Friday, October 24, 2008

Cold As A Witch's...

Halloween is drawing close fast as evidenced by the pre-departure weather at our Ohio base camp. The work we stayed back to complete with the vehicles did get accomplished, but only after the wrong parts were sent and we made some adjustments to things. But those temperatures! It was, as they say, "Cold as a witch's whatchamacallit." Our final morning there, the ground was white with a hard frost and the wind was whipping the brown leaves all over the place. It was nasty. I was glad to hear the rumble of the diesel as we warmed her up and headed her out.

A three day run for North Carolina was planned and at the end of day one we pulled into West Virginia to much milder weather. By morning though, the damp and cold had caught up to us and after a day of drizzle on day two, we arrived in the mountains of Virginia to full on rain and dismal cold. If weather were the only concern, I guess we wouldn't really have any - concerns that is. But somewhere in the last couple weeks we must have developed an alignment problem on the coach and we are putting undue wear on the front right tire. It's to the point where I think it must be addressed sooner rather than later so we're trying to line something up for as soon as we hit NC. I hope it won't be a big deal and involve a lot of time, but it's gotta get done and done right. There's a lot riding on those tires. Just so it doesn't take all our quality prospecting time away from our Vein Mountain stay. We need a good Michelin dealer with a lift big enough to do a front end alignment on the Dutchstar.

Two years ago, when we took delivery of the coach, there was a slash in one of the original tires. It took an act of Congress to locate a tire to make the exchange - that's how new the Michelin tire was at that point in time. But now it's two years later. They should be in stock everywhere. Only they are NOT. Why? I can't yet say. But not locating the tire you need when you need it does present a real issue- so hopefully we can dispense with this with all due haste. The ride is SOOOO much smoother when all 8 of the tires are in place.

And a while back I reported that we had to return a Garmin 7200 GPS for exchange. Seems it couldn't find the satellites right out of the box. The company it was purchased through is dragging its feet (and everything else it can drag) and still hasn't produced any measure of help at all. I sent the unit back to Garmin directly and they have received it, but so far they haven't done anything either. So much for no down time for a regular customer. I hope they come through soon. If not, the pen, if not the sword, will go to work. Actually, I have no sword....but I do have two machetes, if that's any help!

A further word about our overnight stop in West Virginia. Most of the campgrounds around the area where we needed to stop for the night are closed for the season. The one remaining choice was called Rippling Waters of God Campground. It sounded a bit extreme for an RV park but, hey, it was available. A large property actually, lakes, plenty of camp sites, a convention center, a large country church, an adorable little chapel on one of the lakes. And in fact it was a Church of God campground facility. Same rules as all other RV parks- but add no swearing, no smoking, no drinking, and no " a few other things." It's OK. After the day I had I wasn't looking to do any of those things anyhow. It was a good place to sleep! And while we didn't think the place lived up to its name, we can all agree that naming it "Putrefied Green Algae Bloom Lake Manor" would have been going too far in the opposite direction. Too many ducks is so not a good thing!


Tuesday, October 21, 2008

"Q" Is For Quigley

Meet the newest member of the family. It's our new Quigley. It's a full size Chevy Express Cargo Van with a Duramax Diesel engine that has been lifted 4 inches and made into a rugged 4X4 at the Quigley Motors plant in Manchester, PA. It's pretty much the same color as the Honda Odyssey that is still pictured on the banner of the blog (at least until I find a great locale for the next "family portrait," but that's pretty much where the comparison ends. This big ole bad boy can traverse up to 24 inches of water, lug nearly twice the weight, and boldly go where no Honda has gone. It should be great for our mining and kayaking activities, allowing us to continue on in many of the places where in the past we had to turn around and settle for less than the intended adventure. No more- or so one would think!

