tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54480184249866326382024-03-05T16:15:30.347-08:00The Sabbatical JournalThom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comBlogger1190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-86833325626557233102022-06-04T08:46:00.002-07:002023-02-28T04:28:13.807-08:00Beyond Branson; Pondering Future Travel<p>This past Tuesday, we moved from Branson to a very nice Corps of Engineer’s Park on Wappapello Lake. We’re in the Redman Creek CG. This facility is like so many other Corps parks with long asphalt pads, electric, water, and this one even has full sewer hookups as well. Regular price $24/night. We get half off, so $12 for a premium FHU site. I don’t think this is going to last too much longer. What a deal!</p><p>With the latest plan, we're here until the 17th… next Friday.</p><p>The following was done for my Journal, but I’ll re-post it here for future reference:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Regarding travel in a more expensive future world… I did some math yesterday. Here’s the setup: Consider two versions of a one day, 500 mile trip. One is by small RV pulled by an adequate but still relatively efficient tow vehicle. Real life data from the Escape forum says that a Ford F-150 with an eco-boost 3.5 motor, pulling a small camper like our E19, will get between 12 and 14 overall mpg. So let’s use 13mpg. With this setup, a campsite is still needed to complete the full day. The second version is an efficient car - a CRV or similar - that get’s a real world 35mpg overall. Here, we’ll have to get a motel in order to complete the day. Both vehicles use regular gas at an assumed future price of $5.00/gallon</p><p style="text-align: left;">And the results: </p><p style="text-align: left;">Fuel consumption: Truck: 38.5 gallons; Car: 14.3 gallons</p><p style="text-align: left;">Fuel cost: Truck: $192.31 Car: $71.43</p><p style="text-align: left;">Lodging: RVPark: $35.00 Motel: $140.00 (a mid-level+ joint, a Hampton Inn or similar)</p><p style="text-align: left;">Total cost: Truck+RVPark: $227.31 Car+Motel: $211.43</p><p style="text-align: left;">Upshot: The Car+Motel model is $15.88 less costly than RVing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Sure, there are other considerations. Some just hate sleeping in motels. But on the other side of the equation, there are always the side-hassles of using the RV model… hitching/unhitching, set-up time and effort, comfort, bathroom size, dumping tanks, reversing the process the next morning.</p><p style="text-align: left;">All in all, however, this example calls into question the use of big RVs for touring. For example, would I pull the Escape all the way across the country in order to tour New England and the Maritimes? Really? Small RV Parks, higher expenses, smaller roads, more people, and maybe even more people. </p></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">It might be time to fully consider more alternative methods of travel: B and Bs, AirBnBs, hotels and traveling by small efficient car, or even mix it up by air travel for some trips… or cruises… </p></blockquote><div><br /></div>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-52738260855675806962022-05-21T16:29:00.000-07:002022-05-21T16:29:33.561-07:00Biding our Time in Branson<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsPBgWvUKDxJimlXr1RUP-aCgBCSiLgxEBSwZoWH_T8rd2CMdb8pqet7tx2zj3fW8Z6vNMwqAyw_PpRFkUTWMU_GEym-3Jn2j1Y0xJhLdsxXxg9K8OJLrWUQrA73SKn2O-n0UTci-biUp7HOhR_krr088--8Z08uLd2du5IDigTuw-AEsuDrcRzjb/s4000/IMG_5993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsPBgWvUKDxJimlXr1RUP-aCgBCSiLgxEBSwZoWH_T8rd2CMdb8pqet7tx2zj3fW8Z6vNMwqAyw_PpRFkUTWMU_GEym-3Jn2j1Y0xJhLdsxXxg9K8OJLrWUQrA73SKn2O-n0UTci-biUp7HOhR_krr088--8Z08uLd2du5IDigTuw-AEsuDrcRzjb/s320/IMG_5993.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Recently, I've heard a couple of people say it was easier to follow our travels and our whereabouts when I kept a current blog. I've also been looking for something more to fill that creative space, or purpose, that I've missed. Therefore, I think I'll take a shot at reviving the old "Sabbatical Journal" again.<p></p><p>It's going to be a slow start. I'm not planning on extensive posts explaining every detail of every moment we're out on the road. I'm envisioning something along the lines of a weekly (maybe) post of where we're at and what we're doing... but in general terms. Brief. Probably better to start slow than to make it complicated from the start. </p><p>So here's our status for this week: As (some) of you know, we're on our way to the Escapees Travel Clubs' big annual meeting/convention/rally. It's called Escapade and it will be held in Lebannon, TN. We'd like to be there by June 17th. </p><p>Even at our pace (slow and easy), we're only a 3 day drive from there right now. And we're in Branson MO. We've been here for a couple of weeks and will be here until the end of May. Then we'll have 17 days to make 3 drives. I think we can handle that.</p>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-41326381755433601572021-10-01T15:06:00.002-07:002022-04-04T19:38:01.916-07:00Helping<p>The last few days Dar and I have been in the Portland area helping out our Son-in-Law Gage, Our Daughter Andrea, and their family. I haven't written anything here about whats been going on. The short story is that a few weeks ago Gage was involved in an accident between a bicycle and a Jeep. Gage was on the bike. As you can imagine, (Jeep vs. Bike, Bike vs. Jeep, either way) he got the raw end of this deal. A number of broken bones and a long recovery is expected. We're here to lend a hand.</p><p>As of a few minutes ago, he awoke from his third surgery. All is good. Bones have been put straight. He's now on the road to recovery. </p>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-59215337658474741382021-09-27T07:31:00.001-07:002021-09-27T07:31:36.855-07:00Clutter<p>We have too much stuff. </p><p>It's time to de-clutter.</p><p>But where do I start?</p>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-15418881250180191952021-09-24T07:10:00.001-07:002021-09-24T09:43:10.695-07:00Cheers<p> Yesterday, Dar and I reserved the day for just the two of us. Far too little traveling lately, maybe too much community involvement, and over-exposure to stupid people who reject facts and science... and probably a few other factors that aren't jumping to mind right now... combined to motivate us to get out for the day and just get away.