than here but still warm!

9 July
Snow Canyon State Park Campground
Near Ivins, UT

There was a high level cloud cover this morning. I'm guessing that they moved in around midnight because it did not cool down in the early morning.

Here in the desert even when the high temperatures are over 100 the low will drop to near 70 IF the sky is clear. This morning at 7:00 it was over 80; that means it is going to be another hot day.

I tried to do some web surfing but my connection to the Internet is so slow that it is VERY frustrating. Many times the site that I'm trying to access will time out. I did one download successfully and was seeing speeds of around 15 to 20 bps.

I was able to read the blogs that I am following, without seeing the pictures, but it took 6 or 7 times as long. The non-electronic, old fashioned, printed page was much easier to deal with so I read a lot more Tom Clancy.

10 July
Snow Canyon State Park Campground
Near Ivins, UT

I knew it was going to get hot yesterday and it did so by reaching 106 not long after my posting. It didn't cool down much last night either, it was 84 at 8:00 this morning. I'll be living inside with my A/C again today.

I did more reading of blogs, Tom Clancy and the News on the Internet. I found this article which brings out so much that is wrong with President Obama's Immigration policy that I wanted to copy it in its entirety for you to read.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The government is taking a new approach in its effort to crack down on illegal workers by quietly auditing the employment records of thousands of companies suspected of hiring undocumented immigrants rather than staging high-profile work-site raids, the New York Times reported on Saturday.
The Times said the Obama administration had conducted such audits at more than 2,900 companies so far -- a number it said dwarfed the number of companies affected by the immigration raids at factories and farms during the eight-year administration of Obama's Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, has imposed $3 million in fines on businesses found to be in violation.
The Times said the government forces the businesses to fire every suspected illegal immigrant discovered on their payrolls -- not just those who are working during the audit -- and makes it much harder for the companies to hire other unauthorized workers as replacements.
But the Times said most of the workers discovered by the audits were not being deported once they lost their jobs and that the government had moved away from the practice of bringing criminal charges against immigrants who lack legal status but have otherwise clean records.
ICE chief John Morton told the Times, said the purpose of the audits was to create "a culture of compliance" in which employers would routinely verify the immigration status of their workers. He said ICE was most interested in finding "egregious employers." With congressional elections ahead in November, illegal immigration has become a growing concern. Hispanic have traditionally tended to vote for Democrats but the Republican Party has been recruiting them.
The U.S. Justice Department filed suit this week against Arizona because of the state's new law requiring police to investigate the immigration status of anyone reasonably suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Bill Trott)

11 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

I was up at 5:00 am thinking that I had over slept. I wanted to get up at 5:30 but my internal clock was not set correctly.

After I discovered my error I waited for the sun rise enough to see what I was doing. It worked out much as I had planned from that point; broke camp, including a stop at the dump station, and then on the road by 6:00.

I had evidence of rain as I drove north and west; puddles on the road and a partial rainbow. Also had a few sprinkles but never turned on the wipers.

I made a breakfast stop at Pioche (PEE-OCH), NV, an old silver mining town that reminded me of Jerome, AZ, at 8:00 UT time or 7:00 NV time. It is another mile high town and the temperature felt like it was in the mid 70s rather than the mid 80s when I left Snow Canyon.

My route took me 233 miles along Snow Canyon Rd(UT), UT18, UT56/NV319, US93, US93/US6/US50 & US93.

I stopped at a market on the south edge of Ely and got groceries for the week before continuing on to Valley View on the northern edge. I was all set up by 11:00; the pull-through and level site saved me a lot of 'putzing around' time. HA HA

It was good that I got here when I did. There were about 10 empty pull-through sites on the west side of the park when I arrived and I had my pick. Soon another 5th wheel came in and tried a space 2 south of me, then tried one 2 north of me and finally parked right next to me. As the afternoon progressed I got 6 more neighbors.