We picked it up as a demo with 512 miles on it from Quigley Motors. Mrs. Quigley herself signed the papers and provided us with beautifully stitched t-shirts with the company logo. Nice shirts, but don't begin to get the looks and comments that the "Quigster" gets. One guy offered to trade me his truck for it the first day or so I had it. Good luck with that trade, pal! A couple people have admired it but made a face about the perceived mileage I must be getting. Actually, so far I have been getting 17.8 mpg and that's before the breakin occurs at which time the mileage on a diesel engine usually increases noticeably. This is better than I had anticipated, so for now- it's all good. We had some shelves built into the cargo area and the process, as you can see from the pictures, of reorganizing our "stuff" has begun in earnest. It's a daunting task, but so far so good.

You'll notice, no doubt, that everything is packed to the sides. That is so the ATV, which was "out" being fitted with a winch and hitch here in Ohio for these pictures could be loaded in the back when we are ready to head out in the next day or so. I'll give you a "look see"at that next time around.

I'm still tagging the posts "change of plans." The van work and the fitting of the atv was scheduled to be done in PA but that schedule had to be juggled for more important matters. Living full time in a coach, towing all your belongings along for the ride, is rather like trying to set up 10,000 dominoes to be knocked down in rapid fire succession on cue when the first of the little blocks is tipped. Only this is like doing that on a sheet of plywood that has a vibrating sander being applied to its underbelly. When one piece of the schedule needs to be changed, so does nearly everything that follows. That can create the same tussle and hassle to your schedule that driving down a rough road does to your front end alignment. Some folks can do that lifestyle aimlessly roaming from place to place as the spirit moves. That takes a special kind of person and we are not that type of person. Need a bit more planning and structure. It sounds wonderful, but the more you think about it, the more you have to figure it would cause a whole lot more stress than it would relieve. Our friends the Gulds sign all their correspondence with this motto, which I do my level-headed best to keep in mind when something, anything, goes differently that I had expected: "Blessed be the Flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape." I'm better than I used to be! Anyway, the point is we are still playing catch up with chores and waiting for things to be done, but which need doing, that are out of our control.

We intended to spend three or four days prospecting in Belleville on a GPAA claim while we were in Ohio. That will have to wait for the next time. Without the winch mounted on the front of the ATV, I'd never get it back up the ramp by myself to load it back into the van. With one inch clearance on each side and one inch of clear headroom when it comes back in (it's a van - not a truck, not a trailer), driving it up the ramp would be a mistake of colossal proportion. Talk about losing your head! And since there likely would not be anyone else there to help with loading, we sit and wait for the job to get completed at the local Honda dealer- who had to order the mounting bracket and hitch. Not there isn't plenty to get done while we wait.

But not to worry, next stop is Vein Mountain, North Carolina, where we attended an LDMA outing previously, and where we felt very much at home. Great place. Great people. Wonderful little town. We'll be there fora nice long stay- at least by our roaming gypsy standards. Now if only they had a good cell phone signal there. Last time I had to climb the mountain every time I wanted to make a call. Good exercise, you say? OK.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Remember Ronco ?

The guy's name is Ron Popeil and I guess he has invented at least half of all the neat gadgets that you will ever see advertised on TV in those now famous infomercials. The rotisserie grill, the steak knives that never need sharpening, hairspray, jerky machine and dehydrator, and yes, the pocket fisherman- a rod and reel combo so small it fits in your glove compartment. To tell the truth, I've been using the dehydrator ( I actually have two of them with extra drying racks) for decades now and I wouldn't wish to face life without them. That may be a bit of a stretch, but hyperbole makes great points, don't you think? Any way, I don't bring up the Ronco deal because of the products but because of the "slogan" of the product line: "Set it and Forget it!"

