Ready to Roll

Thursday was Brenda's last Scrambler Therapy appointment, for these treatments Dr. Wade has been hooking up a LED Light Therapy boot on her as well, he says it does something to promote healing in damaged tissues. She has had a couple of toes on her bad leg that have been numb for years but this light thingy has got the feeling back in them. Don't ask me how it works or if it is just in the mind, regardless the feeling is back and that is good.

We followed up our Therapy date with a run through the local Walmart and Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick up a few more necessaries and then it was over to the Kona Grill to meet Mickey and Jeff for lunch and some laughs. It is always a good time spending time with those two. After unloading all our Amazon stuff from their car we were off to our rig. Max and Maya were glad to see us back after a long day lounging on the the couches.

Friday we both had appointments in Gold Canyon to get adjusted, that is a fancy word to describe having Dr. Cassie, a slight little woman, take out her aggression on our spines. Regardless though I know I feel better and I am sure Brenda is the same. My Granddad used to say his Chiropractor could knock a cold out of him, well I didn't have a cold when I went in but if I had of I am sure it would have been gone.

Once that was done we ran back out to the rig to pick up our laundry, we had planned to run into the laundromat listed in Superior until we realized that it was really in Globe, so we changed plans and headed into the Superstition Express Laundry in Apache Junction. Lots of machines there, clean, but not coin operated. You have to get a card and work from that, and the system needs a little work and better instructions. We ran into Vic Almond from up Ponoka way in there doing the same thing, trying to do laundry and cursing at the machines.

Once we got everything clean and folded we headed back home to our rig and our mutts.

I had a chance to unpack the drone and do a little fly over of our place so hopefully I can mash together some footage to show you the neighbourhood but until then this will have to do.

Saturday we did a whole lot of nothing, well not really I guess, we installed a grate on the screen door so that Max and maybe Maya won't be pushing the screen out, a water alarm under the pump watching for leaks, and changed the water filter out. But other than that and some book reading we did nothing, but tomorrow we are set to head off to points east. Stay tuned.

Scrambler Therapy

Other than the beautiful view from our spot here at Picket Post the real reason we came this way was to get some Scrambler Therapy (Calmare) treatments for Brenda's CRPS. This therapy is the only thing that seems to relieve the nerve pain she suffers from and the relief is almost instantaneous although it doesn't last forever. Dr. Wade and the staff at Superstition Chiropractic have almost become like family over the years, Brenda has hauled them Christmas baking as well as her homemade jam over the years so on top of the business we bring, the goodies make her a special customer.

We didn't linger very long on the road coming south, we were in a rush to leave behind the cool temperatures and get hooked up to the Calmare machine so we have also been restocking our larder. A trip to Walmart, as well as another to Costco has most of that done, but Thursday we are heading over to cousins Mick and Jeff's to unbury them from a pile of Amazon deliveries we have inundated them with this week. Might even get a chance to visit a little while we are there.

Sunset over our rig at Picket Post

Migrating

Last week we finished up all our doctor and dentist appointments. Brenda is sporting new choppers and the implants are working great or so it is reported. Over the last week we had been hauling stuff out to the RV, loading things we needed and unloading things we didn't. Wednesday was the big move day for Brenda's clothes and the remainders of our fridge stuff.

Thursday we woke up early, finished loading and then got hooked up and headed south. We had no destination in mind but were just playing it by ear. We stopped in Nanton for breakfast and a good visit with our old friend Van Greig, before continuing on towards the border. A few questions at the border, where are you going, how long are you staying, how much money do you have with you, are you sure that is enough to last the winter, and we were headed south out of Sweetgrass, Montana. We decided because it was cold we would overnight at Dick's RV Park in Great Falls and continue in the morning. Just yesterday I was reading a Technomadia Facebook post about the new Verizon pre-paid jet pack. It is a truly unlimited device and is only throttled if you get in a crowded area, not our usual habitat, so I ran out and signed us up. It is about $65-$70 dollars a month, considerably less than the $220/month that Telus charges us for only 40GB. Hope it works out, but so far it is doing yeoman's duty here onboard Dogpound Anywhere (DPA).

