Vladimir

Did you get a clear view?? We ended up with two minutes of totality and two minutes of clouds during totality.

I was going to Valentine, because I don't know any better!! Would you cut across at Merritt Dam?? That is the location of the Nebraska Star Party in summer, so I thought it might be worthwhile to drive that way. I have a one-ton diesel truck towing a Casita trailer. Anything north of Abiliene??? That is probably my Tuesday night stop in that area. Vladimir

Ok....I retired from the Forest Service and never had heard of the "Halsey National Forest". Did you mean the Nebraska National Forest??? That is a stop on the trip. Best night sky I have EVER seen was on the Beaverhead National Forest in 1996. Close second was the night sky at Lake Mohave in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 1977. That night sky does not exist anymore. But I really want a repeat of that night on the Beaverhead!!! That night in August 12th, 1996 was incredible. My astronomy buddies still do NOT believe me when I described that night.

I will be done with the eclipse on Tuesday morning. The plan is to take Highway 83 from Menard, Texas to Valentine, Nebraska. Any advice?? Places to stay, things to see?? Not sure how much time I will have.....it is fishing season in eastern Washington and I need to be there. Thanks for the all the suggestions in advance.

We will be camped tomorrow on private land right on the center line. It is the only reason I decided to make the trip for the eclipse. I was at the 2017 eclipse in John Day, Oregon. Unless you were a Forest Service employee, you probably don't know where John Day is located. It was extremely crowded. The local school raised 24,000 dollars by allowing us and others to camp at the rural school for three days. I was happy to write a check for 400 dollars. The school wanted an eclipse every year!! There is nothing like a total solar eclipse. PS....leaving on Tuesday after the eclipse.

Still in Benson. Leaving tomorrow for the eclipse. Then up 83 and the great plains.

Choices are heading on 70 to Roswell and then east to Waco. Or 82 from Almogordo to Hobbs....then south and east to Waco. Or I-10 through El Paso and then to 190 to Waco. I am towing a small Casita trailer with a one-ton truck (not taking chances on not enough truck!!) and my friend is driving a 40 foot motor home towing a truck. Any information camp spots or overnight stays around the 400 mile work would also be handy. My first time in Texas so any advice is greatly appreciated. Vladimir

Yeah, that didn't take long. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/highway-1-california-landslide-road-closure-19378076.php One of my all-time favorite road trips was going down Highway 1 through Big Sur. When I lived in California, I made a point of doing the trip almost every year. For the past five or more winters I have been trying to repeat that trip and the road has been closed every year. I am beginning to suspect that in the near future the state of California might just abandon Highway 1. If the road is open, do the trip. It is as someone said...."the most dramatic meeting of earth and sea in the world".

The Escapees Parks in Coarsegold is a good overnight stop on your trip. If you cannot get into a campground inside the National Parks and Forests there are also Corps of Engineer campgrounds that are also in the area. Your trip down the coast along HIghway 1 will also require reservations. You have picked the correct direction north to south since it will put you on the outside lane, with views of the ocean and pull-outs such that you won't have to cross traffic. Be sure to take some binoculars or a small telescope with you for views of sea otters, etc. It is probably too late for the whale migration. That is a classic California trip. PS. The route shows you going back on Highway 101. You want to go down Highway 1. It should be totally open by then according to Cal Trans. Explore the website REC.GOV now, and see about making campground reservations in July. That will give you a good clue how difficult it will be to find a campsite. Good luck on weekends.

Does it work well with boondocking locations on public lands??? Or is it geared more to commercial RV parks and main routes.

Anybody using RV LIFE TRIP WiZARD.....a friend of mine just bought it and is tearing out his hair. Comments. Vladimir

GEHA had TWO "utter loads of BS". The first was that explaining the billing code to the patient is prohibited under HIPAA. The second was the "incorrect" billing address which automatically kicked out a $51 dollar charge for my physical. The original call to customer service identified the "incorrect address" and that it would be fixed. When it wasn't fixed, I called again and talked to a supervisor that said they were NOT going to fix it and that I would have to APPEAL to fix it. Really, you admit you made a mistake and now you want me to jump through a unnecessary hoop to fix it?? At that point, I had already initiated "fraud" charges through the state of Washington Attorney Generals office. The Inspector General for the Federal government health FRAUD department told me to appeal and GEHA would refund my $51 dollars. I told them I didn't care about the $51, but the fraud and stealing the money from taxpayers and patients was systematic and that needed fixed. We do have the best government money can buy and GEHA still owes me $51 dollars. I waited for my next physical before doing anything since it was a month away. I decided to wait a month to include the SECOND physical in the fraud charges. In 2020, President Trump signed the No Surprises Act, which required medical providers to tell folks in ADVANCE that they were going to be charged for an "out of network" provider. The Biden Administration published the new regulations in 2022. To paraphrase President Biden..." son of bitch, they paid for my entire physical without a co-pay of $51 charge". Turns out, if they had to tell me before hand that some of visits to MY DOCTOR in HER OFFICE was out of network, and in network for other visits I would immediately drop GEHA. GEHA is secondary. I pay $4,000 dollars in premiums for secondary coverage, and in addition the TAXPAYERS pay a additional 15,000 a year. For this GEHA charged me $51 for a physical that they covered when I was working without CO-PAY. As soon as I was under Medicare, they charged me $51 for the physical. Does that make any sense?? GEHA and other insurance carriers are making a fortune off Federal retirees and the taxpayers. And it is still NOT enough for them.

