Category Archives: Alpine Coach

Snail Mail

It has been a real whirlwind week with lots of activities for us. It started last Sunday when we met our friends Bob and Carolyn Ower for dinner at Main Street Brewery in town. We had good food – I highly recommend the Down Da’ Bayou plate. I had it with beer battered catfish smothered in Cajun blue crab sauce (shrimp can be substituted for catfish). It was excellent! We had a good time and lingered for nearly two hours telling stories.

One thing that definitely isn’t a whirlwind is the United States Postal Service (USPS). I have a couple of examples – I ordered a replacement accelerator pedal assembly with position sensor for our Nissan Frontier. I don’t normally like to replace a part based on a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) in the control module – I prefer to test the components in the system containing the DTC to drill down to the faulty part. But, this is an intermittent issue and everything is working fine right now, so troubleshooting won’t work.

In our case we had an accelerator position fault. In my experience with Volkswagen, this could be anything from a pedal position sensor to a wiring harness or connector problem – rarely did I need to replace a pedal position sensor. Bob Ower runs a repair shop and has much more experience with Japanese cars than I do. He said he’s found this fault usually means a bad pedal assembly on Japanese cars. A search of Nissan forums seems to confirm this. So, I ordered a pedal assembly from Amazon and they shipped via USPS.

Well, USPS Priority mail doesn’t seem to have much priority these days. It took about a week to get the part. It didn’t look like they treated it too kindly during that time.

See the red sticker – and the crushed top of the box

Luckily the part inside was intact. Removal of the old part was fairly easy – I just had to remove the wiring connector on top of the assembly and remove three mounting nuts with a 12mm socket. The hardest part was wiggling into position to reach it.

I noticed the pedal didn’t appear to have much wear. Once I had it out, I had some misgivings about replacing it. I found the production date code on the assembly – it was 49/19. This means the pedal was manufactured during the 49th week of 2019. It had been replaced some time after that.

Production date code in lower left of sticker

The replacement pedal I received was produced in March of 2021, so there appears to be a lot of turnover of these parts. Hopefully I’ve solved the issue. With the new pedal installed, I had to go through a process for the Engine Control Module (ECM) to “learn” the pedal position parameters. I printed the pages with this procedure from the Nissan service manual – it involved turning the ignition to the “on” position for a few seconds, then “off” for 10 seconds with the pedal released. Then another series of key on and key off cycles with the pedal pressed through its full travel three times in five seconds. No big deal. A couple more procedures set the idle air control and idle speed and it was job done.

I have another beef with the USPS. I ordered our mail from our service in South Dakota on the second of June. I received tracking information that showed it arriving at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota USPS distribution facility on the third. Then no new notifications until yesterday, June 10th. It showed the package left the Sioux Falls USPS distribution facility on June 9th – six days after it arrived there. This is a USPS Priority mail envelope!

Donna and I played pickleball on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Our plan was to take Thursday and Friday off in preparation for another Shoot Out scheduled for Saturday (tomorrow). Besides, we had other things planned.

On Wednesday afternoon our friends Mike and Jodi Hall from Mesa and their granddaughter Swayzie checked in to the KOA Campground about a mile down the road from us. Donna prepared a potato salad and pounded chicken breasts which she seasoned with a dry rub and we went to their site at the KOA. Donna grilled the chicken there and we had dinner together at the picnic table in their site.

Jodi, Mike, Me and Donna (Jodi Hall photo)

Thursday morning we met up with them and drove nine miles east to Mesa Verde National Park. Mike and I both have America the Beautiful Senior Lifetime Multi-agency passes that get us into National Parks and other places free of charge. We drove about 26 miles into the park to the Wetherill Mesa area where we parked and hiked to the Step House. This is a cliff dwelling in an alcove facing northeast on the steep side of the mesa. It’s well protected from the elements. The hiking loop was about a mile long in total and we dropped about 100 feet down the side of the mesa.

They think 30 or 40 people lived here in 500-600 AD and again around 1200 AD.

Last night we joined the Halls for dinner again. This time Mike grilled pork chops. We all eat well, even when we’re roughing it.

This morning we met up again and they followed us up to Dolores where we hiked up the trail from the Canyon of the Ancients Visitor Center to the Escalante Pueblo and the McPhee Reservoir overlook.

These ruins date back to 1100 AD.

By the time we made it back down to the parking lot, it was lunch time. We drove through the town of Dolores and found Montezuma Mexican restaurant. Donna had heard good reports about the food there and they turned out to be well-founded. We sat on the back patio deck right next to the Dolores River and enjoyed some really tasty dishes.

Dolores River from Montezuma’s rear patio

Tonight we’ll meet up with Halls again to go to the fairgrounds for the rodeo. Donna bought tickets for all five of us a couple of weeks ago and we have reserved seats.

The pickleball club is having a social at Montezuma’s in Dolores on Sunday afternoon, so we’ll go there again. The Halls are scheduled to head out to visit friends in Ignacio Sunday morning before they return to Mesa, Arizona.

The weather has been on the warm side with daily highs in the upper 80s and even 90 degrees. This weekend is supposed to be warmer – well into the 90s. We might see 100 degrees before we leave next Thursday. I need to start planning a route out of here.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Face Plant

I had a little setback this week. Like many people my age, daily medications are the reality of life. In my case, I take a couple of medications to control high blood pressure – it’s a family trait. I don’t like it, but it’s what I need to do.

