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Camping Can Be Fun Part 1

9 Jun

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

My wife, DiVoran, and I were born and raised in the desert southwest and were used to clear and dry type weather.  When we first moved to Florida in 1965 for me to work on America’s Manned Lunar Landing Mission, we would never have imagined ever going camping anywhere in the jungle that surrounded us.  It was hot and humid all the time and we were inundated with frogs, lizards, spiders and mosquitos day and night.  It was all I could manage was to go from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned car and drive to my air-conditioned office.  Did I mention that my air-conditioned office in the Vertical Assembly Building (VAB) was located in the middle of a National Wildlife Refuge, which was full of all manner of slithering things, such as alligators and snakes?  

Photo credit https://fas.org/irp/imint/10061385.htm

I had camped with my family as a teenager in New Mexico on deer hunting trips, and DiVoran had camped with her dad on fishing trips in Colorado when she was younger.  But the climate and weather experiences of those camping trips, during our youths, were so much different.  When some friends from church and work suggested a weekend family camping trip to one of the Central Florida freshwater springs, we were skeptical, but our friends assured us that it would be a lot of fun.  They painted a ‘Florida Paradise’ picture for us.  

Photo: https://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/things-to-do/arts-history/native-american-heritage-alexander-springs.html

Our friends furnished the small two-man pup-tents (open on the bottom and no way to secure the front opening) and mosquito netting that we thought would protect us from the insects.  Well, as it turned out, the blankets we were sleeping on (no air mattresses) did not keep us from being poked by rocks and sticks.  But worst of all, we had no way to support the mosquito netting above us, so as it lay on top of us the  mosquitos jabbed us right thru the mesh.  The fact that this trip was happening in the middle of the summer was aggravated by the Florida heat and humidity.  All in all, it was a couple of miserable nights.

Photo: https://www.pinterest.de/pin/97249673187141267/

I must admit the swimming and tubing was great.  The water was clear and cool, and in spite of the problems, we were hooked on spending time at the Florida freshwater springs.  We discovered that there were other freshwater springs down the middle of the state, and we set our sights on visiting as many of them as we could.  But the first thing we needed to do was get some decent camping equipment.  I called my mother, at home, in Albuquerque, NM and asked her if she still had the family camping equipment.  She said she did, and she was not using any of it.  She packed up the four-man tent, army cots, propane stove and lantern and shipped them by Greyhound bus to us.  I was amazed that everything was in perfect condition after all those years in that dry desert climate.

Photo: https://wildernesstoday.com/best-family-tent/

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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A Balloon Ride for Ivan

2 Jun

A Slice of Life

Bill LItes

For those of you who have followed my most recent blogs, you will be familiar with the major players in my wife, DiVoran’s family.  For those of you who are just joining me, her father is Ivan and her mother is Dora.  Her younger brother, David, rounds out the family members.  I became a member of this wonderful family when I married their daughter, DiVoran, and have enjoyed the pleasure of their company for over 60 years now.  I would like to share with you one of the more delightful times we had with this family. 

Sometime in early June of 1985 DiVoran and I flew to California to take part in this family’s celebration of Ivan’s 70th birthday.  DiVoran’s father, Ivan, her mother, Dora, as well as her brother, David, and his wife, Susan, all lived in Vista, CA at the time, so that turned out to be the gathering place for the major celebration activities.  As part of the celebration, on one of the days, David had made arrangements for us all to take a balloon ride.  None of us had ever been up in a balloon, and the southern California area is one of the many locations where the weather is favorable for flying balloons; cool clear mornings with little or no wind.  

Photo by Susan Bowers  (No, we didn’t dress like this to go ballooning)

We were all up early that day, rushing around in order to have our breakfast and still have time to drive north some 50 miles to the launch site in Paris, CA.  We met our pilot, Steve, and he asked us to help him unload his balloon from its trailer.  It was a beautiful clear crisp morning and the unfolding of the balloon was very interesting.  Steve was very particular about how we handled every part of the balloon and its hardware.  He had us position each part of the balloon, basket, guy ropes and burner in a systematic way so he could assemble everything quickly and correctly.  Once everything was ready to begin the inflation process, he had us hold the bottom to the balloon open and he used a large fan to start filling the balloon with air.  In the photo below, you can see Ivan supervising the initial inflation operation.

