Adventure Location: North Alabama
As always click the pic to enlarge.
As we walked the trail sun glinted a bright silvery sliver of light right into the OFM’s eyes. Now what is that? Of course we had to slip over there and examine the culprit.
At first we could not figure out what it was hanging in the brush over there. As we got closer it was even more questionable. It was fine silvery strands of something reflecting the sun like a mirror. Then as we got very close it was obviously a seed pod like we had never seen before or at least in this state of producing seeds. It was beautiful.
The OFM got brave and lightly held the pod and turned it to see what turned out to be the seeds with plumage. Really pretty plumage in fact. He slowly turned the pod until we could see the seeds. The seeds were not very pretty.
The OFM gently pulled a couple of seeds loose to hold in his hand. The silver strands were so light he could not feel them on his skin. They seemed to want to jump out of his hand and go flying in the breeze.
Very carefully the OFM released a few seeds into the breeze and watched them dance their way down the trail and into the shrubbery. Then the OFM got the wild idea to photograph them in flight. It is a good thing there were lots of seeds to release into the breeze because the photographing of seeds flying was not easily accomplished.
Below is the best picture we were able to get. Obviously the camera auto focus got the back ground instead of the seed floating away.
We think it is still a pretty neat picture anyway. Those seeds are now doing the same thing the Teams are doing. We are all floating away with the wind in search of having tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Tonight the Teams have to thank Granny J (http://walkingprescott.blogspot.com/) again for helping us in the early years. OFM Adventures will soon be starting its eleventh year. Granny J took the time to teach the Teams to look and SEE EVERYTHING. Or at least attempt to. Following Granny J’s teaching means a slow walk for sure. It also means a great and fun walk. From seeing a daytime meteor streak across the sky to noticing an ant running from a stream of water coming from a hose laying on the concrete. It all counts.
The Teams were in a down mood so the OFM took us for a walk in the sun and shade by the lake. The day was nice and pictures were every where. As we walked along a path we stride on often, the OFM slowed us down. Let us GrannyJ this stretch of the trail. The Teams thought that was a great idea. So the camera was put at the ready and we were looking at the grand view because it was grand. Suddenly the OFM stopped us. Look small also Team.
Lo and behold we were about to pass up a neat sight. At the base of a tree next to the path was a small group of fungi that were interesting. And they had a surprise we did not see until editing the photographs! It was a mood improving moment.
This is the fungi that caught the OFM’s attention first. It is very big. Notice it grew around a loose leaf at the upper left. Then on the center right it has grown around a stick. The OFM toe is in the picture so you can see the size of this monster. It was about nine inches in diameter. The height must have been at least six inches. The honey combing of the head was really dramatic. We named it the “Sponge Mushroom”.
As the teams started to back away, the OFM exclaimed “Oh My, check these out”. There were two more interesting fungi around back so to speak. We carefully stepped around the tree and brush to find these two different shaped fungi. We finally got a decent picture to bring back to the Castle. These were about eight inches tall and four inches in diameter. They got named the “Biscuit Fungi”. Nope we did not try eating them. But we did encounter a few briar prickles getting back to the trail.
That was a great find by looking small as we walked. But the OFM got another surprise as he processed the first photo with the computer. Hiding over to the lower right of the first picture was another fungi. During the process of cropping the original frame, this small fungi jumped right out at him looking like a small owl standing on a stick. It is somewhat out of focus since the focus was on the first fungi. We wish we had noticed the “owl” while we were there to get a better picture.
Granny J’ing is just another good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The OFM was waddling his way up the bank of Flint Creek. He leaves a wide path when he waddles up a creek bank. No body would mistake it for an alligator trail, but maybe for a hippo trail. Anyway he made it over the edge of the bank to the level ground. And there it was! A bit of a tree or something with sort of oak tree leaves but really different than any we can recall seeing before.
The leaves were about eight inches across.The OFM hand did not come close to covering the leaf. If some reader can identify it please do.
There are some fruiting trees in the forest around here. The fruit is round, about an inch in diameter and green at first. Then turn a light purple/pink color. The flesh looks edible but even the OFM was not stupid enough to try eating one without identification. Here is a picture of a limb with several fruits ripening.
Once again identification would be appreciated.
Over by the swamp is a tree that has fall leaves that are a strong red. The berries are a very dark blue/black with very shiny skin. They are the most vibrant color we have seen this year on the vegetation of the area.
