Solar flair

What a party! I hope you all enjoyed it, and stayed safe. We noticed some of you enjoying it like this:

 

Very classy.

I saw some of you partying like this:

Rock on, my cheap sisters.

To the silver Lexus SUV next to us: sorry we embarrassed you by laughing our tail feathers off. It's just that, well, we were watching the solar eclipse on our Kleenex.

 We spent the afternoon looking for our next home.





The neighborhood, she is gone.

Rudiments of boondocking. Is there enough clearance? [there was]

Oh  yeah, it's Arizona.

Get a load of the size of the trunk on that thing! And, check out the tree!

Spelunk. The sound you make when you start sliding down the hill.

Number 3, put your right leg in. Now, put your right leg out. Now, put your right leg in...go ahead and shake that all about. [Elks in the Pokey]

Look at that bunch of elk!
Not bunch, herd.
Heard of what?
Herd of elk!
Sure I've heard of elk!
No, no, AN ELK HERD.
What do I care if an elk heard? I got no secrets from an elk.

Unplugged.

Roxanne, it has been rumored that you believe you have arranged a spectacular celestial display on your birthday. Is this true?

Yes, Perez, that's true.

No, I'm not Perez, I'm Ed from RV Blogger Digest Monthly.

It felt really important for me to give back to our blog readers. They're the reason we write. The reason we're even being interviewed for TMZ...

No, I'm...

...the reason we get up in the morning and stare at the sun.

That's not really a good...

That's why, instead of raking in presents this year, I am celebrating this prime-number birthday, 51, by giving our readers an...

Uh, 51 isn't actually...

...exclusive viewing of a solar eclipse. Because of limited funds, I have to restrict the viewing to the Yukon, the Northwest Passage, and Greenland.

No, I think...

So, if you happen to be in Albuquerque this Sunday, you are in for a treat! You could also witness my birthday gift to you, an annular (once a year) eclipse, over the Grand Canyon, but that seems prosaic.  That link that I said at first, you know, aich tee tee pee colon backslash backslash...

Yeah, you don't have to do that - we've got the link.

...that site has some good ideas about where to see it, if you happen to be a Good Luck Duck blog reader.

But, isn't it true that everyone in the path can see the eclipse?

Well, sure, if they want to crash my party. Look, I'm not stingy, and even if they can't be bothered to come check out the blog, yeah, let 'em look at the sky for all I care. Nevermind that I'm sacrificing two hours of solar power for this shindig.

Thanks so much for talking to me, and I...

Here's a cat:



Wow, nice, so I have to go...

Here's a fat cat:

 

Heh, that's great, I'll see myself out...

I'll see you at my party! Bring your #14 welder's glass! I'll fill it with sparkling cider.

Little dogies will get along tomorrow.

I don't usually remember birthdays, but I wanted to wish Zee Zahava a very happy one today. She must have a notebook at home where she writes angry things she has held in all day, because I've never heard her say a single discouraging word. Even though Ithaca skies are cloudy all day. Zee helped me find my voice, and now there is finally a place for you to lay the blame;  I asked her to help me find Margaret Atwood's voice.

We didn't leave!  Here we still are!  When I heard the wind and felt the rocking I knew it was time to get up,  take the sail off the hammock, and go back inside.  We'll try this again tomorrow, at the crack of noon. Last night we made definite plans to go someplace, and now we have some different definite plans.  But, they're for sure.  Hardly even open to revision.

You've noticed that Blogger is about to "roll out" a "new""look."  Be warned that as soon as you switch over, Blogger will help you by reverting to word verification, because you forgot you wanted it.  Google is deeply invested in reCAPTCHA, because word on the street says it is now using us to decode Google Earth street addresses.  I'm not saying that's evil.  After all, it's how we get places.  I just don't want to go all involuntary mechanical turk;  thanks anyway, Google.  Offer me 50¢ per translation and we're eating a whole new biscuit.

Nina referred us to a good website for Sedona area parking and camping regulations - thanks!  [The site wants to start playing a folksy audio clip - it's not offensive, just unexpected.]  It looks like the America the Beautiful annual pass stands in for the Red Rock Country annual pass.  A little more expensive ($80 vs. $20), but it will get you a lot more places.  Also, there are free boondocking sites in the area, so you don't have to pay to stay in great places.  Check out yesterday's comments for good ideas.

V-V Ranch

We get letters.

I got an email from a regular reader who calls himself "Phil."  He might look something like this:

"I look exactly like this."

I'm still reading your blog, but it's lost its flair for bringing in the non-RVer.  So many shout-outs and links... you've assimilated completely.

Ouch, "Phil."  Ouch.  He goes on to say:

Love you!

Well, maybe that gets you somewhere with other moms, but ... okay, I forgive you.  Just remember the twenty-five hours of labor that spanned this entire day 25 years ago, and you were a big baby.  If there were any hope of my being awake at 12:20 AM, November 12, I'd wish you a Happy Birthday! right then and there.

I know you're not a big celebration guy, so it'll be just a heart-healthy glass of New York State cab with the lovely Katy.  I imagine you'll sleep right through the actual early-morning 25th anniversary of your birth.  That's okay;  you didn't inherit my wild party-animal genes.  You only got my stunning good looks, winning charm,  and razor-edged intellect.  I just hope that's enough.

I love you!  Happy Birthday, "Phil!"