When I first started taking the medications, I wasn’t quite ready for how my body responded. One night I got out of bed and stood up a little too quickly. I immediately felt dizzy and should have sat back on the bed. Instead, I took a step and put my hand up to brace against the wall. I didn’t get there. Instead, I began to fall forward. To counter this, I took another step, then another. I picked up a little up speed, then fell flat on my face. That was several years ago.

It hasn’t happened again – well, I’ve had momentary dizziness from standing up too quickly after sitting for a period of time, but no falls. That is, until three weeks ago. The night before we left Mesa, I went down in the living room. I took a small chunk out of my nose when I fell, but it was no big thing.

On Tuesday night, we watched a few episodes of Chopped on TV. I was relaxing in the Euro-recliner while I watched TV. I’ll admit I was also sipping on a bourbon on the rocks. When it was time for bed, I stood up and turned off the TV. I felt dizzy, then the next thing I knew I was face-down on the floor, bleeding profusely from my forehead and nose and I could taste blood in my mouth.

Donna was in the bedroom but came out quickly when she heard the “Thump.” My lower front tooth was broken, I could feel it moving like a piece had split across the width of the tooth leaving a front piece that seemed fairly solid and a back piece (lingual) that was moving about. Donna helped me clean myself up and it was off to bed.

Wednesday morning I was worse for wear and appeared decidedly second-hand. My tooth was clearly an issue. Donna texted our friend, Carolyn Ower, and got a dentist recommendation. We were able to get an appointment to see Dr. Vestal at noon.

I drove to his office looking like I’d been in a bar fight – except my knuckles weren’t bruised. After checking me over, he confirmed what I thought. The tooth had split with a smaller lingual piece just hanging on. Luckily, it was a thin enough piece of enamel that didn’t expose the nerve. It also tapered down toward the gumline, so only a narrow sliver extended below the gum. He simply pulled it out. He thought it would be best for me to leave it as it is for a few weeks, then decide if I want a crown to repair it.

I think I’ll be looking worse before I get better. It was apparent by late afternoon and this morning was no improvement. At least my tooth doesn’t hurt and it could’ve been worse. I’ll get over it.

Yesterday Donna went to the community pool and had a good swim. There are numbered lanes and only one person at a time can take a lane. She wanted to swim laps, so this was perfect. This morning she went for pickleball but I stayed home – I need another day or two of recovery.

While Donna was at pickleball, I took my guitar apart for a deep cleaning and did a few set-up tweaks before restringing the guitar. I’m toying with the idea of building a solid-body electric guitar. I think it would be a fun project once we return to Mesa for the winter. I’m thinking a Fender Stratocaster type of guitar with a bolt-on neck wouldn’t be too difficult and it might be nice to have another guitar.

We ended May with a slightly wet day – we had a few showers on Monday – Memorial Day. The temperature reached the upper 70s and has been steadily warming since then. Today we expect a high of 85 and it should reach 90 by the weekend.

Donna closed out the Memorial Day weekend with a couple of outstanding dinners. Sunday she made a chili verde by cutting pork tenderloin into cubes, browning them, then put them into a slow-cooker pot with tomatillo sauce. She served it over pan-fried potato slices with grilled zucchini on the side. We’ve been dining al fresco at the picnic table.

On Monday she made Korean beef bowls. It wasn’t traditional Memorial Day fare, but it was delicious.

She kicked off June with a new take on grilled chicken – Moroccan spice grilled chicken with grilled asparagus. We loved it.

The chicken breasts came from a whole chicken that Carolyn Ower gifted Donna as a thank you for helping out at the farm. It was one of their hens they had butchered. It was the same size as the whole chickens we’ve been buying at the store (about 5 pounds), but was proportioned differently. The legs and wings were much larger while the breasts were still ample size. And it was less fatty. That’s what you get when hens are allowed to roam versus those that are caged.

Farm to Table

Last Thursday was Donna’s birthday. It was my youngest daughter, Shauna’s, birthday as well. We celebrated Donna’s birthday by going out to dinner at Olio Restaurant in Mancos, about 17 miles east of Cortez. This restaurant is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and tables must be reserved in advance. It’s an intimate setting with only seven tables – only four tables were occupied while we were there.

They have a menu that frequently changes, depending on fresh ingredients in season and they have a large wine selection. We started with a three-cheese board with rosemary-fig jam, grill toasted bread and an assortment of nuts and dried fruits. We chose Delice de Bourgogne (creamy French cheese made from cow’s milk), Caciotta Dei Boschi Al Tartufo (firm Italian cheese made from sheep’s milk) and Bucheron (soft French cheese made from goat’s milk) for our three cheeses. I ordered a bottle of 2014 Pugnitello by Corte alla Flora – a bold Tuscan red wine to go with the meal.

The cheese board and wine were extraodinary. For entrees, Donna hard a hard time deciding between the Tomato Braised Heluka Pork Cheeks on ‘Cacio e Pepe’ Bucatini Pie  or the Confit of Poussin on Mushroom Farro with Marsala Sauce, Shaved Leek & Fennel Slaw. She went for the poussin which is a small chicken – about the size of a cornish hen – that’s been partially deboned before roasting. Only the leg and wing bones remain while the bird still appears to be intact.