We, again, have no idea what the brand of tree this is. If you think we are meandering around in a stupor of knuckleheadedness trying to have tooooo much fun, you would be right.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
We got the OFM off his sitting equipment and put him to getting ready to travel. Naturally he had lots of excuses but we persevered and a few chores got done. The most important chore was putting fresh air in the tires on the rig. All of them needed topping off with this blizzard weather cooling the tires and condensing the old air. The fresh air brought the tires up to travel pressure. All the tires were about four pounds low. We really do not want another blowout like a couple of years ago. Now Sierra and the Castle have tires that are both ready for the road.
After that effort we got more stuff moved out of our possession. The Traveling Team is getting close to about as light as we can get the Castle. By our information of the Castle’s factory empty weight of 4900 pounds and some measuring with the bathroom scale of our clothing etc plus the 160 pounds of water we plan on carrying, the Castle will weigh about 5500 pounds in rolling trim. That is about a light as we can get the rig and still be comfortable to live in it. That rolling weight leaves us with 2000 pounds of spare carrying capacity if we happen to need it.
During a walk the OFM was day dreaming as he meandered along when suddenly he realized he was next to a rock cliff. He jumped back and looked up at the blue sky and clouds and decided it reminded him of places he had been in the western states and how nice it had been there.
Now he is trying to figure out when we can make it back to some of those places to play some more.
Now and then we spot something new to the Teams. As we walked the path the luminescent orange/yellow dots caught our attention. They were coming from something laying in the path. In fact a lot of somethings. The OFM limbered the camera in preparation to doing some quick picture taking. It turned out he could take his time.
The somethings stayed quiet and posed for several pictures. It is the first time in our lives that the Teams, as best as they can recall, have ever seen this sight. The acorn caps just glowed. The acorns nearby did not show any evidence of the spectacular show the caps were putting on.
Finding something new that you have never seen before is a major event when you are out trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The flashing blue and red lights we could see through the windshield at the entrance to the campground did not look like good news to the OFM as we were returning from supper tonight. The very nice police officer told us there has been a major car wreck. They had set up a single lane passage for us to get back home. We passed at least two fire trucks and one ambulance and several police vehicles. The OFM did not even look to see what happened, he was too busy keeping from hitting one or three of the busybody gawkers in the way of the emergency folks. We just cleared the area and headed to the Castle. Tomorrow the event will be told over and over we are sure.
Meanwhile for those who as still unsure what a tree rat is the OFM managed to get a picture of one.
Those pests can and will claw/gnaw through an RV roof, under flooring or wall just to see what is on the other side. Nope they are not cute little critters to the OFM Teams.
Another unexpected picture that worked out is this one taken through about a foot of lake water a couple of days ago. Since this picture was taken the lake has dropped another two feet or so.
Those “sea shells” are about an inch long. We have lots of them in the sand along the shorelines of Flint Creek. The OFM has been having fun walking along the banks of the creek lately since the lake is down over six feet. Many interesting sights are being uncovered with this lowering of Wheeler Lake.
One of the more questionable discoveries is several picnic tables scattered around the lake that are normally under water. Why are they there? These are the heavy tables with curvy tubular metal legs. Several seem to be positioned in an organized fashion.
It seems like there is always something new showing up to help us in our quest of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
It has been an interesting day of negativity all around the Teams. The OFM took a consideration of it all tonight and decided he is still right in the way he looks at lots of life events. Fill in the blank as you choose. Here is three examples from the OFM Teams.
He is always happy when his ________ joints hurt because it means he is still alive to feel the pain when he picks up his grandkid for a big hug.
The nuisance of cleaning the bathroom means you are lucky enough to be able to clean the bathroom and have one to clean.
The weather is nasty, the pier is getting sprayed with waves, the fish are not biting and the OFM is leaning on the rail with a fishing rod in his hand. Someone walks by and comments about not being much fun. The OFM always says “Oh I am having great fun. This is a fishing rod in my hand instead of a sledge hammer.”
Looking for a positive side of life is a wonderful way of trying have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
You can combine loop trails in this park for about ten miles of walking without retracing a foot path. The min picturesque trail is the 2.5 mile one way trail along the edge of Flint Creek. It is well wooded and many pictures on this blog have come from walking that trail. It has just a little bit of up and down but only just enough to make it interesting. Here is the western entrance.
It is well used and well maintained. In general it has very few rough spots and those are not really of difficulty.