</p><p>A restaurant breakfast on board, and under a clear sky, we soaked in the views and relished the break in routine as we motored along. We checked out a few area campgrounds, but unfortunately, many of these are closed, or in the process of closing, for the season. Add that to the list of unfortunate things that don't make sense on the surface. Autumn can be the best time of year for camping and they're closing the damned campgrounds! But that's another story.</p><p>Both the miles and the hours melted away. One thing led to another and later that afternoon the truck was parked at PlankTown Brewing Company in downtown Springfield. Dar and I have always enjoyed these pub stops during our travels. This one, for me, more so than usual. A sudden feeling of happiness flowed through me as I nursed a pint of Sara's Pale Lager beside a background of soft jazz and just the right amount of people din filled the space. It was perfect. I've really missed this. Cheers.</p>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-29169830179446145692021-09-22T15:48:00.008-07:002021-09-23T20:21:26.777-07:00Return<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Today, September 22, is the Vernal Equinox. Many strange and mysterious things have happened over the years on the Vernal Equinox. This is another one.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">Now that pretty much everyone has moved from blogging to vlogging (for the uninitiated: video logging or video journalling) I feel comfortable getting back to the old blog. It's so simple... words on a page for someone to read or NOT read, as they choose. It's really elegant when you think about it. And for a closet author like me, there's a certain amount of "purpose" in it too. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">For some time now, I've been feeling that something has been missing from my life. Sure, the Park keeps me busy at times, and we do still go exploring once in a while, but there's been a missing "thing" in my life that I couldn't quite put my finger on or identify. This morning, to kill time I think, I dialed into the old RV Sabbatical Journal. And spent some time going through old posts. There are almost 1200 of them. And I quickly realized how much I missed the process of generating regular posts that were then accessible to anyone in the world (!) with a device. It seems the number of readers or followers one has is almost secondary to the idea that anyone <b><i>could</i></b> stumble on these pages and read these posts. Anyone <i><b>can</b></i> be a published author.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;"><br /></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: large;">While considering this relighting of my humble writing proclivities, I thought about Goodle and their blogging product called "Blogger". With the turn from blogging to vlogging (Youtube), I wonder how long they'll even keep the blogging product around. "G" has a history of just shutting down services or products that fall out of favor. So it might be good to have a plan B if this blogging service is shut down at some point. (more later)</div><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="4"><b><br /></b></font></div><div dir="ltr"><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="4"><b><i>Thom</i></b></font></div></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif"><b>wandering... and wondering</b></font></div></div></div></div></div> Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-21659534762804109042021-09-22T08:03:00.003-07:002021-10-02T11:57:46.275-07:00A Table for the Ages<p> A new picture. The table was originally built by Dar's Dad, and was with us when our kids were growing up. Dar had them each paint whatever they wanted on a portion of the top. Now it's grandkids time... Andrea's boys have made their mark on one bench and now Justin's two have done their part on the other. So two generations of memories. </p><p>Unfortunately, the table has spent too much time in the elements and is deteriorating to dust. Entropy in action. Photographs will preserve the memories even if the table is no longer with us.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUvAxH_p9ez2fP_nY8ARwUd9xKye_4rfwy3ELfnzSzCV3mJ_y32WRzbYqJlibPVWoaaNzV20o_WoW0uI0b4dB6sKs2EQ0ieybHOcJzs-wEg11dyLADBsK5bqDx4TnmhjE3_cEqrv0aR8/s3264/IMG_20210826_094951559_HDR.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUvAxH_p9ez2fP_nY8ARwUd9xKye_4rfwy3ELfnzSzCV3mJ_y32WRzbYqJlibPVWoaaNzV20o_WoW0uI0b4dB6sKs2EQ0ieybHOcJzs-wEg11dyLADBsK5bqDx4TnmhjE3_cEqrv0aR8/w400-h300/IMG_20210826_094951559_HDR.jpg" width="400"></a></div><br><p><br></p>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-50724820598560411372019-03-02T19:44:00.000-08:002019-12-01T06:48:28.603-08:00Grand Canyon to a snow-filled Bryce CanyonThe last few shots at Grand Canyon before high-tailing it to Bryce. Nice Day.<br />
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The National Park Canyons are great, of course. But I'm continually blown away by the drives between the hot spots. There's just so much to see and appreciate along lesser-known byways.<br />
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Much more snow than usual at Bryce... at least according to locals.<br />
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See the full album <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/KZZSkf7H2LCE7ayr9" target="_blank">HERE</a><a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/KZZSkf7H2LCE7ayr9" target="_blank"><here></here></a>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-59634765449354571572019-03-01T17:54:00.000-08:002019-03-04T17:56:21.476-08:00Northbound with a stop at the Grand CanyonSadly, It's time to head northward and back to the Pacific Northwest. Hoping recent snowfalls would result in some stunning photo opps, we made a side-trip to find out.<br />
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The complete album can be seen by clicking <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/SANTM3SF2XdBji45A" target="_blank">HERE</a>.Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-68587317206430372692019-02-23T11:41:00.000-08:002019-02-27T06:12:26.142-08:00Skyline Regional Park in the White TanksDid a 4 mile hike in Skyline Regional Park near Buckeye AZ. Feb. 16.<br />
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For the full album, <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/96QTA9GDSzTViVAG7" target="_blank">click here</a>Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-41206714680487813592019-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:002019-03-04T18:09:37.416-08:00Holiday Family LuncheonAll the Hoch siblings gathered for a luncheon during the Winter Holidays. I'll add no commentary about how fine things age well.<br />
