Poofect Ending ….

to an amazing weekend. I have a feeling our travels this year will be filled with humor, and ‘that really happened’ blogs. I say this with a smile and a shake of the head.

I had such a great time hanging in Anza Borrego and I have photos to prove it. I am working on editing and sharing those here and on facebook. This however is too juicy not to share ahead of those posts. As you know there is always a back story and lead up so let me start.

I woke up this morning, Monday, thinking what a full couple of days time to pack up and head home. I get dressed and think what should I wear jeans tennis shoes or sandals and shorts. We have to do the black tank and that is always messy so I decided on shorts and sandals. (SMART Move). Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the loading of the car, breakfast, finishing packing up, even getting Roy up. I am pleasantly surprised thinking we might get out of here way earlier then I thought. I have started helping with the outside when I can, today was one of those days. This is where Murphy showed up, I did invite him though unwittingly. I learned it is like saying quiet or slow in the OR. So here goes

I get the electric cord picked up and put away (so glad that I did),
Put my gloves on
Take out the sewer hose.
Made sure the hose connections are tight and secure
Gave the gate handles on both tanks an extra push to make sure they were closed

Those are all the right steps and I’m whipping through them. I squat down with the hose in my hand and am getting ready to connect the hose. People who know me know that squatting and balance and me can be an interesting combo. I am so glad I listened to the little voice in my head that said adjust your stance and where your feet are. Roy, put a cap on the sewer pipe that had a handle so it is easier to twist off, that is what I did. As I go to turn the handle I hear a gush, I struggle to get the cap on without getting covered in poo I did. I also experienced the longest 30 seconds of my life. The only thought that went through my head was OH CRAP!! The next thought was glad I didn’t shower last night.

This could have been so much worse.

I only got my sandals messy
I did not fall on my butt in the liquid mess
I had shorts on so I didn’t have to change
This was at the campsite not the dump station
Only a little came out

I share this for a couple of reasons: 1st it is funny, I didn’t get hurt, it wasn’t that messy. 2nd if you have full hook-ups at your campsite you should hook up the sewer hose and leave the gate handle closed when you arrive. As I am still shaking my head Roy is cleaning the site with a hose, so it doesn’t stink for the next camper. All I have to say you are not camping until you have a mess to clean up. Next up PICTURES.

The Long Story….

about why I hated this morning phone call. This is just a tongue in cheek rant so read on.

A little background. I get all of my healthcare through the VA (Veterans Adminstration) I am blessed for this. After the age of 50 a person should have preventive test like mammograms and such. Mine right now is the and such. So no worries. I had my yearly health check up this past September so consults were put in for all these test.

Skip to October and because of COVID the clinic is doing all of the preop appointments virtually I’m ok with this. So I have that appointment and get told that no tests are being done unless you are bleeding. So I’m thinking December maybe. It is finally scheduled for early May.

Fast forward to this morning, Saturday. I had an awesome night on Friday coupled with a full day which made me bone tired. Not even 9am (I rolled into bed at about 5am) the phone rings, I answered it and hear this perky voice on the other end. My first thought was how much coffee have you had, I had none, brain not functioning. I get over that first hurdle realize it is not someone trying to reach me about my extended car warrenty.

Now onto the appointment, I want early; so we start with how far do you live I say about 55 miles. You live less then 60 so on Saturday you will have to come to the hospital for a COVID test. What is my other choice I live 60 miles from the hospital. I am answering these questions by trying to get the answer out of a sleeping Roy, I don’t even know where I am when I don’t get my beauty sleep. Well, then you have to come an hour before your scheduled test. A rapid COVID test will be given. So far so good we settle on 7am, that means 6am for the test; yes and it takes an hour for the results. Then she informs me that the lab doesn’t open until 6:30am. So I’m trying to wrap my head around how I can have my test at 7am and still be able to get the results back. You can’t she said but we will still make it for 7am. So in my mind I’m thinking I would be throwing off a whole days schedule I was an OR tech for way too long. I am also thinking I am way too tired for this. Bottom line we found a day where I will be there at 6:30am so the tests can go on.

