Unstuck, lazy day, evening chat...

Our Location: Joshua Tree National Park BLM, West entrance, California


Another good nights sleep had me awake at 5 am and just kind of half in and half out of dozing off when my phone buzzed at 5:37 am with a text message from back in Ontario, Canada. Nothing important, just some one who wasn’t asleep.

Sunrise this morning...

I was up and out the door for sunrise around 6:30 am and caught a deep red in the morning sky. I’m going to have drag my butt out of bed earlier to catch these, they are truly beautiful. I’m usually awake but too lazy to get up and out into the cool crisp morning air. 

 

Can you see the hint of red from the sunrise?

I think today may be a tour day but driving tour only. I think the hiking will wait for another day, can’t do everything all at once. We have a date with Janet on Friday so until that time we’re going to pace ourselves and do a few things but we aren’t going to hurry to do them.

 

Yep, it's the sun alright...

This morning’s temps when I was walking out the door according to our thermometer was 44F/6C so not too bad. The weather folks were talking near freezing the next few nights, I’ll be happy to take this though without any complaints.

 

 

I love how this branch seems to be growing from a hole in the other tree.

Back inside shortly after 7 am I was surprised to find Riley still in bed so quietly made myself something hot to drink and started reading my book. Before long she was up and at ‘em making herself a hot drink and explaining that she wasn’t feeling quite up to her regular self, so a day at home would be very nice. While we discussed a few things I prepped lunch. 

 

Doesn't even look like the same kind of tree.

I headed out for a repeat walk Riley and I did when we first arrived here. I noticed a Road Trek sitting at a very odd angle  but didn’t think much about it, people park in the oddest fashions. I wasn’t too far along past the driveway into the Road Trek when I heard what sounded like sand flying. I looked around and sure enough I could see it flying from out behind the rear wheel. It was then I noticed a fellow bent down there with sand flying as he scooped it out from around the rear tires. So I abandoned my walk and headed down to see if I could help. He was very stuck. He had dug out enough to place small pieces of wood close to the rear tires but he couldn’t back up enough to get on to them. I asked if he had a tow strap to which he replied yes. I told him if he wanted I’d come back with my truck and try to help them out. He was very happy for the offer. 

 

I love the colours...

I walked about 15 minutes back to the Igloo, grabbed the keys and headed back down. I actually got to use my brand new ball today as there was nothing else to hitch the strap to. I bought it last summer thinking I might need it for the blue boy and haven’t used it yet. Anyway, my mind wanders. I offered them a wide board to stick on top of their small pieces of wood knowing that as soon as the tire was up on the board the van might actually just come out on it’s own if the front didn’t drop down too. I backed up, we hitched the strap around the ball and I moved forward to pull it snug. Paul ( don’t know the young lady's name) climbed in to the van and with it in reverse and the Dogsled in tow and 4 wheel drive I walked him out the hole and continued to about half way back to the roadway so he was out of the soft sand for certain. They were very grateful to be out and I was happy to have been of some help.

 

It's the sun showing up again for another day of work....

The nice young lady who’s name I didn’t get asked me if I was a Musher, or a Dogsled racer. I laughed and explained it’s the truck’s name. Her father is a Musher and uses his dogsled and team on a regular basis. I thought that was too funny. So I explained we also call the 5’er the Igloo, to which we all had a chuckle. Nice folks, glad I could help.

 

Looking into Joshua Tree National Park from the roadway.

Back at the Igloo Riley and I discussed going for a drive but she declined so I didn’t feel good about leaving her for any length of time. I therefore grabbed our garbage and started to load it in the Dogsled. John from across the middle road came over to chat. We chatted for about a half hour or so  before each of us heading off in our own directions. I went back to the park to use their garbage dumpsters. Yes I know I’m not supposed to but I would gladly have paid their usage fee if someone had been there but it’s all closed up. 

 

Look at the different rock formations in this picture.

I took my time coming back, stopping to take a few pictures and just enjoy the quiet. I was only gone for about 40 minutes and felt that was long enough. Back home I puttered around tidied up a bit, did a few little things, read some blogs, made some comments, and then settled down with my book. It was too cold to sit outside and we needed at least a few windows cracked open to keep the Igloo from getting too stifling. It was one of those days that is hard to regulate the heat and cold. I spent the rest of the day reading. 