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<br />Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-12077582175275938162017-11-27T18:32:00.000-08:002018-02-23T14:42:22.531-08:00Memorial to an Old FriendMemories of an Old Friend<br />
September, 2016<br />
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“But fate ordains that dearest friends must part."<br />
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It’s taken me some time to process the loss of a dear old friend and to get to the point where I can write about the tragic ordeal. We spent so much time and did so many things together. We spent many weeks, months, in the great outdoors. We made long hikes in the desert. We climbed small mountains. We were together in Alaska and the Far North all the way to the Arctic Ocean. We've driven from coast to coast. We’ve weathered storms and incessantly hot sun. The years passed. And as our life together matured, so did the comfort and flexibility of our “fit”... perhaps more weathered and worn, but more relaxed and comfortable too. An old friend who seemed to mold to the surroundings, was liked by nearly everyone. An old friend who I’d like to think probably saved my life over the years. At least, I’d like to think that.<br />
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The loss itself was bad enough. But the fact that I was instrumental in the events leading up to the end… well, that was almost too much to bear.<br />
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But first... a disclaimer. Small children and those overly sensitive to physical carnage, to spilled guts, to seeing what used to be (and should be) on the inside suddenly all over the outside... please go no further. Stop now and switch over to a blog about dogs or food or shopping. Whatever you do, DO NOT continue. It’s not that I’m insensitive about this tragedy, but I must describe the gore and the ugly reality for closure.<br />
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Still with me? OK, here goes: I was mowing the lawn out at the farm in Beaver Dam. It’s a large lawn and we use a garden tractor with a large mower deck to do the job. The job is usually one that Dar’s Dad is responsible for, but a recent illness put him on the injured reserve list, so I was filling in. “Pinch” mowing as it were.<br />
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It takes about 3 or 4 hours to mow the entire lawn, and I was almost done. The day was sunny… bright hot sun. But it was also windy… strong gusts right out of the south. I was concentrating on mowing close to a planting bed, moving slowly for control and precision. A particularly strong wind gust came up, and my hat… my friend for almost 10 years… my Henschel Ausie Breezer… blew off my head, did a back-flip just out of reach in front of me, and landed on the grass immediately in front of the big mower, just 2 or 3 feet away. I’ll always remember those last few moments we had together, in slow-motion, as I saw it sitting peacefully on the ground, waiting patiently for me to pick it up, innocently unaware that this was it’s last moment of existence.<br />
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What’s the first thing a person does when something jumps out in front of a car or truck? Why, of course you step on the brake, right? That was my instinct too. But that was not the correct move to make on this tractor. Because it’s a hydro-static drive machine, the correct move would have been to remove my foot from the drive pedal. The tractor stops almost immediately. But in my panic, I resorted to my primeval and innate muscle memory and jammed on the brake. But it wasn’t the brake I hit, it was the drive pedal, and the tractor lurched ahead at full speed.<br />
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During the next few seconds time stood still. The sound of a Henschel Ausie Breezer being chewed up by 6 angry mower blades spinning behind 28 horsepower is one that nobody should ever hear. It’s a sound that I’ll carry with me to my grave. A well made hat might stop a lesser mower. But this tractor kept working at it’s prey, chewing, grinding, rending, spitting out bits and pieces as it did so, (like a cat going through a brush chipper) until the largest bulk of the viscera was finally thrown clear.<br />
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I was in shock. Hadn’t been this awed since my brother flushed my Dad’s Christmas sweater down the toilet (but that’s another story for another day). After collecting the pieces and setting them aside, I finished the lawn, a tear in my eye. Little appetite for dinner that night, didn’t eat much. But I did toast my old friend good-bye with a couple fingers of a fine Scotch Whisky I keep for such occasions.<br />
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I don’t know if the new Henschel Ausie Breezer replacement will ever be even half the hat my old friend was. Time will tell.<br />
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So long old friend.Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-76172964759618974462017-10-10T07:51:00.003-07:002017-10-10T11:13:31.848-07:00New Theme for an Old BlogWhat could that mean?<br />
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Is it possible there's a glowing ember of life here at the Sabbatical Journal?<br />
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Let's gently blow on it and see what happens.Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-73179660710288743552016-12-31T18:34:00.000-08:002017-08-19T09:21:13.541-07:00Last Post for a While<b>For the latest updates on our travels</b>, check out our Google+ page by clicking on the “The Latest” tab above, or by clicking here:<br />
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ThomHoch">https://plus.google.com/u/0/+ThomHoch</a><br />
<a href="https://plus.google.com/+ThomHoch" target="_blank">Link to our photo collections</a><br />
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<b>For Facebook fans</b>, click here: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OnTheRoadWithDarAndThom/">https://www.facebook.com/OnTheRoadWithDarAndThom/</a><br />
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<b><i>The Evolution of a blog. </i></b><br />