On to the instructions this is where I am starting to feel bad for her, because it was like she had a step by step flowchart and she could not miss a step. I even asked if this would be in the information sent out she said yes. I then asked if it would be ok if she could let me go. I explained I was too tired to function. Guess what! She continued like I said nothing, to go on with her steps. So I just let her speak because there was no way to stop her. At this point I came to the conclusion she was trying to reach me about my extended car warranty or another prerecorded message. Amazing though how hard it is to grasp things when you are half asleep.

In the end she was finally done and a call that felt like an hour was really only 15 minutes, but a very painful 15 minutes. It is all good, I was able to stay up and some pictures and a blog up.

I hope you enjoyed this little story about my morning cal. Out again tonight for some more photos.

So Many …

Titles for this

Last night was awesome
I hate morning phone calls
An almost all nighter
Wow – This used to be easier.
More fun then Sex (Almost)

So you ask what was more fun then Sex (Almost). I have to say the start of milky way shooting season for me. The opening act is happening at Anza Borrego State Park in California. Even after helping to pack up and set up in near triple digits. On a side note: I have learned so much over the last year, that I am waiting to try in my photos. I owe credit to Roy who gave me the inspiration, NPAN (National Parks at Night) for the great learning materials (and conference), there will be others I will give a shout out to along the way this year.

Yes, getting ready to go places with the camper, and staying up late used to be easier. I also used to be younger and a size 4. (LOL) I am glad I have the ability and desire though to pull an almost all nighter and be able to help get things done for camping and adventures. I have to admit it was not an all nighter as I did take a nap in the late evening. Now a quick word on why I hate morning phone calls. After only 4 hours of sleep, phone rings and it is someone who is way too perky. Long story short I am getting scheduled for a routine screening test that has been put off for 6 months due to COVID protocols. (See upcoming blog post).

Last night was truly AWESOME!

After getting the tripod set up, taking some test shots and figuring out an approach to the night I was able to just sit and be still. I am not sure I’ve experienced a quiet like that in a very long time. I do know that this summer there will be darker and quieter night shoots but this was my first time. Speaking of first times, it was also my first time shooting the milky way with very little light pollution and I think I have seen a new shade of black. Being still I heard an owl, plus a bunch of coyotes (I got nervous). But I enjoyed this so much, and can’t wait to experience it more this summer. I do want to clarify that Roy did get out of the car a few times to look at the sky. (in between snores).

I will leave you with a few of my unedited photos. I was able to work on stacking the photos. I took numerous pictures of the same thing with the same settings and used software to combine them. I also took a picture of the Milky Way over the town of Borrego Springs, so even with some light pollution you can still see the Milky Way.

Enjoy, the quiet.

Tis the Season!

No silly not that season, Milky Way season. Although that season is fast approaching, it is already April. Ok I’m a month late it started last month. I am heading out to Anza Borrego State Park this week to photograph the milky way and if it is not too hot maybe some daylight photos. (I don’t know 97 on Saturday). It is way too early for it to be this hot. Sorry, I had to whine a little; I’m just glad we planned ahead and have reservations for this summer. More blogs and photos coming your way.

We did go out on a scouting mission to check out the campground and the area. I will write more about the sculptures and post pictures if the weather is doable. (I’ve packed my ice vest). Check just a few of the sculptures in Galleta Meadows I borrow this from California Through My Lens website. He has some great travel escapes.

I have also been photographing the full moon as promised, just have not gotten my butt in gear to post the pictures. See some of them below. It is sometimes worth the effort to photograph the moon the day before when there is still light for the foreground, I did that in my February’s picture I actually shot the moon the 2 nights before so you can see the difference. Slam Dunk I am imagining that it will make a basket. The other photo from February I used part of a tree for a moon holder. We were at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Arizona for those moon shots. I am starting to think outside of the box when it comes to taking photographs. March found me at home so I tried my first blend as I could not get the day before the full moon shot to work. The Coachella Valley has welcomed back Desert X which is an outdoor art exhibit placed throughout the valley. (one is right near where I shoot the moon. ) So for March I did a creep over the mountain shot and a blend shot.

This summer I am planning on getting back on the horse so to speak. I plan on more posts and more pictures of Roy and mine crazy adventures. I might even throw in some thoughtful posts in the future.