And I got to thinking about this phrase as we drove from Pennsylvania to Dayton, Ohio, for the GPAA Gold Show at the Coliseum at the Montgomery County Fair Grounds. The Dutchstar was hauling a new combo behind. While in PA attending to all that needed attending to we also traded vehicles so instead of the trusted and trustworthy Honda Odyssey that we have towed for the last two years, we are now towing a full size Chevy Express 4X4 van. It alone weighs in at something like 2000 pounds heavier than the Odyssey, an addition to the load not to be ignored. Then into the back of the van we drove (not to ever be without a Honda) a new Rincon 4X4 ATV which adds another 600 plus or minus pounds. Would it be too much? Would it slow us down? Would it take an already frightful fuel mileage stat and make it ever the worse??? No, No, Nanette. Everything remained the same over the two day drive from there to here. In fact, everything went perfectly smoothly. It felt good. It was comfortable and reassuring. And it meant that Marilyn, the more conservative of the two of us on this matter of change, was not presented with the opportunity to say, "See?" At least not yet. I always allow for the possibility (though I may deny it publicly) that she will be, sooner or later, more right than I! But the point was: Nothing bad happened. There was no element of "down" in the trip. The weather was good. The road was good and straight. Even the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the road I have long blacklisted as America's worst highway, had a new toll booth that I could actually drive through to get my ticket without having to put vaseline on the outside of the rear view mirrors on the coach so I could squeeze the beast through the turnstile. Everything went right. Cruising! And I thought to myself, "Just like Ronco! Set it and forget it!"

But back to Ohio. Captain Larry, Carol, Jim, Phoebe, Rick, Judy- the Ohio/Florida friend set. No more truth to the "no blog posts from Ohio" thing! We're here. The Gold Show was a smaller operation than some of the others we have been to, but the day was great no matter what. Here in Ohio we met up with Don and Balinda, prospecting friends we met in Michigan. Bill and June too from Athens, Michigan. Then we palled around with a whole bunch of other friends that we made in Georgia, North Carolina and other places we have prospected. Our friends from Mississippi, Marge and Dutch, couldn't make it to the show, so we gave them a call from the hall and made the connection. Yes, we love looking for gold! Some people think it is a mineral. True, but as we say in the GPAA, the real gold is not in the dirt, but in the people we meet and the friends we make and keep.
Tom Massey, his wife Cindy, all the kids and much of the national crew were in attendance. Ken Rucker, general manager of GPAA kept things moving nicely. What a fun guy. And what a memory. He remembers not only the name of everyone he ever met on sight, but also where and when he saw you last. It's an amazing skill (wish I could do that) and one which serves the organization well. Between Ken and Tom- every member of this organization feels pretty darn special about their membership.

Since we cover the gold shows and regular outings of both the GPAA and the LDMA on a regular basis, I'll throw a slide show up for you rather than single shots. Enjoy:


Regular Readers Feature

Google Blogspot is availing bloggers of another new feature and I have added it to the sidebar just below the "What's Going On" bio paragraph. I wasn't sure if I wanted to add it or not but since someone signed on to our "Regular Readers" - followers of this blog- before I got a chance to decide, I just went ahead and put it up there. Thanks Mark and Chris!

It's nice to know there are people out there who appreciate the work enough to follow along. It's the reason, at least one of them, that makes it worth doing. And since this adds the element of getting to know who some of those people are- a new dimension is added to the mix. Prior to this, I could go onto Google Analytics and find out all kinds of interesting info about the numbers of people reading the blog, the length of time they read, the countries where they are reading, how many of the posts they read...and on and on. But it never provided a name or a face to the reader - and to me that might just be the single most important feedback I can get.

So please - if you read the blog, like the blog, follow the blog regularly, or even once in a while when you can, won't you please sign on as one of our regulars. Simply go the "Regular Readers" feature on the sidebar and click on "Follow this blog." The pop up screen will walk you through the rest of the steps. You can provide as much or as little info as you like, a picture, an icon, whatever. Just click the orange "FOLLOW" button when you're done. We'd be honored to show your interest in Gundyville!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Back In The Saddle Again...And A Flashback Of Sorts

It's just a "blog blurb." Betcha can't say that 5 time fast. (But if you can, hold the tip of your tongue and try it again.) Sounds like my old pal Bruce singing his "Blah Blah Blah" song!