Photo by Dora Bowers

At some point Steve fired up the burner, pointed it toward the partially inflated balloon and blasted hot air into the balloon, and it began to rotate off the ground and rise to an upright positon.  Once the balloon was vertical, we each had to hold onto a rope, attached to the basket, to keep it from ascending before Steve was ready.  He climbed into the basket and asked us who was going to be first.  We all pointed at Ivan and said, “The Birthday Boy!”

Photo Credit: https://www.maraballooning.com/

We helped Ivan climb into the basket.  Steve went over the operation and safety rules for Ivan, loud enough for all of us on the ground to hear.  I was amazed how Steve was able to keep applying the burner just enough to keep the balloon upright and still keep the basket sitting there on the ground.  When Steve was ready, he told Ivan to hold on, and he applied a long blast from the burner; they slowly lifted off the ground, and they began their ascent.

Note:  I forgot to mention this was one of the smaller balloons and the basket was only large enough to carry Steve, the pilot, and one other person.  And because there were several of us that wanted to take a ride, the duration of the flights were a little shorter than usual.

Photo by Dora Bowers

Steve had instructed us that they wouldn’t be flying more than 1000 feet high, and for us to follow their flight path, so we would be there when they landed, to hold the ropes.  This would allow the passenger to exit the basket and the next passenger to climb aboard (a quick and easy transfer).  If it looked like the wind wasn’t going to carry the balloon far, we would all run to the next landing spot.  DiVoran said, “There goes my 70 year-old white haired mother running after a balloon!”  Dora told DiVoran later that the running was fun, as she hadn’t done that in years.  When the wind picked up, we would all jump into Ivan’s pickup truck and follow the balloon to the next landing spot for the next passenger exchange.  When it was my turn, I couldn’t believe how quiet it was when the burner was off.  I love to fly, but I had never had the opportunity to fly that low in all my flying experiences.  I could just imagine how thrilled the two French brothers, Joseph Michel & Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, known as the aviation pioneers who launched the first confirmed piloted ascent by man with their hot air balloon, Annonay, in France on June 4, 1783 must have felt.  It was a really wonderful experience!

Photo Credit: https://www.viator.com/en-HK/tours/Phoenix/Phoenix-Hot-Air-Balloon-Ride/d639-5095HOT

DiVoran remembers, “During my ride we flew over a junk yard, and when Steve applied a blast from the burner, to keep us high enough to clear an obstacle, I saw hundreds of rabbits running from their hiding places in all directions!”  When everyone had a turn, we helped Steve deflate, disassemble, fold and load his balloon onto his trailer.  We thanked him for an exciting morning of sight-seeing and headed back to Vista, where we each had something to share that was special to us that morning.  That was a wonderful ‘Birthday Gift’ that we were all able to enjoy.  It didn’t dawn on me until years later; that I had scratched off another item from my Bucket List and hadn’t even realized it at the time!

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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A Wonderful Serendipity

26 May

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

For those of you who have followed my most recent ‘Fishing With Ivan’ blog series, you will be familiar with the major players in my wife, DiVoran’s family.  For those of you who are just joining me, her father is Ivan and her mother is Dora.  Her younger brother, David, rounds out the family members.  I have had the privilege of being a part of this wonderful family (by marriage to DiVoran) for over 60 years and would like to share with you one of the more delightful stories about this family.  

Photo: https://www.gograph.com/vector-clip-art/group-older-adults_4.html

The ‘Fishing with Ivan’ series of blogs described several of the more interesting trips DiVoran and I had taken when visiting Ivan and Dora over the years.  However, the family trips were not all made by us.  Ivan and Dora made several trips to Florida to see us after we moved here for my work in 1965.  By the time this story took place, DiVoran’s brother, David, had become an airline pilot and Ivan and Dora were able to fly to Florida on family passes.  They enjoyed spending time with us and their grandchildren. 