I was excited by the Grilled Nebraska Wagyu New York Strip with Olio Signature Steak Sauce on the menu. I’ve never had wagyu beef before, but I knew about it – at least that’s what I thought. True wagyu beef only comes from Japanese cattle – it can be one of four breeds. The most well-known is probably Kobe beef. All Kobe beef is wagyu, but not all wagyu is Kobe. There are four breeds of wagyu in Japan. Wagyu (Wah-gyoo) can be translated as wa (Japanese) gyu (cow). Wagyu cattle are genetically disposed to having a high percentage of intramuscular fat – meaing a well-marbled meat that makes the tastiest and juiciest steaks.

Fifty years ago, some Japanese wagyu cattle were exported to America for breeding, but Japan soon outlawed any export of live wagyu or any genetic material capable of reproducing wagyu cattle – they declared it a National Treasure. But the cat was out of the bag and some ranchers bred the few available cows. But the gene pool was diluted and cross-breeding occurred. Nowadays, most American wagyu is a far cry from Japanese wagyu – it’s mostly angus DNA with a small amount of wagyu genetics. Some people look down on it and call it wagus.

Back to my dish. The Nebraska Wagyu is not the Japanese wagyu I was expecting. It was definitely more of a wagus beef, a lean one as well. I was sorely disappointed and in the future, I will choose USDA Prime over American Wagyu. The real deal Japanese wagyu goes for more than $100/pound and I’ve seen cuts as high as $300/pound. Although export of live cattle and genetic material is banned, you can still get butchered Japanese wagyu beef.

I should mention that Donna volunteered to help Carolyn Ower in her garden a few days a week while we’re here. She spent Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning last week weeding alongside Carolyn who is very happy for the help. Between gardening and caring for her chickens, Carolyn has been very busy getting ready for the farmers’ market here in Cortez that will open next weekend.

In my last post, I called the Ower’s place a ranch and linked to last year’s post where I called it a farm. So, which is it? Here’s the thing: I’ve found several definitions describing a ranch versus a farm. Most agree that a farm generally focuses on raising crops while a ranch will be mainly utilizing the land to raise large animals – cattle, sheep, horses, etc. A ranch will also be a farm when you consider that they usually grow feed crops and may have vegetable gardens. So a ranch can be a farm, but a farm isn’t a ranch. Does that make sense? By the way, the Owers call their place Ower’s Farm. Dairy farms seem to contradict the convention – they have cattle and usually grow feed but they aren’t called ranches.

On Saturday, we played in a pickleball shootout at the Centennial Park in town. The local pickleball club organized the event and we signed up online through Track It Hub. It was a round-robin type affair and in the first round, everyone played three games with different partners and opposition. Then we had a break that stretched to over 45 minutes as one court got a late start due to a no-show and they had to wait for a replacement player. The long break had an adverse effect on my game. I started by scoring 31 out of a possible 33 points in the first round and moved up a bracket. When we resumed, I felt stiff and lethargic and didn’t play well in the second round. Donna felt like she played okay. She had stiff competition in the first round, but had the second highest score. And in the second round, she scored 30 out of 33. We’ll probably sign up to play again in the next shootout tentatively scheduled for June 12.

Last week, Donna made a Dijon sauce to serve over sweet-spicy grilled chicken breast. It was tasty, but I was surprised to see the brand of Dijon she found.

Friday she grilled chicken and also a medley of peppers, fresh zuchini, onions and really young bok choy. The zucchini and bok choy were gifts from Carolyn Ower’s garden.

Yesterday, Donna tried a new-to-us salmon recipe. She grilled a wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon with a glaze of honey, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce, finely diced ginger and shallots. It was winner and we’ll definitely go with this again, especially since cooking it in foil made for super-easy cleanup.

She plated it with buttered basmati brown rice and Tuscan spiced broccoli. Excellent!

Salmon, basmati brown rice and Tuscan spiced broccoli

The weather has been very agreeable with a few clouds and daily highs reaching about 80 degrees. I’ve been alternating the afternoon hours between playing around with ham radio or practicing guitar. After not playing much over the last couple of years, I’m finding my guitar playing is going well – I feel like I’m playing better than ever, but there are some songs I used to play that I don’t remember.

The weather forecast calls for a cooler day tomorrow with a 40% chance of afternoon thunderstorms – of course I just washed the truck. It’s supposed to heat up after that with daily highs in the upper 80s. We’ll be here for two more weeks.

Sand Canyon Cliff Dwellings

Last year when we were here in Cortez, we met a couple at the farmers’ market that have a small ranch. Their names are Bob and Carolyn Ower, and they sell fresh eggs, produce and beef from their ranch. I wrote about visiting their place here. Last week, Donna contacted Carolyn to see about getting some eggs.

We went to their place on Saturday and had a nice visit. Carolyn kindly gifted Donna with a dozen farm fresh eggs and a couple of zucchini squashes. Carolyn’s eggs always look like Easter eggs because she keeps a variety of chicken breeds and they lay different colored eggs.