I am traveling now, but under EOB I assume you mean the billing statement with the medical codes. Yes, I got the EOB's and called GEHA for them to explain what the billing codes meant. I was told that telling me the billing codes was a violation of HIPAA and they could NOT provide me with the information!!! Told me to go look up on the internet. Which I did. It had NOTHING to do with a annual physical. How do you contest a improper billing when GEHA will NOT tell you what you were billed for in the first place!!! Again, ATENA was the contractor that handled GEHA claims. This year it is United HealthCare. Life will not got better.

I hear you, BUT there is no recourse except government to bring about fair outcomes when your dealing with insurance companies that will not HONOR or ABIDE the contracts they signed with the Federal government. Except, these days in the immortal words of Bob Brinker "we have the best government money can buy".

John Wesley Harding and Bonnie and Clyde had lots of fans. They were upstanding people when it came to the lower classes. Somehow, I suspect United HealthCare doesn't share the same values as Harding and Bonnie and Clyde. In my case, the taxpayers are picking up my Medicare and insurance costs. They are ripping off the taxpayers. I sent a copy of the 'insurance contract" between the Federal government and GEHA. Page 38....GEHA will pay for a yearly physical WITHOUT co-pays. They just went ahead and charged my visit as NOT a physical and for good measure coded my visit out of network!!! Trump's approval of the NO SURPRISES MEDICAL ACT took care of the "out of network" scam. They, however, refuse to list my annual physical as a physical. They even went as far to REFUSE to tell me what the codes were on my billing as to the medical services I received!! How can I correct a wrong billing...if GEHA will not tell me what I was BILLED for in terms of medical services.

Thanks for posting the link. I have insurance through GEHA?? NOPE. Last year Aetna administered the GEHA program. This year it moves to United Health Care. GEHA is just skimming the policy premiums and government payments. The entire system is corrupt. Where is Teddy Roosevelt when you need him??

There was a Wall Street Journal article on insurance fraud by the INSURANCE COMPANIES against their customers. Atena had ONE doctor overseeing and accepting or denying claims from their clients. I am not sure how many Dr. Atena has reviewing claims. That one Dr. DENIED 600,000 insurance claims in one year!! Excluding vacations and holidays, that ONE Dr. denied a claim every FIVE SECONDS for while he was on the clock. That does not include the insurance claims he approved!!! The Wall Street Journal article noted that ZERO POINT FIVE percent of Atena clients appealed their denial of coverage. That one Dr. made Atena millions and millions of dollars in insurance claims that they did NOT have to pay. So it is with Molina. If less than one percent complained, the number of clients and non-clients (like me) the Molina defrauded is a really high number. When I filed my complaint with the Inspector General for health care fraud, he told me to appeal with GEHA and they would refund my $51 dollars. This for what looked a well designed fraud system that was defrauding the taxpayers and Federal employees for probably millions of dollars. We really need a Congressional investigation into health care insurance fraud by the INSURANCE companies. The other angle I would like to see investigated is the targeting of people by the insurance companies that cannot speak English. My parents did not speak English. I translated for them as a kid and I was amazed at the number of frauds that they were invited to participate in!!! I did give me a early understanding of how many people out there can rob you with a fountain pen. These days, I have had several insurance companies and medical offices when I call them ASK if I am translating for the person making the complaint. There is always a sense of surprise at the other end when I tell them "no, that is me. I speak perfect English.

Can you quote yourself and then answer!!! Anyway, more information on Molina HealthCare of Washington and their business practices. I don't understand the fine, WHY IS THIS COMPANY STILL IN BUSINESS??? https://www.yoursourceone.com/columbia_basin/wa-fines-molina-healthcare-100-000-for-enrollment-and-billing-errors/article_b855bb32-e16e-11ee-b01d-8bd95a5974d0.html

I noticed the same thing. I do think that insurance was better and fairer in the past. The computerization of medical care has allowed companies to "steal" money a little money from everyone on a large scale. The TWO the fraud cases I have been involved in the past two years were just that. Stealing a little bit of money from a lot of people. Computers make it easy.

