Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

Last night I read the latest report on the Crown King fire.  It had expanded to 2400 acres.  That’s a pretty big fire!

This morning I woke up around 4:30.  The trailer was shaking in the wind.  And there was something more.  The loud clatter of rain on my roof.  It wasn’t a light rain, it was a hard rain!  Hard enough to wake me.

With the rains and the wind the sky is looking gorgeous once more!  Wow, talk about a fast change.

Concerning moments in the wee hours…..

When I woke up there was another issue.  My air conditioner was not functioning well.  It’s happened once before, and I don’t think it’s the AC.  Instead I think it’s the fluctuating power supply here.  Most parks seem to have the same issue.

I’ll tell you, issues in your RV become super concerning when you’re a full timer.  I had quite the time falling back to sleep as I pondered the future of the AC.  It is summer here, and it gets hot.  Can’t live comfortably without it.

Fortunately after leaving it off for an hour, then turning it back on, the AC is now running at full capacity.  Actually, it seems to be blowing colder air……..weird.

At some point I’ll need a service person to take a look at it.  Gotta find some time for that one!

I’ve been thinking about a trip for a while now.  I’m missing the adventure of travel, and given how much better I feel in the past year I know I’d enjoy another journey in a big way!  Not to mention it would be fun to look for more interesting photos across the country.

For now though, I won’t be rolling out anywhere.  Work, photo shows, appointments…..they’re all in the way of trip planning.  Oh, and one more reason for me……gas prices!

In a few weeks the International Rally will take place in Bozeman, MT.  Ah, I loved Bozeman.  Such a pretty area.  And so much closer to my friends Bert & Janie.  They’d meet up with me if I headed up, Bert said so!  But I’ll be taking a pass this year.

A round trip to Bozeman would be 2024 miles.  I checked it out on Mapquest.com.  1012 miles each way.

When I tow I get about 12 miles to the gallon.  Rounding up, that would be 169 gallons of gas to do the round trip, not including driving around the area while I’m there.  So, the trip’s gas, at an average of $4.00 per gallon (we’re at $3.95 here), would cost me $676.  Not too bad, but more expensive than my travel expenses in 06′.  At this point prices are well above the “extreme” prices I paid in California in 06′!

I have to wonder how the prices are impacting RVers over all.  Many folks tow with diesel trucks, or drive diesel Class A’s.  Diesel costs even more.  I’m sure people are cutting their trip lengths, and staying longer.

See, that’s one plus with an RV.  You can stay in a place for a while.  If I stayed in Bozeman for a month I could see the gas costs as “not horrible”.  Heck, last minute flights when I worked in wireless cost more than the gas cost I mentioned.  Staying in an area long term makes RVing feasible.

The problem is many folks aren’t full time.  They’ve got a 2 week vacation, and they like to pack a lot of stuff into the short time.  Stop somewhere, move the next day.  Rinse and repeat.  With fuel prices that could make for an expensive vacation fast.

Well, I’ll keep reading industry reports to see how RV’s get impacted.

One other thought…..my dad plans to roll out this fall with his little gas powered Class A.  I believe he gets 10 mpg.  Round trip from MA to AZ is 5228 miles (that’s round trip, direct no detours).  So, his trip total would be 522.8 gallons of gas if he came directly here.  Let’s pretend gas won’t go up in price any further….so $4 per gallon average.  That would be $2,091.20 in fuel expenses.  Ouch.  But he’d be transporting 3 people in total, and they’d be out for a while.  Might rival airline prices still, and might be better in the long run……

Alright RV’ers….tell me, are your wheels Idle due to gas prices?

No, we’re not having a “heat wave” here.  This morning it’s 57 degrees in Prescott.  We’ll probably see something near 90 today.  But without humidity you can stay comfortable in the shade, no problem.  Walking downtown yesterday I stayed in shady spots on the square, and I was pretty darned comfortable!

That’s not the same story for folks in New England.  They’re running from 60 to above 90, but there’s high humidity.  I remember those days.  Breaking a sweat no matter what you do.  Plus most every house in New England has no AC!  Eeek!

Last night I spoke with one of my sisters.  Her little ones were fussing big time.  They couldn’t sleep.  Fans fail to cool well with heat and humidity together.  While we talked I sat outside my Airstream in the shade.  A light breeze was blowing, and I was happily comfortable.  I wish they lived closer, they could come here for a few days and get comfortable.

