Life on the Road

Yesterday on the TV news, I heard this statement, in connection to a recent death on a cruise line. The speaker was discussing the risks of cruise travel in general, and the footage was stock footage of various cruise boats.

“What people don’t realize is, of course, is…. it happens more often than not.”

More often than not? Oh, my god– I am so glad I survived my 3-day cruise in Ensenada, then! The phrase “More often than not” indicates that something happens more often than it does not happen. So, more than 50% of the time, that thing happens.

Thus, according to the speaker, who was clearly not thinking while his mouth was flapping,  more than 50% of cruises (or perhaps, more than 50% of cruisers!) will result in a death by someone falling overboard.

Now that I think of it, there was an emergency on board our cruise– someone had an existing medical condition that required them to be picked up by the Coast Guard and returned to shore for medical treatment. But they didn’t die, and they rejoined the cruise later that day.

Here’s a tip for writers, commentators, and in general anyone who doesn’t want to look or sound like an idiot: Know what’s going to come out before you open your mouth.

It used to be pretty standard that you could find at least one blackjack table with a $5 minimum. Before blackjack became all the rage about 10 years ago, you could even find tables with $2 or $3 minimums. Those days are all but gone on the Strip, but if you’re a blackjack player, there are a few places to play for less.

One of the local favorites is the Silverton, which has table games, slots, poker, a few restaurants, a massive aquarium with mermaid show, a showroom, and a Bass Pro Shops.

Yes, really– they have a Bass Pro Shop on site. The Silverton always has $5 blackjack tables– during popular times and days, they may only have one table, but they’ll have at least 1 open.

There are only 2 pits here, and several of the table games are what I call the “oddball” games, like Pai Gow Poker, 3 Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat. I’m a classicist when it comes to table games– I like craps and blackjack, and the other games don’t really get my attention.

The poker room has nightly Texas Hold Em tournaments, with Fridays being Ladies Night (women get a discount on their buy-in). Most of the action starts after 6 or 7, and I understand it’s hard to get together a no-limit Texas Hold Em cash game. But if you like limit Hold Em, or you’re into tournament play, this is a good spot to go.

The restaurants are Vegas-style, but the Silverton’s having a special until the end of December (2008): 2 for 1 at all the restaurants. This makes it very affordable for couples, whether you’re enjoying a pasta dish with a view of the aquarium, or “fajitas and ritas” (which have their own special price and come with enough fajitas for 3 meals!)

Events change frequently, and the Silverton recently hosted the National Rodeo Trials, but also has Smashmouth playing on January 3rd, so a good mix for visitors. It’s not a kid-oriented place– for that, you need to go to the Excalibur or Circus Circus. But kids do enjoy the mermaid show at the aquarium, so it doesn’t completely alienate families.

The Silverton is away from the Strip, down Highway 15 to Blue Diamond Road. There are daily shuttles to the Forum Shops, Oasis RV park, the Outlet Mall, and a few other spots, so if you’re trying to get around, it’s easy enough. Plus, free, uncrowded parking is available if you have a car.

Silverton Casino Lodge
3333 Blue Diamond Road
Las Vegas, NV 89139
(866) 946-4373

This week’s hard drive failure did teach me a couple of valuable things about why I’m glad to have a Mac computer, living on the road. For one thing, when they work, they really do work. Effortlessly and seamlessly.

For another thing, they have good, built-in encryption in the File Vault program. My husband and I share our concerns about laptop theft on the road frequently. In an ideal situation, someone breaking in and stealing our computers will get… a computer. They won’t also get our hard drives of data, our passwords, our bank accounts, our browsing history, or anything more valuable than a couple of machines.

But there’s another reason to use a Mac, a really big reason, and it has to do with the times when it doesn’t work.

When a PC breaks, you have to fix it yourself or take it to some computer repair person to fix it. Most of the time, we fix these things ourselves, because finding someone to fix a computer is… not easy, to say the least. For most people, the “computer guy” is a friend or a relative, your neighbor’s nephew– basically, some kid with a lot of know-how and an ability to dig right in and tackle it.

