Apr 11, 2010

LOSING TIME IN UTAH

Friday morning we left Barstow and headed north on I-15.  We left the highway in Baker Ca. to head northwest to Pahrump, Nevada.  Along the way we stopped for fuel and had our credit card refused when I went inside to pre-pay.  It seems that our address got changed in their database.  I had problems with the card a few days ago and when I went on line to check things out I noticed that our address had been changed to our son's address. So I changed it back.  That, coupled with the fact that our address is in Michigan and we were using the card in California, put a freeze on it.  While I was on the phone discussing the matter with their customer service department, our son called Judy's phone.  It seems the credit card company had just called our business asking personal questions and trying to find out where we were.  So how did our address get changed in the first place? Our son shares a similar first name and about a year ago he lived with us for a short time .  Just long enough for him to start getting mail.  So when he moved out of our house he of course changed his address.  It seems that the USPS thinks we are the same person and every so often still wants to change our address to his.  In our new enlightened connected age, the USPS sends out this data base to all kinds of businesses including our credit card company. So they automatically change our address without notifying us.  If I change our address they question it.  But no one questions the USPS, because we all know they never make a mistake!!!  OK, enough of my rant.  The credit card company gave us a special 800 number to call if, or when, this occurs again.  When we get back to Michigan I hope to convince the USPS to stop changing our address unless we request it.

We enjoyed the drive to Pahrump as we skirted along the southeast edge of  Death Valley.  We were only able to stay for a couple of days because duty calls back in Michigan.  Actually good duty.  We have a new grandson that's due to arrive by the end of the month and we want to be there to welcome him into the world.

We were in Pahrump to visit my cousin Carol and her daughter Mardell. They have a beautiful home in Pahrump and we enjoyed our visit with them.  My cousin is a few years older than me, so it was fun to hear her stories about my Mom and Dad that I had not heard before. We enjoyed a very nice lunch and a brief tour of Pahrump. Carol gave us 4 rocking chairs and a trunk that have been in the family for years.

They will be distributed to various family members back in Michigan as well as Oregon on a future trip. We were amazed it all fit in the back of the explorer.

This morning we hit the road again and drove through Las Vegas and headed NE into Utah.  We found a nice little RV Park in Kanarraville, Utah.

And we moved our clocks to mountain time.  Tomorrow we are heading east to Bryce Canyon  National Park.

Until later