14 OCT: I did not complete the happenings on Monday : After the ball games I took the Truck into the Ford dealer to tell me why the lack of power and more important , could I possible drive it back to Canada. The manager said they would check it this afternoon and call me with the diagnoses. About an hour later the garage called to say it was not a pretty picture. Six of the injectors had to be replaced and the other two were very weak and they could do all that for $3000.00 . I had no choice even thought I wanted to dump this Truck as soon as I got home so I said go ahead and replace the injectors. However , I need a vehicle to drive so they sent a shuttle to the camp site to pick me up. The arrived in a brand new Lincoln and I said this is some shuttle vehicle; and she said it is not a shuttle vehicle because it is yours to drive while we fix your Truck. I was shocked and I said I need 101 on all these buttons because i don't even know how to start it. She started to explain all the buttons and when she got to the seat buttons she explain how it would move backward when I turned the key off but when I got in the car it would revert to my setting. Finally I said OK I only want to drive it not fly it.
15 OCT:
So on Tues I drove to the ball Park and as I am driving into the parking space ,there were several players standing around . As i was getting out of the car one of the players remarked as to what a beautiful car and then said you guys are from Med Hat and we played you last year " yak yak yak " etc. So I got my equipment and walked about a block to the ball field, started to warm up and our pitchers comes up and said some idiot left his car running. However, he must have lots of money because it is a brand new Lincoln and then I thought "oh shit " it must be my car as I don't remember shutting it off and it was so quiet no one else notice it either. So now I had to walk back to the parking lot to shut the car off.
this was our third game in the Seeding round so now we had to wait until about 4 PM to find out who and where we on Wed. To kill the afternoon the Games puts on a "Hamburger meal" complete with music in a Park . Then by 4 PM the Medal round schedule is posted on the computer which is great because the coach doesn't have to contact every player because most people have either a computer, iPad or and iPhone. Tomorrow we play for real and hopefully for Gold.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Friday, 27 December 2013
13 OCT: On Sunday morning around 0700 hours we left Albuquerque , said goodbye to our friends and headed for St. Geo to partake in the World Senior Games. I am a member of the 70 Plus team from Medicine Hat Slo Pitch Team. Our first game was at 1100 hours on Monday and we had to cover some 550 miles on Sunday if I were to arrive on time to play Monday. As I mentioned earlier, our truck was losing power on the hills and to make matters worst we were facing a fierce head wind. As we motored along we realized that we could not make St. Geo by night fall so we changed our target to Mesquite, NV which is only 50 miles from St. Geo. Since my game was not scheduled until 11:00 hours I could still make the game if we got an early start on Moday, so that is what we did. We arrived in Mesquite at about 6 PM and parked at the Virgin River casino overnight which we have done many times on our trips going South and/or North. We had supper and carroll donated another 20.00 at the Casino and I, as usually watched a hockey game at the sports bar and checked the email.
14 OCT: We got up early, as there is a 1 hour time difference between NV and UT, grabbed a quick (cheap) breakfast at the casino and headed for St. Geo.
The first thing to do once we arrived in St. Geo was to check in at the registration centre because you can not participate unless you are wearing a wrist band that says that you have paid the entry fee and that you are in fact "Tom Esler". The umpires checks you wrist band before every game. This is by far the best organized organization I have ever encountered. There are 10,000 participates in a variety of sports and they can check you thru in less than 2 minutes. These people are simple amazing.
Then we had to go to our campsite and check in as we had called ahead on Sunday to say we would be late. You have to reserve the campsite a year in advance as every site is taken due to the number of people, at the games who are looking for a site.
We quickly parked the trailer and grabbed my equipment and drove another 20 minutes to the ball park arriving in lots of time to warm up. We play 2 games on Monday and one on Tuesday for " Seeding " purchase. Medicine Hat Teams have been coming to the World Senior Games for 20 years so they already know our level of play so we normally are "seeded " in the same level. Sometimes we draw a really good team in the first three games and they usually "Mercy " us in 5 innings. The ball diamonds in St. Geo are the best I have ever seen and the fences are 300 ft. That is a hellva long way to chase a ball that get passed you. I speak from experience because I am an outfielder. You always play back to back games the first day so after the 2 games we went back to organize our trailer . The ladies were then busy phoning to get tickets to the Tuacaun Theater which is a fabulous outdoor setting in the Mountains. The play was a musical of Mary Poppins. If you are ever in St. Geo you must visit this Theatre .