When a Mac breaks, you can try to fix it yourself, but you’re going to end up calling Apple for parts anyway. In my case, I have AppleCare on my computer. The couple hundred bucks it cost me was more than worth it the first time I took it in for service, over a year ago. Because Apple is one company, when you take your machine to an Apple Store’s Genius Bar in New York, and then take it to another Genius Bar in Las Vegas, you end up with the same level of service. The technicians (sorry, Geniuses) have a repair history on file, based on your computer’s serial number.

Now, because of the uniformity of service, you can’t really count on someone going the extra mile for you. After all, they don’t really know you that well. They just know you came in with a dead hard drive (or battery, or DVD drive, or logic board…. yes, I’ve had a lot of computer problems.) You’re not building an ongoing relationship with the individual Genius who helps you with your machine. But you do have an ongoing service record, so the next Genius can be interchangeable with the last Genius.

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the park
Not a creature was stirring, not even a lark.
The stockings were piled on the rig’s steering wheel
And we were home from the buffet after a great big meal.
The presents were on their way to loved ones,
We dreamed of a Christmas in Nevada’s sun.
When what to my wondering eyes, don’t you know?
But a stiff breeze and sleet and then– SNOW!
It fell soft like wings. It flew in flurries!
It blanketed campsites and made little dogs worry.
The white stuff it fell until early dawning,
And left layers of white stuff on every cold awning.
The palm trees, they sagged with the weight of the stuff.
The hoses, they froze. The retirees cried “ENOUGH!”
And I in my wooly slippers and hat
Was surprised by a sight, “Well, look at that!”
Twas a round little man in a jolly red suit
With sequins and spangles– almost a zoot.
His hair how it shone, his hips how wiggly!
He crooned to himself a tune quite jiggly.
As he passed by the rigs with barely a touch,
I heard him mutter “Thank you very much.”
The sun rose to spread its rays the next morn
We all were relieved to again feel warm!
It’s a curious sight in this land of mega
Hotels and casinos, Christmas in Las Vegas.
And I have a message here, a note from a friend,
A thought for you all, feel free to re-send.
Before you run off to win a few bucks,
Merry Christmas to All, and to All: GOOD LUCK!

We are here, in beautiful Anthony, Texas. In a parking lot. OK, it’s a glorified parking lot– we have hookups, after all. But our rig spent 2 days at the local Camping World service center getting a few repairs done, and it’s probably going to be back in the shop all next week. With two major mechanical repairs still waiting because the shop “doesn’t do that.”This is the complicated part about RV ownership. Part of the rig is automotive, part is living quarters. The parts that are automotive might be engine and might be chassis– and a service center that will work on the chassis might not do work on the engine and vice versa.To add to the complexity, some service centers won’t work on diesel engines (ours is diesel). And our hot water heater is a diesel-fueled AquaHot system which stopped working properly last November. Now, there are two water heating systems– one is powered by electricity, and the other is powered by the AquaHot (and there’s a third which heats the water as part of the engine cooling system, sow when we stop after driving for a day, we have lots of hot water). As a result, we have gone for a year with only the engine and electrical hot water systems. With the full system including the diesel, we never run out of hot water. Ever.Many of these repairs we can do ourselves. I defrosted the fridge and John fixed the ice maker using a service bulletin from the manufacturer. He’s been able to fix and replace lights and electrical components all over the place.But some are not so easy. Like the bedroom lights, which mysteriously stopped working after flickering for a while. Replacing the bulbs didn’t work– it seems that the ballasts had gone bad. The problem? Each ballast costs over $80 and has to be special ordered– and we were unable to find them when we took the lamps apart. Yes, it seems like a ripoff to me, too.Every day that the RV is in the service center, we go hole up at a local hotel. We didn’t used to do this, but last year we sat in a service center for 5 hours before they even touched the rig, and then another 3 or 4 while they discovered that replacing the big awning was not a 30 minute job. I was ticked off, but more than that, my cat had been inside his carrier for that whole time, without access to a litter box (and subsequently, he triggered a urinary tract infection), while we were told repeatedly “it’ll just be another 20 minutes.” We have yet to find a service center that will let us leave the cat in the RV until they’re ready to actually get someone in the rig, so now we take the cat and his litter box to a hotel room until all the repairs are done and we’re ready to go home. The hotel has Internet access, so I can work while the cat hides under the bed (or behind the microwave in this case), and we’re generally pretty content with the arrangement.Most people who own motorhomes and have service repairs done are doing so under warranty. When you buy an “as is” RV like we did, you end up paying out of pocket any time something breaks, so a lot of times, you find a way to get by without it. Whether it’s the fuel pump or the shower, entropy does occur and parts do fail eventually. This is true in stationary homes, too– you can buy an old home and spend your life fixing stuff, or you can buy a new home and spend your life fixing stuff. A home is, like a garden, a constant source of activities and chores to do. 