 

Love these cactus

We both enjoyed the big salad’s I had made this morning and opted to skip the rest of lunch, thinking maybe we’d cook it later in the day. However it is now 5:30 pm and neither of us is hungry. So I think we’ll leave it for another day. 

 

I believe these are immature Joshua Trees

Riley had a nap this afternoon, she says she feels better now so maybe she just needed to have a rest. I’m not sure. She seems fine again, she hasn’t complained about anything so I’m sure she was just over taxed yesterday.

 

Love the different formations in the same mountain....

Tomorrow we’ll do something, even if it’s just a ride somewhere. Getting out and about is important and I think she feels better when we do so at least every other day. It doesn’t have to be exciting just something to break the monotony of same old, same old. 

 

We've seen many of these and didn't know they were  immature Joshua Trees

Outside tonight for the sunset. It was a silent thing, simply slid down and disappeared, no fan fare of any kind. So just a few pictures of that. Back inside working  on my post, a knock on the door as neighbour John came by and asked if I’d like to come out for a chat. So if you missed me for a while, that’s because I set this aside and headed outside to chat for a couple of hours. It was a very nice time, we chatted about several different things and I enjoyed it immensely. We had no problem finding things to chat about and the time passed quickly. The cold sent us both to our respective homes by 8 pm with well wishes for safe travels as John is pulling out tomorrow and heading to the Phoenix area to visit with some friends. It would be nice to run into him again some where down the road. 

 

Road through the park...

Heading out of the park toward BLM land and I-10.

While outside I missed a call from my dad, which I will return in the morning. I haven’t talked to him since we arrived here but as he reads this blog I’m pretty certain he knows we are still kicking and having a good time. Since I didn’t come inside until 8 pm PST and he’s back in Ontario, Canada on EST it would be very late to call, so I”m sure he’ll be much happier with an early morning call from my end.

Looking at the mountain that is along Box Canyon Road.

A birthday wish goes out to my oldest daughter Courtney who turns 30 today. I called her this morning but had to leave a message. She called me back about a half hour later and we had a good chat. Courtney’s husband Matt just had his birthday 4 days ago and he as I mentioned in my blog turned 31. They are currently staying with friends in Toronto, and one of them had a birthday on the 20th, exactly in between Courtney and Matt. So the three of them have had a pretty good weekend. Happy Birthday Courtney, hope you’ve had a fantastic day. 

 

The sun is almost finished working here today...

So ends our day here in Joshua Tree National Park BLM. It’s been an excellent day and I’ve enjoyed it very much. I hope you too have enjoyed your day where ever you may be and what ever you have been doing. Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a comment. 

 

The work day is almost finished....

Until next time….. take care, be safe, 

Goodnight from Joshua Tree National Park

Deb

A really nice day....

Our Location: Bluegrass Rv Park, Foley, Alabama

A warm night lead to a very nice morning, but the clouds rolled in this afternoon cooling things off a bit but it wasn't a cold day here, nor is this evening cold, just bordering on cool now at almost 9 pm. 

Miniature Train outside the museum

Our neighbours Ed & Sue, along with Neil & Carol pulled out this morning heading to Bernie, Texas. An early start they were pulling out just about 7:15 am. Happy travels to all of them. Hope to see them again in the future. 

Train ride thru the park and along Antique Rose Trail

Breakfast was a quiet event, we discussed the day ahead and made a few decisions while munching on our food, when we finished it was up and at 'em. Out the door we headed around 8:30 am to venture to downtown Foley a mere 2 or 3 minutes away. We parked near the train museum which we've been wanting to visit for some time. 

L & N Engine

Leaving the Dogsled in the parking area near the museum we once again started out on the walking trail named The Antique Rose trail which starts/ends on the grounds at the Clock Tower/Train Museum. We walked it all the way to the end of the bike path today, which was about 5 minutes past where we turned around the other day. This time the wind was directly from the south and was warm in our faces on our return trip. It's a great path and we enjoyed it but we're also looking for a new one to use. Like to keep things interesting.