14 OCT: We got up early, as there is a 1 hour time difference between NV and UT, grabbed a quick (cheap) breakfast at the casino and headed for St. Geo.
The first thing to do once we arrived in St. Geo was to check in at the registration centre because you can not participate unless you are wearing a wrist band that says that you have paid the entry fee and that you are in fact "Tom Esler". The umpires checks you wrist band before every game. This is by far the best organized organization I have ever encountered. There are 10,000 participates in a variety of sports and they can check you thru in less than 2 minutes. These people are simple amazing.
Then we had to go to our campsite and check in as we had called ahead on Sunday to say we would be late. You have to reserve the campsite a year in advance as every site is taken due to the number of people, at the games who are looking for a site.
We quickly parked the trailer and grabbed my equipment and drove another 20 minutes to the ball park arriving in lots of time to warm up. We play 2 games on Monday and one on Tuesday for " Seeding " purchase. Medicine Hat Teams have been coming to the World Senior Games for 20 years so they already know our level of play so we normally are "seeded " in the same level. Sometimes we draw a really good team in the first three games and they usually "Mercy " us in 5 innings. The ball diamonds in St. Geo are the best I have ever seen and the fences are 300 ft. That is a hellva long way to chase a ball that get passed you. I speak from experience because I am an outfielder. You always play back to back games the first day so after the 2 games we went back to organize our trailer . The ladies were then busy phoning to get tickets to the Tuacaun Theater which is a fabulous outdoor setting in the Mountains. The play was a musical of Mary Poppins. If you are ever in St. Geo you must visit this Theatre .
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Esler's Travel in 2013/14
Our winter vacation actually started on 7 Oct when we left Med Hat for a trip to Albuquerque, NM to experience the 3 day Air Balloon Fiesta which we had planned to do for years but the World Senior Games in St. Geo, UT , which I have participated in for the passed 12 years, was always held on the same week. Now since I have now turned 70 the World Senior Games schedule was now a week later which allowed us to go to the Balloon Fiesta.
We normally leave home at first light but our son Clark was visiting and he left for Calgary at 6 AM so we left at 6:30 and it was still dark. We headed down hwy 41 to Havre , MT which goes thru Elk Water Park and is crawling with Deer, Elk, Moose and other such animals. We were about 20 miles down the road when Carroll suggested that I slow down and watch for deer when out of nowhere two deer flashed in from of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time to save the deer but I can assure you that I was close enough to wipes its' ass. Finally daylight arrived , as i knew it would, and we carried on thru the Border check at Wild Horse on on to Sheridan, WY were we spent the night with many other campers at a Wal-Mart camping area.
8 Oct was fairly uneventful except I noticed the truck was losing power. Our Truck is a F-350 with 200,000KM so I have been thinking about getting rid of it but now i had hoped it would get us to Albuquerque , then to St.Geo and then back homes so i could "Dump " it as it has not been all that kind to me. We made it to a city south of Denver with another convenience Wal-Mart where we spent the night.
9 Oct ; Our intention was to meet up with our friends , Tom and Maureen Mathison, at a Casino on the outskirts of Albuquerque, so we could both go to the camping area on the site of the Balloon Fiesta on Thursday and hopefully park beside each other. When we arrived at the Casino, it was a brand new beautiful casino with acres of parking and the Security met us and helped us to find a convenience parking spot. Then he said he had to signed me in and ask the proverbial question. When he said how long are you staying my answer was April 2014 and I think his heart skipped a beat. Then I said one night so his heart revert to normal. We then had a happy Hour with our friends, checked out the Casino so Carroll could donate 20.00 had supper and called it a day.
10 Oct ; At 10:00 AM we left the Casino and move a few blocks to what would be our scheduled Camping area for the next three days. This camping area was well organized and when we entered the gate we were handed over to a parking attendant who showed us to our site and was willing to park our trailer if we felt uncomfortable backing in. I refused his offer as I have been doing this for 12 years so I think I can handle the parking part. This area did not have any facilities like power and water but we already knew that. However the area was large enough to hold 2000 campers so you can picture the size of the place. Incidentally I ask how they could have possibly have so much unused land in the middle of a city this large and answer was that this area was once a land fill for the city and gives off so much Methane gas that it can not be developed. In fact I was should many ventilating pipes to vent the gas. Also the gas is captured and piped to a collection area and utilized by the city to produce gas for their Heating Plant.