John and I both enjoy observing nature in various ways. John is a hiker and backpacker, and he’s most at home among redwood trees. I enjoy looking at stuff– creepy crawlies in the desert, deer wandering past our campsite, the thousand ways a prickly pear cactus can grow, the stars circling above us. We’re also keenly aware that, while we can enjoy a good deal of this on our own, having a skilled guide is invaluable for really getting to know the world around us.

Last night, we had an excellent opportunity for star-gazing as we move north from Big Bend towards Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell, New Mexico.  Not far from Big Bend is Fort Davis, Texas, home of the McDonald Observatory (which produces the StarDate magazine and popular radio show/podcast) and one of the largest optical telescopes in the world. On Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, the observatory hosts “Star Parties,” where visitors are treated to some guided stargazing, both with the naked eye, and through the smaller telescopes. Star Party start times vary by season: right now, they start at 7:30 PM, after the sun has fully set.

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John and I went scouting this week for RV parks near Big Bend National Park. With the International Chili Cookoff happening in Terlingua on November 1, we’re down here to enjoy the cookoff and visit the amazing and beautiful state and national parks in the area.

All of the parks listed are on Highway 170, except the one inside the national park. The entire region is still recovering from the Rio Grande flooding in September, so you can expect great river rafting available, but several roads and activities are still closed near the river. The road to Presidio, Texas is still closed to through traffic.

The parks are comparably priced, with most of them costing$25-35 per night.

BJ’s RV Park
432-371-2259
It’s a dry patch of parking lot with full hookups. “It is what it is,” and what it is is close to Big Bend National Park. There is Not Much Here, to be honest, but it’s (hot, dry) walking distance into the town of Terlingua, which is something. It does have 50 amp service and the spaces are large enough for big rigs, but I had a sense of the sites being a little bit narrow.

Big Bend Motor Inn RV Campground
800-848-BEND
Even closer to Big Bend National Park, this one’s been called overpriced by some. It is as close as you can get to the national park without being inside it, which means it’s only 20 miles to the nearest visitor’s center and park HQ. We only drove past this one, but know it has full hookups and no shade trees.

Lajitas Resort Maverick Ranch RV Park
1-877-LAJITAS
This is where we’re staying. It accommodates very large RVs with many pull-through sites and lots of wide open spaces. Sites are quite wide. There are trees and some shade– Lajitas used to be an upscale resort, but has since gone under new management and is now more affordable for everyone. There’s a nice conference center and lounge, and there’s a pool and WiFi, something the other parks don’t have. Lajitas also has TV hookups, but other campers report the service wasn’t working very well.

Rio Grande Village RV Park
Inside Big Bend National Park
1-877-444-6777 reservations
432-477-2293 information (call first to find out if it’s open!)

It’s on the far side of the park from Terlingua, which means about a 35 mile drive from Terlingua to the RV park. It’s also right next to the river, and when we visited, it was still closed from the flooding, but due to open any day. Fees are $26/night,

It has full hookups and 50 amp service, but the sites are on the small side. There are a lot of trees and shade, which is unusual in this part of the country. There’s room for about 1 really large motorhome here, parked diagonally. If you’re 32′ or shorter, you should have no problem. All sites are back-in, and there’s a general store within walking distance of the park.