Friday we were up early and on the road before the sun brightened our journey up the Missouri River valley and then south to those flatlands of southern Idaho. We hit Salt Lake City right at rush hour and a little construction caused some slow going for a while. We holed up for the night at Cabela's in Lehi, it was a little warmer there in Utah. Sadly Cabela's big parking lot that used to harbour a few RV's has been taken over by a new building and it looks like that is coming to an end. Luckily I spotted the construction superintendent and convinced him that we would be decent security for the night so we had one last night in this familiar stopping place.

Again, we were on the road before daylight and headed for the desert. I always look forward to the slide down the hill from the high desert of Southern Utah and through the Virgin River Gorge to the Mohave Desert surrounding Las Vegas. Usually there is a dramatic temperature increase as you make that journey but this year it was only 10F degrees difference. Still warmer is good. We made it to Wikiup and stayed at Dazzo's campground, the campground was ok for what we wanted, to water up and flush out some antifreeze, but it was not Brenda's cup of tea. BUT, the restaurant, was great, the wait staff a little ranchey, but the food was second to none.

Sunday we slept in, till sun-up, topped those tanks that needed topping, flushed the rest and then headed down the road again. We stopped by our friends, K&T's place for a short visit and swapped a few lies before heading on to our final destination for this part of the journey here at Picket Post. This mountain is one of our favourite spots to hole up when we are in the Phoenix area.

Picket Post Mountain

We had scheduled some Scrambler Therapy (Calmare) for Brenda and her CRPS, on Monday but as we were pulling into the parking lot the doc called and had to delay it till tomorrow. She is booked for three days of therapy so hopefully that will push her nerve pain away for awhile.

With our therapy session cancelled we headed over to Walmart for some supplies, and then back to camp for the day. A long way from home you will never guess who came to our camp for a visit.

Libby

Ken and Verna Pohl, along with Vic and Marilou, stopped in for a couple of days riding here on their way to the South Pohl.

I'll leave you with one last pic of our rig in front of the mountain.

Dogpound Anywhere (DPA)

What's Up?

Good question, we are just hanging here at Dogpound North getting some dental things caught up on before we start loading the rig for our southern migration. I was off last weekend to do a little shooting, photos, up at Ken and Verna Pohl's. The video was posted previously so I won't bore you with that again, but it was great to see all those folks enjoying a day in the sunshine bringing in the sheaves just like our forefathers did. As I wandered around taking some pics and shooting a little video with the UAV I couldn't help but think what my grandfather would have thought of this operation. He farmed in East Central Alberta on a place that is still in my family, but he was always a forward looking fellow and had one of the first combines in the country. Not being the sentimental type he probably would have thought all of this was crazy, but he sure would have been able to jump in and offer some advice on how to make it all work smoother, although Ken did a pretty good job of that himself.

The weather here at DPN is pretty good, we have had some warm days and a little wind to things have dried up pretty well and the fields around us are full of combines and swathers so the long delayed harvest is coming off fast. Let's hope the folks get all the good weather they need to put their crops in the bin. The video is a lot better with a little Blake Reid, another neighbour just Down the Road from Dogpound but Youtube would have a hairy conniption if I hooked you up with that.

The rest of the week I spent wandering around looking for the right components for my cabinet repairs and that job is on the books for this weekend, well unless I can think of some other excuse to delay it. I am not the handiest guy on the planet and although I have watched a hundred video's and got lots of advice from the experts it is not a job I look forward to.

Sunset at DPN

And again

I was able to put that job out of my mind a few times though, I spent 5 days this week at the pool in Cochrane and logged 20,000 metres over those days and although you can think about things while you are swimming, you can't really accomplish much of anything else. I have always been much better at thinking about work than doing it.

Sunrise at DPN this morning

Sunrise this morning Down the Road from Dogpound

Till next time

Farming with Horses Threshing

Just checking out this Youtube option. I took a spin up to the North Pohl and shot a few miles of video and a bunch of still shots of Ken Pohl's Threshing operation. The proceeds are dedicated to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank so it was all for a good cause.