A strange thing happened as we were leaving. As I started to pull out of their driveway, our truck suddenly lost all power and wouldn’t rev above idle. I shut off the engine, waited about 10 seconds and restarted. It ran fine but the check engine light as well as the traction control symbol were illuminated. Lucky for us, it happened in the Owers driveway – Bob runs a small auto repair shop on the property. He was kind enough to connect a scan tool and read the fault codes. We had P2127 and P2138. These relate to an accelerator pedal position error.

Bob cleared the codes and they didn’t return. The most likely cause of the error is a bad pedal position sensor – modern cars are drive-by-wire, there’s no cable providing a physical connection between the accelerator pedal and throttle. It’s strictly electrical with a pedal position sensor and an actuator at the throttle valve. I’m still debating whether I should order a new pedal assembly which includes the sensor or not. The fault hasn’t returned and I don’t like throwing parts at a sporadic fault.

Sunday, while I watched the Formula 1 race from Monaco, Donna hiked the Sand Canyon Trail. The full trail is about 6.5 miles – she started at the bottom and the full length to the top gains significant elevation. Donna went about four miles up, then turned back. She saw many cliff dwellings – ruins from an ancient Pueblo tribe. Here are a few photos she took on her hike.

A collared lizard she came across on the trail

We had some rain on Friday and high winds which carried over to Saturday. The temperatures were much cooler – officially the high on Friday is listed at 66 degrees, but I don’t think we reached that here in the RV park. The night time temperatures really dropped with lows around 32 degrees over the weekend.

I put up my HF ham radio antenna – a Buddipole Versatee Vertical – Monday and broke out my ham radio rig. Conditions were good Monday afternoon and I made contact with Janez Celarc (S51DX) in Vhrnika, Slovenia – about 6,000 miles from Cortez, Colorado. I had talked to Janez last year when we were in Idaho. He was working a contest this time and didn’t want to chat – he was trying to record as many North America contacts as possible in a given amount of time. He just took my name, callsign and location, then moved on to the next contact.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, we’re not camping, we’re living the RV lifestyle. We strive to eat fresh cooked homestyle meals that are nutritious and healthy, just like we did in a sticks-and-bricks house. On Saturday, I made Japanese fried rice and Donna grilled jumbo shrimp to go with it. Delicious.

Jumbo shrimp with tare sauce over Japanese fried rice

We love fried rice and I make use of any leftovers. On Sunday, I made omelettes filled with fried rice for breakfast.

Last night, Donna grilled zucchini marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. After grilling, she sprinkled the zucchini with a mixture of chopped kosher salt and lemon zest. It was a great accompaniment to spaghetti with clam sauce.

Tomorrow is Donna’s birthday. Traditionally we go out for a nice dinner at a restaurant of her choice. Last year we were in Springerville on her birthday and with covid restrictions, we had to settle for Chinese take-out. This time we have a reservation for dinner tomorrow at Olio Restaurant in Mancos. Olio is run by chef Jason Blankenship and his wife, Michelle. Chef Jason has 25 years experience as a chef in the Houston, Texas area and Durango, Colorado. His restaurant here is exclusive – it’s only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday – reservations are required. The menu changes weekly and everything is prepared by Chef Jason – no big kitchen staff. We’re really looking forward to it and I’ll tell you all about it in my next post.

Motion is Lotion

We had a fairly quiet night at the Ute Mountain Casino truck lot Saturday night. There was a truck with refrigeration unit that ran a generator all night. To me, it’s just white noise and I don’t pay much attention to it, but for Donna, it’s bothersome. We had a leisurely breakfast at the casino restaurant – we were in no hurry as we were only 11 miles away from Cortez.

We checked in at La Mesa RV Park in Cortez, Colorado around 12:30pm. There was a camp host expecting us and he directed us to site 9. After backing into the site, I confirmed Dish Network satellite reception before setting up. I wasn’t going to stay for a month in a site with no satellite reception. We set up without any issues and I was done in plenty of time to watch the Moto GP race from France at 3:30pm.

Our site backs up to the car wash at the Speedway gas station next door. This can be a little noisy during the daytime, but we haven’t heard anyone at the car wash after dark. When we checked in, I asked about Shiree, whether she still spends much time here at the park. Shiree and her husband, Ames, own this park and one in Springerville, Arizona. The camp host gave us some bad news.

He said Shiree wasn’t doing well. In February, she had some dental work done which involved removing a tooth with an old filling. Apparently, mercury leaked from the old filling and poisoned her. She’s not able to get around on her own and is undergoing chelation treatment to remove the metal. We’re hoping she makes a full recovery.

Over the last week, I’ve been complaining about a sore right knee. I had surgery on this knee about 35 years ago. I injured it in a ski accident on Mount Hood in Oregon. I had a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial meniscus. At that time, the surgeon told me he had to trim the torn meniscus as it wouldn’t regenerate. Over time, he thought this might lead to arthritis from bone on bone contact. I was thinking it might have finally caught up with me.

But then a curious thing happened. On Wednesday morning, I went with Donna to the pickleball courts. The soreness had improved so I thought I would give it go with a compression sleeve over my knee. After a few games, I didn’t feel any soreness at all. I thought it would be sore later in the day, but it didn’t happen.

