If anyone follows our adventures close enough to actually check for new photos on our gallery page, I truly wonder why. But they might have noticed some big changes there a little while back. I gave the galleries an overhaul, but didn’t announce it because we went for a while there without a camera. And what fun would new galleries be without new photos?
Fun at the Fiddle Festival in T or C
2008 Truth or Consequences New Mexico Fiddler’s Festival.
On the road, and in the news.
Jim and Rene are featured once again in Mike Ward’s First glance column for RV Life magazine along with Phil and Carol White.
Good Cello Makes up for Bad Service
The solo performance by classical cellist Brian Patrick Bromberg was the saving grace of our dinner in Truth or Consequences.
And it made us wonder what on earth brought him to T or C after having been classically trained in Chicago and New Zealand.
But there I go digressing again. About that restaurant review …
Warm Beer in Hot Weather is No Way to Live
Time for another reality check.Ten years ago, Jim and I moved to Eureka on a whim. I knew it was rainy there, but I thought I could tolerate it, because I’d lived in San Francisco. But after a while, the rain forest was getting to me. The endless cold gray days, coastal winds and thick fog was wearing down my psyche. I constantly griped about what I knew I could not change; the weather.
So I started to have these fantasies about living in the desert. I wanted to feel the warm sun. Munch on chips and hot salsa and wash it down with cold beer. Sit next to a saguaro cactus and play my guitar. Go out at night wearing a summer dress, flip flops and a tan.
I thought that workamping here in T or C would convince Jim that living in the desert was a good idea. But after just one month, I’ve discovered that I’m too much of a wuss for this kind of environment.
Get to the Point, Callers
In 1992, I’d just finished college, and in order to pay my student loans, I took a job as a receptionist at a big marketing firm. I was the lowest admin on the org chart, and it was an awful, demeaning experience. But little did I know that the skills I learned on that job would come in handy so many years later.
Here at Riverbend, we answer the phone when we aren’t giving tours, cleaning the pools or doing laundry. Although I do my best to sound cheery, I really hate picking up the phone; it just takes me back to that awful job. Many conversations are an exercise in Buddah-like patience, especially on busy weekends.
“Riverbend Hot Springs, how can I help you?”
How To Upgrade Datastorm D3 Firmware
I know what you’re saying. “Oh boy, here he goes again … off on another one of his geek rants.”
But surely someone will be grateful for finding this information. It sure isn’t on the MotoSat technical support website where it should be.
When we started having some trouble locking onto our satellite for internet access, MotoSat suggested we upgrade the firmware in our Datastorm D3 dish controller. The support rep then promptly proceeded to rattle off a number of important steps, too quick for me to write them down. I decided to wait, thinking I would find details on their website.
Not. I present them here in excruciating detail for your reading enjoyment, or complete boredom whichever you prefer.
Making Contact at the Very Large Array
in April, geeks can take a technology tour in New Mexico at the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Trinity Bomb Test Site near Socorro.
Hodges serves up fine breakfast buffet fare.
I hate writing about stuff that happened weeks ago. But then I guess you would never know, if I didn’t tell you! Anyway …
I hadn’t reviewed any biscuits and gravy for a long time.
So I was especially pleased to discover Hodges Corner Restaurant serves up a mean breakfast buffet on Sunday morning.
I was even more pleased ? and even more surprised ? that Ren? actually suggested we stop for breakfast on our 12 mile bicycle ride from Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences up to Elephant Butte. It’s sure a good thing the second six miles were downhill!
Walk Among The Ghosts of the Nuclear Age
When you think of New Mexico, what do you envision? Scorching desert landscapes? Native American pueblos? I did. But since arriving here in March, we’ve learned that this dry, arid place is also a haven for technology geeks from around the world. From observatories, to military technology development, to the world’s first private space port, New Mexico offers something for the geek in all of us.
April is a perfect month for technology buffs to visit. For one day only, propeller heads can walk amongst the low-level radioactive earth on the Trinity Test Site (home of the world’s first atomic bomb test).
WHERE TO BUY TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
I’ve had it with the whole TIPS ON PUMPING GAS email fraud. But enough people I respect sent me the famous GOOD INFO! message that I just had to look into it.
I was about to write about how I heard about not filling up when big trucks were filling much bigger tanks below the ground. But that was years ago. And an industry man told me way back then how the stations had filters to that took care of that. Now I’ve discovered the urban legend of tips on pumping gas to be mostly fraudulent.
Coffeesister’s Budget Tip for Fulltimers: Choose Virgin Mobile
Coffeeister says Fulltime RVers can save big money by using Virgin Mobile’s Pay as You Go Option
Developing the Truth, or Consequences
What is up with this town? I just have to ask myself that.
And now, I guess I’m asking you. Not that I expect you to be able to answer that, if you’ve never been here to this little jewel of the Nile.
OK. It’s not the Nile, it is the Rio Grande. And this gem looks more like a lump of coal than a diamond in the rough. But unless something changes ? which may happen very soon ? that coal might become a diamond before this town ever grows up.
Having lived for ten years in a town where growth is a bad word, I understand how a community can clash over development. But what I don’t get is why there is absolutely none here in Truth or Consequences, NM. The place has obviously seen its day. But it still seemed to have such potential. Then I spoke with a local developer.
Don’t Leave Home without Reading “Road Trip Dream” First
“The difference between whether you can make it happen or whether you can’t is not how many obstacles you have, it is how badly do you want to do something totally life-changing????totally for yourself.We will give you the tools to change your dream into reality, but the implementation is yours to enjoy.”
???? Phil and Carol White, authors of “Live Your Road Trip Dream”
And enjoy we have. When we first entertained the thought of taking a sabbatical, my search on the topic came up with Phil and Carol White’s book, “Live Your Road Trip Dream: Travel for a Year for the Cost of Staying Home
??
I bought the book because I wanted to figure out how we could take some time off without going broke, and Road Trip Dream succeeded in helping us do just that. With the release of its second edition, the Whites’ book is as vital as ever when it comes to considering every critical aspect of how to plan, execute and live your own road trip dream. Don’t even think of embarking on a journey without reading and following the advice laid out by these two seasoned road trippers.
Confessions of a WalMart Shopper
Let’s get one thing straight. I’m well aware of the damage that WalMart inflicts on local economies. Jim and I come from a town whose citizens actually kept WalMart from setting up shop along our waterfront. What a great moment it was, when Eurekans came together to stand up for their small businesses.
Because we didn’t have big box stores in Eureka, I shopped at my neighbors’ businesses. Sure, prices were a little higher than at big city chain stores, but knowing that more of my dollar stayed in the community was worth the extra pennies. At the time, Jim and I had a good income stream coming in, and although I made plenty of frugal choices, we could easily afford to shop local.
But once we hit the road, we came out of our Humboldt County cocoon. In most small towns around America, big box stores like WalMart are the only shopping choice. From Yuba City California to Fort Stockton Texas, most cities have allowed chains to come in and kill off many of their independent businesses.