I left my door and windows open until about 4:30 with a very pleasant breeze blowing through the coach. When it died down I could feel the near 90 degree temperature almost immediately. However, 90 is so much better than 106! LOL

Ely has good Verizon Air Card speed so my frustration seems to be over – for now at least. Last night in Snow Canyon a Class A pulled in 2 spaces down from me and sent up a Internet satellite dish that I was able to hook up to via WIFI – I got good speed from it for about an hour.

12 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Things started going bad from the very beginning of this day; but they ended well.

I went to the Park's bathroom when I first got up. Then on returning to my site I saw water leaking from the bottom of Desperado. I opened the access to my water intake and could see that the hose was leaking where it connected to the water check valve.

I shut off the water and disconnected the hose, reconnected and it leaked even more. I then took a good look at the end of the hose and could see that it was deformed – some more of the damage I did in Pahrump.

I also noticed a leak behind the intake check valve when I had the city water turned off and applied pressure by turning on the water pump. I removed the check valve from the mounting board but could not see nor fix the leak behind it.

I like to say that if it is not broke then fix it until it is and that is what I did.

When the Park Office opened I asked about anyplace that did RV Service and where I could buy a hose. They had a hose to sell me so I thought I would try that first. They also told me there was a trailer repair place about a mile north of the Park. I tried there but they only work on RV chassis and engines not the coach but told me there was a RV Service guy at the KOA Park.

I then went to KOA (they have some RV parts there also) and the repair guy (Jon Grant 727-761-9974) was out but I left my information and he came to see me around noon. He looked over the problem and left again to get parts; arriving back again at about 2:00.

The leak behind the check valve was a cracked elbow in the line and Jon had a hell of a time finding enough room to work to replace it. He finally got it in place and with the new hose it seems that my leak is gone. I hope this took care of the sporadic leak that I never could find before.

His charges were VERY reasonable compared to what I paid Tropical in Pahrump for the work that they did. Highly recommended!

It was another nice cool day, with a breeze, until late in the afternoon. The high was near 90 again with the low at or near 50. The forecast for the rest of the week is increasing temperatures by 2-3 degrees than back down below 90.

The forecast for Saint George is 111 on Thursday and 110 on Friday with a similar drop of 2-3 degrees after that – I'm glad to be here!

13 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Just another day for me until about 1:30 pm. I noticed the thunderhead clouds building up all morning but the first hint of rain came upon the wind.

I could smell rain on the sage; what a wonderful smell! I haven't experienced it in many years because it usually did not reach into the Reno/Truckee Meadows – too much city smell.

Today was so good but there was a downside to it also. The storm brought the smell but also the strong wind and blowing dust in front of it as it moved in. Then to add insult to those injuries it did not rain here. CRY

This storm was not accompanied by any thunder or lightning as you would expect but it did cool down and the clouds have kept it in the mid 80s.

I have a dentist appointment in Reno on August 9th and started looking for a place to stay. I'll also try to empty my storage unit while I'm there; sell, give away or throw away.

There is a problem with staying in the Reno area however, the RV Parks want too much money. It is VERY bad the first week of August when Hot August Nights is in town and all the Parks are full.

Therefore I mad a reservation, don't usually do so, at a RV Park in Fernley, NV for the month of August and will commute into Reno maybe once a week.

14 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Nothing very exciting going on today. I did walk up to the Prospector Casino for breakfast at their restaurant. I needed a break from my repetitive breakfast cooking.

There has been another cloud build up but no rain or storm out of them yet. It has warmed up somewhat as predicted but I didn't turn on the A/C until after 4:00. To sit outside with the on and off breeze is still comfortable.

I tried to transfer funds from my brokerage account to my checking account twice while in Leeds. Both times the request was rejected.

I called yesterday to find out what the reason for the rejection and was told that they needed to verify the address change I made in May. I confirmed the address and was told that the restriction would be removed and my transfer would go through.

At 1:30 I called again when I saw that my 3rd request had been rejected and went through the same song and dance one more time. I was told that the restriction has now been removed and the representative took my transfer request and said it would happen tomorrow. I will see if that is true tomorrow.

What happened to competence in this country and when did it happen? Maybe I'm dealing with 'Post Turtles' as explained in this story.