There is also a campground in Chisos Basin for dry camping, and these sites are $14/night. However, this campground is not recommended for RVs over 24′ long. The road that’s open to Chisos Basin has a number of tight switchbacks, and you’ll find it difficult, if not dangerous. That said, we did see a long yellow school bus successfully maneuver the road, but buses handle differently from RVs.

There’s another dry campground at Cottonwood which is still closed due to the flooding, with little chance of reopening soon.

Big Bend Ranch State Park
432-424-3327
Next to Lajitas, and about 20 miles from Big Bend National Park, is Big Bend Ranch State Park. This is a beautiful and less-visited park with plenty of hiking and off-highway trails to explore. There are 5 full-hookup sites in the park which, while reserved for staff members, are available for campers on a “come in and ask” basis (tip: this season, they expect no more than 3 sites to be occupied by staff!) The sites are full hookup and a little bit narrow, but even a 40′er can fit. The sites are $18/night, plus $3/person/day (but you can reduce that with an annual pass).

I took some time off from the USTravel.today.com blog. Mainly, I needed to do a little life balancing. See, I had an epiphany recently. I have time in my life for work, knitting, reading, writing, social life, tourism, music, etc… but only if I pick 3 of those things to focus on in any given week. For about 6 weeks, I was near family, and so one slot was taken up with “social life.” With work being an ever-present slot-filler, that left 1 slot for anything else– and I decided to spend that on some things I’d been neglecting, mainly knitting and reading for a while. I also had a speaking engagement in Austin earlier this month– in short, it’s been a busy absence.

We’re now in Terlingua, Texas, which is next to Big Bend National Park. This week, I finished knitting a shawl, which I blogged about yesterday (go read it, even if knitting holds no interest for you– it’s all about a very bad night spent in the RV).

There are several RV parks near Big Bend, but there’s also been a lot of damage from the Rio Grande flooding last month. The park where we’re staying started out as a high-class golf resort but…. well, the economic downturn didn’t help, and the new owners bought it just in time to have the golf course turn into a challenging river rapid. Whoops!

In any case, John and I scouted the RV parks in the nearby area yesterday. For the most part, this part of Texas is big and flat (except for the mesas) and has a lot of sun and not many trees. The RV parks are the same. Most have 50 amp service. Some are flooded– you take your chances, I guess.

You probably read about the TSA’s new uniforms in the news yesterday. If you didn’t, you will probably notice them the next time you fly. Previously, the TSA had white cotton shirts which looked rather informal and, after a few years of wear, they all became a bit stained. What’s more, TSA screeners have been tasked with rifling through your luggage and your belongings, but without any sort of symbol that says “I have the right to dig through your underwear.”

Well, although you can debate the appropriateness of letting strangers paw through your neverminds, I think we can all agree that the new TSA uniforms are nothing but snazzy! The shirts are a rich blue color that I affectionately called “Corporate Blue.” It’s a tone-neutral a shade that looks good on almost everyone, regardless of skin tone or hair color (unlike white, which looks bad on 75% of the population). There’s a tie– butterfly for the ladies, straight for the men– which is optional in the short-sleeved version of the shirts.

The TSA’s uniform code is stringent, like all good uniforms. A uniform demonstrates respect for the worker and delineates the person from the office– something that is all too necessary when you might be taking away a 6-pack of butterfly knives from a forgetful hunter. The socks are limited to blue or black, and can have no visible decoration below the cuff. Pantlegs are carefully measured and must break at a specific spot on the foot. For a number of TSA employees who served in the armed forces, the uniform is refreshing.

But the uniform now has one more detail that is new, and important. It’s the symbol of office, and a symbol of the trust the government has placed in the TSA employees. It’s the badge! When these federal employees have been digging through your underthings, they did so with as much visible authority as the guy who drives the shuttle bus from the hotel to the airport. The badge changes all that, and the TSA’s new badges give an aura of respectability to the most visible change in domestic security resulting from 9/11.