Love the sign...~laugh~

Arriving back at the Dogsled at 9:45 am, but the Train Museum doesn't open until 10 am, so we gathered our things from the Dogsled and head up the block to the Museum but first I crossed Laurel/US 59 to the post office, had to mail a letter to Canada. Riley waited for me on the other side and was busy taking pictures. We managed to enter the museum about 10:05 am, where we were warmly greeted by a nice lady that offered us a bit of an introduction to the museum which is housed in the old L & N Train station. L stands for Louisville, and N stands for Nashville, so the Louisville & Nashville Train Station. The engine outside is of the same name. 

Potato Grader

The Station Museum held some interesting items from various different eras. Some of the exhibits included a wooden wheel barrow, numerous old adding machines, typewriters, farm implements, weigh scales, and even a potato grader. A few household items such as twin wooden buckets with a set of rollers in between for doing laundry, and old wringer washing machine, a very antique vacuum cleaner and refrigerator. 

Miniature farm, feed station, tunnels and trestles, along with a still....

Heading outside to go to the Miniature Train building we were greeted with warm air and darkening skies. The Miniature Train building houses a massive miniature city with multiple tracks, bridges, tunnels, farms, oil refinery, grain elevators, multiple small items including a corn whiskey still, a homeless tent area referred to as the Snowbird camp, a revenuer man in the tree being threatened by the still owner, bridge painters, as well as an entire city of people, vehicles, buildings, stop lights, train crossings, trolley cars, and so on. A circus, a drive in movie theater with I love Lucy playing, a car wash, and a drive in complete with car hops on roller skates could also be found among the many things in the city. 

Small part of the city....

There were 8 trains going today, including Thomas the Tank Engine for the young kids in the crowd. About 5 men, all volunteers were there to show us their wonderful exhibit and answer all kinds of questions. The trains circled the entire city and it was amazing to see all the street lights worked turning red and green, train crossings with working arms and bells, along with the lights, a trolley car ran around the city streets, various other items moved as well. It was extremely interesting.

Thomas the Tank Engine for the little folks in the crowd...

The entire exhibit was donated by a man name Alan Goldman who lived in Montgomery, Alabama. He donated it to Foley with the stipulation that it always be free to view by the public. The volunteers went to Montgomery to his house and in three days dismantled the entire thing which he had set up in ONE room but in various layers or heights to it. Those volunteers brought it back to Foley and spent 14 months putting it back together on ONE level. It's approximately 60' in length and about 15 feet wide. They have two 'trap doors' which they can open up for access to various parts of the display, and they can walk on any of the tracks that run along the outside of the city. It's truly a fascinating place. 

On going fire, been going for 10 years. ~laugh~

We left the museum and headed out to the discount drug store called Fred's, Riley needed some foot care items. Those purchased we came home to the Igloo and just kind of lazed around the rest of the day. I tended to the wart on the bottom of Riley's foot with some Freeze Away wart remover, it worked before so hopefully it works this time as well.  I had a little nap after that as I think the purchase of the new to us Dogsled took a bit out of me or maybe it was the smell of Riley's feet, I'm not sure which. ~laugh~ 

I spent some time reading the manual for the Dogsled and discovered a few things I didn't know about it. Roy, Vern and Paul dropped by to examine the new Dogsled, offering advice, asking questions, and making comments.Always nice to have people notice things. ~laugh~ 

 

A quick game of Yahtzee in which we both rolled a Yahtzee but Riley won again. I can't catch her cheating but I know she does. ~laugh~ 

Time to prep dinner and then some more reading as the sun slowly left the sky and darkness finally arrived just after 6 pm. Outside by 6:30 pm to BBQ dinner, not as cold as I thought it might be!!

Turkey burger is under the cheese. ~laugh~ 

Dinner tonight was Garlic Dill Potatoes with Onions, Sweet Basil/Parsley Veggies and Turkey Burgers. I must say it was all pretty good!!!!!

After a quick clean up inside and out, a trip to the dumpster, it was time to head off in our own directions. So there you  have it, not an exciting day but a very enjoyable one. Thanks for stopping by , until next time...take care, be  safe....