Alright, we need to catch up a bit. Friday morning was a move day. I started out by riding the scooter a few miles to our friend’s house. Great guy that he is, Mike Hall very generously lent us his Jeep while we’re at McDowell Mountain Regional Park (MMRP).

This is fortunate for us. MMRP is a little off the beaten path and we’ll spend the next 10 days here. While I was picking up the Jeep and leaving our scooter in Mike’s shop, Donna was preparing the coach for travel.

On my way home, I stopped at Senor Taco and bought a chorizo and egg breakfast burrito. These burritos are so huge, one was more than plenty for both Donna and me.

We completed our pre-flight tasks and got ready to exit Apache Wells RV Resort. Our neighbor was kind enough to assist me with positioning the trailer. Now that we have a wheel that we can put on on the front jack, we take advantage of that and maneuver the trailer to a position that makes it easy to hitch up. But in this case, we had to roll it over gravel and up onto the concrete pad.

Once we were hooked up and ready to hit the road, Donna took the wheel of the Jeep and followed me on the 25-mile drive to MMRP. I expected an uneventful drive, but we ran into a snag in Fountain Hills.

We were driving down Saguaro Road when unexpectedly a detour sign appeared. At the next intersection, the road was closed and I had no choice but to turn right. This led me down a narrow road with cars parked on the right. I had to hug the curb of the center median on the left. Unfortunately, the city has been remiss with their tree trimming. I passed under a few trees that were hanging less than 12 feet above the road – these trees scraped the roof and roof accessories of our coach. I’ll assess the damage later.

We found our way through the detour and made our way to MMRP. When we entered the park, I made a wrong turn so we circulated the park a couple of times before we found our site. Eventually we were ready to back into site 37. Donna and I looked the site over and discussed our options. After pacing off the dimensions, we decided to try backing the trailer and coach in at an angle that would allow us to keep the trailer hooked up.

It wasn’t easy, but we managed to situate our 56′ length into a 50′ site without dropping the trailer. We had two bravos, one from a couple that was leaving the park and watched while they waited for us to clear the roadway, and another from our new neighbor across the road.

The only problem now was the Jeep. We filled our site and still needed room to park the Jeep. Our neighbor across the street came to the rescue. She told us we could use the excess space in her site to park. Her motorhome is smaller and she doesn’t have another vehicle. That’s the beauty of this lifestyle. Most people are so friendly and willing to assist.

There was a bigger concern though. I saw fluid in the road where we just were. Looking in the engine compartment, I saw the fluid came from the coolant overflow line. This is puzzling. While I was backing in, the engine was idling. Diesel engines tend to run cool at idle. So why would the coolant tank puke a little coolant while we were parking? I’m sure I’ll ponder this question many times in the middle of the night.

Friday night I slept soundly. It’s so quiet and peaceful here away from from the city. Donna and I woke up feeling well-rested. I needed to get up and at it. I unloaded Donna’s bicycle from the trailer and pumped up the tires for her training ride while she made bacon and eggs for breakfast. After we ate, I took a quick shower and then drove out of here in the Jeep.

I drove to Mike Hall’s place, 30 miles away. Our plan was to go to the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing event at Wildhorse Pass Raceway (formerly known as Firebird Raceway). We then drove to Scottsdale to pick up our friend, Lindert Hartoog.

On the way I realized that I didn’t bring my Opcon eyedrops with me. I’m having an issue with pollen allergies and my eyes are itching and watering. After we picked up Lindert, we stopped at CVS pharmacy and I bought Opcon-A eye drops. This turned out to be an epiphany. The Opcon eye drops I had were a couple of years old. The new, fresh eye drops were so much more effective. I wouldn’t have thought that a year or two would make that much difference.

We finally arrived at the race track. I remember this place as Firebird Raceway, not Wildhorse Pass Raceway. I used to ride track days here on my MV Agusta and Ducati motorcycles when we lived in Mesa. In 2008 and 2009 I was the crew chief for G2 Moto and we raced here frequently. We were moving the team towards an AMA berth, but I left in 2009 to follow my career with Volkswagen in Michigan.

Mike, Lindert and I had fun roaming around the track and pit areas.

Lindert hooked us up with a guy he knows. His friend, Ray Problem (no, Ray’s not a problem, his last name is Problem) comes to the NHRA event in Phoenix every year. He pays to have his motorhome trackside near the finish line. General Admission tickets for Saturday’s qualifying event cost $38. But Ray had us covered at his site for $40 including beer, lunch and snacks. Vendors were selling beer for six dollars a pop, so this was a good deal.

Oftentimes, while I’m gassing up the scooter or whatnot, people ask me about our scooter. When I tell them it’s a Kymco, they say what? I have to explain that it’s a Korean company that makes millions of scooters worldwide. I mention this because Kymco is high profile at NHRA events. They had a big display and many teams had Kymco scooters in their pits.

One of the things I love about NHRA events is the access. Your general admission ticket is a pit pass. You can wander the pits and see what goes on behind the scenes.

My friend, Lindert, had a blast shooting photos of all the action. Behind Ray’s motorhome, a scaffolding was set up. This gave us a great vantage site for the races.

Back at MMRP, Donna rode the duathlon course for her race next Sunday and found it more challenging than she remembered. She lived in Fountain Hills when we met and rode it often back then. I think she’ll do fine. She needs to taper this week and take it easy.

One more thing from the track. Before we left, I saw a T-shirt that resonated with me. It has chemical equations for nitro-methane fuel that reminded me of Breaking Bad. I had to buy one.

Today, I’ll be meeting up with Carole Sue Bringas and Andy King for a late breakfast. It’ll be fun to spend time with old friends again. Carole Sue made the trip from San Diego to visit people in Prescott and we’re taking advantage of the opportunity to hook up again.