As the OFM Teams were leaving the above trail, two nice fellows came up from the creek edge headed back to their vehicle at the parking lot. We spoke for a minute and they had three crappie for several hours of fishing.
One of them mentioned that the fishing is getting tougher now that the lake authority is lowering the lake level for the winter.
This next picture was taken with maximum zoom since the OFM did not feel like braving the underbrush to get closer. The yellow flower turned out to be a leaf. Then to the left of the leaf is a spider web the OFM did not see until we processed the picture. We thought it was a nice picture over all.
Meandering taking pictures for exercise is a wonderful way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The sky was clear and blue on this day. The trees seemed extra tall. The tree rats still had good aim with their droppings and the OFM head. Hats are important when walking through tree rat infested trees. It is also important to be careful when looking up to photograph tall trees that you do not step on or in something you might prefer to stay out of like poison ivy or other things.
At one location we found a lot of “vines” with “air roots” hanging down. Some of the roots were almost twice as long as the OFM is tall. He took several pictures but none of them turned out really well. This was the least not good one of the bunch. Those thin roots with the bright background were hard shooting.
According to an eye doctor, the symptoms the OFM is experiencing is something that is well known to happen in about 20% of older humans. It has no record of causing more trouble and is not “curable”. That was very good news since the OFM was terrified it was the pre courser to some dreaded event like retina detachment or worse. The OFM can be a bit of a worrier and this news certainly relieved his head.
Sometimes it is good to find your self a bit of sunshine and just relax.
Lazing on a log looks like it might be a good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The evening was getting on toward dark but the path was well maintained so the OFM photography Team was meandering along like good Meanderthalls should. The OFM was watching the upper trees for a chance to grab a pic of a squirrel or two.
The light was somewhat dim as he moved slowly along the trees and brush lining the trail. He glanced down at his feet for some reason. Did you know he is able to clear 85 feet of ground laterally and obtain an altitude of 25.753 feet above ground from a simple standing broad jump. We were impressed!
When he returned to earth still clutching the camera, we were clapping for his performance. He was shaken it seemed so we asked what is the problem?
He said “That huge snake that I nearly stepped on!” According to the rest of the breathless story it was 3 inches in diameter and over ten feet long. Yep. Sure. Show us.
So we walked back down to the location where he saw the King Cong snake. As we carefully approached the location, we could see a long large diameter something stretched from the shrubbery into the trail.
The OFM got his nerve back and cleverly got the camera ready for a long distant shot. Click and it was recorded for all the world to see the snake.
We do have to admit in the dim light that does resemble a snake head enough startle a fraidy cat OFM. And the long tree limb is mottled enough to resemble something you might not want to play with. And with the dim light you might at first not notice it is already broken in two places.
But watching the OFM doing acrobatics is a very good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Lots of good news tonight. First the health news. The OFM was feeling very good today. All the symptoms of flu/pneumonia were gone when he awoke early this morning. So early and full of energy that he had breakfast eaten, the Castle straightened up, the laundry washed and put away and was planning the rest of the days chores when he noticed it was 0856 is all.WOW.
Yesterday during a walk we met a very nice young man. While we were visiting he landed the biggest Large Mouth Bass we have seen landed from Flint Creek. Here he is with the Big Bass.
After a little more visiting, the Teams went on their way.
During the shopping for some Christmas present wrapping paper, the OFM ran across a Walmart close out deal on a toaster oven for $15. He has had two in the past and really liked using them when we had 120 volt electric available. So here is our newest Team member.
We have already done the break in run and it is ready to cook. Some of our frozen salmon sounds like a great first meal to prepare to us. What do you think?
We do not know our check in date in Rockport yet! Since the OFM Teams can be flexible about the arrival date, the campground owner wanted to talk to the current site renter to find out when is their exact date of leaving. She knows +\- three days but the exact date had not yet been set when she contacted the OFM and the Teams agreed to come there.
How good is the OFM feeling? He is feeling good enough he played and walked 9 holes of golf in an hour and a half this afternoon and shot a 45 for a score. That is a 3.5 mile walk up and down and around. We might be able to get in another 8 or so 9 hole rounds before we have to leave. Playing golf in 69-71 degree temps is a pretty good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Reality bites the OFM right on the backside. For the last few months the OFM has been dreaming of going back to the southwest during the winter. He has been bothering folks about details of boondocking locations and many other things. So here we are a couple of weeks from rolling and the Teams have had to have a serious talk with that guy. His left eye has been getting much worse faster than any previous time. He says he can just work around it and lots of other nonsense. Is he hardheaded? Naw, hardheaded would be an improvement.
