Quartzsite. Propane Leaks. Fuel Tanks. Hashburgers. Veterans Day Free. Cost To RV? Sistine Chapel. President's House. Prissy Laps from Dish! Wild Hogs.

 

For “tRaVersing Thursday, or RV Day:

Quartzsite RV show gets ready for year 30.

Claims "largest show" title.

Aerial view of the huge show tent.

“This tiny desert town just east of the California border, is preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its annual Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show, which its promoters claim draws the largest crowds of any RV show in North America.

The show takes place in and around a 70,000 square-foot tent a half mile south of I-10 on U.S. 95. This year's event runs January 19 to 27. Admission and parking are free. The attendance for the 2011 show was estimated at well over 100,000 with more than 400 exhibits inside the huge tent and surrounding it. "There will be hundreds of new and used RV's on display in 2013 and over a dozen service bays will be offering immediate installation, repairs and service on many of the items that will be exhibited at the show," said promoter Kenny King.”     More at: http://www.rvnewsservice.com/2012/10/quartzsite-rv-show-gets-ready-for-year.html

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New RV has propane leaks. Why? What to do?

Dear Gary,
”My one-year old travel trailer developed severe propane leaks around both service pigtails leading to the trailer's 30 pound propane tanks.

This was discovered after the very first filling of tanks and then remounting them. In one year the original vinyl hose became hardened and was spinning on the hose barbs connecting to the central regulator/tank switch assembly, despite the swaged-on collar. Leaks were also observed where the hose connected to the green knurled-knob tank fitting.”   Read the remainder of the question and Gary's response.

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Bill's Hints    Fuel tanks

“Keep your fuel tank(s) full when not on the road. Moisture in the form of water vapor can enter by way of the tank vents as evening temperatures drop. When the vapor condenses, it forms water. The more empty space, the faster water collects. Water rusts fuel tanks and rust flakes clog up your filters.” -- From Motorhomes Made Easy

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Random RV Thought
“If you brew coffee or another hot liquid, put it in a Thermos rather than reheat it over and over. You will save propane or use of your generator.”

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Day-Before-Payday Burgers

“Everyone is feeling the pinch these days but most of the “budget”  recipes I find in the women’s magazines today focus on beans, pasta and vegetables.  It’s getting tiresome. For a change I went to some old cookbooks to see how our Grandmothers managed.

Don’t quit camping! It’s the most fun for the least money, especially when you serve simple recipes like this one.

15-ounce can roast beef hash or corned beef hash
Flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 slices pineapple
4 hamburger buns
Dijon-style mustard
4 slices American cheese

If possible, chill the hash for easier cutting. Remove hash from the can and cut or shape it into 4 patties. Spread a little flour on a paper plate and add a little pepper if you like but no salt. Dip patties in flour on both sides and brown until crispy in not oil in a nonstick skillet. You could skip the flour but it makes for a crustier patty.
Brown pineapple slices on both sides in the same skillet. Place a pineapple slice atop each hashburger and top with a slice of cheese , allowing heat from the pan to melt it. 
“Butter” cut buns with a little mustard, or your choice of dressings, add hashburgers and eat at once. Serves 4.”       From: http://rvcooking.rvtravel.com/2012/10/a-bountiful-recipe-for-budget-camping.html     By Janet Groene's

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Full-time RVing Tip

“Food Souvenirs Don't Waste Space -- RVers like to buy souvenirs, just like other travelers do. But, where do you put them? One answer is to buy your souvenirs at the grocery store, farmer's market, or shop that sells foodstuffs. In Georgia, we bought Vidalia onion salad dressing. In Alaska, we bought salmon and reindeer sausage. In Louisiana, it was Cajun seasoning mix. If you want something that can be kept, look for foods that come in decorative tins that you can keep and use for something else.”

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Fees Free During Veterans Day Weekend! USFS & BLM.

“The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are waiving fees at most day-use recreation sites over Veterans Day weekend in honor of U.S. veterans and members of the U.S. armed forces. More at: http://www.blm.gov/or/news/files/OR-11-20_VeteransDayJointRelease.pdf

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

• November 10-12  Veterans Day weekend

“Here's a tip - 264 of your 398 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee. So start Planning Your Visit!

If you're planning a trip that includes multiple national parks, you might consider the $80 annual pass that provides entrance to all national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and many other Federal lands -- more than 2,000 in all. This America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass is offered free to all active duty military members and their dependents. Information on these and other pass options is available online”    From: http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

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Saving money on the road: Many states offer special rates for seniors or state residents

“How to find these special rates

Check as you go from state to state as some states alter their rates based on their current visitation, such as in Arizona where some state parks will offer seven days if you pay for five if they are not full.

When you visit a state park check with rangers or office personnel for any special rates being offered. You can find official information on the park’s we site, but some deals are made only at the individual park. Offer to do some park clean-up, maintenance, or other volunteer services in trade for a free campsite.”       More at: http://blog.rv.net/2012/10/saving-money-on-the-road-many-states-offer-special-rates-for-seniors-or-state-residents/

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What does it cost to RV? Answer: Whatever budget you have to work with.