I know, Arizona is HOT.  It sure is….in some areas.  Phoenix is looking to hit 109 degrees today.  Boy, that wouldn’t be fun, even though it’s a dry heat.

Fortunately I don’t live in Phoenix.  Less than 2 hours away Prescott sits at a much higher elevation.  That gives us cooler temperatures every day.  While Phoenix climbs to crazy temperatures, we climb to reasonable temperatures.

Last year we had a week here that broke 100 every day.  It was hot!  The AC struggled.  But sitting out under my awning I always found myself pretty comfortable.  I can handle a week of that again!  Glad it’s not humid here!

To everyone back on the East Coast…..sorry gang!  Pay a visit sometime.  Try the Fall, it’s cooler then and you can really explore the area!

Ah, days off.

Personally I’d like them to become more consistent.  By that I mean I’d like to pick 2 days in the week and have them off each week.

Actually, 3 days would be better than 2.  Just saying…… 

So, what to do with the day off?  How about some laundry?  Yup, the standard laundry day.  I sure wish the Airstream had the room for a washer and dryer.  But let’s face it, living in a 25 foot Six Sleeper doesn’t allow for much washer and dryer room.  I sure wish it did though!

Normally on my days off folks can find me between 8 and 10 in the Point of Rocks laundry room.  It’s a happening spot full of happening people.  Why just this morning I ran into……. uh ….. nobody.  Ok, not the most happening spot after all.  But it is located in a wonderful park!

After laundry wrapped up I visited with my neighbor Ed.  We talk politics, economics, photography, and anything else that interests us.  Ed is a pleasant guy.  Like me, he’s a full-timer.  He and his wife live in a Class A rig a few sites away from me.  He used to own a large door manufacturing company, finally retired, sold the home and hit the road.  Like me, Ed found Prescott and here he is!

Following Ed’s visit I had another friend pop over.  Adobe Lightroom questions.  And some new photos shared.  Tony went to Monument Valley and a few other super cool spots recently.  The photos made me want to hook the rig up right now and roll out.  Alas, work tomorrow. 

See, I didn’t even mention how gas prices factor into the travel decision!  How are people doing it now though?  There’s my question!

By noon I headed into town.  Sadira’s portable drive had been acting up, so I made a backup of it for her “just in case.”  I ran by her shop to drop it off, say howdy, and take a walk around town.  Today was a perfect day for a walk.  Really.  Blue skies, nice breeze, cool in the shade, no humidity.  Exactly the type of day I expect in Prescott!

While walking through town I stopped by “The Art Store” to pick up some covers for my latest prints.  Can’t have them getting coated in dust!  Of course while walking through the alley near the store I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of the mural on the wall.  I wanted to see what it would look like in HDR.  I’ve been wanting to try it out for quite some time.  And I’d say it turned out very interesting indeed!

Oh yeah, it also gave me the opportunity to toy around with my new wide angle lens some more too!  What can I say?  I’m hooked on the new lens!!!

I puttered around town for more than 1 hour and 45 minutes.  I would have stayed longer, but there’s 2 hour parking along the streets.  I don’t want a parking ticket.  So I headed back to the Titan and made my way home.  Late lunch, a few phone calls to friends and an e-mail to a Mac client of mine who is currently on the road.

The rest of the day has been spent just hanging out at the Airstream.  A little cleaning, a little re-organizing, and emptying out my Dyson vacuum cleaner.  A Dyson for a 25 foot trailer?  Of course, it’s for an Airstream folks!  :)  Plus it can get dusty here with the winds in the Spring you know.

I’m not sure how the day will end.  I think I’ll sit back and toy with a few more photos.  Maybe I’ll sit in the shade next to the Airstream for a while, enjoy the breeze and watch the crazy lizards hopping around on the rocks.  It’s all a possibility.

Just another good day in Arizona………….

Well, I got the call yesterday.  Which call you ask?

The one I’ve been waiting for!  Good grief, what other call would I be talking about?

On June 28th at 5p.m. a select grouping of some of my photography will be opening at Ian Russel’s Gallery of Fine Art.  Ah, that was the call, wasn’t it? 