So a little before 1500 today we pulled the BIG gun and brought grandkids into the fight. How would you like to get out in nowhere and have it be a retina detachment or some bad disease that could have been handled when treated properly. Then we nailed him. A live grandpa tickling a couple of grandkids beats the memory of the grandpa they used to have. We know it was a low blow but it was necessary we feel.
We have to give him credit for a quick decision once reality bit him on the butt. Bam just like that he was busy getting a campsite back at Rockport where the fabulous eye doctor is that he has been using. Everything not pertaining to his eye health trouble has been put on hold. October 30 we are rolling to get proper eye care and keep his health as good as possible. It has pained him to have to put off the westerly migration.
Then today the scratchy throat and general ill feeling of a virus coming on hit hard. It could be a kindergarten virus from Gavin OR a symptomatic reaction to the flu and pneumonia shots he got yesterday. We are hoping for the trouble to be the normal reaction he has to flu shots. We will know in a few days.
Then to top it off (we hope), the Team credit card chip has failed and a new card is being sent. It will go to the Escapees address. They could not guarantee it would be able to get to Alabama in time for our departure.
With a little luck that will be all the trouble for a good while. We also apologize to all those we bothered about the SW trip, but we still plan to use the information as soon as the health situation allows us to. At least the flounder run will be in full swing when we get to Rockport. Catching and eating flounder is an excellent way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
What does the OFM do when it is cold outside and he is worrying with an important decision to make, he cooks!
Vegetables were prepared and staged for the big event. Then the freshly thawed chicken was cut into smaller pieces. The cooking pot was readied with Italian Salad Dressing for the oil for cooking and freshly ground black pepper was stirred into the dressing. A medium fire was set to warming the pot and lastly the chicken was put in to cook along with some garlic powder.
After cooking for two forevers the stoop was ready for more ingredients. The white onions, beans, two different Knorr rice mixes, celery, chopped carrots and some this and that spices were installed into the soon to be fantastic supper.
Then it was all simmered as long as the OFM could stand it. OK that is enough. Time to eat. And eat he did and did and did and you know what we mean. After his arms wore out from eating too much there was still enough for four more meals. They were put into the freezer for future enjoyment.
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| Headed for the Freezer |
The OFM likes to choose a deadline for making important decisions so he does not procrastinate (and he is very bad about severe procrastination) too long and fail to take action by the time it is needed. 1500 tomorrow is the deadline and he is still hem/hawing so we will have to wait for tomorrows decision. It is not life threatening or anything like that. However it is getting in the way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Grandson Gavin was on a hyper active fit when the OFM (grandpa) got to their home. He has a new run over everything remote control wheeled toy that sort of reminded the OFM of a farm tractor. That thing could hit hyperspace speeds.
After a few minutes of wild activity grandpa was given Piper to hold. Pretty quick Piper let it be known she wanted in on the floor action and that crazy fast moving machine. Piper is not quite 4 months old but she was raring to get going in the action.
Grandpa held her so she could feel the rug with her feet. Those little legs got busy trying to run after the wheeled toy. The OFM had to hold her back. In another couple of minutes she had figured how to stand on her own legs. Trying to walk was a not yet event, but she was working hard on it. On top of that she is about 148 pounds of pure muscle. She has really done a huge amount of developing in the last two weeks.
Here we are just as she was getting ready to leap from the OFM lap and into the action.
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| Here I Come |
Later we hit a local burger joint that also has good onion rings. This time a single order of onion rings was about a two quart bowl full. Yep the OFM piggggggged out. The next thing we knew Gavin was asking for an ice cream cone. So we headed over to the ice cream counter and Gavin chose some wild concoction of ice cream with all sorts of toppings. He got it back to the table and went to work. That boy can chow down on an ice cream cone.
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| The Ice Cream Kid |
Finally the food was all eaten and Piper was starting to demand her food. So we headed back to the home front. The rest of us went around playing things and Piper and Mom went to the feeding station.
