Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Migration Update

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October is always such a glorious month...pretty much nationwide.  Millions, if not billions, of trees get to strut their color stuff.  No matter where you look, Life is ablaze with glowing leaves. We captured this tree on Spratt Street here in Idaho Falls Tuesday, October 7.  

We might mow one more time but the hoses are rolled and stowed. By tomorrow, all of our outdoor stuff will be stowed for the winter season and we'll be good to go in that department.  Most of the major migration prep work is done.  We're down to checking off relatively minor tasks from "The List."

Our current plan it to leave one week from today--October 15th.  We will have the water turned off at the street the day before hand and the electricity will be schedule to be shut down October 17.  (That's just in case we get delayed by unexpected circumstances.) Our postal mail forwarding actually begins today.  We always schedule the mail forward to start while we are here so we can make sure they actually begin forwarding.  You'd be surprised at how often the Postal Service messes up...or maybe you wouldn't.  Anyway, by starting the mail forwarding early, we have time to make certain the USPS is with the Game Plan.

We made some plumbing modifications this summer which will make it easier to blow and drain the pipes.  We use both an electric air compressor and a good old fashioned river runner hand pump to help blow the pipes.  It usually takes a couple of hours to make certain there's no water in our plumbing system.  So far, (knock on wood) we've had no problems with frozen pipes upon our return from Arizona.  An extra couple of hours blowing pipes is well worth the peace of mind when we read January weather reports of 25 below in Idaho Falls.

We should be camped in Yuba Lake State Park a week from tonight.  And we should be camped in Bryce Canyon National Park a week from tomorrow.  If we arrive in Bryce on Thursday, as planned, we will probably stay there until the following Monday, October 20.  We might drive to Rimrock on the 20th...and we might not.  That all depends on whether we decide to visit Mather Campground on The South Rim.

It's certainly quite nice to have the flexibility this year to ponder the possibilities.  In any event, we expect to be arriving in Rimrock roughly 10-12 days ahead of our normal migration schedule.  Early indications are that the temps there should be in the low to mid 70's by then.

Both NOAA's 6-10 Day and 8-14 Day Climate Prediction Graphics show it getting wetter than normal up here in Idaho during those time frames.  So, it appears we're getting out of Tater Nation right about on time for this particular Fall Season.  When the weather decides to change to gnarly and nasty here, it can do it in a heartbeat with virtually no warning whatsoever.

Meanwhile, we should be arriving in Arizona for the beginning of a protracted dry spell.  It is interesting to note that the long range forecasts show above normal precipitation for Arizona later this fall and into the Winter Season.  Perhaps that's because of factoring a weak El Nino.  Or perhaps it's due to other interesting Sea Surface Temperature anomalies elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

So, there you have it in far more than a nutshell.  Thanks for reading.  Happy Day!


1 comment:

Sue Malone said...

Travel safe and have a glorious return to your sweet Arizona digs!