Thanks to all of you who inquired as to what may or may not be wrong- since we have been admittedly laying low of late. Family matters take precedence over all else and that is primarily what has occupied our recent weeks. But in addition to that, we traded vehicles, changed health insurance carriers, picked up an ATV (Marilyn thinks of it as her new "donkey" for prospecting), purchased a new GPS for the new van (remains to be seen how that's gonna work out as so far the darn thing can't find the satellites - more on that later!!!) There was a lot else going on, but the basic theme is that there was hardly enough free time to think, let alone write. Not to worry though, as material has been building up and I hope to get myself (and you) caught up as best I can and as soon as I can.

Writing tonight from south of Pittsburgh on our way to the GPAA Gold Show in Dayton, Ohio, where we hope to meet up with a bunch of our prospecting buddies. That is always a good time! Fortunately the pc card makes a good connection here, as does their wifi- as opposed to the connectivity in Hershey which makes a 5 minute e mail check an all night affair. Thinking about that I understand while I'm so gosh darn tired right about now. Hopefully, the connection will be merciful, if not marvelous, over our week long stay in Ohio and I can keep my word to catch up on matters.

Flashback a moment here: we left North Conway, New Hamshire rather abruptly for reasons already discussed. I never did the town the justice of a few comments, so permit me to do that here. NICE TOWN! Beautiful actually. Our campground, Saco River Camping Area, was superb for a number of reasons. We were camped right on the Saco River. The campground is large and spacious, has more "green" space than any campground we have ever stopped at. It was well run and we were having a wonderful time there when the necessity to leave arose. Our stay had been prepaid. A done deal. No refund for an abrupt departure was expected, but the management went over and above, quite voluntarily on their part I must say, to work with us on the financial end of matters. What a wonderful surprise and a pleasant thing to have happen in a time when everyone has to be thinking about where the next buck will come from. Having been in retail much of my life, I understand how hard one has to swallow when a refund is made for reasons not of your own making. But this they did- and I assure you we will make their kindness and their sense of fairness up to them when we are back in that neck of the woods. And speaking of woods- the campground is surrounded by a mature woods- lots of big trees. Feels like the boondocks!. But in truth it is only a block or so off the main drag and you can WALK to literally hundreds of outlets stores or eateries. They are nicely designed. Big enough to offer a wide array of product but not so big that you run out of energy just working you way from the parking lot to the building. And you will find an outlet store for just about every product line you can think of. Terrific prices in a quaint New England style and setting. It's a year 'round place- shopping, swimming, boating and some of the best skiing in this part of the country.

A giant thank you to Saco River Camping Area for their generous consideration of our circumstance! We send you commendations and our friends and readers recommendations to stay at your fine facility!

The outlets themselves are organized and set in groups- each one as nice as the last. Here's a sample:

ACCESSORIES & JEWELRY


Telephone
Map Location

Brooks Brothers

356-4418
G20

Claire's Accessories

603-356-9285
D18

Hair Excitement

603-356-5500
D46

Hatley Nature Outlet

603-356-8100
A10

Lane Bryant Outlet

603-356-4150
J10

Lids

603-356-2131
D50

Paper Factory

603-356-8375
D58

Samsonite

356-2864
B2

Sunglass Hut

603-356-6618
D23

The Children's Place

356-6700
A14

Time Factory Watch Outlet

603-356-8111
D52

Wilson's Leather Outlet

603-356-5503
B14

Zales, The Diamond Store, Outlet

603-356-5225
B18


FASHION & INTIMATE APPAREL


Telephone
Map Location

adidas

603-527-0968
H40

Aeropostale

603-356-7360
D54

Banana Republic

603-356-6630
B54

Bass Outlet

603-356-5119
A20

Brooks Brothers

356-4418
G20

Dress Barn Outlet

603-356-2040
D32

Dress Barn Woman

603-356-2040
D40

Eddie Bauer

603-356-5160
D2

Haggar Outlet

603-356-5609
B34

Hanes Brands

603-356-7117
E11

Hatley Nature Outlet

603-356-8100
A10

J. Crew Factory Store

603-356-9228
C18

J. Jill Outlet

603-356-8830
B22

Jockey

603-356-0208
D14

Lane Bryant Outlet

603-356-4150
J10

Maidenform Outlet

603-356-9449
D20

Nike Factory Store

603-356-5988
E12

Norm Thompson

603-356-8952
D8

Old Navy Retail

603-356-8099
J01

Orvis Factory Store

603-356-2111
F

Pacific Sunwear

603-356-6137
I10

Reebok

603-356-2401
I40

rue21

603-356-9234
B10

The Gap Outlet

603-356-8690
E10

Tommy Hilfiger

603-356-3785
G10

Van Heusen

603-356-7593
H10

Wilson's Leather Outlet

603-356-5503
B14

Woolrich

603-356-0490
I20


GIFTS, TOYS & SPECIALTY


Telephone
Map Location

Bass Outlet

603-356-5119
A20

Book Warehouse

603-356-2130
C8

Brookstone Outlet

603-356-7782
D28

Cape Cod Crafters

603-356-8361
C22

Dress Barn Outlet

603-356-2040
D32

Eddie Bauer

603-356-5160
D2

Hair Excitement

603-356-5500
D46

Harry and David Outlet

603-356-2128
D12

KB Toy Outlet

603-356-8962
B48

Lids

603-356-2131
D50

Lindt

603-356-8291
C12

Music 4 Less

603-356-6233
B46

Orvis Factory Store

603-356-2111
F

Paper Factory

603-356-8375
D58

Reed & Barton

603-356-3740
B30

Samsonite

356-2864
B2

Solutions

603-356-8952
D6

Stonewall Kitchen

603-356-3342
C14

Sunglass Hut

603-356-6618
D23

The Children's Place

356-6700
A14

Time Factory Watch Outlet

603-356-8111
D52

Yankee Candle

603-356-7955
D24

Zales, The Diamond Store, Outlet

603-356-5225
B18


HOME FURNISHINGS


Telephone
Map Location

Brookstone Outlet

603-356-7782
D28

Cape Cod Crafters

603-356-8361
C22

Kitchen Collection

603-356-7137
C2

Orvis Factory Store

603-356-2111
F

Pfaltzgraff

603-356-6502
H35

Reed & Barton

603-356-3740
B30

Solutions

603-356-8952
D6


SHOES


Telephone
Map Location

adidas

603-527-0968
H40

Bass Outlet

603-356-5119
A20

Factory Brand Shoes

603-356-7950
A2

Journeys

603-356-2876
H30

Nike Factory Store

603-356-5988
E12

Reebok

603-356-2401
I40

Rockport

603-356-2401
I40

The Children's Place

356-6700
A14


CHILDREN’S SHOES & APPAREL


Telephone
Map Location

adidas

603-527-0968
H40

Aeropostale

603-356-7360
D54

Bass Outlet

603-356-5119
A20

Carter's Childrenswear

603-356-5722
B38

Factory Brand Shoes

603-356-7950
A2

Gymboree Outlet

603-356-3282
H20

Hatley Nature Outlet

603-356-8100
A10

Journeys

603-356-2876
H30

Nike Factory Store

603-356-5988
E12

Old Navy Retail

603-356-8099
J01

OshKosh B'Gosh

603-356-8937
I 30

Pacific Sunwear

603-356-6137
I10

Reebok

603-356-2401
I40

Rockport

603-356-2401
I40

Stride Rite

603-356-6677
D19

The Children's Place

356-6700
A14

The Gap Outlet

603-356-8690
E10


FOOD & DRINK


Telephone
Map Location

Brandli's Outdoor Bistros



CT1

Brandli's Pasta, Pizza & Grille!

603-356-7878
A28

Dancers Cafè

603-356-9456
D10

Harry and David Outlet

603-356-2128
D12

Lindt

603-356-8291
C12

Stonewall Kitchen

603-356-3342
C14

OH! Did I mention there is NO Sales Tax in New Hampshire ?