I’ll tell you, I was surprised by some of Ian’s selections, but hey, he knows this business better than I do.  So, I defer to him.  :)  I’m so excited that a bunch of my favorites will be featured in a well known gallery.  Best part, June 28th is Ian’s 1 year anniversary for opening his new gallery.  Nice to be included in an important event for him.

I’m also happy to say he had a heck of a time selecting the photos he wanted at the opening.  Too many good ones, only a limited amount of room to hang them all.  There will be 10 smaller prints (5×7) matted and framed.  We’ll do one 8×10 limited edition image as well.

The limited edition print will only have a run of 50 prints, signed and numbered by me.  What’s the print….?  Can’t tell ya!  :)  I already have one person insisting they get the #1 print.  Unfortunately he’ll have to show up at that gallery to round it up if he wants it (sorry Dan).  But you know the time and place.  If anyone else wants the #1 print, all you need to do is show up before Dan. 

By the way….this changes everything with Imagekind.  I’ve got to resort my photos that I was going to put up there.  With the stuff going into Ian’s my selection drops a little.  All the shots that hit the gallery will be exclusive to the gallery for the time being.  That’s that.  So I’ll need to take some time reselecting what hits Imagekind.

Finally, sorry to all the RVers here.  I know, way off on tons of photo stuff.  I’ve got a bunch of posts I need to do about full-timing, and I’ll get back to those soon.  Just remember, all my photo stuff gets done in my Airstream.  My home, my studio, my base camp while traveling to new places……and I’m looking forward to new places.  The initial response to my listing photos suggests I might get to travel again soon…..and take more photos of those places.

Well, off to get ready for work.  Hard to contain my excitement.  Now I’ve got to check with the other 2 places regarding prints they want to list! 

Oh, one final random thought.  I have 4 one of a kind prints that won’t be created again.  They were test prints from 2 different printers (I wanted to see their quality).  All 4 are cool, and I’ll be listing them here soon.  2 are poster prints, two are matted “stand outs” (I’ll explain that sometime).  Once I’ve got my bearings regarding the photos I’m listing I’ll post those 4 prints and pictures of them here….just thought you might want to plan ahead! 

Which cause am I furthering exactly?  That’s a good question.  I’ll wrangle up a good answer.

I’m furthering plenty of causes today.  You can take your pick and apply it to today’s post. 

• Achieving total relaxation:  After two days of rest (Thursday & Friday) I find myself with another day off.  Nice!  And unplanned.  But I could definitely use a little more rest, so no complaints.
• Seeking new sites:  I’m always looking for new things to photograph.  So, with my extra day of rest I took a ride to Sedona & Flagstaff.  Sadira was kind enough to come along too!
• Improving photos:  After seeing a few shots from Bert’s new wide angle lens (acquired only weeks ago) I couldn’t resist.  The Sedona portion of the trip landed us at Rollies Camera where I picked up a new wide angle lens.
• Answering reader requests:  An HDR of the Airstream was requested.  And a little better view of my new site has been requested repeatedly.  So, with my new lens I was able to get a full view of only half of my site (the other half is where I shot from).  Through answering the requests I have found a new subject to shoot, had an opportunity to try out my new lens, and got to play with yet another HDR shot.  Guess this category covered all the causes……

Without any further delay, you now get a look at my new site, and my Airstream in HDR.  I went a little over the top with the HDR on this shot.  Just having a little fun with the medium!

Now I’m concerned questions will abound.  Not about the photo technique, but about the site.  What’s under the trailer, is that a step stool, etc, etc.  Those questions will be left for another time.  Gather them up, ask them in the comments, or speculate on the contents of the photo and site on any number of forums across the Internet…..

Ah, clearly a well rested Rich is a cheeky Rich to boot!

So, on to a rundown of today’s activities….

This morning Sadira and I headed North before 9 a.m.  First stop….a gas station.  I don’t even want to talk about it.  24 gallon tank you know. 

Once I’d topped off we headed straight for Sedona, AZ.  Truly a favorite place to go taking pictures.  Today though I took no Sedona photos.  The reason for the visit was strictly business.  A stop into Rollies Camera.  I knew they had some wide angle lenses in, and I’ve been pining for one since getting a look at Bert’s new lens.  I lay the blame with Bert, and Bert alone! 

I’m teasing you here Bert!  I know you’re reading along!

