My dad once told me a similar joke where an immigrant gave up on learning the English language after reading that headline. But yet again, I digress.

Though I have said it before, whenever I go AWOL around here you can rest assured it has something to do with three legged dogs. This time was a big deal.

I recently completed the long overdue Tripawds site makeover with a complete overhaul of the site’s theme and active plugin structure. Anyone interested in the easiest way to make random header images or how to integrate multi-site stats into a site-wide header might be interested in the bit I wrote about how to customize the WPMU-Nelo custom homepage CMS WordPress theme.

Suffice it to say, however, that this undertaking was a crash course in php and css. And so far, it has paid off. Speaking figuratively, not literally. My prime directive for overhauling the Tripawds site was to improve performance in the discussion forums.

We started Tripawds using Mandigo, the same theme behind this blog and the RVblogz community. It has served us well. Mandigo is massively configurable, with lots of java and many files. Over the past few years, Jerry’s blog infrastructure had become bloated.

Too many hacks, scripts and widgets were bogging down the site.

So how did I do it?

One word: WPMUdev.

Seriously, there’s no way I alone could make the Tripawds Blogs community what it has become without my WPMUdev premium subscription for the best WordPress themes plugins and support. That’s how during the recent makeover I easily implemented robust new features like a global site search and searchable directories for blogs and members.

It’s also where I got the lean and mean WPMU-Nelo. Hacking this slick WordPress theme to bits was relatively easy, even for me due to it’s code simplicity and parent/child theme structure.

Did someone say digress? We’re in Quartzite now with the Nü Crew, and I haven’t even written about Walla Walla. As much as I hate reading blogs that bemoan infrequent updates, we gots some catchin’ up to do!

And we’re off!

We hit the road last weekend, and are now boondocking at the Slabs, in nearly the same spot we were in last year.

The frantic pace of L.A. is behind us and the roaring din of freeways is gone. In fact, the loudest noises we hear at any given time are packs of dogs barking, music playing, and occasionally the “thwap! thwap! thwap! thwap!” of mid-afternoon V-22 Osprey training drills on the adjacent Navy bombing range.

As we drove to the desert, I couldn’t help but be horrified at the cost of diesel, as high as $3.89 a gallon. Just as I started to panic when thinking about the triple-digit fuel-ups we’re in for, I got an email from Flying J, to let me know about their new Frequent Fueler Advantage Program.

As Flying J / Pilot Travel Center’s newest loyalty program, the Frequent Fueler Advantage Program gives members:

• Instant fuel discounts at the pump on diesel, gas, and propane
  • $0.03 off diesel (currently available at RV and auto diesel lanes only (coming soon to truck diesel lanes)
  • $0.02 off gas
  • $0.10 off propane
• $5 off dumping fees
• Members-only offers for anyone who takes time to register their card:
  • Unlimited fuel discounts (no max gallons)
  • Pump Start*
  • Other benefits like the Coffee Club, buy 5 hot beverages and the 6th is on us!

What got me interested in signing up with the program is the “Pump Start” benefit. This perk enables RVers to start the fuel pump instantly, just by swiping the registered loyalty card.

For passengers like me, this means that I don’t have to interrupt my knitting, just to go inside and pay whenever we stop for fuel.

If you already have a Flying J or Pilot loyalty card, like the Driver Payback Card or Frequent Fueler Card, you don’t need a new card, you can keep using them. But just be sure to go online to register your existing card so you can get all of the benefits of the new Frequent Fueler Advantage Program(you can also have the station clerk do it).

Last fall on our way to the West Coast we went over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado.

As one of the most dangerous passes in the Rockies, this 10,857′ pass features grades up to 8 percent in places. It’s especially treacherous when traveling Westbound, and even worse when snow is on the ground.

This crazy pass is so steep that 70s country singer C. W. McCall (of “Convoy” fame) even wrote a song about it, called Wolf Creek Pass:

I looked at Earl and his eyes was wide.
His lip was curled, and his leg was fried.
And his hand was froze to the wheel like a tongue to a sled in the middle of a blizzard.

I says, “Earl, I’m not the type to complain
But the time has come for me to explain
That if you don’t apply some brake real soon, they’re gonna have to pick us up with a stick and a spoon…”

This is the second time we’ve headed westbound over the pass on our way to Pagosa Springs, just east of Durango. In the past, as RVing greenhorns we would’ve smelled our brakes heating up the whole way. But now, Trucker Jim is experienced enough to keep those babies nice and cool, and we smelled nothing when we got to the bottom.

One thing that really helps is knowing where the twists and turns might get you into trouble. The Mountain Directory West for Truckers, RV, and Motorhome Drivers is one of the most useful books we’ve acquired since hitting the road. It tells you where you might find trouble, and what roads are best avoided when hauling a heavy load.

We’ll be putting it to good use on Saturday, when we hit the road again.

Ah, California. Land of sunshine, beaches, beautiful people and . . .

The most outrageous fuel prices in the country!

When we arrived, diesel was just up over $3.00 a gallon. Now, it’s almost at $4. The longer we hang out, the higher prices climb. It’s like a flashback to 2008. Scary stuff.

After several weeks of hanging out, the L.A. basin is starting to remind us of crabs in a pot.

Soon, we’ll beat a path out of here, and head somewhere far away.

Here, actually.

A small ranch in Southern Arizona, where our friends Kelly and Al have been caretaking every winter. We camped there with them for a night once, and loved the peace and quiet. Last Fall, Kelly and Al hooked us up with the property owners, and now we have a short caretaking gig at their place in February/March.

We’ll have some animals and acreage to look after, along with wide open skies, big views and a whole lot of quiet.

Then in late March, as long as fuel prices don’t get too much higher, we’ll head to Big Bend National Park once again. Where the skies are even bigger, and the Longhorns outnumber the people.

Now that’s living.