Phannie

Phannie
Photo taken near Monument Valley, Utah

Sunday, July 31, 2016

In the Mountains Near Denver; Dealing With Blog Comments

At Denver KOA West, Denver, Colorado...

We arrived at the KOA Denver West  in the mid-afternoon, with only four days' stay available to us. After that, according to the desk clerk, we must move elsewhere. We've never seen RV parks so crowded as on this trip, and our stay in the Denver area is complicated because there are so few RV parks available and so few of those that are not full. Forget about the state parks; they've been sold out for months. It's sort of a perfect storm, in that RVing is more popular than ever, fuel prices are low and the RV manufacturers are turning out thousands of new units every month that are snapped up by the public. 

We took a short tour of four of the RV parks nearest Denver, and in only one of those, Dakota Ridge, would we feel comfortable. We're not really that prudish, but a couple of the ones we saw today were nothing but dumps. The Dallas/Fort Worth area has a similar lack of decent RV parks, and there are very few new ones being built anywhere. Somebody is going to recognize the need one day and will do well satisfying it.

Our view at this KOA park is perhaps the most scenic we've ever seen. Here's our parking spot on top of a mountain west of Denver at an elevation of about nine thousand feet:


Spot #9 at the Denver KOA West

View From our Windshield
When I raise the windshield shade in the mornings, our view is breathtaking; the photo above really doesn't do it justice. A bonus is that we're far enough away from city lights that we can see lots of stars. We sat outside last night, looking at the heavens and wondering how life could get any better. It wasn't long until we grabbed a jacket, however; it gets pretty cool up here at night. As I write this at about 10 p.m., I look over at the indoor/outdoor temperature gauge and I see this reading; occasionally I hear Phannie's cabin heaters cycle on and off:



I know it's cruel to keep reminding my heat-soaked friends in Texas about our temperate summer climate up here, and it is mildly troubling that I keep doing it anyway. So far, though, it doesn't keep me awake at night. 

Having an appreciation for oddities, curiosities and things I don't see every day, I thought this bag of potato chips looked funny. We bought the package in Denver (5,200 feet elevation) and carried it back up the mountain with us (9,000 feet). The bag looked normal when we were in the store; now, it looks like it has put on a little weight, to which I can certainly relate. If my grandsons were here, we would have a perfect little object lesson on atmospheric pressure changes with altitude.



Now, about the comments thing I mentioned in the title of this post: I read friend Craig MacKenna's post of July 28, in which he identified several blogs upon which he couldn't write comments. One of those blogs is this one, and that got me to delve into Blogger to see what the problem could be. I also looked online and found that Blogger's problem with its disappearing comments feature has been going on for years. After looking at the recommended fixes and trying them, nothing seemed to work. Then I disabled the "Use Google+ comments" selection and Voila! The comments feature reappeared. 

Now I'm not sure what the ramifications of this may be but, whatever they are, having the comments feature working on my blog is essential, in my view. I enjoy reading and responding to them, as it helps establish a relationship with readers, even if it's virtual. A comment, no matter how brief, adds a personal element to the discourse that lifts the impersonal words on a blog page to the level of a conversation between friends, and I like that.

Because of Blogger's problems capturing comments, I have toyed with the idea of changing to another blogging platform. However, I really like most of Blogger's features, especially its handling of photos. So, I'm hoping this change will put the comments problem to bed for good. We'll see.

You may have noticed that we haven't given any shout outs to restaurants we've visited recently. That's because we haven't found one in quite a while that I would feel good about recommending. 

Stay cool, y'all!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.


33 comments:

  1. It is nice to be able to comment now. Blogger+ was requiring me to join blogger+ in order to comment. I am enjoying your blog. Thanks for writing it.

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    1. Thank you, Barney, for your perseverance. I'm sorry for the trouble Blogger was creating for people. And thank you for your kind remarks.

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  2. I have never had a problem with comments on your blog but I have a G+ account.I tried the Google + comments a few years ago and did the same thing looks like you can only use one or the other. I prefer blogger comments.

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    1. Well, I'm glad you can still comment, George, along with others now. I always appreciate hearing from you.

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  3. Denver's housing market is crazy this year with affordable rentals very hard to find thus quite a few people have resorted to living in rv parks. Its always busy during the summer but it is really bad this year.

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    1. You're obviously right, Candace. We may actually have to leave town to find a place to stay!

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    2. Austin, Tx is the exact same story. La Hacinda RV Resort is booking two years out.

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    3. I have to do so much more planning...wears me out!

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  4. It's easier to comment now! Before I had to log into my google account. YAY! I only hate you a little for your picture of the temp which is impressive considering its 8:45 and 93 degrees here...

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    1. Hi, darlin'! I'm glad this is working better for you. I wish I had known what a problem Blogger had made for people, especially you! I suppose I should stop lording it over people how cool it is here in Colorado. Nah, I'm a nice person, but not THAT nice...

