Sunday July 18

We lucked out. 

Last night in bed I watched the weather radar on my Droid for the Des Moines area, where we had just left. They had 70 mph winds over a wide area and are still trying to restore power to many areas. But we are now in eastern Iowa so the storms missed us.  So glad we moved on when we did as I watched the expanding red tornado warning boxes on the radar image. 

So for today it is sunny, hot and humid but the the roofing project must go on. 

Breaks were common to get water and analyze the situation. Strips are going on and leveled so the tin can be placed on top. 

The truth be known when they were working I got the chair to supervise (I mean watch). I was more like the water boy. 
A job I can handle. I may get pulled more into the action as it will be just Terry, his dad, and I on Monday as the other two have 
to go to their day jobs. His dad should not get on the roof as he is in his 80's.  I wish I was as active as he still is. 

Saturday July 17

Have moved on to eastern Iowa. 

Terry likes to see his parents before we head back out west so we try to stop in for a few days each year in Summer. This time his brother wants help reroofing a chicken house on the homestead. No they don't do chickens in it anymore. Ya they do a have few running around for eggs but that's all. 

We got the 5er ready for the raod in the morning heat. Not a breath of a breeze.  Went only from like Des Moine to the Cedar Rapids area. 

They had a place all ready for us... all moved for our personl campsite. 
The best part is the center grain bin has a 30 amp power for us to plug into. 
Now that is what is needed in this heat. 

Right back of the 5er is a sweet corn patch. Our so called job is to watch for raccoons and try to keep them from eating the corn. 
It should be prime corn eating in just a couple of days. Think there are some tomatoes about ready also. 

A shot from the last time we were here when they all pre surveyed the roofing job. 
Cover the old with new tin and it shold look nice again. 

Today after were set up it was determined it's just to damn hot to start anything today.  I

Kind of strange right next to the roofing project is a snow blower. Now that is a big one for a farm. It attaches to the power take off on one of their big John Deere tractors. The only thing is you have to drive in reverse to run it. 

Terry's brother got this last winter right after they had to get Terry's mother to the hospital during a huge blizzard. 

The A/C is running full blast and we are all set for the evening. Terry is making apple cresp form fresh off the tree apples. But also watching the weather for storm watches that we hope don't blow up later tonight. The stroms so far are north of here. 

We are in east central Iowa about where teh X is at . View at 7 PM

Thursday July 15

Terry gets to keep his eyes and we have In Network Health Ins again. 

 We went to the famed Wolf Eye Clinic today.

I got online late this morning to check out our United Health Care status. They got us back In Network now that my old employer has notified them. I called and got transferred over to their Resolution Dept. They had to determine which claims needed to be run back through the system so they would be processed correctly. Saving us big bucks. That went well and was told I could see the new claim results online in about 10 days. We shall see if this goes without a hitch. We are talking about Health Ins. here.So teh bottom line is we were classifed Options PPO and now Choice Plus. What a little name change can make. 
In No Network we had $450 deductible and 80% coverage on most everything.  Now In Network CoPays of $25 in office and 90% after $250 deductible for ER room stuff. Max $1000. We do pay $202 a month for this coverage.

Next off to Terry's appointment with the specialist for his eyes. 
After getting back blood tests, muscle disease was ruled out. But doctor said he should have a eye operation to correct the muscle functions for his double vision (Diplopia). But that will wait till spring when we are back in Iowa. It is a 30 min. operation and according to him no big deal. We could get it done in AZ this winter but this way the doctor here has the records and can do the follow up down the road so to speak. (Did you like that line). We like that idea and the doctor so that is what we will do. Terry has a temporary lens attachment on his glasses to force his eye to focus correctly. A gift of modern medicine that this can be corrected. 

Ron here... I carry a Man Bag but a dress is so not me...
Just try to find clip art on Diplopia (double vision).
 
 

Monday July 12

Updating Health Ins. issues and our travel plans.

I did a rant last week about our Health Ins. coverage.

Remember I got placed in No Network and when we went in for all our appointments the bills came back that we had to pay them out of our deductible before coverage cut in. . Well after calls to service centers and doing an appeal I was changed back to In Network where I had always been in the past.  Now just have to get this change from my former employers benefits center to UnitedHealth Ins. who administrates their self insurance. That should happen by the end of the week, they now tell me, and then all the old June claims can be run through the system under the new plan.  Should save us about $1000 in pending charges. I didn't pay anything waiting for the change of coverage notice. Can you imagine how hard it would be to get money back from several medical providers if I had paid them direct instead of the Ins coverage. 
We went full bore with checkups, tests, heart scans, colonoscopy, eye clinic for double vision, etc. So we have been hitting the medical trail pretty hard. 