Gavin is now in the tooth losing stage of life and getting a kick out of it. Since he started kindergarten he has really changed. He now gets intermixed with a lot of other kids of different ages. It is good to see him starting to mature some. It gives us more ways to work together at trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The Teams have been watching this tree fight with the shoreline erosion for seven years. The erosion will win but it is really having to work at that tree. This is a recent picture taken from out on the lake bottom a few feet from normal shore edge.
There are critters that reside in those “caves” in the shore and tree roots. Notice there is even fungi living in the interior parts of the complex. This is the first time the OFM could get down in the rocks to get the picture. His camera was actually pointing nearly back at the normal shore ledge. It was a fun picture to take.
The exact location of this fungi is not remembered but it was somewhere on the latest couple of walks or bike rides. Some times it seems the OFM takes too many pictures, but he really cannot help himself. The biggest “leaf” of this fungi is about the size of a mans hand. It looked like some granular enhancements had been sprinkled on pancakes didn’t it. For some reason the camera would not take a accurately focused picture but this will get the job done.
And this next picture is the tail end of the number 2 golf course hole water hazard. As you can see it was very still up in the trees. That dirty gray water is actually extremely clear. The gray is actually the color of the bottom mud about 12 inches down. The reflections are really sharp in real life. I be this spot would make a great fall color spot in a few weeks.
Tomorrow is a go visit the grandkids day. The OFM has been exercising his kid tickling finger all week in anticipation of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
This blog entry tonight is dedicated to Darrell and his famous “Thinking Benches”. He writes a neat blog and travels when his situation allows him the time. Check out his blog. http://gozatravels.blogspot.com/
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| THINKING BENCH |
This thinking bench is on the bank of Flint Creek off Wheeler Lake along one of the many walking trails in Point Mallard Park. It is a pretty good spot most days if it is not raining. The OFM has got one part of the bench shined up pretty well.
The soccer field near the Castle gets a new paint job on Friday mornings in preparation for the weekend games. The fellows spend a lot of time getting them marked just right and pretty.
There is finally some significant fall color coming to the area. We caught this bit of color yesterday over near the soccer field.
Between the trees and the freshly painted soccer field there is a lot of color to enjoy.
Tomorrow is going to be another very busy day. We are starting preparations to move in two weeks. It has been nearly three months here and it has been very enjoyable. But you know that old saying “fish and visitors stink in three months”. So it is time for the Teams to search other locations for trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Our day started out slow but quickly hit overdrive. One real time burner was Christmas shopping. There are not many places for Christmas shopping out in the remote deserts of the USA. So the Teams are trying to get that done before rolling day.
After a minimally successful shopping day, the OFM needed a nice walk to settle his nerves. As we meandered around the park a trail came into view that we had looked at about 6 years ago as it was being plotted through the woods. It is finished now and has been a couple of years at least. So we took it with a freshly charged camera.
It is not a long trail. Less than a mile is our guess but it was a marvelous trail. The OFM found out that when you are looking for the birds in the trees his wonderfully performing shin can find pointy logs next to the trail very well. The while you are watching the many tree rats playing in the leaves, his baseball cap “protected” head can find the broken limbs hanging down next to the trail all too often. It made for an interesting meander. The good part is the OFM took about 65 pictures on that trail alone today.
Nope we have not had time to work over that bunch of pictures or the ones taken earlier of a short walk early this morning. Like we said, it has been a busy day.
Then tonight the OFM decided to cook for a change. He had almost forgotten how, but not quite.
It came out just fine. The Cod was not prepared just perfectly but very adequately. Probably getting back in practice will help a lot.
We did have a look how much time we need for our current traveling meanders goals this winter and spring. As of right now we will be rolling 10-30-2017 and will need six weeks of time to do what we know we want to do. That means we only have a spare 6 months of roaming until we need to head back to North Alabama for the birthdays. Whatever will we do for trying to have tooooo much fun?
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Between the rain, general humidity and heat, the OFM has been hugging the air conditioner ducts. However this afternoon he decided to get BB out from the rain protection and do a bit of riding. It turned out to be wonderful. Once we got near the lake there was a nice cooling breeze. Sweat still slid off his FAAT body but it was a nice breeze.
By the time we got back after an hour of riding, BB had to lean against a tree for a while to rest. Carrying that FAAAT guy is hard work. The OFM got BB stored back under the rain protection and headed inside for the A/C himself.
We re-investigated the proper exercising heart rate for an OFM of his age. The final number turned out to be anything in the 80-110 range during exercise. The OFM was very comfortable at 98-105 during today’s ride. It surprised him he was doing that well, but it is a good sign.