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old cowboy rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.
Eventually the topic got around to Barack Obama and his bid to be our President. The old cowboy said,"Well, ya know, Obama is a 'post turtle'."
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
The old cowboy said,"When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'."
The old man saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain. "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he is up there, and you just want to help the dumb ass get down."

15 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Just another day of reading and loafing. I did check on my funds transfer and it has come out of my brokerage account. Tomorrow I should see it going into my checking account – only a week and two telephone calls to make it happen.

There were a lot of clouds built up again by this afternoon and it has reached the predicted higher temperatures. I'm expecting the clouds to bring a good thunderstorm but it has not happened yet.

I did some more Internet surfing and News reading which resulted in the following items of interest to me.

The Frank-Dodd Financial reform Bill has passed.

Here is what Dodd said about it which I completely agree with; they have written a Bill that protects the economy from what happened in the past but provides little protection for the future.

"It is not a perfect bill, I will be the first to admit that," Dodd said. "It will take the next economic crisis, as certainly it will come, to determine whether or not the provisions of this bill will actually provide this generation or the next generation of regulators with the tools necessary to minimize the effects of that crisis."

"The result will be over 5,000 pages of new regulations on traditional banks and years of uncertainty as to what the massive new rules will mean," said Edward Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers' Association. Some supporters of the bill also voiced reservations, claiming the bill did not give regulators specific direction on how to implement and enforce new rules.

These two statements accurately reflect what I saw regarding bank regulators during the 22 years that I worked in the Banking Industry

I also ran across some selected measures of how well the Stimulus Bill and President Obama's Economic Policy are working out.

For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.
In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% as much as the average worker in the private sector. Note: Federal and State workers is where a lot of the Stimulus money went.
In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.
More than 40% of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying. Note: I would guess that another 40% work for Federal, State or Local Government; that leave about 20% that really make something.
For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.

16 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

The only thing that I did that was constructive today was laundry.

I did get my funds transferred to my checking account. However, I also received an e-mail from a broker rep that said my account was restricted once again.

My address is NOT my residence so they claim that since my account allows on-line trading I MUST have a residence. I CAN NOT live in my motor home and have an on-line trading account. This is per the Patriot Act, so they say.

The rep I was speaking to said that I could use the address of a relative. I then said, what you are telling me is I can lie about where my actual residence is but I can not use my UPS box address. She seemed to think that lying in that way would be acceptable.

They will not allow me any activity on the account, it is totally restricted. I told the rep that I was speaking to that they had better give me my money back or I was going to sue the hell out of them. She quickly assured me that they would give me my money.

I sent an e-mail to my IRA broker and asked if he would take my account without on-line trading. I'll see what his response might be.

The government is screwing with me which should not come as a surprise. If they can control my money then they can control me life – that is what this is all about. That was what the Health Insurance Bill was all about – control of our lives!

17 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

For me and my current way of life today was filled with activity. I was up at my normal early hour but rather than cook breakfast I un-hooked water and electric and drove to breakfast.

I had selected the Silver State Restaurant in Ely town center. This was a good choice and I'll probably go there again but today I had to wait about 45 minutes for them to open at 7:00 am.

From there I went grocery shopping and back to Valley View to hook up again. So far I have not noticed and additional leaking and the new hose is much easier to connect with no leaks. I have paid for two more weeks here where the temperatures are cooler than anyplace else that I could be staying right now.

The rain that I have been expecting came at mid-day but it was only a shower that increased the humidity and made my walk to 'linner' uncomfortable. That walk to 'linner' was a little over a mile to the north at a Mexican restaurant.

That was it for the day other than my normal reading and web browsing.

18 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Just another quiet Sunday. I did more reading of a new Tom Clancy that I traded for at the Park book exchange.

I did more blog reading and web surfing. Also sent 'Post Turtle' a couple of email messages about his Policies (I probably average one a day to him).

Sent one to my Senator Reid too. I told him that I was in Ely, NV and have seen LOTS of signs that say 'Elect Any One But Reid'. I thought he should know and maybe he could get the 'Post Turtle' to come and give a speech.