“There is a whole lot of cost difference between the young family that invested in a second-hand pop-up tent trailer and the retired couple that sold their mega-mansion and invested in a rig designed for fulltiming.  And fulltiming here is their definition–something as close to their standard of living as they can get in an RV.

The answer to how-much-does-RVing-cost lies within the definition of your version of RVing. If you enjoy–and plan on continuing–eating out in the country’s restaurants, your food cost will be substantially higher than if you shopped for local fresh foods in farmers’ markets, roadside produce and fruit stands, and U-pick orchards and prepared your own meals in your RV kitchen.”     More at: http://blog.rv.net/2012/10/what-does-it-cost-to-rv-answer-whatever-budget-you-have/

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On This Day:

Sistine Chapel ceiling opens to public, Nov 1, 1512:

“The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time.

Michelangelo Buonarroti, the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese in 1475. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist's apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. After demonstrating his mastery of sculpture in such works as the Pieta (1498) and David (1504), he was called to Rome in 1508 to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—the chief consecrated space in the Vatican.

Michelangelo's epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works. Central in a complex system of decoration featuring numerous figures are nine panels devoted to biblical world history. The most famous of these is The Creation of Adam, a painting in which the arms of God and Adam are stretching toward each other. In 1512, Michelangelo completed the work.

After 15 years as an architect in Florence, Michelangelo returned to Rome in 1534, where he would work and live for the rest of his life. That year saw his painting of the The Last Judgment on the wall above the altar in the Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III. The massive painting depicts Christ's damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous and is regarded as a masterpiece of early Mannerism.

Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88. In addition to his major artistic works, he produced numerous other sculptures, frescoes, architectural designs, and drawings, many of which are unfinished and some of which are lost. In his lifetime, he was celebrated as Europe's greatest living artist, and today he is held up as one of the greatest artists of all time, as exalted in the visual arts as William Shakespeare is in literature or Ludwig van Beethoven is in music.”

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John Adams moves into White House, Nov 1, 1800:

“On this day in 1800, President John Adams, in the last year of his only term as president, moved into the newly constructed President's House, the original name for what is known today as the White House.

The next day, Adams sent a note to Abigail, who would arrive in Washington later that month, saying that he hoped "none but honest and wise men [shall] ever rule under this roof."”

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Yesterday:

Jay had said that he wanted to go shopping in town with me, then he said no, he was supposed to work for a man in this subdivision, so I was taking my time getting ready and feeding the animals.  

I put some of Prissy’s bottle of kitten milk and baby cereal in a dish, just I have been doing for the last week, and she just walked up to it, and started lapping it up.  Hooray, I have been waiting for that.   But I still give her a bottle, too, she is still so young that she needs the extra attention.

A little while later Jay called to say that his boss had taken his truck into the repair shop, so he wanted me to hurry up and pick him up.  Misty and I went down there for her walk-about, and picked him up. 

First, we had to stop at our local feed store, as I needed to buy some more ‘Taste of The Wild’ food cat and dog food.  None of my animals eat much dry, as it isn’t good for them, but they like a little each day.       I soak Misty’s in sodium free chicken broth as she has no teeth, and she just gets a single layer on the bottom of her bowl underneath her canned or homemade food.  Prime comes and meows at me as soon as it gets dark, as she knows that is time for her 1/4 cup of dry food. They also have wet food twice a day.  (P.S. I have no financial interest in that company!)

‘Taste of The Wild’ has a new flavor for the dogs which is made out of wild boar.  Wild hogs have been a nuisance here in TX for some time, and now they have found a good use for them.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Plague-of-Pigs-in-Texas.html .  Not that I like to see animals killed, but the other flavors are made out of bison, venison, salmon and duck, and something has to be killed for human and dog food, so they might as well help get rid of the wild boars which are doing so much damage.

‘Taste of the Wild’ also has canned food, so I looked at the ingredients and they look very good.  One thing I keep on seeing on canned pet food is carrageen, which is a carcinogen, (capable of causing cancer), and ‘Taste of The Wild’ doesn’t have it.  So I bought some of their canned kitten food for Prissy.  After I got a magnifying glass on the ingredients of some of the other cans of kitten food that I bought at Petsmart, I saw that they contained carrageen, so they will have to go back.   So many human foods have it, even evaporated milk, and we wonder why the USA is the sickest civilized nation.  I want to give Prissy a good start in life.

Our next stop was St. Marks Thrift Shop, and Jay bought a few shirts.  I bought a pair of comfy shoes, so with some Lysol spraying, and I can wear them.  New shoes and my foot that was crushed during the war, don’t do well!!  We went to 2 more thrift shops, and saw some interesting things, but didn’t buy anything else.

Now that Prissy can eat on her own, it was a red letter day.