Thursday morning we went back to the pickleball courts. I had the compression sleeve over my knee again, but wasn’t experiencing any pain. I played several games pain free and my knee remains pain free now. I don’t know how to explain it – maybe there’s something to the adage “Motion is lotion” and my knee is well lubricated again.

Pickleball courts at Centennial Park in town

They have six courts at the park and a group of players that show up regularly. We were invited to sign up for a tournament a week from Saturday, which we did. The tournament format is basically a round robin with individual scores tracked. I’m curious to see what group they put Donna and me in – we’ll see how they rate our level of play.

Wednesday afternoon we drove out to Mancos – a little town about 17 miles east of Cortez. The locals pronounce it MAN-cuss. After a couple of wrong turns we found the Mancos Brewing Company and stopped in for a couple of beers on their outdoor patio. They have several good brews on tap.

Other than pickleball, we’ve had a quiet week. I had one small project. The inlet to our canister water filter system was leaking. The inlet has a hose fitting swaged onto a 3/4″ pipe thread. Over time, it had worn where the hose fitting rotates on the 3/4″ pipe threaded into the plastic canister. I couldn’t find a direct replacement, but the hardware store had a short 3/4″ pipe threaded on both ends with the threads oriented correctly to add a hose fitting to it. So I bought those and figured I had it made.

I came home, shut the water off and removed the old fitting. Then I found I had barely enough teflon tape to put one wrap on the pipe threads. I put it back together and it leaked! I made another run into town for a $1.50 roll of teflon tape. This time I double wrapped the threads and put it back together. No leaks at the filter. Job done or so I thought.

Later I saw the area near the filters was still wet. Now the end fitting on our fresh water hose was leaking. I don’t remember how old the hose is, but I suspect we’ve had it for at least five years. I ordered a new drinking water hose from Amazon – it should be delivered today.

Today won’t be a good day for outdoor projects though. After having daily temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees, we have wind and rain today and the thermometer is only expected to reach 62 degrees.

I had another package delivered yesterday. I knew I would come across something that I needed, but left behind in Mesa. I tried to set up my Yaesu FT3DR handheld transceiver to work the local repeaters – one on a mountain top out side of Mancos and the other up in Dolores. But I didn’t have the cable to connect the radio to my laptop to program it. I ordered one from DX Engineering and it was delivered yesterday – but it was the wrong cable. I phoned them and we sorted out which cable I actually need and I shipped the wrong cable back to them. I should have the correct cable in a few days.

I’ll close with a couple of dinner plates. Wednesday, Donna grilled chicken that she simply seasoned with salt and pepper. She made creamed spinach and a baked spud to go with it.

Delicious chicken thigh and wing with creamed spinach and baked potato

Yesterday she marinated a pork tenderloin with her mojo marinade. I sliced garlic for the marinade. Donna asked for thin slices but I made them a little thicker than she usually does. She wondered how that would affect her recipe. It turned out to be an improvement – having the garlic 1-2mm thick added texture with no loss of flavor versus slicing it paper thin.

She grilled the pork last night and served it with sweet potato mash and French-cut green beans. We’ll use the leftovers to make street tacos for lunch today.

Mojo marinade pork tenderloin with sweet potato mash and French-cut green beans

Pine Trees and Petrified Forest

Packing the motorhome for a four-month road trip was harder than either of us imagined. I’m sure there will be situations where we say, “I wish I had brought XX along.” It’s a learning experience. Before, we traveled with all of our belongings. Now with the cargo trailer gone, we have to be more selective and there’s no reason to try to bring everything we own.

On Wednesday morning, Donna dropped me off at the 202 RV Valet storage facility, then she went grocery shopping. I moved our coach to the end of the row where there was a water spigot and hooked up our filtration and filled the fresh water tank. We planned to boondock for a few nights and I wanted a full fresh water tank. I didn’t take it back to our place at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort because the only water spigot there is located behind the house at the rear of the property – I would have needed about 75′ of hose.

By the time I filled the 100-gallon tank and drove the coach back to Viewpoint, it was 11am. I had to obtain a 48-hour parking pass to park the coach on the street by our park model home. We began the process of loading the coach right after lunch and worked until dark.

On Thursday morning, we continued the process. Just packing all of the pantry supplies, spice cabinet, refrigerated and frozen foods was a big chore. I also put the Midget up on jack stands and removed the front wheels – I put the wheels in the double-locked storage shed to make it very difficult for anyone to steal the car while we’re away. I loaded Donna’s bicycle in the bed of our Nissan Frontier – I had made a cable locking system for it. I also loaded the Sea Eagle inflatable kayak in the truck, then I assembled the tow bar.

It was nearly 2pm before we were ready to hook the truck up to the coach. Our neighbor came out to help. Honestly, although I appreciated him, I didn’t really want the help. It was the first time hooking up the truck and I wanted to do it methodically and check each step of the process. We got it done and headed out.

Our plans went awry within half a mile. I had driven down the 200 lane and had to make a right turn onto the main street of the park. The person living on the corner to my right had placed a large rock cairn on the corner of their property. Due to a large palm tree in the center median on the street, my ability to drive deep into the street before turning was limited. The truck right front wheel struck the rock cairn. I was stuck. I had to disconnect the truck and move it, then reposition the coach on the main street and reconnect the truck. Not a great start.