Speaking of pulling out my hair... I don't have any to spare. 

A couple of years ago it took about a year to get a single $113 charge canceled that a hospital said I owed. The Ins. company said they kept telling them I didn't owe them anything, but the hospital said they never received any of the notices... over and over for a year. At last I did get them talking and in the end the hospital said Yes I didn't owe them anything. Didn't want to go through that again. 

Now for our plans... We are ready to get out of here, as in Iowa, and get our butts back out west.

Now we need to get through Terry's eye doctor clinic appointment on Thursday. If you forgot he was having double vision issues. He has been doing his eye exercises and we hope it has helped. They will redo specialized tests to see if things are improving. 
If not, eye surgery may be needed. If he is on the right track, we will head on over to eastern Iowa to his family's farm for a few days. 

We want to spend time with his parents and help his brother work on a old chicken house he wants to reroof. Not used for birds anymore as you can see by the new door. Now a woodworking hobby building. 

We also want to visit old friends in the area. Say Hi Steve and Jan. 

I grew up east of Cedar Rapids Iowa in Cedar county, and after spreading my wings by going to school in Chicago and working in the Washington DC area came back to work for twenty years in the Telco industry here and later in Des Moines for the rest of my 33 years in Telco. Met Terry while in Cedar Rapids. 

I digress...  our next RV road trip is off to Idaho to explore the state from the southeast lower Snake River around Swan Valley
and up to West Yellowstone and the Henry's Fork River. 

Want to stop at Red Rock RV Park to touch base with the people who summer at this gem of an RV park. 
We follow  Seeing the USA in our Chevrolet  blog. 

Will move on in a week, or month from this place to move northwest to explore Lolo Pass and the Locha River. That is down from Missoula and on Highway 12 and is a must see scenic route over to Lewiston. Then down HW 95 in western Idaho. 

We have in the past gone from Island Park and down and back up across to Challis, Stanley and on to Lowman and on west. 
You do know you should NEVER try to pull a trailer south from Lowman to Idaho City don't you. Do Google that road. 

After we did this route that year we went on to OR and the coast. We had many great day trips and good fishing in central Idaho on our last time in these parts. We knew we wanted to return, so now a few years later, we want to explore much more of Idaho. To get to some of northern Idaho we will have to (OMG go through southwest Montana). Sounds good to me... We are going to just explore as we go... after all we are not on vacation and only want to be in Quartzsite in late October. Me thinks that is what this lifestyle is all about. After a couple of months in Iowa it's time to get back into it again. There is a big wide country out there, we have seen some of it, but have so much more to explore.   I need to get out there and and do our own thing. Go west young man.. go west...
 
 

Now for info you can use if you have an RV.

I know you love my rants... Sure You do.  The last one below was about Health Ins. an issue you might need to know about. 

This post is a little more down to earth that you can use IF you have an RV. 

I saw this psot on RV.NET forums. 

Getting ready for my favorite job of the summer--waxing my fiver. I have an 07 Jayco Designer 37 ft so it is a BIG job. Was curious what wax you all have found to be the best. I have used Turtle Wax Ice and it is really labor intensive, but does a good job. Please give me you best advice.

Terry doing his thing 

My reply post...

With whatever you use you need to pay attention how the product affects the decals on your unit. Some products instruct you to wipe your decals with denatured alcohol to remove any wax applied to them or around their edges. A big cause of decal curl up is that wax was applied over them. We use Wizards Supreme Seal formulated for fiberglass gelcoat and safe for strips and decals. We get it at our local auto parts supplier. The product link to the sealer we use is Supreme Seal . Web main site for Wizards Products 
Our last 5er oxidized and it was a pain to go through the fine sanding etc. to get it back in shape. We just didn't take care of it. It was this needs to be waxed? Now this time around we wanted the best so we have no problems done the road. Now you know we have no connection to this product. We screwed up on our last RV so we did the research. Please use a good product, if not this one, something else that will not do damage to your pride and joy. 
 
 

Monday July 5

As promised a rant about Health Insurance coverage.

It makes a difference where you declare your domiclie when you go fulltime.

Insurance, like so may things to watch out for, even if you think you are covered you may not be. 

When I retired with company paid Health Ins. I changed my domicile to SD. I later found out my new address in SD was not In Network. It had been that way till I found out on the next Open Enrollment when they let me declare I would go out of area to a In Network doctor for service. So then I was out of area but allowed to op into In Network for service. It was an official option to choose. If I lived in SD there would be no In Network locations but since we are fulltimers that is not a problem. I keep my old doctor in my old home state (see him once or twice a year and he keeps up on my meds) and are covered at any in network location around the country. We have UnitedHealthCare administered for my (retired from) company who is self insured. 