While at Rollies we had several pleasant surprises.  My favorite sales guy was in (of course) and we found the lens I was searching for.  Sadira also found something wonderful.  A unique version of a Crumpler Bag.  This bag had a custom design for wildlife watchers.  The Velcro had been dealt with……

It’s at this point Tombo has stopped reading my blog.  He’s opened two browser tabs and is searching Sadira’s site as well as Crumpler’s site.  A stealthy pack without velcro noise is a priority for Mr. Tombo……  Wow, a well rested Rich really is a cheeky so and so!

While Sadira wrestled with the concept of trading up on packs I checked out lenses and settled on my final choice.  I also shared my web site with the folks in the shop, and they took a look at my “photo only” site.  Lot’s of “Wow’s” which made me smile.

Sadira resolved her pack dilemma and made her way to the “Life is Good” shop.  I headed out of Rollies, and realized I forgot one item, so returned quickly.  While cashing out the owner asked me, “Are you aware of what we’ll be doing in the front of the store soon?”  I told him I wasn’t, and I got an extra pleasant surprise.  Rollies will be featuring a few local photographers soon, and they’re interested in my work being in the mix!

Other things are currently in the works.  So, this adds fuel to the fire.  And it helped me justify my shinny new lens!

After wrapping up in Sedona we headed to Flagstaff.  A visit to Bookman’s for Sadira (and some interesting books), and then a walk through the town.  We shot a unique church in town, and I’m not sure what to make of the photos.  See, the trimmings of the church were painted in an odd shade of “pink”.  Pretty stones mixed with pink.  Pink gargoyles too…..  I just don’t know.

While in Flagstaff we also stopped by the Life Is Good store.  They seem to be popping up everywhere!  But Life is Good after all, so I won’t complain about seeing their stores everywhere.  Also, I was wearing one of their shirts today, not to mention a hat from them as well!

We strolled around Flagstaff for quite a while.  Many trains rolled through, all blasting their horns letting people everywhere know they weren’t slowing down for anyone!  Neat to watch, hard to cross the tracks while waiting on train after train!

While wandering I took another “door” photo.  I think it’s written somewhere that in order to have your photography taken seriously you must shoot doors and make them look cool.  I don’t know if I made this door look cool or not, but I did like the door to begin with.  Actually, I think it was the building’s exterior that caught me!

I’m not sure if this shot will classify me as a serious photographer or not.  But it does mean I’m trying.  I haven’t moved into a post modern apartment with only black and white furniture yet, and I’m currently not wearing a turtle neck while drinking wine, so I think we’re still a ways off from “serious photography.”  Normally when I’m out shooting I’m wearing a T-Shirt, North Face A5 Shorts, Chacos (sandals), and a Nalgene water bottle is in tow somewhere.  As you can see, a far cry from a serious photographer’s attire.

Honestly, I’ve got a cool art deco home…..my Airstream.  I don’t know how much further I’d need to take it.  Maybe if I start taking detailed photos of rivet lines it will count for something and I can skip ahead to “serious.”

After all our fun in Flagstaff we finally headed home.  We went a different way though.  Off and on Route 66.  More unique photo ideas.  While I saw one potentially interesting item I decided to skip it.  The shot had already been done by Ben Wilmore.  Ah well, I’ll find that special shot along 66 at some point in time.  I’ve got a lot of other ideas too.  Many can be done right in my own back yard.

That’s it for tonight.  I need to go stare at my new lens for a while now……….

As most readers know, I’m a “Full-Time RVer”. Sure, the Airstream isn’t rolling all over the country, but that doesn’t define a full-timer at all. Folks in this category live in an RV full time. That’s it. The travel is a bonus.

Right now the travel would be painful given gas prices. So I’m happy to be a stationary Airstreamer at the moment. I sure would like to go to a few places to take photos, but I’ll wait a while. I wonder when my Titan can be solar powered……?

If you’re not familiar with Airstreams, or more specifically my Airstream, you don’t have the largest amount of space to work in. My Airstream is 25 feet long and 8 feet wide. For those who are mathematically challenged or are unsure about devices known as “calculators”, 25×8 yields 200 square feet of space. My first apartment by myself was an “efficiency”, and it was 450 sq ft. You can’t fit a ton of stuff in that amount of space, but that’s what I’ve got to work with.