Photo by DiVoran Lites

Photo by DiV

David’s wife, Susan, was a ticket agent for the airline David flew for, and she made all of the flight arrangements (space available) for Ivan and Dora when they flew.  Sometimes they had to make connections as far north as Cincinnati, OH or as far south to San Juan, Puerto Rico in order to make it to Orlando, FL when they wanted to get there.  If I remember right on this particular trip, for some reason, Ivan and Dora had to make connections in Guatemala in order to get to Orlando, FL.  I believe that was the worst hassle they ever had with a trip to Florida to see us.  DiVoran and I were surprised that they agreed to come see us again after that incident, but lucky for us they did.  

Photo: https://www.canstockphoto.com/vector-clipart/ticket-counter.html

We had a wonderful visit with Ivan and Dora on that trip. Our son, Billy, and his family (the grandchildren) live in Orange City, FL which is near the beautiful Blue Springs State Park.  On the weekend, our daughter, Charlene, and her husband, Ron, joined us for a trip to Blue Springs where we met Billy and his family.  Everyone enjoyed a great time visiting and watching the Manatees.  There were many other very enjoyable times with Ivan and Dora before they had to head home.

Photo: https://thatadventurelife.com/2020/01/21/blue-spring-state-park-orange-city-fl/

On the day we took Ivan and Dora to the airport for their flight home, we had no idea David had a surprise for us.  He met us at Security and we were all speechless.  DiVoran couldn’t believe her eyes!  She asked him, “What are you doing here?”  He said, “I’m going to fly Ivan and Dora home.”  DiVoran asked, “How in the world did you manage that?”

His short story was that he had arranged a swap with another pilot.  I’m sure it was a lot more complicated than that.  So now he was going be the Captain of the Boeing 777 flight for their return trip to Los Angeles, CA.

  

Photo by Bill Lites

Of course DiVoran was concerned about her entire immediate family being on the same flight.  She told me later, “As we rode the tram out to take my parents to the gate for their flight, I prayed that they would have a safe trip all the way home.  Then DiVoran said, “That’s when I saw this angle hovering over my parents and my brother.  That assured me that they would be safe and I felt so much better.”

Photo Credit: https://naturalhealthcourses.com/2015/12/be-someones-incognito-angel-this-christmas/angel-in-the-sky/

DiVoran and I not only had a wonderful visit with Ivan and Dora, but we were wonderfully surprised to see her brother, David, and to be able to visit with him, even if it was only for a short time before their flight left.  What ‘A Wonderful Serendipity’ that was.

Photo: https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/woman-goodbye-airport.html

—–The End—-

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Fishing With Ivan Part 8

19 May

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

I believe it was somewhere around 1995 that I had another business trip to Edwards AFB to support a Space Shuttle recovery operation.  DiVoran flew out with me a nd stayed with Ivan and Dora in Vista, CA for the week I was at Edwards.  After the recovery operations were complete, I took a week of vacation to visit with Ivan and Dora.  In addition to the local fishing that Ivan usually did, he had obtained a commercial license, to take lobsters from the waters off the coast of southern California and sell them locally.  I went out in the boat with him one day, while we were there in Vista, to help him with the boat while he pulled in his lobster traps.  He showed me how to inspect the lobsters for gender and how to measure them for legal size.

Photo: https://pixabay.com/photos/lobster-trap-wooden-lobster-fishing-4346279/

Ivan regaled us with his frustrations about some people who were stealing his lobster catches.  It had been going on for a while before we got there for our visit.  He had called the local Sherriff for help about the problem, but they were never able to catch the poachers in the act.  That didn’t stop us from having plenty of fresh lobsters from Ivan’s traps, to eat while we were there.  They were plentiful and they were delicious!  Every dinner with Ivan and Dora on that trip was an ‘All You Can Eat’ lobster feast.   

