STRAYCAT’S DOGGONE BLOG

Life Day 22112: Still “Winded” in Laramie.

When I woke up this morning, I discovered that the wind was worse. They are now constant at 40 to 50 mph and gusting to 70 mph at the summit of Elk Mountain with blowing snow. This doesn’t mean that it is actually snowing, it just means that the wind is blowing the snow across the road, and sticking. This is the same mountain that caused me trouble on Christmas Day, only now i’m going the other direction.  According to the National Weather Service website, the winds are supposed to subside around 1400. I guess i’ll try to get rolling then. That means i’ll get back to Corinne just in time for the storm forcast to arrive tonight. Can’t win for losing. 

Life Day 22111: Lay-over in Laramie

Tonight i’m laying over in Laramie, WY. I was on my way back to Corinne, but decided to stop here because of high winds and blowing snow over Elk Mountain between here and Rawlins. The wind is blowing up to 50 mph. No sense taking any chances with an empty trailer.
That brings up the subject of weather. This winter has been bad. In addition to more snow than usual, we have had a lot of lake effect snow. We have also been seeing a lot of inversion layers. When these happen in the winter, clouds back up against the mountains, causing fog, which turns to ice crystals when the temperature drops even more at night. It makes for treacherous driving.  YUK!! This is not caused by Global Warming. It is just cyclical. It happens about every 7 years. The inversion layers remind me of the nasty fog we used to get in Bakersfield, CA. Sometimes you wouldn’t see the sun for weeks.

Life Day 22107: Procrastination Strikes Again

I think that I have set a new proctastination record. It’s been a month since my last post. There is a lot to catch up with, so I better get started.

Let me start with Christmas. I spent most of Christmas Day “snowed in” at the TA truckstop in Rawlins, WY. It was so bad there that I had to install a set of chains just to get into my parking space. When I finally did get rolling, the roads were mostly like this.

I was trying to make it to Cheyenne to spend part of the day with nephews Larry and John and John’s wife, Judy, but I didn’t make it. By the time the road opened, it was too late to stop. I had to get on to Denver for my first drop. I did have a mediocre Buffet at the truckstop before I left. I was pretty much recovered from my illness by this time.

When I returned from Denver, I took a load to Vegas. I didn’t spent any time there, just drove back the next day. Donald was still in Bakersfield. I then took a load to Billings, MT. When I returned from Billings, I took another load to Vegas.

 Friday, the 28th of December. Donald and family arrived in Vegas about the same time as I did. They actually saw me backing into my parking space at the WWW as they arrived in town from Pahrump. They settled in at Sam’s Town RV Park. They joined me for dinner at the WWW (I had a 2 for 1 coupon). Dinner for the four of us cost me about $11.00.

On Saturday, Lou and Dawn went “thrifting”, while brother Don and I worked on my truck. We installed the processor units for my XM radio and my IPOD. Now I can operate everything from my truck’s radio rather than having wires hanging everywhere from separate units. It’s really nice and much more convenient. We had dinner at the Cafe in Sam’s Town. I had soup and salad bar.

Sunday was much the same as yesterday. More shopping for Lou and Dawn, more work on my truck for Don and I. This time, we installed a swivel mount for my computer. We had to remove and re-install the pasesnger seat to accomplish this. When we finished, we had lunch at the WWW. Then a little gambling for me. I did pretty good. Then we went to the Walmart across from Sam’s Town before returning to the RV. We exchanged our Christmas gifts then had a nice dinner of Beef Stroganoff and Salad that Lou had prepared.

New Years Eve day was laundry day for me. Donald had taken their “toad” to the shop. I picked him up and returned him to the RV. We then had the Brunch Buffet at Sam’s Town. It was excellent as usual. Then I was off to do the the above mentioned laundry. After I finished, I drove back to the WWW. I found a parking spot and settled in for a while. For dinner, I had Blackened Rib-eye, Stuffed Baked Potato, and Asparagus. I also had Crab and Corn Chowder, and Apple Pie for desert. It was included in the $15.99 price. About 2200, I walked to the Belagio Casino to meet the rest of the family. Two years ago, I stood outside the WWW and watched the ‘fools parade” going to the Strip for New Years Eve. This year, I was one of the fools.

It took a little less than 30 minutes to make the trek. I watched the water fountain shows. Believe it or not, in all the years i’ve been in Vegas, I had never seen the show. 

Don, Lou, and Dawn showed up around 2300. At midnight, the fireworks began. They were launched from 5 different locations on the Strip. We were about 1/4 mile from two of them; Planet Hollywood and Bally’s. It was an ideal place to be, if you had to be there at all.

After the fireworks, I hiked back to the WWW. It took a little longer this time because of the crowds. I arrived back at about 0045.

I left for Utah on New Years Day, after one last visit with the family. I needed some help installing new struts on the hatch of my Jeep. It only took about 5 minutes with help, but it’s a 2-man job due to the weight of the hatch. I also took some left-over Beef Stroganoff and Pepermint Ice Cream for the road. I arrived back in Corinne a little before 2300.

It snowed about 6 inches overnight. Walter, who normally enjoys the snow and loves to make “snow doggies”, was not happy about it. He has only anout 4 inches of ground clearance. I guess he only enjoys the snow when it is less than 4 inches deep. Over the course of the next 10 days, I did trips to Aurora, CO; North Las Vegas, NV; Billings, MT; and Las Vegas, NV; plus a couple of local runs. I arrived back in Vegas in the wee hours of Friday, the 11th. Don and family were still in the area visiting Valley of Fire. We arranged to meet on Saturday.  In the late afternoon and early evening, we attended the Red, White, and Blue Balloon Festival, sponsored by Nellis AFB as a fund-raiser for the troops. The Festival was free, but donations were appreciated, which we did. It was quite interesting. It was held at the Las Vegas Speedway about 10 miles north of Vegas.  




It was “totally awesome dude”, especially the night burns. The sunset was nice too. They didn’t launch any balloons because wind and power lines don’t mix well with hot air balloons. After the Festival Don treated for dinner at the Haufbrauhaus. It was excellent as usual. After dinner, we went our separate ways.

On Sunday morning, we met at the WWW. I treated them to breakfast again (more coupons), and showers in my room (they had been dry camping for a few days). After that, they departed in the direction of Lake Havasu, NV. I just chilled for the rest of the day and the next.

I arrived back in Corinne about 2200 on the 14th. The next two trips were to Helena, Mt and Aurora, CO. The weather is still cold, but we haven’t had any snow to contend with lately. That’s always a plus. On the 19th, I did a short run to Ephriam, UT as a precursor to a load to Vegas. I left Corinne on the 20th about noon and finished my Vegas run arriving at the WWW around midnight of the 21st. Both lots were full so I had to park on the street for the night. First thing in the AM, I secured a more secure parking spot inside the WWW complex.

Today was register and insure the car day. I used the Kiosk at the DMV to do my registration. It took less than 5 minutes to get my new Registration and license plate sticker. The Kiosk can only be used if there are no changes in your information and if you are registering on or before the expiration date.  It is a Godsend for sure. There were about 150 people waiting in line(s) for some DMV service or another while I was there.

Well, i’m finally all caught up. To be able to cover a whole months worth of my life in so short a space just goes to show how boreing an existance I lead. I can’t complain though. It is what I want to do. Tommorrow I head back to Corinne to begin it all over again.