By then it was 100 degrees out and 98 degrees in the coach. I fired up the generator to run the roof air conditioner as we drove down the road. Our route took us over Usery Pass to Bush Highway and AZ87 (Beeline Highway). Did I mention it was very hot out?The climb to Payson had me watching the engine coolant temperature closely. Any time it went over 195 degrees, I slowed and geared down to keep the engine rpms up and the load lower. Payson is 5,000 feet above sea level.

From Payson, we took AZ260 east. A little more than halfway between Payson and Heber, we found the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center. By the way, Mogollon is often mispronounced. People say “Moh-geh-yon” but the Arizona State Historian says it should be pronounced “Muggy-yawn.” We parked at the visitor center briefly. Donna texted our friends, Mike and Jodi Hall. They preceded us to the area and were meeting up with Frank and Kelly Burk at a camping area about 15 miles into the Sitgreaves National Forest.

I unhooked the Nissan and Donna drove it across the highway to Rim Road, I followed in the coach as we entered the national forest. The road was wide and paved for the first few miles, then it was graveled dirt – the dirt was fine powder, almost talcum like. It was dusty!

We made it 12 miles into the forest and found the cutoff for the spur road where we were told they were planning to set up. I left the coach on the main road and we drove about a mile down the spur road before we decided it was no go for the coach. The road had sharp rocks and potholes that would be hard on the tires and cause the coach to sway excessively – I could imagine everything falling out of cabinets.

We found a nice camp site just off of the main road – I think it was Forest Service 300 road (FS300) at the FS76 spur. Unfortunately, there was no cell service so we couldn’t let the rest of the crew know where we were. We had a peaceful, quiet and very dark night in the woods. Most people don’t envision pine forests when they think of Arizona, but northern Arizona has them, especially on the rim. We were 7,880 feet above sea level. Donna heard a cow elk calling near our site.

We decided against hanging around and trying to find our friends – we weren’t sure we had the right cutoff road or if we did, how far down they might be. We moved out of there at 9am Friday morning. Donna had spent a full day cleaning the interior of the coach last weekend, but now everything had a layer of fine dust, Same for the Nissan. Once we neared the highway, we regained cell service and I had a voicemail from Frank. We were on the right spur road to find them, but they were 3 miles down – too far to go back and forth every day on a rutted, rocky road, even in the truck.

We found another boondocking spot about 90 miles east at the entrance to the Petrified Forest National Park. There are free dry-camping sites at the Crystal Forest Museum and Gift Shop. We were set up there before noon and took the truck for drive into the national park. I have a lifetime America the Beautiful multi-agency senior pass. This got us into the park without paying fees – it’s usually $25 per car. The elevation there is 5,420 above sea level.

The petrified forest and painted desert are both part of the park. We stopped about a mile and a half into the park at the visitor center. There’s a hiking trail behind the center with lots of petrified tree trunk sections. Petrified wood is formed when trees are buried under silt for long periods of time – about 216 million years, give or take a few. The wood absorbs silica and other minerals as rain water percolates through the silt and quartz crystals bond with the cells of the tree – eventually making a replica of the organic tree material details in quartz form.

We drove through the park 26 miles to the north end, taking note of stops we wanted to make on the way back. The north end of the park has the Painted Desert Inn – a National Historic Landmark – and panoramic views of the Painted Desert. We stopped at Chinde Point where we we had a picnic lunch of the sandwiches Donna made.

Painted Desert view – the colors are somewhat washed out in the photo from the mid-day sun

Our next stop was at a place called teepees. The name comes from the shape of the hills formed from layers of sandstone there.

We made the driving loop at Blue Mesa. We didn’t hike much as I have a sore right knee. The last two times I played pickleball, I was rewarded with knee pain all afternoon. The pain persists now when I walk more than a few hundred yards – I’m not sure what’s up with that.

Blue Mesa is named for the layers of blue, purple and gray badlands that make up the area. Badlands aren’t just a place in the Dakotas – badlands describes an area void of vegetation with rock formations.

We made another stop and short walk to see Agate Bridge. This is a natural bridge formed from a petrified tree trunk. It was reinforced with concrete and people used to walk across it. Walking on it is forbidden now though.

We had another quiet night. The owner of the museum and gift shop doesn’t allow generators after 7pm or before 7:30am. Our Lifeline AGM house battery bank is holding up well – it hasn’t dropped below 12.5 volts at anytime on this trip.

We were on the road by 9am once again. We decided to head back to Cortez, Colorado. Donna talked to Shiree, the owner of La Mesa RV Park there and she could have a site for us on Sunday and we booked a month-long stay. The best route took us back through the national park, we exited at the north park entrance which loops back to I-40. We took I-40 about 20 miles east and hit US191 north. This took us through the west side of the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. It was much like the New Mexico route up US491, but with what appeared to be sparser population – not saying the New Mexico side is highly populated!

The road surface was great all the way to Chinde, where we had a little incident. I turned off the highway to get fuel at the Speedway station. Once I made the turn, I saw it was a trap. Getting to the pumps and back out of the station looked problematic. I looked at the GPS map and it showed the road I was on circling the station through a small neighborhood back to the highway.