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In the beginning, 2006, I gave birth to this blog with two objectives in mind: first, to serve as an easy means to keep family and friends informed about our whereabouts and activities, and second, as a permanent record of our travels for our own purposes… a personal journal. Ten years have now passed and while these two objectives are still valid and important to us, I've re-evaluated the means to achieve them.<br />
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<b><u>Keeping family and friends up-to-date:</u></b> Regardless of one's opinion about Facebook or Google+, the reality is that most of the people we want to reach in our "family and friends" category are looking at their Facebook pages every day... multiple times each day... and some, I swear, are on it all day long. An update I make to Facebook automatically shows up on their page, amidst posts from all their other "friends". The point is... they see it. It just pops up in front of their face, automatically, with no additional effort whatsoever.<br />
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Compare that to a post I might make to our RV Sabbatical Journal blog. Over the years I've been aware that many, perhaps most, of the people in my intended blog audience, specifically family and friends, do not check in on the blog very often... or at all. They might see it occasionally, if they happen to think about it, but then only quickly scan it and look at a few pictures. Although, arguably, just an easy click away, they must remember us in the course of their daily lives and make a discrete decision to follow a link when they happen to be in front of their phone or computer. Furthermore, the long posts that I tend to write... that I've spent hours composing, improving, nurturing, changing, correcting... become a dis-incentive to check in with us. Too long... takes too much time to read. Most people these days have a lot going on in their lives. Attention spans are short. Let's get to the point here. Their main interest is quickly finding out where we're at and that we're OK, and they're less interested in the little detailed minutia that we might find interesting.<br />
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So, some time ago I started updating our Facebook travel page in earnest, almost daily while we're traveling. Feedback indicates we're getting the word out more effectively now, with Facebook, than we were before with the blog. A quick update on Facebook can be done in just a couple minutes, and can be easily done with any device... including a smartphone. In contrast, my updates to the blog... because they included so much more information and... could take hours to assemble. Using Facebook is so much more efficient, both for the reader and the author.<br />
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In some ways I prefer Google+ over Facebook. Most importantly, a person without an account is able to see our Google+ page without being prompted to open an account of their own. We have some readers who don’t have Facebook and don’t want to ever have a Facebook page, and it’s tough for them to see our post updates on FB with all the clutter and prompting to sign up. Google+ at this point, at least, doesn’t do this.<br />
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<b>A permanent record of our travels:</b> To cover our second purpose for writing about our travels, I've been keeping an offline personal journal that's for our eyes only. Because it's just for us, I don't waste time correcting grammatical errors, mis-spellings, or wordsmithing insensitive or offensive (to some) comments. I can be me, I can say what I want, and I don't have to worry about the PC police or hurt feelings. How refreshing. All those “faubles” are me... and perhaps, someday after I'm gone, someone will find the real me in all those words.<br />
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I’ve written all that as background to say this: In 2017 I will stop posting updates to this blog. Some of you are probably thinking this has already happened, based on the lack of activity this year. The blog has been on life-support since this past summer, that is true. But I used the time to really evaluate the situation and to give the alternatives a go before making this decision.<br />
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I will still keep these pages and the 1,177 posts as a searchable archive as well as a portal to other blogs, pages, or projects I’m working on.<br />
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Thank you so much for your interest in our blog these past 10 years. We’ve had our ups and downs, ins and outs, but it’s been a very positive experience for me. Things evolve as time passes. The way we travel and explore has evolved. And the way we communicate has evolved.<br />
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We wish you all the best.<br />
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-1722952316033311782016-11-16T19:00:00.004-08:002016-11-17T08:08:02.410-08:00New VideoDar, in particular, has waited a long time for this. I finally got around to finishing the video recap of our trip to Alaska and the Far North. It's up on YouTube... <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VltacSJxa1I" target="_blank">here's a direct link</a>. Don't expect too much. It's a compilation of short clips from our almost three months up there... so it's quick and jumpy, but it works for us and produces many warm memories.<br />
<br />Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-91405570728978368522016-11-12T13:42:00.000-08:002016-11-12T13:42:11.460-08:00Wisconsin to Oregon, 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Between September 11 and September 27 we traveled between Wisconsin and Oregon. For those unfamiliar with our travel and living pattern, we consider Wisconsin our summer homebase, and Oregon is becoming our rest-of-the-year homebase. So for the past few years we’ve worn a pretty good path between the Midwest and the Northwest. It’s the journey, not the destination, that we focus on… so we look for new routes between here and there. And, as shunpikers, we prefer trading Interstate highways for more sedate state and county roads. <br />
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The general route for the first part of the trip this year, oh, roughly between Wisconsin and Montana, is to follow US-12. We did depart from this plan at times, but that was the basic path. The back-half of the trip was still unplanned, except for my desire to do the Beartooth Highway again.<br />
