ODDS & ENDS

I passed a “chain gang” but without the chains. There were about a dozen prisons in black & white striped prison uniforms at the side of the road and maybe three guards. They were busy picking up garbage. I have two points – one is that is does my heart good to see prisoners working (take note Canadian Penal System) and two, someone needs to tell the powers that be that no one, even hardened criminals, should be made to wear horizontal strips even if they are in black and white. Now that is cruel and unusual punishment!!

There are many correctional institutes that I pass when driving and I love the signs that they put up “CORRECTIONAL FACITLITY. DO NOT PICK UP HITCHHIKERS”. Not that I would ever pick up a hitchhiker especially wearing horizontal stripes!!!

Along this line, the authorities picked up the final escapee that had been hiding in Yellowstone National Park. In his company was a female described as “his accomplish, his girlfriend and his cousin”. You have to love the family that holds up together does time together.

I am not sure what part of my looks says “tell me all your medical issues” but there must be something because it happens too often. I was sitting next to an older guy fishing and he had a portable oxygen tank. We were talking about the fishing and he then told me that he can’t drive anymore because he has diabetes and his vision is poor and he has dialysis three times a week and he can’t get a kidney transplant because the radiation from the treatment for prostate cancer several years ago has caused his other organs to pack it in. He was very nice and I left him with some gas money to give to his cousin who drives him to fish. There was another incident where the guy wanted to show me his scars from the broken leg and the scar from having his gall bladder removed. Yes, think about where that scar might be located on the human body and then you will understand why I had a hard time getting that image out of my head.

When I purchased the trailer I also arranged for driving lessons. Attila (insert joke here) was the guy I hired. I learned a few things but he was a lousy instructor when it came to backing up. I realized early on that most RV parks have pull thrus so not being able to back up is no big deal. The only time I have backed into a spot was in Needle, CA. Well, I leave Cheyenne, WY for Colorado City, Colorado and it is a lovely drive. As I get to Pueblo, CO which is only 30 minutes to Colorado City but there has been an accident so it takes 40 minutes to get around the accident and back on the highway. By this time nature is calling and I need to get to the KOA sooner rather than later. So when OnStar tells me to take a certain exit, I do. When OnStar tells me to turn left and go over the highway, I do. When OnStar directs me down a small road, I do. When OnStar directs me to turn left and go up the dirt path, I do. But I get to the top of this dirt driveway where instead of a campground I find myself stuck with what look like old mobile homes (that haven’t be mobile for decades) I know I am in trouble. First things first, I open the trailer and pee. Nothing like towing your own facilities. I call the KOA and they tell me that everyone who uses GPS gets lost and they are located further down the highway. I am now forced to back up in a very small space. It was a tight spot if I only had the truck. Well I had two choices. Get unstuck or go home. Well, I got unstuck all by myself. It was a three point turn but I was able to do it. Amazing what you can do if you stay calm!!

I have been using my old digital camera and when I download the pictures to my computer, they are not great. So I decided that if I was going to do justice to some of the scenery I needed to buy a better camera. The new one has lots of bells and whistles none of which I understand. But is has two great features – Auto Intelligent Adjust and Sweep Panorama. The second feature you will notice from some of the newer postings to the Blog. I wish that people all came with the first feature!!!