I went down the block and turned right, then I saw the pavement ended a few hundred feet down the road where the road became a heavily rutted dirt road. If we had the cargo trailer behind us I would have just reversed back past the intersection we just came through and drove back to the highway. Towing a vehicle with four wheels down means no reversing. The castor angle of the front suspension would make the front wheel turn to full lock when you reverse and would result in a disaster. I had two choices – unhook the truck and get turned around – or continue slowly down the rutted lane. I opted for the latter and we made it out of there after a few choice words. Phew!

North of Chinle, the road surface deteriorated. It had whoops and rollers so bad that I had to slow to 45 mph on a road with a posted 65 mph speed limit. We eventually hit US160 and passed through Four Corners where we briefly drove through New Mexico and into Colorado. (The Four Corners Monument is currently closed due to COVID-19.) Our destination was the Ute Mountain Casino about 11 miles from Cortez. After about 250 miles of travel, we were ready to call it a day. We lost an hour as we’re now in Mountain Daylight Time. We dry camped for free once again in the casino truck lot – a large paved lot adjacent to the casino travel center. The Ute Mountain Casino sits at 5,880 feet above sea level.

This morning, we had cool temperatures – my phone app showed 40 degrees at 7am. The sun came over the mountain to the east of us and it warmed up quickly. We expect a high of 80 degrees today with the chance of a passing thundershower. We’ll gain a few hundred feet heading into Cortez and we’ll be about 6,200 feet above sea level.

I’ll close this post with a food picture. Last week I had to make my signature Memphis-style babyback ribs. I won’t be able make them again this summer – we’re traveling with just the Weber Q, no Traeger wood pellet-fired smoker-grill.

Memphis-style babyback ribs with green beans and sweet potato mash

Covered Gold Mine

Donna came back Thursday night after spending a week visiting her parents in Bennington, Vermont. Her connecting flight in Chicago was delayed, so she didn’t make here until midnight.

We’re trying to think about what items we’ll need to pack back into the coach when we leave here. This is different – for the last eight years, everything we had was in the coach and cargo trailer. Now we have some things in the coach and most of our stuff here in our park model home at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort. We haven’t made any firm commitments or real travel plans. We know we want to leave here soon – sometime next week – as hot weather will drive us out of the Valley of the Sun.

We plan to be back here in mid-September. I looked for options to store the coach when we return and the options weren’t too good. There are two nice RV and boat storage yards nearby. One told me there was no chance I could find a spot there in September, the other – 202 RV Valet – where we currently have the coach, said it was possible they would have a space available, but highly doubtful. There are other storage facilities in Apache Junction but most of them are just gravel lots with a chain link fence surrounding it. Not very secure.

We decided to keep our covered space at 202 RV Valet year ’round. That means I’ll be paying $200/month all summer just to ensure we have the space when we return. That’s what most of the people with RVs and boats stored there do. What a gold mine. I think they told me there are 193 covered spaces, about 120 open air spaces and around 80 enclosed climate controlled spaces. All of them are paid for, but currently about half of them are empty.

The facility at 202 RV Valet is modern and secure. It’s surrounded by a tall block wall, has several security cameras and every renter has a unique code to enter the gated entrance. They keep a record of who comes into the yard by their code. We can access the coach 24/7.

Speaking of security, last week I installed a dead bolt on the shed door. When we leave here, I’ll have tools and equipment in the shed and I want to have them there when we return. Now I’m thinking I should install dead bolts on the back door and side entrance to our home as well.

Last Saturday, my middle daughter Jamie and her life partner Francisco visited us and we had dinner here. We didn’t eat out on the deck though. It was hot and breezy so we dined inside. Donna made shrimp kabobs seasoned with tare sauce I made. I added Japanese fried rice to the meal. It was excellent.

We’ve started watching a Netflix series called Midnight Diner. It’s a Japanese TV series about a diner that is only open from midnight to 7am. The characters that come to the diner vary but they are always interesting. There are a few regulars as well. We’re enjoying the series.

The temperature has hit the 90s every day since Donna’s return. The forecast is calling for more of the same for next 10 days. People are getting up early to hit the pickleball courts around 6am to beat the heat. I don’t make it until 7 or 7:30.

Blazing sunset framed by one of the pineapple palms behind our deck

The last cool day we had was last Wednesday when we had a few rain showers and the thermometer only reached 78 degrees. It’s doubtful if we’ll see temperatures that low until late fall. That’s why we plan to head north next week.

Today is Cinco de Mayo – the fifth day of May. That makes it our 15th wedding anniversary. We plan to celebrate with dinner at a Mexican restaurant tonight.

Transition

It has been a busy week since my last post. Over the weekend we put the Nissan Frontier to good use hauling numerous loads of stuff out of the motorhome to our new-to-us park model home. It’s amazing how much stuff we’d been hauling around the country. Over time, it’s easy to forget about some of the items buried deep in the basement compartments of our motorhome.

The home we bought came fully furnished – including things like kitchen utensils, pots and pans, silverware and plates. This made it harder to decide what we needed to move from the coach and also where to put everything. It’s an ongoing process – I keep searching for things as Donna reshuffles storage. Something I found in one cabinet yesterday is now in a different location. She’ll refine her organization of stuff soon and I’ll learn where to find things.