Photo by DiVoran Lites

DiVoran’s brother, David, and his wife, Susan, lived just a mile or two from Ivan and Dora, there in Vista, so they would join us occasionally for a lobster dinner at Ivan and Dora’s.  David is an avid hunter and he invited us all to his house for dinner one evening.  He had just returned from a bird hunting trip to the interior of Mexico.  He told us many of the local farmers there, were being inundated by doves, and that the Mexican government had requested hunters to come help reduce the threat to the crops.  After the hunt, the hunters were allowed to freeze and bring back as many of the birds as they wanted to into the U.S.

Photo: https://www.getducks.com/hunts/mexico-white-wingeddove-hunting/

These were fairly large White-winged doves and we all enjoyed that tasty meal (except for DiVoran who never eats any kind of wildlife). After that interesting meal (being careful not to bite down on a lead pellet), the six of us continued a wonderful evening together with a walk down memory lane. 

Photo by Bill Lites

If I remember right, I don’t’ believe Ivan’s commercial lobster business lasted very long after our visit that year.  With the high price of fuel, the cost of commercial licenses, and the fact that the Sherriff was never able to catch Ivan’s lobster thieves, he just didn’t think it was worth the effort.  That was a shame because I believe he enjoyed the work and, if it hadn’t been for the poachers, it could have helped with his retirement income.

Photo by Dora Bowers

Ivan was good at, and had always liked, tinkering with mechanical things, and as it turned out, he bought a vacuum cleaner repair shop, there in Vista, and worked at that job for several years (between fishing trips).  But that’s another story for another time, and doesn’t involve fishing.  This concludes the series of memories we have of ‘Fishing with Ivan‘ and I hope you have enjoyed our memories of the times we have spent with Ivan and Dora as much as I have enjoyed writing about them.  Join me next week for a surprise blog that I hope you will also enjoy.

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Fishing With Ivan Part 7B

12 May

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

I remember one morning, there in Sapinero, as we were launching Ivan’s boat at the boat ramp, the front mooring line slipped away from us as the boat came off the trailer.  Yep! The boat kept moving out into the lake.  Luckily the mooring line was made of hemp and was floating, trailing after the boat.  Ivan had to wade out to catch the line before it was out of reach.  Whew!  If the mooring line had not been floating, the boat would have glided out into the open lake and someone would have had to swim out to retrieve it.  That would not have been fun, as the water was really cold!  Burrrrr!  Or, we would have had to get one of Ivan’s friends to launch his boat and take us out to get Ivan’s boat.  That would have been very embarrassing, and Ivan would not have been able to live that one down.  I guess he figured it would be better if he got a little wet than the alternatives.

Photo: https://www.trustedchoice.com/l/utah/trailer-insurance/

The Trout and Kokanee Salmon in the Blue Mesa Reservoir were good size and gave us a good fight.  However, the fight was worth the effort when Ivan cooked them up for us for our evening meals.  Ivan and Dora were good friends with the owners of the Sapinero Trading Post and had become a part of the ‘family’ there at the RV Park.  Ivan helped with RV Park repairs and Dora helped in their “Ley-Z-B” Restaurant.  On the weekends, they both helped cook and serve the restaurant’s outdoor Bar-B-Q dinner that drew folks from near and far.  It was an “Old Home Town Event” every Saturday night.

Photo: https://www.mantitlement.com/bbq-party-ribs/

In addition to the RV Park repairs and helping with the Saturday night BBQ, Ivan spent much of his non-fishing time entertaining the young children who seemed to always be running around the RV Park.  They thought it was magic that ‘Uncle Ivan’ had an endless supply of rock candy in his pocket to hand out to them.