Well it came back to bite me in the ass again. I got placed back in No Network due to no fault of my own.

I went to make a claim this June and found they had me listed as No Network again. So after several phone calls I was told my only option was to do an appeal.  Here is the letter with personal details xxxx left out.

Attn: xxxxx Medical Insurance Appeal            June 30, 2010
Appeal to Opt in to PPO Choice Plus
Member ID: 
GP #    Plan #
SSN 
Case Ref: 

I am retired xxxxx occupational, and have been in xxxxx UHC Choice Plus Pos In Network for about 5 years since I retired. Now in June 2010 when I had my first claim for the year I found I had been placed in No Network. 
I thought I was very careful to choose correctly in the annual signup as I have done for the last (5) years by declaring to stay with my current plan.  The first year I did have to opt in to Choice Plus. In the last five years I have always been placed in Choice Plus POS or now called PPO Choice Plus by declaring to stay with the same plan.  All claims had been paid as In Network.
My domicile address has not changed during this time and is in a no network area. I agreed to opt in to Choice Plus to obtain medical services by going only to In Network providers. We travel fulltime in an RV so are able to do this. I have been with the same In Network PCP for over 15 years.
I checked the Health and Life Benefits xxxxx site several times in January 2010 to make sure I was signed up correctly. It showed Choice Plus. I also received my UnitedHealthcare member card showing UHC Options PPO and also on the www.myuhc.com site I am listed as PPO.  So determined I must be signed up correctly. 

My first claim for the year (Date of Service 06/16/2010 Claim #  Billed Amount $XXX.XX) was applied as No Network.

Now checking the xxxxx Benefits site it shows No Network BUT I am still listed Options PPO in the UHC site.

I have been told by xxxxx benefits at 800 xxx xxxx (I talked to Supervisor xxxx who was very helpful) I must Appeal to be returned to PPO Choice which I am now doing.

 And that I must call and request every year to be paced in this category even though I have not had to do this for the last several years.

I appeal to be placed in PPO Choice Plus In Network back dated to cover my June 2010 claims. Feel free to call me at the below number for any further information. 

Name...
...Address...
...city..., SD xxxxx

Cell 

Attached:  Copies of 2009 and 2010 UHC member cards.

We shall see how this all works out. In the meantime we still have insurance, No Network each pay up to $450 deductible before coverage kicks in at 80% instead of In Network only co-pays and 90% coverage. Both plans have max. of $1000 out of pocket and monthly of $202.

Still not bad compared to what so many have to pay to get coverage to go fulltime. If they can even get Insurance. I feel strongly my appeal will be accepted as they didn't play fair, me thinks. 
 
 
 

So did you get out to a local celebration and parade?

We are just hanging out at our 5er in our full hookup site at Terry's sisters acreage here in central Iowa watching the corn grow. Terry has a full shop in their huge pole building right next to us. He has a metal and wood lathe, etc. so he can play to his hearts content. So why go anyhwere else. But I am getting Hitch Itch to be sure so have been investigation the South Snake River in Idaho. More on that later. 

This weekend is for the locals to get out and enjoy the local campgrounds. It has been a long winter and they are out in force to blow off some steam camping out on this holiday. We will take a drive on Sunday to view the campers in the local county and COE cmapgrounds in the area. Sort has become a family outing for us to do.

We got a new Weber Q 100 portable grill and plan to do baby back ribs if the rain predicted doesn't nip that in the bud. The porcelain enameled cast-iron cooking grates sold us on this one. Unlike the grill of the below unit.

We have been fans of the Olympian RV 4100 grill (below) and have had a couple of them. But this time we, like so many others opted for the Weber. It is larger and harder to store for travel but it is a nice unit. I told Terry he has to throw out some of his stuff to make room for this. 

Our old standby 12 volt fan has been getting more and more noisy. We mounted this on a wood base and has served us well. But as time went on it became so noisy we just had to get rid of it and look for somthing else. 
I went to the Pilot truck stop and bought another one and it was so noisy we had to take it back. 

We found this AC powered fan at Walmart. 

Model No.: HT-900 
And it moves much more air even in the low setting than the above fan and is so quiet. This is a keeper. 
Variable tilt fan head pivots for use as an air circulator

It works well with a very small inverter I had using 12 volts to power it when we are off line. 
This tiny inverter is also low noise. Tiny fan you can't even hear. 
CyberPower 120W DC-to-AC Power Inverter.