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In Wisconsin on sideroads and backroads, we followed WI-33 up and through the Kickapoo River Valley in Western Wisconsin. Stopped for lunch in Wonewoc where we found the local Lions Club had big grills set up on Main Street and were offering lunch as a fund raiser. Think I had an entire half chicken with all the fixin’s… way more than I should have eaten. In Cashton, we got involved in a parade of some sort that slowed our progress. Then, just outside of Cashton, found our road to LaCrosse was closed due to some construction, and the detour was long. Crossed the Mississippi between LaCrosse and LaCrescent, and then up to our old neighborhood in Burnsville MN. where we overnighted at the home of good friend Jim.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue pins are camps; Red pin is motel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There it is... over 7 feet high... all twine. Why? </td></tr>
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Highlights of the drive through Minnesota and South Dakota included seeing the worlds largest ball of twine and an incongruous petrified wood sculpture park in Lemmon SD. Strange as it seems folks flock in huge numbers to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon but, for some reason, don’t bother with peculiarities like twine balls and wood turned into stone. Hard to explain. We later found out we inadvertently drove right by the world’s largest hairball in Webster SD. Dang.<br />
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Between Miles City and Billings in Montanta we stopped again at Pompey’s Pillar, a must-see if you’re a history buff and a fan of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. We’ve been here before but we have found repeats can be as enriching the second (or third) time. The significance of a place can be more firmly embedded in your mind with repetition. And there are some of us who just forget. An excellent ranger-guided walkabout and discussion made this stop notable.<br />
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During this trip west I estimate we were on Interstate Highways for just 350 miles (out of 2500 or so). A big chunk of that was between Miles City and Billings… about 150 miles. I can’t stress the pleasure of getting off Interstates enough. Just so much more rewarding and relaxing.<br />
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Just outside Billings we picked up US-212. The Beartooth Highway and Beartooth Pass is between Red Lodge MT and Cooke City MT… one of the most spectacular drives in the USA. We stayed at a campground near Red Lodge for two reasons: first, to give Red Lodge Ales brewpub a second chance after our less-than-agreeable stop the last time we were here. And second, to position ourselves for a morning start on the Beartooth… with the sun on our backs. For the record, Red Lodge Ales redeemed themselves in our book.<br />
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The next morning we headed “up the hill”. And we lucked out with just about the most perfect day to do it. I’m serious when I say it’s almost impossible to adequately describe that drive on a perfect day. It’s just got to be experienced.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildlife jam in Yellowstone.</td></tr>
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US-212 dumps travelers into Yellowstone NP at the northeast entrance. We were merely transiting through the park in order to meet up with good friends Doug and Kay near West Yellowstone. Shocked at the number of visitors still in the Park this late in September, and the traffic was snarled continually as we moved from one wildlife sighting blockage to the next. Took hours to get through to the west entrance and West Yellowstone. One 12 mile long section alone took an hour. Laid low for the next two nights enjoying good weather and the company of friends.<br />
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Then up to Bozeman for a quick dinner with professor Bill at MSU. US-191 runs between West Yellowstone and Bozeman, following the Gallatin River. I’ve written about this before, but we have a special place along this road we like to visit each time. It’s a gravel pull-off between the road and river where we stopped for breakfast, just the two of us, before kids, way back in 1974. The memory is of sitting on top a large rock in the river, munching a bowl of cherios. Somewhere we have some pics from that stop, but haven’t found them yet. That rock out in the river is really, for us, a monument to our relationship and we just have to stop by every once in a while. Ya know?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"our" rock is the big one behind Dar. </td></tr>
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After Bozeman we point the nose westward again. In keeping with our shunpiking theme, we took some backroads and sideroads through Wise River, Wisdom, stopping at Big Hole National Battlefield, the location of a sad tragic battle between the US Army and the Nez Perce Indians as they were attempting to relocate to Canada during the brief Nez Perce War. Very moving and puts a different perspective on history. Just west of the battlefield, up Joseph Creek, we crossed Chief Joseph Pass, and eventually down the Bitteroot Valley to Missoula. Stayed in a motel that night, our only motel of the trip.<br />
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From Missoula followed the Clark Fork River to Sandpoint and Ponderay in the Idaho panhandle. Stayed at a favorite campground on the lake... Riley Creek COE. We were both feeling a tad poorly the past couple days and denial wasn’t making it any better. Our original plan to see the kids in Washington on our way to homebase Sutherlin was scrapped and we headed south from here. Don’t want to show up and infect the grandkids… not the kind of thing good grandparents should do. Right?<br />
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So, after two nights at Riley Creek, we altered course to the south, through Lewiston and Clarkson to WA-129 south -- Rattlesnake Highway. We’d not heard about this road before… really just stumbled on it. But what a find. I’ll let the pictures do the describing. One doesn’t want to be in a hurry on this road, nor would I advise texting while driving. Briefly, it’s a canyon cut by Rattlesnake Creek, with a road stuck on the side of the canyon walls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to expand. Wherever you see road, it's the road we're on.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last night.</td></tr>