With my spacial constraints I still manage to have every amenity I need. My kitchen sink, a cute stove, microwave, a claustrophobic shower, etc. And with all of my small tech devices I cover everything you can imagine for an office, entertainment center, etc. Part of my gadget hoard includes a full set up for photo development while on the road or at rest.

Probably not too shocking. You’ve seen many photos out of the Airstream Chronicles site, you know I post regularly, and I talk about watching DVDs and other fun stuff.

Given all the recent HDR photography I thought it would be useful to talk about what goes into my portable photo lab. What does it really take to produce cool travel images, how much space does it take, and how does it fit in to a full-timing lifestyle?

So, what’s in my little bag of tricks? Here’s the list:

• Macbook Pro: This is the computer I use every day. I’ve been using it since the Spring of 2006. It’s my entertainment center, productivity center, e-mail box, web device, blogging tool, etc. It’s also the hub of my photography setup.
• Photoshop CS3: Photoshop has to be one of my most used programs lately. Photo editing, resizing, & retouching all take place in Photoshop.
• Photoshop Lightroom: Probably the coolest photo management program I’ve ever seen. When I off load photos, Lightroom is the program I choose.
• Photomatix Pro: This is my newest program. If you like the recent HDRs I’d suggest checking out Photomatix.
• Canon 40D: The newest addition to my camera bodies. I picked up the 40D because it has a built in image sensor cleaner. If you’ve ever lived in AZ you’ll understand why the sensor cleaner is necessary…..dust is everywhere, all the time.
• Canon 30D: Ah yes, I’ve got a 30D as well. I’ve been extremely happy with this camera. My only complaint is the fact I keep having to clean the image sensor thanks to all the dust here. It’s now my “indoor” camera (you know, macro photos….).
• Canon SD550: The SD550 is no longer in production. I bought this “Digital Elph” years ago. It’s a wonderful little camera. It’s also super small. Many of my shots during my travels in 2006 were taken with the 550. Simple little point and shoot camera for those moments when you don’t feel like breaking out a big camera. If you want something similar check out the SD1100.
• Canon Selphy: This is my tiny portable printer. I make cute little postcard prints with it. The color quality and speed of this printer are amazing!
• Canon IP100: I just purchased this super small photo printer within the past 2 weeks. With some of my latest photos I wanted to print 8×10 and 8.5×11 photos. The IP 100 is ultra slim, and the color quality is fantastic. I’ll write a longer review on the printer after I’ve passed the 1 month ownership marker with it.
• Crumpler Bag: My newest camera bag is a Crumpler. A compact and stylish carrying case.
• Lowepro Camera Backpack: If I need to carry “everything” the Lowepro is the bag I use.
• Canon Lenses: I have too many lenses….. My primary lens is a 28-135mm Image Stabilized lens. I also have a 17-85mm IS lens that came with my 30D (it’s my second favorite lens). The bulk of the photos you see here have been shot with the 28-135 or the 17-85. My other lenses are “specialized” for only certain shots.
• 2 500GB MyBooks: Currently I’m running 2 Mybook external hard drives. My Lacies have been filled, and they’re now stored away. The MyBook drives store all of my photography, ITunes library, system backups, etc. 1 drive is the primary drive, 1 drive backs up the primary drive. These drives take very little space, and they store so much.

There’s the list in a nutshell. Amazingly enough, this stuff takes very little space. My cameras and lenses fit into my Lowepro & Crumpler bags. Between the two bags everything is put away all the time. The bags fit under my credenza in the Airstream, and there’s plenty of room for more stuff to fit under there as well. The printers can both be stored in an overhead compartment and plenty of room is leftover for other items. Finally, the Macbook sits out on my dinette.

If you rounded up all these items you could stack them on my couch and leave room for 2 people to still sit on the couch. Pretty small amount of space for all the equipment does, don’t you think?

Do I have other little odds and ends? Sure I do. I got almost everything listed, and really for most folks it might be over kill. 1 camera pack, 1 camera, 1 printer, 1 computer…..you’d have your own portable lab too. I’d strongly suggest using Photoshop, Lightroom, and Photomatix (if you’re interested in HDR photography). With all that in hand you too could have a compact photo lab that you’ll be extremely happy with.

Well, it hasn’t really felt like days off at all.  Busy would be the best way to describe things.

Yesterday I let myself rest a little in the morning.  A late start to the day, but then lots of running around.  The first big errand….well, not really an errand…..but it did involve running around.  Sadira gave me a call to let me know that an Arts and Crafts style event was happening on the square.  I had to go.