I complain a lot about the state of air travel in the US today, but I also have a lot of respect (and even love, in one particular case!) for the TSA employees. It’s like any government job, of course– there’s good apples and some bad. But in general, I try to believe most of them are people like my dad, who are doing a difficult, public-facing job to try and keep America a little safer.

Nearly everyone you talk to will tell you “the Canadian side is prettier!” when planning a visit to Niagara Falls , and that might be true. It’s been about 16 years since I was in the Canadian side of the Falls. However, the American side is quite majestic, and affords a view of both sides of the falls from Goat Island as well as a few exciting adventures.

First, this is one area where you can either do it yourself or take a pre-paid tour. If you love to walk, then doing it yourself is fine; Niagara Falls is a state park, so the costs can be minimized. There’s also a Discovery Pass for $30 that will get your into the main attractions, like the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. The boat trip and observation deck tickets are the significant expenses. If you take a tour, you get a talkative guide, a bus, and you don’t have to search for parking, but it costs more to go that route. We took Bedore Tours; they picked us up at the campgroun, were friendly and courteous, and really knew their way around.

Second, the American side is not as built-up as the Canadian side, and this is evidenced when you take one of the tours, look across the gorge or canyon to the Canadian side, and realize you’re staring at a place where you can’t walk 100 feet without passing a gift shop, parking lot, or hotel. That’s somewhat true of the American side as well, but the park areas around the falls are vast and unencumbered.

A few highlights of the falls area:

The Whirlpool Gorge, where a vortex of water forms after the falls and before continuing on as the mighty Niagara River. Class 6 rapids lead up to the whirlpool, making it an extremely dangerous area to access, though there is a path access by land. Private boats are not allowed here, but the power speedboat tours are– and they are mighty and quite a tour adventure themselves. There’s an air gondola ride from Canada that takes a trip across the whirlpool as well.

The next stop is Goat Island, where you can take a walk down to the Cave of the Winds, which is a man-made tunnel down to the American side of the falls. 90% of the water going over Niagara Falls flows over the Horseshoe Falls, and the other 10% go over the Bridal Veil Falls on the American side. In the Cave of the Winds tour, you wear a plastic garbage bag and sandals and walk down on wooden planks to have the falls “mist” you with up to 70 mph rainy winds.

The Horseshoe Falls is perhaps the best-known and most-visited part of the Falls area. The Horseshoe Falls are the quintessential Falls you see when you’re thinking “Niagara Falls.” They’re the ones people go over in a barrel or a kayak (and rarely survive). They are massive. They are impressive– even moreso when you realize that they represent only 50% of the total water heading to the Falls– the other 50% is taken out and used for hydro-electric power on both sides of the the U.S.-Canada border.

If the Horseshoe Falls are the quintessential Niagara Falls trip, the Maid of the Mist trip is the quintessence of how to visit them. If you’re on a budget, save your pennies for this part of the destination. You can take either the American or Canadian boat tours– either one will give you a wild ride that’s well worth the time and money. Canadian trip tickets are $14.50 (CDN), U.S. tickets are $12.50 (USD), and include the cost of the elevator ticket, which you could purchase separately for about $1 if you just wanted to tease yourself by going down to the dock and not getting on the boat. Trips start at 9 or 10, depending on the season, and end around dusk. Plan to get wet– you will.

The Observation Deck platform next to the falls juts out so you can view both the Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe at the same time and without getting wet. The park itself is open after dusk, and the falls are lighted at night into one terrific show until 11 PM.

Resources and Information:

Niagara Falls State Park and Discovery Pass: 716-278-1796. Pass is $30 adults, $23 kids 6-12.
Hurricane Deck at Cave of the Winds: $10/$7. Observation Tower: $1 adults.

Maid of the Mist : 716-284-8897. $12.50 adults/$7.30 kids. Reservations not required.

Bedore Tours: 1-800-538-8433. All-American Tour $69.95 adults/$49.95 kids. Reservations required.