Yes they do. See next reply.............. The Forest Service has invested millions of dollars into remote toilet technology. https://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2012/05/sst-sweet-smelling-toilet.html When I worked for the Forest Service the taxpayers payed good money to put in composting toilets and then payed good money again to remove them because they did not work. Incinerating toilets have more potential. But they take a lot of energy to work and need a fuel source. The Forest Service budget includes MILLIONS of dollars for pumping those SST toilets. The agency would like to get rid of that cost. So far, they are still pumping the SST toilets, but at least we are no longer working with pre-1985 technology!! Call San Dimas and see what they are up to in toilet technology. There is at least one engineer working on that issue!! The cutting edge technology in back country toilets is with the Forest Service. Follow them.

I am surprised that no one has answered your post. So here goes. I bought and own both the Generation One and Generation Two dish. The Generation Two dish works real well for RV'ing. The box is well designed for travel. It is fairly small. I installed the Generation Two at my vacation home business. It was a residential install. A couple of weeks ago, I took it on the road and switched to the mobile account. The install at the vacation home has wiring, router, etc. totally set-up that when I need to have the dish with me I just remove the dish. I have an extra router than works well at the vacation home, but I take it on the road so I don't have to remove it. I did get another modem cable to take on the road. The extra router made a huge difference in coverage at the vacation home. I ordered the Generation One dish when there was a waiting list. The Generation Two dish was a warranty replacement for the Generation One dish. I don't know what current waiting times are today. I understand that residential use is still limited in certain cells. You can get a mobile account right away, but when I switched plans I was warned that I might not be able to reinstall the dish at my residential local except as a mobile device. The speed did go down now that I am in the southwest. I don't know why that is, but it might be the greater number of dishes in my southern location. The biggest issue I have had is the StarLink web sites. They are awful. No voice support. Everything goes through the internet. Once you find where you need to be it is simple to change services. I was in Bakersfield, when the campground wanted me to sign up for their internet service. I thought that it might be a good time to set up my StarLink dish. In less than five minutes, I had the dish setup and changed my account to mobile and StarLink told me that billed me $14 for the remainder of the month. It took a bit longer for the StarLink to come totally on line. I would start a StarLink notebook with passwords and other information. It does make up for the lack of personal support. Do change your phones to wifi calling. In my view, this is one of the best reasons to switch to StarLink. Phone service everywhere. My next step is too go to a very cheap data and phone plan. No point paying $65 per line now. That helps take the sting out of buying the dish. It is limited to three devices hooked up at one time per agreement. I have never tried to hook four up at one time. Hope this helps. Oh set up instruction are there pictures!!! Just hook everything up and DON'T DO ANYTHING else. It will connect on its own!! First time I tried to point it north, etc. Don't.

Thanks for posting the link. I was just at my regular Dr. office and he had an eye chart on the wall. I almost asked him if I could steal it!! Thought I could probably buy one on Amazon. But this is much better, giving me access to an eye chart whenever I travel, etc. etc. Thanks for the book reference, our library has it and I will check it out. I am really picky about my vision. I get my contact lenses corrected to 20/15. But it is much worse than that!! I have astigmatism and my contacts are weighed to rotate into the correct location. The eye chart quickly tells me how off my contact is for astigmatism correction. Sometimes, I get a "bad" contact and usually it is just off to 20/20 or 20/30, so I "suffer" for a month until it is time to replace. For me, it is a question of a bad contact or just poor rotation of the lens. I have my favorite set of trees on the ridge line to check my vision, the eye chart is easier. But it gets better. I also have a specific set of contacts made for astronomy use. Night myopia is not a serious condition, but boy do you see more stars when you have contacts for night use as opposed to a prescription for day use. I need to spend more time getting the perfect night prescription, and the eye chart is perfect for that. Yes, I did sit in the dark for 15 minutes before getting my "night" prescription. Aren't you glad your not my optometrist?? Almost forgot, since I always wear contacts I only carry glasses for emergency use, like losing a contact. So I can now sort my "old" glasses and know which ones are the best for emergency use or whether I need to buy a new set. Aren't you glad you asked the question??

Hey, thanks for the explanation about a free lunch. I will forward it to all my economist friends. Never did know the origin. In other news, T-Mobile and StarLink has gotten text messaging to work. Looks like the service will be operational fairly soon. https://www.pcmag.com/news/spacexs-cellular-starlink-successfully-beams-first-text-messages-to-phones

Starlink, I assume. I got StarLink not for the internet access, but for the wi-fi calling. It works great. I have a vacation rental in an area with no cell service. By providing wifi calling to my guests on StarLink they have access to their phones and friends. Most of guests do not use the internet, but they do use their phones a lot for talking to friends and sending them pictures from the home to get their friends jealous!!! In my case, I spend a lot of time alone in the woods. Having StarLink texting for emergencies would be great and then when I got back to camp I would use the wifi calling and internet features.

This was in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Here is the press release....from last to first in one simple step??? This will get me to switch. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/t-mobile-takes-coverage-above-and-beyond-with-spacex this is important: Text messaging, including SMS, MMS and participating messaging apps, will empower customers to stay connected and share experiences nearly everywhere. Afterwards, the companies plan to pursue the addition of voice and data coverage.