See, last year I noticed that there was a regular Bonsai dealer at the shows.  I’d been thinking about adding a little tree to the Airstream, and finding out the first big activity on the town square was happening I jumped in the truck and stopped by Sadira’s.

She was under the weather yesterday.  Sinus infection done, food poisoning in full effect.  One thought here gang.  Shrimp & Arizona….don’t do it.  Just don’t!

We hit the show and sure enough, bonsai trees were available.  I looked around, then wandered the square for a while deciding on what to do.  Finally we returned to the little tent full of trees and I picked my Airstream’s new resident.  You’ll see photos soon enough.

I once had a wonderful little bonsai for years.  High school.  It thrived.  Then I went to MA for a few weeks and my mom watched over the tree.  One night on the phone she told me she’d accidentally killed the tree.  She thought it could use some fertilizer (NOOOOOOOOO) and the tree went brown pretty quick.  Whoops!  Still, she was the best mom I could ask for and I still miss her.  Happy Mother’s Day mom.  A new little tree is along in the Airstream now.

I dropped Sadira off and headed for home.  Quick lunch and then I ran up to the Rodeo Stadium.  Yes, I got to photograph the rodeo.  No, I’m not satisfied with the shots.  I needed a 1.8 lens for this stuff, and I didn’t drag one along.  The rodeo started at 7:30, and even with the lights in the stadium the action was so fast that the lenses I brought didn’t cover it.  A few interesting shots that I’ll play with in Photoshop.  Maybe you’ll see them down the road.

I didn’t get home until almost 10, and I was starved.  So I sat up and made a late dinner.  Didn’t get to sleep until nearly midnight.  Ah yes, restful!

This morning was an early rise.  I headed out to the north side of Sycamore Canyon with Sadira, Tom, & DaNece.  2 hour ride in on the super bumpy roads through Perkinsville.  Nearly a 3 hour hike toward the canyon (no water already, lots of dry beds), hot sun, winds with some type of eye irritating  pollen, and a generally wonderful time!  Glad to have shared the adventure.

Our “haze” has returned to the skies, and the blues were really washed out today.  I’ve heard it’s hazy from here to Georgia, so who knows what is up.  So, many of the landscape shots today were sub-par to say the least.  But there was one thing that caught all of our attention.  The flowers heading into the area.  Blues, powder blues, oranges, and purples.  The purple really got me.  Cactus flowers once again (hey, they’re not red).

As we made our way in we began seeing new (to us) flowers that really stood out against the red rock background.  Small green cactus with purple flowers.  One here, one there.  As we neared our destination clusters of the flowers.  Big clusters.  They seemed to be everywhere.  Even along our hike we found more of these wonderful cactus (I’ll look them up in my book tomorrow).

I have dozens of good shots.  They’re all slightly washed out, but I’ll deal with them in Photoshop tomorrow.  High afternoon sun, even with haze, yields less than brilliant results.  But the shots here are currently unedited.  And they’re still stunning flowers in my opinion. 

Finally, after hours driving in, hours hiking, and hours driving back we returned to Prescott.  Sadira wasn’t feeling too well, and I was a little off.  Hot hike, lots of dust, lots of exertion, etc.  Plus I got too much sun.  So we basically crashed on the couch for a while, and finally got enough energy to get moving again.  Sadira headed off to Costco, and I went to do some shopping at Fry’s.  Groceries you know.

After some rest this evening I decided to head to downtown Prescott to try setting up a few exposures for doing an HDR (High Dynamic Ratio) photo.  My intention was to get Whiskey Row and the St. Michaels Hotel.  I’ve gotten many exposures this evening, and only started toying with them.  I only took one set of exposures of the Courthouse, and the result was the photo at the start of this post.  My first satisfying HDR photo (to me at least).  I only tone mapped it after feeding the 3 exposures into Photomatix.  No real tweaking beyond their basic tone mapper.  I like it.  There are places for HDR to be used……more will follow.

That’s it for the evening.  10 p.m. here and I’m beat.  Tomorrow, laundry, errands, and who knows what else.  Wonder if I can fit a 3 hour nap in somewhere?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been more than worn down.  Downright exhausted often.