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  5. Like Craig I have been trying unsuccessfully to leave comments on many of your posts. Having your comments set to Google+ blocked many comments and you were not alone I have been telling other of this problem for nearly a year now.
    We found setting the comments to Registered Users (includes Open ID) has helped stop a lot of Spam though the odd one gets through. If that happens send it to the Spam bin for a couple of days before deleting it so Blogger will recognize it as Spam.
    Looking forward to commenting again.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Gosh, it upsets me to know that folks like you have been trying to comment and couldn't. Welcome back, guys, and please accept my apology for the frustration.

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  6. I've always been able to comment and for that I'm really glad because I have no idea why I can comment. If you get to Montana we found a couple of really great restaurants. Just sayin'.

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    1. Well, I'm sure it's because of the sheer magnetism of your personality, Sandie, that you can overcome Blogger's roadblocks. I've always appreciated your comments.

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  7. Thanks, I have missed the ability to add a comment. Enough of the comments and especially, the adding of photos regards the bragging about temps where you are versus here in Texas!! It looks like your trip is going great.

    Drive safe, and I'll see you at a poker table sometime soon!

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    1. Oh, it's you, Richard. I guess I didn't realize that when I changed the settings I would have to put up with you again. Okay, I'll quit rubbing it in about the temperature, but it's really been a welcome change. Say, what happened to your blog? I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed reading it.

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    2. (For those who don't know, Richard and I are great friends and we do admit to engaging in competitive putdowns from time to time. I learned from him everything I know about being snarky. Luvya, Richard.)

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  8. Hi, your view is awesome. Another problem in RV parks is that people are buying bigger and bigger RVs. Many parks have limited large RV sites. Here at Travelers World in San Antonio, we are seeing so many more fifth wheels, motor homes and toy haulers from 40-45'. We have limited sites that will fit the big rigs.

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  9. Hi, Susan! Yours is a good observation. Many of the builders of RV parks couldn't have imagined the rolling palaces we're seeing today. We've been following Bob's healh issues, and we're glad to hear he's doing better. We will be at Traveler's World for a rally in October, I think. We will be sure to look you up!

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    1. I appreciate you, Craig, for calling this comment problem to my attention. Merikay definitely needs to keep you around!

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  11. Well, maybe that will work on my blog. I'll give it a try and see if the comments come back.

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    1. I hope so, Jan. I think Blogger needs to find a decent fix for this.

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  12. If you're ever in Morrison try The Cow-An Eatery...delicious. Owners are a retired cop and his wife.

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    1. Hi, Debbie! Well, I checked out the reviews on this place (it's now called The Blue Cow, I guess), and they matched yours. We will make a trek down there and see for ourselves. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  13. That's funny about the potato chips. Similar thing happened to us last week with our sleep number bed when we traveled from Oklahoma City to Amarillo. That's about a 2000' elevation increase. The first night in Amarillo, the Mrs got in the bed and said what's happened to our bed! It took several minutes for my light bulb to illuminate. We're in Albuquerque now at Enchanted Trails.

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  14. Hi, Joe! That's funny! I'm not sure the light would have come on at all for me! Glad to see you're on the road and at Enchanted Trails. We really enjoyed our recent stay in ABQ, even though it was pretty warm there. Safe travels, guys!

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  15. Full parks do seem to be the theme this season. Sort of takes away the spontaniety. Or in our case, the aversion to planning more than a few hours ahead at any given time. Thanks for the post!

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    1. Hi, Dennis; thanks for stopping by! I don't think we've ever seen it like this in the ten years we've been RVing. And, like you, I really would prefer no planning or short term, and only if necessary. We've really been jerked around here in the Denver area. If I had the money, I'd build an RV park here. Nah, I'm retired; what am I talking about?

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  16. Regards my blog, I used to use 'Live Writer' to write the blog and add pictures, and suddenly, it became incompatible with Blogger. I just have not taken the time to learn how to post 'au naturale' yet!!

    Don't forget, I am not homeless and have a S&B to take care...... this year, it seems to be a full summer job including painting the exterior.

    Keep posting, as it is the only travel I am getting this summer!!!

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  17. Oh, please! You ran an entire aluminum plant; how hard can this be? But if you're a slave to your house...well, what can I say? Perhaps your heirs will hang your portrait above the fireplace and raise a toast to how you sacrificed your retirement years for them. Just sayin'

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    1. Cruel, very cruel.............. I won't be cutting you any slack at the next poker game!!!!

      Stay warm, and safe travels,

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    2. We need to play with cards brought by someone else. Your insisting that we play only with yours is getting a little fishy.

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I appreciate comments and read every one of them. If your Blogger settings allow, I will happily respond.