Friday, January 26, 2007

13 days in Quartzsite, AZ















The large white rectangle is the BIG TENT at the Quartzsite RV
Show http://www.quartzsitervshow.com/. Everything else in the
picture close to the tent is vendors and autos, and everything
farther out is RVs of various sizes, shapes and prices.




Below is a picture from another fun 4-wheeler trip into the desert to the Southern Cross Mine http://www.placenames.com/us/p11653/ with the WIN RV Club. The trip was made a bit more interesting due to the TV film crew which joined us from http://www.rl.tv/ doing a special on Retired RVers. Some of the WINs will have their few moments of fame when the TV show is aired in Feb '07
















I joined my RV Club, WIN, on a Sunday trip to the The Desert Bar.
Click on the link below for the history and more pictures of this
historic piece of America. http://www.thedesertbar.com/
















Lunch at the Desert Bar, outside of Parker, AZ.















Dozens of solar panels power the dining establishment as there
is absolutley no electricity in the area.

Monday, January 15, 2007

"Free the Border Patrol Agents" Rally

On January 13, 2007 in various cities across the nation, rallies were held in support of the two border Patrol Agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were sentenced to 11 and 12 years in prison for attempting to apprehend an illegal alien drug smuggler at the Texas border.

Here's some links to more pictures, a news report and a letter from Ignacio Ramos' father-in-law Joe Loya, to Congressman Walter Jones. There were many discrepencies and untruths involved in the court case all brought to light in Mr. Loya's letter.

http://cbs2.com/video/?id=31929@kcbs.dayport.com

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=51252

http://www.americanfreedomriders.com/JoeLoyaLetter.html

http://americanfreedomriders.com/




One of the official posters in support of the
Border Patrol Agents, though many feel that
"pardon" is the wrong word. all charges should
be dropped and those responsible for charging,
prosecuting, judging and sentencing them should
be sent to prison instead!!


Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos addressing the supportive
crowd at the Phoenix rally.















A few of the many motorcycles that roared to the
Federal Court House steps in Phoenix. My bike is
there somewhere.


Ignacio being interviewed by a Phoenix news crew.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

A fun afternoon counter protesting

I was in Cabela's (across the street from the UofA Stadium) Monday afternoon shopping for a shotgun when I came upon a gentleman wearing a "STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION" t-SHIRT. I figured he was the owner of the truck I parked next to in the parking lot. The truck was covered with some of my favorite stickers. I introduced myself and found out he was meeting other Patriots there to counter-protest the protesters in the story below. Well, I couldn't help myslef. I had to join them. We missed the majority of their group but we encountered a multitude of media. They "seemed" very interested in our opinions. One reporter kept asking me why I don't think these students deserve to get an education. I kept trying to correct her and remind her that we were referring to ILLEGAL ALIENS. She finally said those words herself. I said they deserve to get an education in their own country. I pointed out that our group had an American Indian AZ resident who had to pay out-of-state tuition when she attented a college in Utah. Anyway, we kept trying to explain that we are against ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, not students, not Mexicans, not Immigrants. They didn't get it. We mentioned having to pay the hospital bills when illegals have babies. One young senorita said that I didn't have to pay for their baby's because I didn't build the hospital. I really think she was serious. If we didn't pay the contractor for the construction of the building, we don't pay their hospital bills. UNBELIVABLE!! They have NO concept of taxes!! We were complaining about the taxes we have to pay for illegals and one illegal looking guy threw a dollar bill on the ground to help off set our expense. I picked it up and they all laughed at me. I told them Americans don't litter and I will place it in a trash can for him. The only counter argument his female companion, with 3 anchor babies in tow, could come up with was telling me that I'm "old." OUCH!! That hurt.!! (I colored my roots that night!!!) What does that have to do with the price of tacos? Anyway, all in all it was a fun and productive day of counter-protesting the protesters. If the article below isn't really clear about what they are protesting, the illegal aliens don't want to have to pay out-of-state tuition while they are in the country illegally attending our Universities. The AZ voters voted this in as law this past Nov. The little illegal aliens aren't happy. One sad note though. One of our Patriots was riding a motorcycle and as she was entering the parking lot where we were parked she was rear ended, by a senior citizen looking gentleman, who I'm sure has insurance. Last I heard Lee might have suffered a separated shoulder. It looked much worse, but hopefully it wasn't. Hopefully she came out better than her bike.

STORY: GLENDALE - Several immigration rights advocates received citations this afternoon as Glendale police blocked about 500 protesters from marching to University of Phoenix Stadium. The City of Glendale refused to issue a permit allowing the march, saying it would be impossible to ensure the marchers' safety because of clogged roads. Nevertheless, the ASU student who organized the march says they'll go anyway. Twenty-three-year-old Carlos Garcia says it's their constitutional right to protest. But Garcia says they'll turn around if and when police stop them. Protest organizers say Gator and Buckeye fans might not have immigration reform on their minds. But protesters say the national championship, and the intense media attention that comes with it, was too attractive to pass up. Protesters crammed along a sidewalk for a half mile. Waving handmade pro-immigration signs, they chanted "Si Se Pude (Yes, we can)." The immigration reform group Somos America wanted to draw attention to a new Arizona law they say will keep thousands of immigrant students from attending college.

PS I'm not sure what "Yes, we can" is referring to. Yes we can come into your country and break all the laws we want, and we can demand lower tuition even though the voters said NO!! ??? Beats me.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Honoring Staff Sgt. David R. Staats






























Today I rode in my second Patriot Guard Ride (http://www.patriotguard.org/ ) . About 50 Motocycles, (about 98% Harleys) and about a dozen cars escorted the family of Staff Sgt. David R. Staats:

No. 1297-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 19, 2006 Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132Public/Industry(703) 428-0711DoD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died of injuries suffered when their HMMWV struck an improvised explosive device while on mounted patrol Dec. 16 inTaji, Iraq. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1stBrigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.Killed were:Staff Sgt. David R. Staats, 30, of Pueblo, Colo, died Dec. 16 in Taji, Iraq.Spc. Matthew J. Stanley, 22, of Wolfeboro Falls, N.H., died Dec. 16 in Taji,Iraq.Pfc. Seth M. Stanton, 19, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Dec. 17 in Balad,Iraq.

The Riders met at a parking lot not far from the family's home where we received instructions and then stood in a circle and held hands while the Lee Greenwood song "God Bless the U.S.A." played. I tried to sing along, but it was hard to do while trying to hold back the tears. It was a very emotional experience. We escorted the family for about 5 miles to an American Legion Hall where a memorial service was held for friends and family. The Patriot Guards did an excellent job of stopping traffic for the riders. We encounted several Americans who gave us a thumbs-up or a honk, to express their approval of what we were doing. Actually I was a bit disappointed that more people didn't show signs of appreciation for our efforts. Almost every motorcycle and car had an American flag attached and waving in the breeze.It was a beautiful sight!!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

More improvements

The old fence














After 85 fence boards and 350 screws, I have a new fence.



















The kitchen



































The bathroom all decked out