Photo by DiVoran Lites

Note: The town of Sapinero has an interesting story.  It goes that the original town was founded somewhere around 1882, and was named for the famous Ute Indian Chief ’Sapawanro’ (it is believed to have been changed to ‘Sapinero’ by the railroad).  It was located on the banks of the Gunnison River about halfway between Gunnison and Montrose, CO.    About that same time the D&RG Railroad pushed its tracks thru the area, and Sapinero became a railway stop on their Denver to Salt Lake City route (see Wikipedia for the detailed history of Sapinero and the influence of the D&RG Railroad on the area).  In 1962 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was given the responsibility for the design and construction of the Blue Mesa Dam across the Gunnison River.  When finished, the dam forming the largest artificial reservoir in the state of Colorado.  It also covered the homes, businesses, schools and churches of the town’s 500 residents with over 300’ of water.  The residents of Sapinero had to relocate just as the Ute Indians had to do in 1864 when they were forced to relocate from these same Colorado lands, by the U.S. Government, with the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851.

 Photo: https://coyotegulch.blog/2018/09/09/forecast-for-blue-mesa-reservoir-record-low-territory-coloradoriver-coriver-aridification/

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags:

Fishing With Ivan Part 7A

5 May

A Slice of LIfe

Bill Lites

Having been raised most of their younger years in Colorado, Ivan and Dora both liked the high cool Colorado areas for their hot and humid summer months ‘get-a-way’ living when possible.  One of the Colorado areas they found to their liking was Sapinero, CO (elevation 7621’).  This small community is located on US-50, roughly halfway between Gunnison and Montrose, and on the southern edge of the Gunnison National Forest, adjacent to the Blue Mesa Reservoir (the fishing hole).

Photo: https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/co/nature/blue-mesa-reservoir

They liked this location so well that they made arrangements with the RV Park owner to permanently park their 30’ Silver Streak travel trailer on one of their upper level lots overlooking the lake.  They had spent several summer seasons there in Sapinero, and were even allowed to build a permanent wooden roof over the trailer to protect it from the winter snows.  They extended one side of the roof (on the door side of the trailer) to include a very nice covered Patio deck.

Photo by Ivan Bowers

The time DiVoran and I visited Ivan and Dora in Sapinero we stayed in one of the ‘Rustic Cabins’ there in the RV Park.  I use the term rustic loosely, as it looked like it had to be at least 100 years old and never been painted.  As I remember, the lap-siding boards were nailed to the 2x4s that held up the roof and that was it!  There was nothing much on the inside to stop the cold and wind from coming thru the cracks in the siding.  There was a small table, two wooden chairs, a sagging double bed (with squeaky springs), and a small stained and chipped porcelain sink with a single faucet.  The water was ice cold and drained on the ground outside the cabin.  The single pull-chain lightbulb hanging from the ceiling gave off barely enough light to see your way around the cabin at night.  The outhouse was about 25 yards away, and seemed much further than that at two-o’clock in the morning.

Photo: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/309622543126549588/

DiVoran remembers that there was a good sized gap under the door.  We didn’t pay much attention to it until, in the middle of our first night in the cabin; she almost gave me a heart attack.  She woke me up screaming and jumping up and down in the middle of the floor.  I asked her what was wrong, and she said, “Something was crawling over my head!”  In the poor lighting, we searched the cabin but couldn’t find anything.  It was really hard to get back to sleep that night.  Visions of what might be scurrying around the cabin didn’t help.

The next morning, when we told Ivan our story, he just laughed and said, “It must have been one of my little friends that like to come in from the cold.   You wouldn’t blame them from wanting to get in there where it is warm would you?”  DiVoran didn’t think it was funny.  The next night you better believe we stuffed a towel in that gap under the door, to keep any visiting critters from bothering our sleep.

Image: http://clipart-library.com/laughing-man-cliparts.html

—–To Be Continued—-

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags:

Fishing With Ivan Part 6

28 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

I remember one trip to visit Ivan and Dora when they lived in Vista, CA.  This trip took place sometime around 1985.  DiVoran and I started this trip by flying from Orlando, FL to San Diego, CA.  After we picked up our rental car, we met with our high school friends, Jim and Charlene, who had moved to San Diego from Flagstaff, AZ.  We had a wonderful visit with them, remembering fun high school times and other times we had experienced with them in days gone by.  Then they took us to their favorite Mexican food restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal and more memories.