19 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Another uneventful day but that is good. It has warmed up somewhat, around 95, but I do have a good breeze most of the day. There are afternoon clouds also that makes it seem cooler even if it is not.

I did get a reply from my IRA broker. He wanted my existing Wells Fargo account information which I sent to him. He will have all the paperwork ready for my signature when I go into Reno on August 2nd.

His secretary will have everything ready for me because he will not be there. However, I'll go by and see him on the 9th when I go into town again for my dentist appointment.

He has been with three different security firms since I fist meet him when I moved to Reno in 1992. I am really small potatoes to him and his firm but it is nice to have someone that knows you that you can work with.

Speaking of working, I found this in my Internet browsing and wonder how the Federal Debt will ever work out. None of the politicians solutions are credible and I don't believe the Commission that is going to offer solutions in November will not have any answers either.

The federal government’s GAAP-based financial statements show the actual annual fiscal deficit careening wildly out of control. Including the annual changes in the net present value of unfunded liabilities, the fully-GAAP-based annual 2008 deficit was $5.1 trillion dollars, versus the official cash-based $455 billion. The 2009 actual shortfall likely was around $8.8 trillion, instead of the official cash-based $1,417 billion. Again, the largest portion of GAAP-based versus the cash-based difference is in accounting for the net present value, and the year-to-year changes in same, for unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities, etc.
The GAAP-based deficit from U.S. Treasury reporting — including the year-to-year change in the net present value of unfunded liabilities in various social programs — narrowed to $4.3 trillion in 2009, from $5.1 trillion in 2008. On a similar basis, total federal obligations as of September 30, 2009, stood at $70.7 trillion, up from $65.6 trillion the year before, with the 2009 number 4.94-times the $14.3 trillion level of GDP reported for the 2009 fiscal year.
The government’s finances not only are out of control, but the actual deficit is not containable. Put into perspective, if the government were to raise taxes so as to seize 100% of all wages, salaries and corporate profits, it still would be showing an annual deficit using GAAP accounting on a consistent basis. In like manner, given current revenues, if it stopped spending every penny (including defense and homeland security) other than for Social Security and Medicare obligations, the government still would be showing an annual deficit. Further, the U.S. has no potential way to grow out of this shortfall.

20 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

The days have started to repeat. I only read more of my printed book and my blogs. I did some more web browsing but it was a rather slow news day.

The Senate did pass another bill to spend over 30 BILLION of borrowed money and it is being reported as a good thing. Then after 3 days of fear reporting about another BP oil leak the media is now reporting that it is from an abandoned well and has nothing to do with BP.

News now must be all about some kind of drama or about some celebrity or it is not reported. I would be much better off if I didn't get any news.

I was better off while in Mexico, although even there I did get the Internet News as presented by Yahoo most days. I'm extremely glad that I don't have, and don't want to have, a TV.

Let me restate that; I have a TV but never turn it on. It came with my motor home and is just in the way. Same thing with my microwave; I used it a few times but it quit working and I don't really miss it.

21 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Today I spent more time than usual reading the Internet news and have comments later. That still left plenty of time to read more of my Tom Clancy.

I also read all my 'current' blogs and worked on getting current with two others. Over the last week I started 3-4 others but dropped them before becoming current.

There were stronger winds today that have been blowing dirt through the Park and into Desperado. The temperature is down a couple degrees from the past few days. Starting this Sunday it will cool down below 90 with some thunderstorms forecast.

The temperatures in Fernley, NV are about 10 higher than here – this is not good but I need to go.

Do you remember the flap about President Bush firing 7 U S Attorneys? Allegations were that some of the attorneys were targeted for dismissal to impede investigations of Republican politicians or that some were targeted for their failure to initiate investigations that would damage Democratic politicians or hamper Democratic-leaning voters.