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We’re back in Oregon again. Enterprise, Wallowa, Minam, and LaGrande. After another short chunk of Interstate, Starkey, Ukiah, Long Creek, and Mt. Vernon. Stayed two nights at Clyde Holliday State Park, soaking up sun and feelin’ good. We did spend one more night out, at Crane Prairie Lake down in the Cascade Lakes area southwest of Bend. A fitting last night out, with great views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters… all while watching a group of mule deer playing, socializing, lunching… right along the lakeshore in front of our campsite. The following morning we wrapped up our trip by crossing the Cascades on OR-138, having lunch at the Steamboat Inn, and following the North Umpqua river home. <br />
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16 nights, about 2600 miles, some familiar things, some new. Perhaps a little faster than we’d ideally prefer. But it’s good to be home.<br />
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A few more pics...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the Beartooth</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Along the Beartooth</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clyde Holliday State Park in Oregon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not... the only petrified wood park in South Dakota.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Lodge Ales</td></tr>
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<br />Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-11005799136283967612016-11-10T11:44:00.000-08:002016-11-10T12:03:59.885-08:00A Good Old-Fashioned Garage Raisin'Breathing life back into the old blog, we’ll make an attempt here to bring it up to date before the end of the year. Let’s see… when we last heard from anybody at Dar and Thom’s RV Sabbatical Journal the new garage at the farm was just getting started. And my eyes (both of ‘em) were healing from cataract surgery.<br />
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But there was a garage to be built. There’s no doubt things started getting a bit more frantic as all the materials for the garage were delivered in early August. Piles of materials… wood, shingles, trusses, garage door parts, windows, sheathing and siding, and much much more… were scattered around the yard in strategic locations to make access easier and yet leave room for working and maneuvering. Rain predicted for later in the delivery day made the first effort one of getting it all protected from water damage.<br />
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The following day we were on the slab and nailing walls together. During the week, the core of the crew was Dar’s brother Dennis, Dar, and me. On weekends and a few scattered days here and there we had a larger crew who wanted to be part of this good old fashioned barn raisin’. That first weekend we had access to a handy hunk of equipment, a large construction fork lift owned by a neighbor, that made short work of setting trusses and lifting plywood and shingles onto the roof. Without it, the work would have progressed much more slowly and been accompanied by twisted joints, sore muscles, and mental anguish. As it was, the structure rose quickly and was covered within a week.<br />
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Dennis is the lead guy on this job. It’s his property and he has the most carpentry experience among the rag-tag group of helpers. He’s knowledgeable but he doesn’t have a lot of time for gold-bricks, slackers, or retired guys who think their hard working days are behind them. Unfortunately, I’m all three of these things. His motto is: if the sun’s shining he wants to hear nails being driven, wood being cut, and progress being made. Seven days per week, 12 or more hours per day. There will be no breaks until it’s built. We had an incredible period of sunny weather and I couldn’t find a rainy day anywhere to save me.<br />
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Dar's Mom, Marion, was a key member of the crew too. She supplied the food and refreshments to keep the crew moving so the job would be done before the snow flies.<br />
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After about three weeks the pace did slow down somewhat. The building was almost weather tight and work evolved to puttering with problems, internal stuff like wiring and trim, and landscaping around the outside. My last job was a small “well house” built from scraps and in the style of the garage itself.<br />
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Our summer evaporated as the calendar turned to September. Time to head back west again. We left September 11.<br />
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Here are a few photos of the various crew members. And, of course, there are more pics in our <a href="https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPLiJJ_CfjpH0lG0hYbkbSBTojTBJmDhi9Q8PfYdyelm3O-WoXza78srkQDf0VkjA?key=YUlIZDZnTHJpWUFBN3NiRUV2c2lBa19oMmc5LUZR" target="_blank">online photo album</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dennis, Ralph, Thom</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thom, Dennis, Dar, Bill</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thom, Dar, Dan, Dennis, Steve, Pat, Jim, Ron</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve, Thom, Ron, Dennis</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dar and brother Steve. Pretty darned happy about a door installation.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thom, Gage, Steve, Dennis, Jon, Brooke</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our fearless leader... Dennis</td></tr>
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-6247529598982173312016-07-08T06:11:00.000-07:002016-07-08T06:11:09.158-07:00One of our Summer ProjectsJust in case someone thinks we've been resting and relaxing here at the farm this summer, here's a glimpse of a summer project we've been working on.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvVOi1kNy6S_ZTKhmMSQW6arcjCxo1Z_rI_vI4LwZ8C4pqe4B4yaeOS1rA3JHdSIKJcUYmciC6wcZ2fQH1bYql7gPUNPBhP_kcTaV7MLojAJJOQxlbxyyDwIk6QRq3wAa8SvhQA3lp8c/s1600/IMG_20160629_153112215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbvVOi1kNy6S_ZTKhmMSQW6arcjCxo1Z_rI_vI4LwZ8C4pqe4B4yaeOS1rA3JHdSIKJcUYmciC6wcZ2fQH1bYql7gPUNPBhP_kcTaV7MLojAJJOQxlbxyyDwIk6QRq3wAa8SvhQA3lp8c/s640/IMG_20160629_153112215.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-14255426042469411862016-06-27T10:30:00.000-07:002016-07-07T04:50:39.534-07:00Blackwaters break. <div dir="ltr">