Photo by Bill Lites

After dinner, we said our goodbyes, and drove about 50 miles north to visit DiVoran’s brother, David, and his wife, Susan, in Vista, CA.  David was in the middle of restoring an off-road vehicle project, and enlisted me as his helper and go-fer.  DiVoran and Susan spent most of their time discussing children and grandchildren.  The two ladies conspired together to cook a wonderful meal that everyone enjoyed.  After an evening of more reminiscing, we finally called an end to the fun.  After that wonderful visit they put us up for the night at their lovely home.

Photo by DiVoran Lites

That year Ivan and Dora had decided to spend some time fishing at the Salton Sea.  So, the next day we drove east from Vista thru Escondido, Ramona, and Santa Ysabel (elevation: ~5000’), and then back down and thru the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, to somewhere on the west side of the Salton Sea (elevation: -226’).  I ask Ivan why he didn’t stay at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area where they had camping facilities (located on the northeast side of the lake), and he said it was too expensive and the fishing wasn’t any better in that part of the lake.

Photo: https://www.yelp.com/biz/salton-sea-state-recreation-area-mecca?start=40

They had their 30 foot Silver Streak travel trailer setup near the water’s edge with nothing around them but a few other campers.  I never could figure out what had attracted them to this desert area, where there was nothing around them but a few scrub bushes and tumble weeds for as far as the eye could see.  

Photo: https://saltonsea.com/events/seafest-october-21-2017-7-am-to-7-pm-salton-sea-state-recreation-area/

I don’t remember much about that visit, but somehow Ivan had heard that the Mozambique Tilapia in the Salton Sea were plentiful that year, and he was determined to catch his share of them.  I don’t know how good the fishing had been for him before we got there, but that first night we didn’t have fresh fish for dinner.  DiVoran remembers that Dora had apologized for having to serve us canned salmon patties for dinner.

Photo: https://www.theseoldcookbooks.com/low-carb-salmon-patties

The only thing DiVoran remembers about that trip is that Dora had learned to paint there from a lady who lived there at the lake, and that she and Dora spent much of their time painting.  This activity ended up creating a new and very special life-long bond between DiVoran and her mother.

: https://paint-ok.blogspot.com/1991/10/face-paint-clipart-free.html

Note:  For an interesting read, check out Wikipedia for the details of how the Salton Sea was formed over millions of years, from a natural Salt Sink to a thriving 343 sq. mi. size lake, and how it has now been transformed to its present day ‘dead sea’ condition by mankind over the years.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Fishing With Ivan Part 5

21 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

After their retirement, Ivan and Dora tried to spend the three hottest months, each year, in a cooler part of the country.  They would pack-up their 30’ Silver Streak travel trailer and head for an RV Park somewhere near a good fishing spot.  Dora had a brother who owned an RV Park on Marrowstone Island, located in the Port Townsend Bay area, northwest of Seattle, WA.   They had visited Smitty and his wife, Waunita, several times over the years.  One year (I believe it was in 1980), I had a business trip to the San Francisco area, during the time Ivan and Dora were on their summer stay on Marrowstone Island.  When I completed my business, I took a week of vacation and joined Ivan and Dora for some relaxation time.  DiVoran had flown out from Florida to be with her parents a few weeks before I got there.

Photo: https://www.roverpass.com/c/smitty-s-island-retreat-nordland-wa/

DiVoran and Dora both enjoyed painting and they found lots of subjects to use to apply paint to canvas.  When they got tired of painting they would walk down to the beach to look for special pieces of driftwood they could use in their artwork.  They also found ‘Jade’ rocks that seemed to be prevalent along that beach.  On Wednesday evenings Dora would take DiVoran to her weekly Bible Study with some of the other ladies there on the island.

