We suffered another Pantech battery failure in our Verizon Jetpack, so I’m on a very slow park wifi connection today. I’ll post a short update without pictures due to these circumstances.

On Monday afternoon, I had to go back to the dentist. I had some work done last Thursday and had a small problem with a filling. There was a sharp edge on the side of the tooth and my tongue wouldn’t leave it alone. You know how it is when something is off with your teeth – like when something is stuck between them. Your tongue always finds it. The dentist removed a couple thousandths of an inch of material and all was good. It took about five minutes.

That night, I went to the Mesa Buckhorn Elks Lodge at 6pm for the mandatory indoctrination. I learned a few things about the history of the Elks and also the many philanthropic services they provide. I had no idea they were involved in so many charitable causes. The 75-minute indoctrination became a bit tedious after a while – the husband and wife team that presented the material were good and provided a ton of information, but it was bit like watching a PBS fundraiser at times as they gave convincing arguments for the need to participate in various groups. I’m not one for joining groups. I’ll probably be what they call a BMO – bar member only.

Tonight I’ll return to the lodge at 6:30pm for the mandatory initiation. Maybe I’ll learn the secret handshake there. Seriously, this is where I’ll become an official member and receive my Elks membership card. This card will identify me as an Elks member at any lodge in the US. There are four of us joining tonight. I learned last night that all four of us are RVers and are interested in visiting Elks lodges with RV hook-ups. I’m sure it’ll come in handy down the road. The low rates for Elks members should offset the $71.50 annual dues.

I have a few things to get done before we pull out of Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona. We’ve been here for nearly 10 weeks and have enjoyed our stay. I think we’ll be back again next year. We’ll leave here on Thursday and head over to the Verde Valley Thousand Trails RV park. I’ve booked four nights there taking advantage of our new Thousand Trails membership – this will be a free stay.

Before we leave here, I’ll dump and flush our tanks, fill the fresh water tank and of course have the trailer packed. I added a few more D-rings and also a paper towel rack to the trailer. I think I have a place for everything and it should be easy to pack. After staying in one place for so long, I’m getting anxious to move on.

I’ve ordered another battery for the Jetpack with overnight delivery. With any luck, we’ll have it tomorrow so we’ll be back up and running at full speed. With the upcoming move, I probably won’t post for a couple of days.