We are really looking forward to introducing Beautiful Bike to some western desert road and trail riding. No, mountain bike trails are not on horizon for the OFM anymore. We are talking developed social trails. You will see when we get there and take pictures.
When the Teams were at Oliver Lee State Park in New Mexico last spring, we did not have a bike at that time. There were MANY miles of great gentle ridable hard dirt roads in the area. The OFM really missed SightSeer at that time but he knew he did not have any business on a performance bike so he just moped around with his lower lip stuck out.
Now we have a bike he can handle safely so it will be a whole new world when we roll west this time. BB is going to have a wonderful time learning all about thorns, rocks and loose gravel.
During all the weather induced down time lately, the OFM has broke out the art paper and started ruining it. Here is the start of the latest bit of chicken scratching in the dirt.
It certainly has a long way to go but he is enjoying his attempt at putting on paper the picture his deviant mind can imagine. We think it is a good, safe way for an OLD FAT man to pass the time while trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The Teams talked the OFM into taking a nice long walk this morning with the camera in hopes of some nice pictures. ( a long 2x4 with sharp spikes in it was involved in the talking). He hopped right up when he came to and grabbed the camera as he headed for the door.
It is not cool here. It was warm this morning and got up to around 86 with dead calm winds as you will see. The OFM did sweat out a few pounds of sweat and several gallons of water during this walk. We even stayed in the shade of trees 90% of the time.
The path we took was along the road that loops around the golf course. That was chosen by having the most shade. Here is one picture of the typical part of the road/path. It is closed to all motor vehicles but the golf course maintenance vehicles.
For most of the way Flint creek is on the left and the golf course is on the right. All in all it is a good place to walk and ride a bike. The flowers along the road are pretty well going to seed now. Here is some that are developing their seeds and still being attractive.
Several places creeks from the main creek meander over onto the golf course. At one of the entries, the meandering creek makes for a large water hazard along Hole 6. Yes the OFM has contributed his share of balls to the Water Gods.
Way back in another small creek on hole 4 is some more flowers making last ditch efforts to be beautiful. When the sun catches thes just right they are gorgeous.
Our walk today measures a hint over two miles of distance and 19.947 gallons of sweat. But it was good way of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
Please keep in mind the OFM is trying emulate a TV reporter trying to sound important in this report on Nate passing through the area.
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This is David of See B S. As we waited in apprehension for the onslaught from Hurricane Nate we could only speculate on the amount of devastation we would be seeing from nature. The wind and rain kept increasing as we watched the trees writhing in the horrific winds. Trees lost limbs all around us, slamming into trailers and vehicles at random places.
The excessive rain was causing the streets to run in torrents threatening to wash away any drivers and vehicles foolish enough to attempt to do battle with the speeding water on the roads.
And all around us the flooding was threatening to wash away trailers with the people in them. The utilities were imminent to being flooded and wiped out for weeks. You would be taking your life in your own hands to attempt to wade to safety at this late date. We can only hope and wish you the best of luck.
The local drainage is badly overwhelmed. There is no relief in sight and the authorities are already overloaded. As you can see here
we have to be very careful to not get too near the raging water lest we be swept away to our unknown fate. I hope the President will quickly send aid to help us with this catastrophe. This is David Dingbat signing off.
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Now let us do it the OFM way.
Howdy folks. This is the OFM from North Alabama reporting on the last of storm Nate. The eye has just passed us to the east and things are looking good. It has been a good morning to stay in the Castle and clean house.
We did get a moment of excitement when the small old rotten limb nearby fell and broke the clothes line. It scattered campfire kindling size twigs on the ground and Sierra but no damage was done.
Out on the street it was damp with a trickle of water meandering down the ruts worn in the pavement. It is a good place to clean the mud off your shoes before coming back into the air conditioning of the Castle.
The low spots around the area barely have enough water to make any mud. In fact, as he is grilling steaks, one neighbor is blowing the leaves and other small twigs into a pile for tonight's campfire at his site.
After a month or more since the last rain, the little creek nearby finally has enough water so the lawn guy will not have to mow it for a week or so. This should give us a few days of good weather that will be great for trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
The first day of another decade of OFM Adventures started with a very pleasant morning walk with only a little danger involved. We are waiting for Nate to visit late tonight or tomorrow and wanted some nice cool air and bright sunshine for a walk before the rain starts.