Photo by Bill Lites

       Each day Ivan would take me somewhere different where there were some old pilings (at low tide) where we gathered ‘tube worms’ for the day’s fishing.  Each day, after collecting our bait, we would head for another of his ‘secret fishing spots’ (he usually had more than one) to fish for Cod and Mackerel for our dinners.  That was always great fun learning how to fish for the different types of fish.

Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamellibrachia

Another day Ivan took us to the clam beds (again at low tide) to dig for Horseneck Clams.  We learned how to watch for the clams to spout water in the air; then we would rush over quickly, and dig them up before they could borrow their way back down into the sand.  What an interesting learning experience that was.  DiVoran and I learned to eat a large variety of seafood, and other things (well at least I did), during our visits with Ivan and Dora.

Photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamellibrachia

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One day Ivan and Dora took us for a tour of Fort Flagler, located in the Fort Flagler State Park.  The fort is located at the northern tip of Marrowstone Island.  I learned that Fort Flagler (1897), along with Fort Worden (1898) and Fort Casey (1899) once guarded the Admiralty Inlet, which is the nautical entrance to Puget Sound.  Because of the many tourists that visit the park, some of the wildlife are very tame.  As luck would have it, Dora got a chance to feed a small deer the day we were there.  What a thrill that was!

Photo by DiVoran Lites

On a couple occasions, DiVoran and I made the trip to Port Townsend to do some shopping and to enjoy a bowl of the most wonderful Crab Bisque I have ever eaten.  I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant.  Ivan was an excellent cook, and he and Dora kept us well fed.  It didn’t matter, what the season was, or in what location we happened to visited them, the food was always good and plentiful.  However, I don’t believe I have ever known Ivan to cook fish any other way than pan fried.  Yummm!

Photo: https://www.thespruceeats.com/fats-oils-for-fish-and-seafood-1300626

I was amazed at the tide levels in the Port Townsend Bay area.  The difference between Low Tide and High Tide was over 9½ feet.  In the photo below, you can see the pilings behind us (at low tide) which will give you an idea of how much difference there is.  This amazing tidal difference gave us wonderful opportunities, during low tide activities, to participate in such interesting adventures as beach combing and digging for Horseneck clams.  It’s amazing the kind of things you will find on a beach, at low tide, especially after a storm. 

Photo by Dora Bowers

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Fishing With Ivan Part 4E

14 Apr

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

DiVoran never will forget the day, while we were there in Fort Bragg, that Ivan took me out fishing on his commercial fishing boat.  He had a ship-to-shore radio on his boat for communications.  He decided to call it a day when the seas became too choppy.  He showed me how to use the radio and we called Dora, to let her know we were heading in.  DiVoran remembers that, “Both men could hear mother and me, and we could hear them.  They were complaining about how rough the seas were getting, and how it was making Ivan feel sick.”

Photo Credit Tightwad Cruises

“Suddenly I seized the moment to treat him as he had treated me when I got car-sick as a child.  Growing up, we lived in a valley surrounded by mountains, and the mountain roads were full of ‘S’ curves which made me car-sick.  Often Ivan would have to stop the car and let me out to throw-up.  When I got back in the car he would give me a dose of some awful tasting liquid, telling me it would help me not to be sick any more.  It might have worked for the moment, but was it worth it?”

Photo Credit Canstockphoto.com

“So when Bill told me the water was getting wild, and the boat was slipping and sliding over the waves, and that it was making Ivan sick, Oh-Ho, my chance to get even with Ivan.  So I picked up the handset and started talking about the greasy pork chops I was making for our dinner.  Suddenly Ivan broke in and said, ‘TEN-FOUR’ and the radio went dead.  For us landlubbers ‘ten-four’ means signing-off.  I had won the only battle I think I had ever won with my dad, and I never was sorry about it.”

Photo credit Canstockphoto.com

DiVoran told me that she also remembered, “While the men were fishing, mom and I took the children for walks on the beach, which was full of driftwood and all kinds of other things which had been washed up on the sand by the tide.  One of the most interesting things we found on the beach were smooth, round rocks that seemed to be heavier than most rocks.  Mother told me that they were ‘Jade’ rocks that had been smoothed by many years of erosion by the actions of the sea and sand.  On one walk my mother came across a dead fish and told me it was the kind of fish from which some people extracted the kind of oil that, after being processed, was the best oil there was for delicate uses such as oiling the parts of a gun.”

