The Wind Reared Its Head.....& Newby RV Driver.....

Oh yes.....it got windy here in Desert Hot Springs today.  Then again, that is to be expected given the location we are at.  Perhaps the wind will push the pollution away. It has been pretty thick, here in the valley, these past few days.

Pool side is a good place to be when the wind blows.  It is fairly well protected.

Windy days keep the golf clubs unused.  That being the case, I headed to non-windy Palm Springs to do a tiny bit of shopping and to seek out a place to have my hair clipped.  I topped up with diesel on the way back.  Not much wind in the protected areas of Palm Springs.

Back at the 5th wheel, I put a few chairs away.  Where we are stationed is fairly well protected from the wind but the gusts blow sand and dust around.

The mid to late afternoon called for a 'stay in the park'.  No need to go anywhere.

Reading by the pool is a nice pastime.  Ear buds, with good iPod music, is a bonus too!

On a walk about, late yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, Mike - one of the awesome staff here - was guiding a lady who was trying to back her 5th wheel.  I watched the process for 20 minutes and when it was obvious that the driver could not succeed backing up the rig, I walked over to Mike.  He mentioned that he had never, ever backed a trailer in his life and for him to provide guidance to a newby driver was fruitless.  He was frustrated - and so was the driver.   I offered to help.  

Not the 'newby driver' rig - just a pretty shot.

The lady driver was OK to have me back the fiver in but I instead offered to guide her on how to do it.  Experience is the best teacher, so I am led to believe! It took some doing but, once convinced that she should trust me, she made it in.  I think she lost a few pounds on that task from sweat alone. Appreciative, she offered to pay me to teach her how to drive the truck and 5th wheel.  I instead gave her some tips and suggested she Google a WEB site or two for guidance.  She admitted that it was her very first time driving and backing a 5th wheel into a spot.  WHOA!.....First time driving with no experience? Gutsy.....and crazy too!!!!

Not only that, she asked if I could guide her on unitching, dropping and leveling the fiver. She wasn't sure on the process. I learned that she had just bought it (from an estate sale, I believe) and she had nobody to teach her about hitching, unhitching....and the rest of the drill - let alone driving the thing.  I assumed the fiver was attached to the truck when she made the deal.

The man made lake at Sam's Spa and RV Resort

Back at the office, Mike was most appreciative.  Happy to help!   I think that lady has learned a few more tricks than she knew before unhitching  for the very first time. I did my good deed for the day, yesterday.

Solitary black swan is attracted to anyone around the lake.

Yesterday morning it proved difficult to not assume that some emergency was happening in the park.  A fire truck, with first responders - followed by an ambulance, moments later - arrived to a site about four doors down from our site.  A woman was taken away by ambulance and followed by her husband in a truck. I don't know the details...... but the woman was back at their site last night.

An emergency four sites down from ours.....

Typically, the evenings are not a draw to the great pool here.  So....I follow my regular routine of taking a swim between 8:00 and 9:00 pm.  A quick jaunt into one of the hot pools (for a few minutes) followed by a closing swim, back in the pool, does a body good!  

Great pool area.

The motorcycle visited two repair shops yesterday (one in Indio the other in Palm Springs)  and neither mechanic could figure out the problem.  It was suggested that I take the motorcycle to a dealer.  I question why they were in business.  I deliver a motorcycle with a problem and they can't figure it out!  What's with that?  The closest dealer is some 30-40 miles west of the Palm Springs area, in the little city of Beaumont.  I'll see about that.

I do have another appointment with a long time motorcycle shop in Cathedral City.  The owner, Sam, told me he would figure the problem out simply by doing an electrical fault test and test riding the bike to determine if it is a fuel issue.  Whoa....why could the other shops not figure that out.  I am at a loss for words on this!  I feel as though I wasted several hours with the two shops. The rides to and from the motorcycle shops were pleasant, at least.

The downside to visiting Sam's Cycle Service is that he cannot take me in till next week (Tuesday).  His shop is swamped with rush orders for repairs.  So....we'll see what, if anything, transpires from that visit.  If I cannot get it fixed here, I will ride it, on rare occasions, and take it back home with us to have one of our BC local dealers deal with it.

Beautiful walkway around the man made lake

Yesterday was a beautiful day for riding though....and I did ride for several hours - even with the intermittent sputtering and belching.

All right.  That does it from here for now.

Thanks for dropping in.