As the OFM waddled his way from the campground along the entry road and along the golf course, he was really enjoying the scenery. He did notice the sound from the impact of a skull splitter near us. They have sharp points and hit rather firmly. Bones do not get broken normally, but skin tears and minor bleeding is common. All of us old folks wear good hats to protect from the skull splitters as they come from way up in the tree and hurry down to “make an impression” upon us. Those that are on blood thinners really have to be careful.
After the walk the OFM got busy starting to shape up the Castle in preparation for travel at the end of the month. We got rid of lots of junk again. This time it has been mostly things that the OFM cannot any longer use well or safely. If you can’t or don’t use it, get rid of it. The three dumpsters are splitting at the seams now.
Towards the end of the day a piece of equipment was being retrieve from under the bed when the OFM should not have tried to lift that in that manner. A muscle on each side of his back screamed DON’T DO IT. So the next thing was a handful of ibuprofen and an hour of horizontal. Tonight he seems to be doing well but we are not allowing exertion beyond multiple lifts of heavy forks full of food.
We have figured out a better way of getting the equipment out from under the bed for the next effort. Then it also goes into the dumpsters.
We got confirmation tonight that our site reservation cancellation in Rockport was received and accepted. It is a liberating feeling to not have firm commitments to meet. We have decided to try our luck with just roaming for a while like we did in the earlier days.
While he was sitting at the table earlier today he noticed the New Mexico Annual Pass sticker on the Castle’s window.
For those not familiar with the pass, it cost non-residents $225. That allows the pass holder to dry camp in the NM State Parks for a year for no more cost. Since ours is good until April 1 of 2018, we have 5 months of no more cost camping available. The parks we have stayed at before in NM have been very nice. Most of them have a dump station and fresh water available to us dry campers. On top of that NM has an unreal amount of free BLM and NF lands available for free also.
Who knows what we will do for sure? WE do! We will be out taking pictures and trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: North Alabama
It looks like we are in for another pile of rain. The third big storm since August is taking dead aim at us here at Wheeler Lake. The projected path of Nate is right through this area. Of course we are far enough inland that Nate, like Irma and Harvey, will mainly be just serious rain. That means we will have time to clean house and smear stuff on paper in an attempt at art.
The OFM bought a leaf blower to help clean the roof and solar panels of all the leaves and small limbs that had collected. The OFM also got remembered that he is a bit wobbly to be running around on the roof without taking extra care. This is the first time he has used a blower in his life. In the past the Castle roof was always cleaned with a broom. The blower is a lot easier and faster. The solar panels still have to be washed before we roll.
And speaking of rolling, tonight is the end of ten years of rolling around the country. Tomorrow will be the beginning of the next decade of RV life. Old Fat Man Adventures still has five weeks before it is ten years old. It is a grand way of living. It also gives us many opportunities for trying to have tooooo much fun.
Adventure Location: Castle Kitchen, Alabama
A reader wanted to hear about the pancakes so here it is.
Preprepared and frozen pancakes are removed from the freezer and placed on a plate. On our microwave they get a 30 second warm up to melt any ice.
The peanut butter is readied and spread on the pancakes in a highly scientific and calculated manner. It is very important to get it on the pancake correctly to properly utilize the syrup for soaking into the pancakes.
To spread the peanut butter use a table fork with the tines curved the wrong way. The peanut butter is carved from the jar with the bottom of the fork. Then the peanut butter is spread with the fork tines curving away from the direction of fork movement.
The swirls of the peanut putter must be put down in curves that form dams to hold the syrup in small puddles. The pancakes normally have a small slope to them that assists in the syrup puddling. Now that the peanut butter is applied to the pancakes it is time for another thirty seconds of the microwave.
The peanut butter has to be warm for this next feat of dexterity. The syrup is drizzled carefully so as to not WASTE even one drop of syrup. If you have done it right there will be small lakes of syrup soaking into the pancake.
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| THE DAMS BROKE |
Then it is eating time. If you do it exactly correctly there will not be enough drops of syrup on the plate to bother with licking the plate clean. Of course, there is not a picture of the clean plate because nobody wants to see a picture of an empty plate. A plate of fresh pancakes slathered in peanut butter and syrup is a great way to start a day of trying to have tooooo much fun.
Can you believe the OFMan actually made a whole blog on putting peanut butter on pancakes? With photos! Good Grief...............