Taking a break. There comes a time... every once in a while... you just gotta take a break.<br />
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-4721191864776378562016-06-22T14:30:00.000-07:002016-06-22T14:30:05.942-07:00Where’d You Get Them Peepers?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBGeMqY8ddywyozSsEGpe2jQZG7lkbSNc0Cv9BDpAqetdztlFHyuk31ELW40iYwyLENSMptWGMncmvyHrjMIMLXZvXPV1fOs7piVZEy-YnzczohwzGrQkazf44vYCNc3re_mW3UEdFfw/s1600/IMG_20160614_085117288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBGeMqY8ddywyozSsEGpe2jQZG7lkbSNc0Cv9BDpAqetdztlFHyuk31ELW40iYwyLENSMptWGMncmvyHrjMIMLXZvXPV1fOs7piVZEy-YnzczohwzGrQkazf44vYCNc3re_mW3UEdFfw/s400/IMG_20160614_085117288.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Well, it turns out this is the year. Tests and measurements of the worst eye indicated it’s time to get on with it. Wasting no time, I signed up for the next date open on the surgery calendar… about a week out. One eye would be done and the other a couple weeks later. There was a 3 day period of prep, a series of eye-drops that needed to be installed in the target eye, and the wait.<br />
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I arrived bright and early on a Tuesday and reported to surgery, my trusty patient advocate and moral support at my side. Mustering up courage and my best game-day face, I struggled to keep things light by bantering with the staff and joking around a bit to keep my mind off the chamber of horrors in the next room. It was fine. I’m going to get through this.<br />
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I don’t remember much after getting to the operating room. I climbed on the table, positioned myself where they wanted me, an injection of a drug cocktail including versed, my personal amnesiatic of choice, and I was in la-la land. Vague memories of 70s music… some conversation… the doctor talking his way through the procedure… and it was over. I’m told the procedure usually takes just 12 to 15 minutes, but it seemed like just a minute or two to me. Just another minute or two to come out of the drug stupor and I climbed down off the table and into an awaiting wheel chair for the ride to my prep room. Into a recliner, cup of coffee, and the best toast I’ve ever eaten.<br />
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One must be a little careful the first few days after cataract surgery. No bending over or heavy lifting or anything that could cause strain or raise the blood pressure. I was fine with that, mellowing in the afterglow of knowing that it was over.<br />
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Anyway, the eye healed and I was happy with the result. My previous prescription glasses no longer worked. As expected, I will need reading glasses for close-up work, but the clarity and crispness of my new vision is really something. I wonder what Alaska looks like with these new peepers?<br />
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A follow-up visit to the eye doc proved that all was going as it should for the first eye, and that the second eye would be following along just a couple weeks later. That procedure was an almost identical repeat of the first.<br />
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And now I’m done. Two eyes… two new lenses… new clearer and crisper vision. In a few more weeks I’ll get a new prescription for glasses, but I can tell already that it’s quite possible to function without any correction at all for most things. I can even read without glasses if I hold what I’m reading at a stretched arms length. A remarkable ordeal. A remarkable change for the better.<br />
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And now we’re ready to go exploring again.<br />
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-6676374985223573262016-06-21T03:44:00.000-07:002016-06-21T03:44:35.958-07:00FearMedical advancements can be divided into two separate but overlapping categories: those that improve the quality of life and those that extend the quantity, or length, of life. IOLs, Intra-Ocular Lens implants fall clearly in the former. After installation they function like the originals with no needed care or anti-rejection drugs or anything. They truly improve the quality of life with virtually no negatives at all for most people. And they haven’t been around for very long. Someone born just 50 years prior to me would’ve been largely out of luck. Other than increasingly powerful correction with decreasing results, they would have slowly lost this incredibly important human sense. Adaptation was the only remedy.<br />
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Here’s an unfortunate fact. I’m not very strong when it comes to medical procedures of almost any kind. I’ve passed out from blood draws and other needle sticks. Donating blood is a worthy cause that I’ve done, but a few times the ordeal ended with me on the floor... even after getting my cookie and orange juice. Putting eye drops in has required a team of people. Eye clinics have rarely had patients that needed so many hands to hold open the eye lids for the dreaded glaucoma test. Contact lenses were not even a consideration when I needed glasses. So, the idea of surgery on my eye was simply off-the-chart. Fear, even baseless fear, is a powerful force.<br />
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But the prospect of going blind is an even more powerful force. A force that’ll make even the weak strong. And, over time, I came to accept, even look forward to, the idea that someone would be sticking a hot poker into my eye, shattering and sucking out the old lens, and sliding a new plastic replacement in through the hole made by the hot poker. And all this, mind you, while I’m awake? Really?Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-53799139090459313812016-06-20T07:08:00.000-07:002016-06-21T03:45:14.393-07:00Me and My Eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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New eyes. Well, at least new lenses. The original lenses, the ones that came with this body, were rapidly becoming a problem (cataracts), and my big hope as we drove into Wisconsin this year was that I’d be able to have them replaced during our visit this year.<br />