The firings received attention via hearings in Congress in January 2007, and by March 2007 the controversy had national visibility. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stated that the U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and described the affair as an overblown personnel matter. By mid-September 2007, nine of the highest-level officers of the Department of Justice associated with the controversy had resigned, most prominently, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Well, today the News is:

“Prosecutors have concluded their two-year investigation into the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorneys and will file no charges, the Justice Department said Wednesday...Evidence did not demonstrate that any prosecutable criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of David Iglesias," the Justice Department said in a letter to lawmakers Wednesday. "The investigative team also determined that the evidence did not warrant expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the removal of Iglesias."

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The federal government's spill chief said a relief tunnel should finally reach BP's broken Gulf of Mexico well by the weekend, meaning the three-month-old gusher could be snuffed for good within two weeks.

22 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

WOH, it was 41 degrees this morning. (One of the blogs I read had temperatures of 50 and he had the heater going – HUH?) That did not keep it from going over 90 this afternoon. I don't think it reached the forecast 94 for today and tomorrow; that is record levels for here on these dates.

I was out in the afternoon heat with a walk to the Prospector Casino for 'linner'. It wasn't too bad going but I could feel it coming back with a full belly.

That was it for the day. No new News that got me fired up today. Just more reading and trying to get cool.

23 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

More of the same today. More reading, more blogs plus the same weather. Although this mornings temperature was 44 the increase from yesterday was not noticeable.

I cooked some beef, potatoes and carrots yesterday in my Thermal Cooker. Today I added some cabbage and brought it all to a boil once more and then into the Cooker again for about 1 ½ hours. This will give me 3 'linners' when I add my usual big salad or a cottage cheese, avocado & tomato salad.

There was only one News item that hit my hot button today; the early fall out of the Dodd-Frank Finance Bill. (However, I did send the Post Turtle another email on Immigration.)

From The Business Insider
Whenever you get new laws and "reform," unintended consequences are sure to follow.
Usually they take awhile.
Not so with Dodd-Frank.
The WSJ reports that Ford has already yanked a bond deal, because the ratings agencies, fearing legal liability, won't let the automaker puts their ratings in the prospectus, making a sale impossible.
So did Dodd-Frank just kill the bond market? Well, probably not.. Regulators will likely find some way around this impasse, but it's still amusing to see the bill INSTANTLY slow down the gears of capitalism (or at least capital raising) as its fiercest critics might have suggested.

24 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Today I got an email from the coordinator of my 50th High School Reunion. It included an attachment of a letter that is probably waiting for me in Reno.

However, I could not read all of the attachment but did make out that I should have responded by July 15th. I could also make out the address and telephone number.

I called the number and gave her the details that she had asked for in the letter. From what she told me I also called and made a reservation for a week at a RV Park in Douglas, AZ in October.

The only thing remaining to do is send her a check and get from here to there.

It was hot once again for here but still nice for this time of the year – I'll be whinning next week when I get to Fernley where it is much hotter.

25 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

The first three things on my agenda today were drive to breakfast, fill up with gas and get groceries. I went to Big Apple this morning and arrived at about 6:55. There was a sign painted on the window that said Open on Sunday at 6:00 am; they were closed.

So, I went to fill up at the cheapest station that I had seen to fill up just to find out that their cheapest price was with their gas card. I put in almost 45 gallon at the same price all the other stations in town were selling gas for (the discount would have saved me $1.80).

Then went to the grocery store where I had received a discount the prior two times but the clerk would not give it to me today. I guess I could have signed up for a card but I think that it would only be good at this store – Oh Well.

The last stop was back to Big Apple for breakfast and the 'home' to re-hook to electric and water.

The clouds came rolling in much earlier today and I got a shower at 11:30. It was just barely enough to dampen the ground, and raise the humidity, with some very big drops.

Around 4:00 this afternoon two couples came into the Park with home built woodie Teardrops. But the kicker was the two tow vehicles; one was a 1930 Model A Tudor and the other was a 1930 Model A Coupe.

They are on the return leg of a trip from Kentucky to Alaska and return or about 13,000 miles. They started the trip on June 3rd and planned on 2 ½ months so are right on schedule.

Go to http://ckmarc.com/alaskatrip to read all about their adventure!