Thanksgiving

I am trying to keep this blog up to date a little more, just as a record for me. I have looked for other journaling solutions, from online diaries to video logs but all have issues, the online diaries don't seem to salve my need for rambling on and on about nothing in particular, as for the video logs, wow, they are a lot of work, and although I have managed to surround myself with a beautiful family and friends the star of the show is not to photogenic and I am not sure I am ready to unveil that on an unsuspecting public. I have a few vlogs I follow, mostly sailing or RV'ing types of folks, and maybe I can develop some kind of vlog that will showcase the places we go and see so that I can have that for when my eyes get to weak to look back at this journal here.

There that has salved my need for nonsensical rambling. It is hard for me to believe I actually used to find enough stuff to write about multiple times a week, but I guess it is a process, and I actually think you do more stuff when you have a blog entry in the back of your mind so maybe it will come back.

We are getting our doctors and dentist visits all up to date around here, winterizing what needs winterizing and our family RV storage lot is gradually filling as those who don't flee the snow bring their rigs back for their winter hibernation. We have our rig winterized but we are hoping we managed to bust it out of winter sometime next month and head for warmer climes. Brenda has a couple of dentist appointments that we have to stay north of the Medicine Line for but mid November we are hoping for a weather window that will allow us to escape.

Yesterday we celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving here at Dogpound North with the girls, it is always great to see them and especially the grandchildren. Here is the requisite Thanksgiving Dinner shot.

I won't bore you with all the great photos of my grandchildren I got, those of you who are on Facebook with me have already seen them all, but here are a couple of my favourites from the day.

Auntie Becky and Alle horsing around 

Max seems to be thinking "I wonder if it is just my super canine hearing or are these guys extra loud today"

Looking out the window it is looking like winter has returned to DPN and I hear it is out in full force up at the Buffalo Creek Ranch in East Central Alberta as well, so it may very well be province wide.

A Mixed Bag

Not a lot happening here at Dogpound North. September has not been the nicest month around these parts, kind of cool, a little rain and some flurries, yes flurries. We ran up to Rocky a couple of weeks ago for "Bring your Grandparents to School Day" at Ella and Alle's school. It is nice to check out where the girls spend their days and they seem pretty excited to show Grandma and I around their schools. After spending the afternoon with them we met up with their Mom and Dad to break a little bread before skedaddling for home.

Ella's Art

I did manage to get out a couple of days and see a little country, it was raining much of the time on the Eastern Slopes but once I broke over the front ranges it seemed that there was a little more sunshine to be found. The shot below is on the Forestry Trunk Road south of Highwood House dropping down into Cataract Creek.

This shot is of a new gate out in the Yaha Tinda's horse pasture looking west towards Warden's Rock on of my favourite views at any time of the year.

It was pretty obvious out in the West Country that fall was in the air and winter not far behind. And even here at Dogpound North the leaves are turning and the horses are wearing their winter coats.

This past weekend Justin came down to Carstairs for a couple of days riding bulls so I managed to sneak over and take a photo or two. The bulls weren't cooperating with me and most of the daylight shots they decided to show me their heels so this one was taken late at night. Justins first bull came out of the chute backwards so he got a re-ride option but that meant he was riding at 10:20 at night so the light wasn't great for the camera but the ride was pretty nice.

You can see the legs just under the bull and the shadow to the right of the picture, those are the bull fighters, these guys are the heroes in these events making sure these kids get down off these bulls safely. I know Justin has a lot of faith in them and depends on them to get him out of tight spots and make sure the bull doesn't grind him into the ground after his ride. Thanks guys.

Remember back a couple of paragraphs ago when I said September wasn't the greatest weather, but as it turns out October isn't looking much better, at least with what we have seen these first few days. Monday night it started snowing and pretty much kept it up all night and most of the next day. I took this shot of a gang of robins hanging around under our apple tree enjoying a little frozen fruit salad and discussing when would be a good time to head out of the country.

The snow came down thick and steady and when it finally quit we had a little over ten inches out in  middle of the yard away from the buildings. You have all seen the moose we have hanging around here in the winter, well we frequently have other visitors as well, this photo is one half of the onsite security that hangs out here all winter. He was doing his morning rounds when I captured him checking the perimeter. 

The last couple of days we haven't had any snow which is probably a good thing as many of our neighbours still have crops in the field to harvest, but it will take a while and a different forecast for harvest to resume around these parts. Till next time.