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Beaver Dam was (is?) our hometown. We both grew up here. But like so many kids who grew up in small towns, we couldn’t wait to get out into the bigger world beyond the borders of our little town. For some, like me, who weren’t particularly “popular” in high school, that desire to get away was probably also driven by a chance to start over, to hit the reset button.<br />
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Fast forward through most of our working years… which were coming to an end while we lived in Geneva Illinois. This is when, after a long period of soul-searching and deliberation, we decided to chuck it all and hit the road as full time RVers. That’s a story for another time. At any rate, we needed an official place to get mail, file taxes, and other such administrivia, so we took an address in Beaver Dam and that’s been our “official home” since. It’s where our doctors, dentists, and other medical shit happens. And included in that grouping would be my eye doctor.<br />
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I’ve known I had cataracts brewing for some years, but only in the past couple years has the situation degraded to the point where my quality of life was affected. Last summer, just prior to our Alaska and Yukon trip, tests indicated one eye was almost ready. Close, but not quite. As it would have screwed up our big summer trip, I was happy to put it off. But this year I was really ready. I want to see clearly again.<br />
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-69319000855679541862016-05-12T21:30:00.000-07:002016-07-07T09:17:35.221-07:00Into Wisconsin and our Summer Home - Day 10Thursday, May 12<br />
Our last traveling day for this leg of our travels. Usually looking for new routes we hadn't taken before, we took IA-3 from the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area to Dubuque. Now we're back to our original stomping grounds.<br />
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And first on the agenda, now that we're "home", is a stop for lunch in Potosi WI, at the famous Potosi Brewing Company. Enjoyable, as always. We learned that they have a penchant for hiring brewmasters named Steve. They're on their third one.<br />
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Learned that Dar's Mom and Dad, our hosts for the summer, were having visitors tonight. Bill and Nancy who spend the summers in the UP of Michigan would be stopping by and spending the night. On our way into town we stopped for a few dinner supplies, and arrived at our summer home about 4pm.<br />
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Recap:<br />
This trip from Oregon to Wisconsin was 10 days (9 nights on the road). It was 2,473 miles. The F350 used 199.8 gallons of gas ($436), got 12.4 mpg. We camped for 5 nights, motels for 4 nights. 9 nights averaged $44 per night. Gas, camping, and motels totaled $830.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOxJdBJzGa6B2MVg4W2XK-oDL7oUXTlqCm3f9MFFOF7X5bs-WbUGRu83Lc5f5U9coSnnEJ7gvqFCDjg4gehHtWGUBvOgHsMXkZvniBeSfgkxk7a9rnevF9n9GbMNKgY93SNUf0uXWmOg/s1600/IMG_20160528_184818879_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOxJdBJzGa6B2MVg4W2XK-oDL7oUXTlqCm3f9MFFOF7X5bs-WbUGRu83Lc5f5U9coSnnEJ7gvqFCDjg4gehHtWGUBvOgHsMXkZvniBeSfgkxk7a9rnevF9n9GbMNKgY93SNUf0uXWmOg/s640/IMG_20160528_184818879_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dark Nasty Cloud that followed us from Oregon. </td></tr>
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Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-3954114465342680702016-05-11T21:30:00.000-07:002016-07-07T08:42:46.190-07:00Into Iowa - Day 9Wednesday, May 11<br />
When a couple travelers (us for example) travel from west to east across the continental United States, one runs the risk of getting under a nasty dark cloud and then following it all the way to your destination. Weather generally moves from west to east too. It's just the way it is.<br />
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Much quieter morning after the fireworks last night. Continued on US-30 into Iowa, crossing the Missouri River between Blair NE and Missouri Valley IA. Mostly cloudy all day today... that dark cloud mentioned in the preceding paragraph.<br />
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Just east of Ames, picked up US-65 north to US-20 east. Not much to report about the drive today. It is Iowa after all. Oh... we did stop in Carroll IA for lunch at a Culvers.<br />
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We have some friends who live in Cedar Falls IA so we thought that'd be a good place to stop for the night. Weather was still "iffy" (that same cloud) so a motel seemed like the right choice once again. Attempts to reach our friends were eventually rewarded with a return call. They had just gotten off a cruise ship to some exotic destination and wouldn't be home for a few more days. I treated my sweetie to dinner at the truckstop next door to the motel, which had an incredible selection of pre-made sandwiches and roller dogs and even more. Then settled into our motel bed and fell fast asleep... by 8pm. High living indeed.Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448018424986632638.post-45921701863148565812016-05-10T21:30:00.000-07:002016-07-07T08:22:31.392-07:00Through Nebraska, Stormy Night - Day 8Tuesday, May 10<br />
A nice quiet morning, partly sunny. No wind. A long day today as we follow US-30 east, through North Platte, Lexington, Kearney, and Grand Island. The temperature was climbing as the day wore on, and could only be described as "hot" when we stopped in Central City for an ice cream cone. A little further on, near Columbus, we checked out some possible camps, none of which was agreeable to us. Tired, hot, a dearth of camping possibilities, and increasingly threatening weather prompted us to "call an audible" and check into a Days Inn on the east side of Columbus.<br />
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Weather continued to deteriorate, heavy weather warnings were issued, and between watching out the window and keeping an eye on the weather radar we entertained ourselves until things settled down late in the evening. Nature provided entertainment is usually preferable to what's on the tube these days. Decided our decision to motel it tonight was the right choice.<br />
<br />Thom Hochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11368996158606255101noreply@blogger.com