No, I’m not sitting up all night watching sitcoms.  Late night blog reading….ha, I don’t think so.  Blog reading is a morning activity! 

A combination of things have made rest a little more difficult.  The other week I wasn’t feeling well.  That went a long way to disrupt rest.  But there’s been another issues that has finally been resolved.

The super early wakeup!

I’m not trying to get up early.  But I find myself waking up earlier and earlier.  See, the Airstream is parked with the rear window facing the East.  We all know what comes from the East.  The sun.  Sometimes I wonder about the sun.  It causes skin cancer, sun burns, dries out lakes, sends radiation our way, and causes early wakeups in Airstreams.  Something should be done about it.  Is any Presidential candidate currently campaigning against the sun???

Each day the sun is rising a little earlier.  And the shades that came with my Airstream are pretty flimsy.  Sure, they’re cute, but so much light pours through them it’s just not funny.  I mentioned this to Sadira the other week, and suggested that I needed to find some black out shades, or something like that.

Sadira had an idea.  And she’s great about putting ideas into motion.  Last night she popped over with two new blackout shades for the Airstream.  You know what?  They work!

I’ve left the shades up this morning (they’re Velcroed up, so I can pop them down at will), and the back of the Airstream has transformed to a dark bat cave.  Super cool!

The shades go on under my transparent shades.  I can close them and nobody even knows about my new little blackout shades!  But I thought I’d share them here.

By the way, there’s still light pouring in from my Fantastic Fan vent covers.  Yes, I noticed that this morning…..hmmmm……maybe one more shade wouldn’t hurt!  :

Little to really blog on today.  It happens sometimes.  A day of little chores, minor activity, and a whole lot of couch time.

This morning I got up not feeling my best.  Several days ago I went to refill my Protonix and found that I had refilled my last.  Whoops.  But I thought to myself, “Let’s see if you don’t need this any longer.”  It’s a medication that keeps a gut from being super nuclear & acidy.  Since I’ve felt better about my allergies I thought maybe my gut would be calmer.

Nope!

For the past few months I’ve been flying along with no insurance.  My job now provides it, but I had to wait until April for it to kick in.  By the seat of my pants! I was supposed to get Cobra information a few months ago, tried to track it down, but no luck.  So I decided just to deal in cash for prescriptions as I knew my new insurance would soon kick in.

Now I’m back in the ranks of the insured.  Good to be back here.  The next step is finding a local physician who is taking new patients.  Good luck!  I’ve been told that the doctors here are booked up, and through my initial salvo of calls I’ve found it’s true.  Tomorrow morning I’ll continue the calls.

Any local Prescott folks who know of a local physician that has openings…..leave a comment.  Thanks! 

So, my morning was spent hanging out in the trailer, washing windows, straightening up, and sorting through my photos.  More deletions, more ranking of favorite shots, etc.  I’m still not done with my full sorting.  I only covered the past few months, and I spent nearly two hours.  Sometimes I import, pick a few I like, and leave the big sorting until later.  This morning was “later.”

Terry and Gregg headed out this morning as well.  Sadira stopped over to say good bye to them as well.  She’s been under the weather all week, so visiting with our new friends was limited.  Sorry that was the case.  They seem pretty cool, and they enjoy Airstream travel and new spots as well.  I’m sure we’ll meet up again, and really get to visit longer.

After Terry and Greg headed out we returned to the Airstream and had a light lunch.  Sorry to say the food didn’t help with the tummy issues.  Ah well, worth a shot.  While I clenched my teeth, Sadira continued with coughing fits.  She’s really had a bad cold or sinus infection.  But she sounds a whole lot better than earlier in the week.

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon.  Sadira was kind enough to bring her Dyson vacuum over, and I went on a cleaning spree in the trailer.  I miss my Dyson, but I don’t know where I’d store it in the trailer.  Still, using hers today made me want mine shipped out here soon…..hmmm…..

You wouldn’t believe the amount of “dust” that it pulled out of the trailer.  Sure, it’s normally sealed up and has a HEPA running, but this is the high desert.  And currently we’re having the super strong winds to boot.  So, a lot of stuff gets in the air right now, and clearly into the trailer.  Ah well.

Little else to report on.

All of the photos posted today have been shot in the past few months.  You might have seen similar shots, but the 3 in today’s post haven’t been posted here until now.  I figured that I’d post a few I flagged today as I was sorting away.