26 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Today was uneventful as many of my days are. The only difference with this one was I had a good excuse.

It was raining for much of the day; not very hard but frequent showers during the day. That also kept the temperatures down to a high of maybe 70 degrees.

That made my soup and salad selection for 'linner' a perfect choice. The soup that I made turned out to be very tasty. I call it my Creamed Chicken Spinach Soup.

As are all my cooking endeavors it is so simple. A large can of condensed mushroom soup, a can of white chicken breast and about a pound of chopped spinach. This is brought to a boil with just a little water added and then into the Cooker for 1 ½ hours.

A big green salad, soup and some shepherds bread n butter really hit the spot this cool, cool day!

One of the top news item the past couple of days is the tax increase 'trial balloons' being sent up by the Obama Administration. These tax increases will only target the rich that make over $200,000 of course and are necessary to fix the deficit and debt.

I did some web surfing an the topic and found the following.

In the Internal Revenue Service's latest Statistics of Income Bulletin, a wealth of data is provided on 2007 (latest available) personal income tax returns. Consider the following facts about those earning $200,000 or more:
• Tax returns with adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more numbered 4.5 million, or 4.7 percent of all 2007 returns.
• That 4.7 percent earned 35 percent of all personal adjusted gross income.
• However, they paid 54.6 percent of the total personal income tax.

Obviously, in the minds of redistributionists, this 4.7 percent are not paying their 'fair share'. I wonder what they would consider 'fair'; maybe 70% or 80% of the total personal income tax? That would mean a much bigger tax increase than just letting the Bush Tax Cut for the rich expire.

There is a danger in doing that however. Raising income, capital gains and dividend tax rates will accomplish three things.
First, it will create disincentives for individuals to take risks, such as investing in and/or starting up businesses.
Second, it will shift resources from the private sector, where dollars are spent and invested according to signals in the competitive marketplace, to the public sector, where dollars are spent according to politics.
Third, the final result for the economy will be restrained economic growth and job creation. Class warfare economics and tax policies are never good, but they're especially distressing given the current poor economic climate.

The Obama Administration does not consider these three things however, they are more intent on 'punishing' the rich, and pandering for votes, than they are achieving a balanced budget or paying down the debt.

27 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

No excuses today. It remained cloudy all day which kept the high temperature down to the mid 80s.

There was a nice breeze blowing almost all day that made it very pleasant. I just lounged around in the great weather.

It has been two days now that I have not turned on the A/C. The last time that I did not run any A/C was when I was in Kyle/Fletch View Campgrounds. That will most likely change for sure when I get to Fernley on Sunday.

The news story of the day that caught my attention was this one.

Local Governments Warn: More Jobs, Services Cut
By Lisa Lambert @ Reuters
Local government revenue has withered so drastically that U.S. cities and counties will have to cut hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming months, leaving communities without basic services and raising jobless rates, according to a survey.
The survey, released on Tuesday by three government associations, aims to press Congress on pending legislation that would give them $75 billion over two years to save jobs.
Local and state government employment accounts for more jobs in the United States than construction and manufacturing combined. The survey by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and U.S. Conference of Mayors also found that they are the primary employer in many communities.

28 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

The thunderstorm that I have been expecting came last night at 9:00 and lasted about an hour. It rained hard for only a short time but the lightning storm went on much longer.

It remained cloudy and cool for most of the day with some clearing late in the afternoon. I just enjoyed another cool day.

I did more reading of one of the books that I picked up in exchange for my Tom Clancy. Then also read blogs and todays big news story about the Federal Judge overthrowing the Arizona immigration Law.

I sent the Post Turtle an email telling him that he has not won. If he continues his current Policy he is just trying to start a war. I think that is exactly what he is trying to do.

The people of Arizona and this Country want illegals deported and the borders secured from more coming in. If he can not or will not do that then the PEOPLE will find someone who will.

Then there is the tax hike nobody's talking about. Get ready for a smaller paycheck. At least that's what could happen if Congress doesn't approve President Obama's proposal to extend the Making Work Pay tax credit that expired yesterday.