As part of our Camping fee, a bus or should I say many, many Buses picked us up and took us to the Air Balloon area which was about a block away. This Bus services was great and the entire Fiesta was well organized. As the saying goes " This was not their first Rodeo ". I guessing the area where the balloons inflated and launched, probably cover a city block and again was well organized and there was either 400 or 500 Air Balloons of all shapes and sizes. The cost to enter the " Balloon Field " was 8.00 per person and they lauch at 6 AM ( yes 6 AM ) and then at night the Air balloons are Tethered so once it gets dark they " Fire " the jets and the scenery is out of this world. I don't know how to add pictures but once I find out I will include the pics. At 8:30 PM each evening they had a Fireworks display that was fantastic and we could see the entire show from our Campsite rather then stay at the Balloon field.
We stayed at the Fiesta for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and attended the launch every morning and the night show in the evening. This show was well worth the trip and we strongly recommend it. the camping is 30.00 per day and the entry fee is 16.00 per day. You will never get a show like this for that price anywhere on the planet. On Sunday we will head to St. Geo, UT
We normally leave home at first light but our son Clark was visiting and he left for Calgary at 6 AM so we left at 6:30 and it was still dark. We headed down hwy 41 to Havre , MT which goes thru Elk Water Park and is crawling with Deer, Elk, Moose and other such animals. We were about 20 miles down the road when Carroll suggested that I slow down and watch for deer when out of nowhere two deer flashed in from of me. I slammed on the brakes just in time to save the deer but I can assure you that I was close enough to wipes its' ass. Finally daylight arrived , as i knew it would, and we carried on thru the Border check at Wild Horse on on to Sheridan, WY were we spent the night with many other campers at a Wal-Mart camping area.
8 Oct was fairly uneventful except I noticed the truck was losing power. Our Truck is a F-350 with 200,000KM so I have been thinking about getting rid of it but now i had hoped it would get us to Albuquerque , then to St.Geo and then back homes so i could "Dump " it as it has not been all that kind to me. We made it to a city south of Denver with another convenience Wal-Mart where we spent the night.
9 Oct ; Our intention was to meet up with our friends , Tom and Maureen Mathison, at a Casino on the outskirts of Albuquerque, so we could both go to the camping area on the site of the Balloon Fiesta on Thursday and hopefully park beside each other. When we arrived at the Casino, it was a brand new beautiful casino with acres of parking and the Security met us and helped us to find a convenience parking spot. Then he said he had to signed me in and ask the proverbial question. When he said how long are you staying my answer was April 2014 and I think his heart skipped a beat. Then I said one night so his heart revert to normal. We then had a happy Hour with our friends, checked out the Casino so Carroll could donate 20.00 had supper and called it a day.
10 Oct ; At 10:00 AM we left the Casino and move a few blocks to what would be our scheduled Camping area for the next three days. This camping area was well organized and when we entered the gate we were handed over to a parking attendant who showed us to our site and was willing to park our trailer if we felt uncomfortable backing in. I refused his offer as I have been doing this for 12 years so I think I can handle the parking part. This area did not have any facilities like power and water but we already knew that. However the area was large enough to hold 2000 campers so you can picture the size of the place. Incidentally I ask how they could have possibly have so much unused land in the middle of a city this large and answer was that this area was once a land fill for the city and gives off so much Methane gas that it can not be developed. In fact I was should many ventilating pipes to vent the gas. Also the gas is captured and piped to a collection area and utilized by the city to produce gas for their Heating Plant.
As part of our Camping fee, a bus or should I say many, many Buses picked us up and took us to the Air Balloon area which was about a block away. This Bus services was great and the entire Fiesta was well organized. As the saying goes " This was not their first Rodeo ". I guessing the area where the balloons inflated and launched, probably cover a city block and again was well organized and there was either 400 or 500 Air Balloons of all shapes and sizes. The cost to enter the " Balloon Field " was 8.00 per person and they lauch at 6 AM ( yes 6 AM ) and then at night the Air balloons are Tethered so once it gets dark they " Fire " the jets and the scenery is out of this world. I don't know how to add pictures but once I find out I will include the pics. At 8:30 PM each evening they had a Fireworks display that was fantastic and we could see the entire show from our Campsite rather then stay at the Balloon field.
We stayed at the Fiesta for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and attended the launch every morning and the night show in the evening. This show was well worth the trip and we strongly recommend it. the camping is 30.00 per day and the entry fee is 16.00 per day. You will never get a show like this for that price anywhere on the planet. On Sunday we will head to St. Geo, UT
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