Stay tuned for a rant I am getting ready to post about my Health Ins policy situation. 
If you are knowledgeable about Health Insurance you know about In Network and No Network.
Well, I found out after five years being In Network, while having a SD domicle address I was this year placed in No Network. Now I have to appeal to get my policy back to In Network.  Much more later as to how this could happen and why you should be careful when declaring your domicile as South Dakota.  Stay tuned... I will explain in detail...
 
 

You may be asking what could they be doing all this time in Iowa.

Well... The rain and storms have stopped and the last few days have been perfect weather events. Hold on as it will revert to hot and muggy in short order.  But for now the rain which has been about 10 - 15 inches in June is producing flooding. The big COE dams here are again having water go over their spillways. Des Moines is again bracing for flooding. 

This is what Saylorville Lake looks like at full level. The bridge is a mile long structure and it is now only a few feet above the lake level.  The area is full of campgrounds as it is a COE project, but all boat ramps are closed for the 4th of July weekend. In Iowa you only get to use your big bad boat a few weekends a year and now all the ramps are closed. You can bet a lot of people are upset. Not as much as the people below the dam who are worried about getting flooded out, me thinks.
A shot as they were lowering the extended flood gates on the dam spillway.

(local news station)
These gates will lower six feet and send a surge down river of uncontrolled water. 

Below is the river in downtown Des Moines as we did a family outing today. Terry was looking for a bearing for a idler wheel  for a belt grinder that he is building to be used for a rock club project. 
He had called to confirm they had the part he wanted but when we got there they didn't have it. So much for customer service. 

Now back to what we found in downtown Des Moines on our day trip toady... 

High water to be sure... normally it flows down and over this dam. Now it just rumbles over it all. 

The new Principle Financial River Walk bridge over the river. 
A work of art along with a resurgence of walkways along the river. Now a great place to watch the high water. 

Now looking below... 
This was constructed as a tribute to past Iowa Gov. Robert  D Ray as he brought southeast Asia refugees for relocation to Iowa. In 1975 Ray was alarmed by the plight of thousands of refugees from the Vietnam War, many of whom were allies of the U.S., who had been expelled or were fleeing from Vietnam and living in temporary refugee camps. Ray initiated programs to allow Vietnamese refugees to live in the United States and eventually obtain citizenship.  Many were able to came to Iowa. Read more about it at Iowa pathways.

Now back a couple weeks ago in time as we visited Terry's family when we visited the family farm in eastern Iowa, and the guys spent time analyzing how to reroof the old chicken house. 
From left nephew Bobby, Terry, brother Gary, and father Robert. 

We all know how we hate seeing family pictures of grandkids etc. on travel blogs.  But these guys are wll past that age. Robert, Terry's father is in his 80's and doing great.  We should be so lucky. 

Now this last week we had more doctor appointments. 
I had a cardiologist appointment. I missed seeing them last fall so had to get my butt in this spring.  I have AFib events from time to time and take pills for my heart so this was a needed visit. I have been feeling better this last year (lower blood pressure, 110 over 60 with meds) and and my last Afib event was in early March. I don't worry about having one so much, so me thnks that helps in not having one. I found out my A1C came down so I'm happy about that. 

If you are tired about all this med stuff just a bit more... 

As you know we all need to get a colonoscopy every few years as we get older.  Colon cancer is very preventable if you get checked. I know not much fun in the preparation with getting yourself cleaned out for the procedure, but when done, and you get a clean report (so to speak) you know it was all worth it. We do it as it as polyps and colon cancer runs in both our families so we are faithful about our checkups. This year it was Terry's turn to get probed. 
The waiting room got old as I waited for Terry but they had WiFi so I could use my Droid Incredible.  I did have to endure watching the Wimblegon Tennis tournaments on their big screen TV.  And I thought soccer was boring...

Doesn't Terry look cute recovering from his procedure. 
He did have two polyps so he will have to be rechecked again in 3 years instead of 5. 

Don't get the wrong idea from the picture he was doing fine. Just dozed of for a minute. 
Just one of the few times I cought him in a druged stupor. When he is at his best... 

Today we went for a drive and stopped at Menard's Building Center and I took pictures of their patio display. 

I was looking for ideas if we buy a lot in Quartzsite, AZ and how me might develop it patio wise. 

Now a last picture from a day or so ago about life as we know it, back in our 5er.

 
 
 
 

Go  BACK       Go to  INDEX  Page     Go FORWARD

See where we are at right now. DataStormUsers map ID 98  Have question or comment about our blog life... We love email.   Just email rbunge@hitchitch.com