If the extension isn't passed, the 110 million families that received higher paychecks in 2009 and 2010 will be back to where they started and will owe more taxes than they did during those two years. The cost of keeping the Making Work Pay tax break around -- about $60 billion to extend it one year.

If the Making Work Pay tax credit extension does not pass is this not a tax increase on the middle class? If the Bush Tax Cuts are not extended is that also not a tax increase on the middle class?

As I said a couple of days ago the Obama Administration is attempting to punish the 'rich' and pander for votes. If they do not extend both of the tax laws then they are going to get hammered by their supporters. You can not buy votes and then take away the payment, you must continue to pay for those bought votes and must pay more for them each time.

One other bit of information to add to the post of a couple of days ago. Since December 2007, the U.S. has lost 16% of its manufacturing jobs.

Just 11.7 million Americans work in manufacturing today, the fewest since April 1941, or less than 11% of all private-sector U.S. workers.

29 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Today has been slightly warmer after a brief shower early this morning. The clouds cleared off somewhat but then started building back up this afternoon. Maybe more rain.

Didn't do much. Traded the other Tom Clancy for some more books at the Park exchange. This should give me enough to read, when I exchange the book that I am almost finished with, until I can do more exchanges in Fernley.

I made another batch of pozole that should last me until Saturday. I'll probably stop in Fallon, NV on Sunday and pick up something for dinner. Then on Monday when I'm in Reno I will do my weekly grocery shopping.

I signed up with the Reno Freecycle Group on Yahoo today. During the month of August I'm going to try and sell some of the things that I have in my storage unit; what I don't put in Desperado or sell I'll try and give away on Freecycle.

30 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

Just another day of reading and taking life easy.

It did warm up some more today with clouds building in the afternoon again. I'm now hoping that I do not have a stormy day on Sunday.

The only thing that I did today in preperation for my drive was to dump my tanks. I was planning on dumping Sunday morning but the gray water tanks were full, past full. I couldn't wait!

31 July
Valley View RV Park
Ely, NV

I received an email from a blog reader that went to my web site from one of my comments on a blog that I have been reading. She disliked the blogging on my site so much that she went to the trouble of sending me an email.

She said that she liked to read Fulltimer blogs but mine had too much political commentary and she would read no more. What she did not say was that she was looking for Fulltimers that are on a full time road trip.

That is what many Fulltimer 'wannabes' think that full timing is all about. That is also why so many Fulltimers quit after 1-3 years; they are burnt-out by the constant Road Trip travel.

Fulltiming is a lifestyle that includes travel but is primarily the act of living life in a RV full time. Living life includes all those same things that exist around us when we live in 'sticks n bricks' – including politics and current News.

Just in case she comes back, I wanted to bring this issue up that I saw in the News today.

This is another unintended consequence of the Health Insurance Bill. They just seem to keep popping up now that people are actually reading what is in the law – Speaker Pelosi was right, “we need to pass the bill to find out what is in it”.

Tucked into the new health care law is a requirement that could become a paperwork nightmare for nearly 40 million businesses. They must file tax forms for every vendor that sells them more than $600 in goods.

The goal is to prevent vendors from underreporting their income to the Internal Revenue Service. The government must think vendors are omitting a lot because the filing requirement is estimated to bring in $19 billion over the next decade.

Of course that $19 billion was part of the revenue that made the Health Insurance Bill less than the magic $1 trillion number that President Obama demanded. Now that the law has been passed the Administration wants to 'fix' the unintended consequence but ignore the loss of revenue.

I did my last book exchange with the Park office. While I was there I found out that during the lightning storm of 7/28 their computer/WIFI system got 'fried'. I had Desperado connected to the Park electric power with my Surgeguard in place.

To the best of my knowledge nothing was affected. I do have an electric problem with three of my 110V outlets but that existed before the storm.

I drove to Big Apple restaurant for 'linner' this afternoon and also stopped and picked up some water (the Park water in highly chlorinated). Only plugged into electric when I got back so I should be unhooked and gone in about 5 minutes tomorrow morning.