Random Thoughts
Seein the sights –
We have been working at being tourists for the past week. We are in Rapid City, South Dakota for a week to see the local sights. Those sights include the sculpted Presidents at Mount Rushmore, Sturgis – a mythical town which is the location of the largest motorcycle rally in the country, the Bad Lands, Wall Drug, Walmart, Deadwood, the Black Hills Grasslands, and much more. We know already that we won’t be able to see everything we wish to see on this trip. We need to defer trips to Devil’s Tower, Custer State Park, the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, and trail riding in the hills. Plus, I could easily spend more time at Mt. Rushmore, or in the Bad Lands, or just tooling around the countryside.
Through the lens –
I am rusty when it comes to photography. Things that used to be second nature, now require that extra slice of time to execute. I notice it in little things like “how do I change ISO”, or what all does “Program Mode” do for you?” Ideas still come quickly, and I still use the commonly accepted principals for composure and exposure. I still find flaws and possible improvements in my photographs. But, I hope I always do. One does not want to get too complacent. My photos are lacking a certain snap or pop that I think they used to have. I have also noticed that when I am out shooting for a while, the joy returns and I begin to “see” pictures all over the place. I’m also trying to remember to take my camera with me when I move about. I am fully confident in my iPhone to capture a good image, but I still work best with a full-size camera body.
Hittin the road –
Tomorrow is a travel day. We have a 60-point check list of items to prepare to move our home. They say that a large trailer such as ours goes through a 4-pint Richter scale earthquake every time it gets moved. Basically everything inside needs to be stowed or battened down, the outside furniture and other items need to be collected and stowed, the storage tanks need to be drained and flushed, land-based utility lines (electric and water and sometimes sewer) need to be disconnected and stowed, the slides need to be retracted, stabilizers need to be retracted, wheel chocks retrieved and finally the truck and trailer hitched together. We have been at our current location in Rapid City, SD for the better part of a week now. Travel days are always disruptive, but it seems more so after a longer stay.
Do you hear me now? –
Out cellular internet WiFi router system from MobileMustHave is a marvel. We have been running it non stop for two months, with only one or two hiccups. We are connected to Verizon via a SIMM card inserted into out cellular modem. We have a 5G capable router and have occasionally had 5G service. Tut the LTE and 4G connections are fast and – for the most part – reliable. Major kudos to MobileMustHave for developing a great, portable and fast system. And their support staff is friendly and helpful.
Laundry on the road –
We used to do laundry on the road the old-fashioned way. We would hope the campground laundry facilities would at least meet code and be clean. Then we began branching out and seeking laundromats in the surrounding area. But we still needed to devote several hours to washing, drying, folding sorting and bagging our laundry. Then we discovered the laundry service – where you drop off your laundry, it gets washed, dried, folded and sort of sorted before you can retrieve it. Today we took it up yet another notch. We found a laundry service in town (Rapid City, SD) that picks up and delivers. They are a little bit more expensive than other laundry services that we’ve used, but did I mention that they pick up and deliver. Literally, to our RV in the campground.