Photo by Bill Lites

We stayed in Fort Bragg long enough to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July, before packing up our camper for the second half of our cross-country camping trip back to Florida.  There were no fishing trips with Ivan on the return trip, so I will spare you the details of that part of our trip for another time.  However, as a side note; during the first half of this cross-country trip, among many other interesting things, we managed to cross ten rivers (not all of them well known, and some with more than one name).  They were the St. Johns River and the Apalachicola River in Florida, the Perdido River and the Mobile River in Alabama, the Pascagoula River and the Pearl River in Mississippi, the Mississippi River and the Red River in Louisiana, the Rio Grande River in New Mexico and the Colorado River in Arizona.

Photo: https://riverboattwilight.com/riverboat-twilight-cruises-on-the-mississippi-river/

I do hope you will join me for another episode of ‘Fishing with Ivan’ next week.  Until then, stay safe. 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags:

Fishing With Ivan Part 4B

24 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Heading west out of the desert, everything was fine until, our car transmission overheated in the mountains (7000’).  We were on our way to visit our high school friends Jim & Charlene in Flagstaff, AZ.  The fluid had boiled over, out of the dip-stick tube, onto the exhaust; causing a huge cloud of smoke (we were lucky it didn’t start a fire).  

I was afraid we had burned up the engine, but after we stopped to let things cool down, I was able to added more transmission fluid, and we were able to continue on our way with no further problems.  Whoo!  That was a close one!

Photo Credit: AGCO AUTOMOTIVE https://images.app.goo.gl/ZbvKryuWzDBYhVTr8

I had met Jim at a motorcycle club while in high school, and had run into him in Japan during my tour of duty with the U.S. Navy.  DiVoran had become friends with Charlene at Cosmetology School, while I was in the Navy.  They are still good friends, and they write to each other all these years later.  Jim and Charlene enjoyed meeting our kids, and gave us a grand tour of the sights of Flagstaff.  I remember when we got ready to leave the next morning; we had a flat on the station wagon.  Their sloping driveway made it very difficult to unhook the camper without it getting away from us.  Then we had to unload the back of the station wagon to get to the spare time.  Boy was I glad to have Jim there to help me.  What a hassle that was!

Photo Credit Bill Lites

After leaving Flagstaff, we were able to show the kids the ancient Indian cliff dwellings (1150-1600) in the Bandelier National Monument.  At the time, we were allowed to climb ladders, provided by the park service, to inspect some of the dwellings.  That was an interesting experience for all of us.  We were all impressed with the design and quantity of the different types of dwellings there were, and how they had survived for so long.  I’m sure the park service doesn’t allow people to climb all over the dwellings these days.

Photo Credit DiVoran Lites

Our family will never forget the night we spent in Needles, CA.  We had stopped at an RV park for the night, before starting the trek across the Mohave Desert the next day.  It was really hot, and by the time we got the camper set-up, we were all ready for a swim in their pool to cool off.  About the time we got the dinner dishes cleaned up we noticed the wind was picking up.  At first we didn’t mind a little breeze to help cool things down.  But the wind kept getting stronger and was starting to kick up some dust.

Photo Credit James Brooks https://www.flickr.com/photos/jkbrooks85/558825676

We finally moved into the camper and closed all the windows and the door, to get some protection from the wind and dust.  It was like an oven in the camper with everything closed up (NO A/C), but that was about all we could do.  Then we heard a loud roaring sound and the top of the camper started rocking back and forth.  That only lasted a very few minutes, but it was a really scary few minutes.  Then it was all over, and things calmed down.  We learned later that a very large ‘Dust Devil’ had passed thru the area.  The rest of the night was hot and humid, with no wind, and it was a fretful night for all of us.

Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26731316

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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