Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Travel

Taking the New Truck Plunge

Ford F-150 Pickup Truck

We didn’t plan to drive a new truck home today, but that’s what happened. We had been toying with the prospect of upgrading to a new vehicle for a while now and contacted a friend who is a salesman at the local dealer. We gave him some specifications about what we wanted and he came up with a list of possible matches a few days later. At first, we had trouble getting on the same wavelength with our “druthers,” but we met with him today at the dealership and found a truck that we could flex our initial wishlist to come to an agreement. Both Damsel and I test drove the truck and we liked it a lot.

Our buddy made us a really good offer for a trade in of our SUV, so we decided to go forward with the deal. We still have the SUV for tonight, but tomorrow morning we will be cleaning it out and taking it to the dealer.

A couple of years ago, this dealer posted a billboard that convinced us that we would come here for a new truck deal. It was the famous (to us) “Thanks, Ford, for NOT taking the bail out from the government.” Click on the image to enlarge.

31 Jul 2014 by Arizona Something Shiny Travel

Mammoth on the Hill

Mammoth

While we were driving along SR 60 going through California on Monday, we passed this metallic mammoth adorning one of the Jarupa Hills near Riverside.

We see a lot of metallic sculpture when we’re in Arizona, some of it around town and some in the Arizona Outback between Wickenburg and Brenda just before getting on I-10 from US 60. We have seen dinosaurs, horses, a stagecoach and various other sculptures during our travels. Always entertaining. Click on the image to enlarge.

20 Jun 2014 by Arts California Photography Travel

HOV Lane

HOV Lane

HOV or High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on California’s Freeways are supposed to be reserved for vehicles with occupancy of 2 or more. When we travel to our former state, we meet their criterion for HOV lane occupancy. Using those lanes gets us around some of the congestion which is rampant throughout urban areas. It cuts our travel time by, perhaps, a half hour out of six hours total travel time.

Some of our fellow travelers seem to equate the so-called Diamond Lane, not with High Occupancy, but with High Speed. While We might be a couple of MPH over the posted speed limit, some of the drivers get right up on our tailgate trying to get us to go faster. Of course, it does them little good, since I have the cruise control set to maintain a speed such as to not attract undue attention to law enforcement.

Some of the drivers get it, and fall back to match our speed. Others, however, have a road rage incident where they pull out to the right and pass us, cutting us off as they pull in ahead of us and speed on down the road. Of course, when we’re on the road, we drive defensively and slow down to let the idiots kill themselves and not get us involved.

We’re in K-stan tonight and tomorrow and Damsel and I look forward to heading back to Free Arizona on Wednesday.

16 Jun 2014 by California Degenerates Travel

California Agriculture Checkpoint

California Agriculture Checkpoint

When we crossed over the Colorado River last week, we drove through California’s Agriculture Station, as usual on I-10 going into Blythe. The interesting thing about this encounter is that there were NO checkpoint agents waving us through as is the norm. We crossed through at a little after eleven AM and saw no agents manning any of the open lanes. Nada. On our return trip passing eastbound across from the station we again did not observe any agents – cars were just passing through.

I nosed around on the CDFA website a bit and could not find any reference to budget cuts having to do with lack of personnel. Moreover, these stations have been and continue to be a complete waste of taxpayer money.

Many times we have gone through this checkpoint and the most the agent ever did was ask where we were coming from. How that keeps agricultural pests out of Cali is beyond me. Until this time where no agents were present, we would usually get a wave through with no questions asked. Talk about a useless job and waste of travelers’ time.

What gripes me, is that I still pay property tax on the old house that supports this sort of nonsense. Within a year, I think that we well be out of that property altogether.

Damsel took the photo of the station on Tuesday last. Click on the image to enlarge.

02 Jun 2014 by California Travel Whacko Politics

Saguaro and Castle Rock

Saguaro and Castle Rock

We drove down to Sun City to visit Mom in the rehab center today. Driving on the 25 mile segment of US 60 between Wickenburg and just outside of Surprise, is where you will see beautiful Sonoran Desert scenes like this one that I shot on the trip home.

We don’t really know that the name of the mountain in the background is really “Castle Rock,” but it lies up near the end of Castle Hot Springs Road, so that’s what we call it. Click on the image to enlarge.

03 Sep 2013 by Arizona Photography Travel

Lugnutz

Lugnutz

On the way back from the valley a few days ago, Damsel snapped this photo of the front wheel of an eighteen wheeler. The operator had replaced the lug nuts with this exotic array of spiked cones that reminded me of the Ben Hur Chariot Race where the evil Massala had extended axles on his chariot designed to rip out the spokes of competing chariots. Click on the image to enlarge.

01 Sep 2013 by Photography Something Shiny Travel

Home Again

Ancient Petroglyphs

It’s good to be back home after the whirlwind trip to California and back. We’re going to sleep good tonight.

Most of the trip, we’re on Interstate highways or California freeways, but when we get to US 60 on I-10, we drop off of the concrete monsters and head across the “Arizona Outback.” The last hundred miles or so before we are home, is some of the most interesting scenery. One very interesting landmark is this rock with ancient petroglyphs immediately off of the road between Hope and Harcuvar, AZ. We didn’t even slow down as I took this photo from the truck as we passed by. Click on the image to enlarge.

30 Jul 2013 by Arizona Culture Photography Travel

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