We spent our first night here on Sunday. It was an adjustment. After nearly eight years in the coach with only a few exceptions, it felt strange. On Monday morning, I had an appointment at Cliff’s Welding to have the Roadmaster base plate installed on the Frontier. It took longer than I expected – I didn’t get out of there until 1pm. The truck is set to be towed behind the coach when we depart from here.

Tuesday we got what should be the last load of stuff out of the coach. I drove the coach over to 202 RV Valet for storage, Donna followed in the Frontier. This RV storage facility is new – I think it’s less than two years old. It’s owned by the same people that own RV Renovators where we had extensive work performed a few years ago.

The coach is in a covered space, but it will get partial afternoon sun. I covered the tires to mitigate UV degradation. The space also has a 20-amp service – adequate for the batteries to maintain a charge. Of course, when I went to hook up to the electrical outlet, I realized my 20-amp adapter was in a box of stuff I moved to the shed at our new place. Not a big deal though, the storage yard is less than two miles from Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort and we have 24/7 access.

As we slowly settle in, we’ve been taking time to enjoy the back deck, watching golfers – and occasionally watching out for errant golf balls – and enjoying the view and weather.

Our back deck viewed from the 6th fairway of the golf course

View to the north – 6th green and 7th tee

Late afternoon view from the deck to the southwest

We also have a nice view to the east from the front room and side deck at our entry. We look down the 1600 Lane of the park at the Superstition Mountains.

Superstition Mountains in the background

We’re liking the transition into a more conventional dwelling, but we’ll still be hitting the road. Our tentative plan at this point is to leave Mesa, Arizona by May 10th. This date was predicated on the billing policy at 202 RV Valet. If you take your rig out of storage by the 10th of the month, they pro-rate the monthly fee. If you move out after the 10th, you have to pay for the entire month. I don’t like the policy, but it is what it is. It’s not like they would lose money if you left on the 11th or later – they told me they have a waiting list of more than 140 people!

We haven’t made a plan for our exit from the Valley of the Sun at this point. Presumably we’ll head north to a cooler climate, but we don’t really know where we’re going.

Did I mention the new place included a barbeque grill? It’s a large CharBroil grill with four burners, a large grilling surface and also a side burner suitable for a pot or pan.

Yesterday, Donna marinated a pork tenderloin with her mojo marinade and I grilled it on our new-to-us grill. This was the second time I’ve used the grill and I’m getting used to the settings I prefer. A new grill always takes some time to learn its adjustments for fine tuning temperature settings. I’m not used to grilling on such a large grill. When we were in our sticks-and-bricks home, I had a large Weber gas grill, but it’s been eight years since I’ve manned that.

The tenderloin came out fine.

Donna roasted cauliflower in the oven – yeah we have a kitchen with a real oven and stove.

The weather has been pretty much as predicted – on the very warm side. The week started with mid to upper 80s. By Thursday, we were in the low 90s. Yesterday we hit 93 degrees and the forecast calls for the same today. After a couple more hot days, they say we can expect to return to the low 80s for most of April.

Trailer For Sale – Sold

I mentioned another project that needed attention in my last post. Our 10-gallon Suburban water heater isn’t working right. This unit operates on 120-volts AC or propane. When we’re on a 50-amp electrical service, we keep the water heater on electric power.

Apparently, the electric heating element is going bad. It won’t heat the water adequately – we only get lukewarm water – I doubt if it’s much over 100 degrees. We have to turn on the propane gas burner to get hot enough water to shower or wash dishes.

I found a tune-up kit for the Suburban SW10DE water heater that included the heating element online at PDX RV. It also had a replacement thermostat set at 130 degrees. The kit was only $33, but shipping was $15!

I found a heating element wrench at Ace Hardware for $10. This is a thin wall, stamped sheet socket, 1-1/2 inches in diameter. The heating element has a thin 1-1/2 inch hex on top of the threaded portion of the element.

With the proper tool and parts in hand, I got to work. I made a “curtain” out of a plastic grocery bag to keep any sediment that might come out of the tank off of the coach. The heating element had a plastic cover over it and it was behind the gas tube, so I had to remove the gas tube and cover for access.

I had turned the circuit breaker for the water heater off, then I removed the two wires from the element. I used the socket tool, but I found the element threads were stuck in place. I worked on it for about 45 minutes before I decided I needed to try something different. I found a 1-1/2″ standard socket at the auto parts store. I figured I could use my 1/2-inch drive electric impact driver to break the element loose.

The thin hex on the element didn’t allow the socket to fully engage the hex and the impact driver just rounded the tops of the hex corners. Next I soaked it in penetrating oil and let it stand overnight. I found a bar about two feet long that I could use as a breaker bar on the heating element tool for leverage.

I huffed and puffed and gave a mighty pull on the cheater bar and promptly bent the heating element tool without budging the element. The threads remained frozen in place. At that point, I threw in the towel and put it all back together. I’ll have to hire an RV service that either has a better tool or a better idea to get the old element out. I hate to give up, but sometimes you have to admit defeat.

Donna has been busy getting the park model home ready for us to move in. Last Saturday Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort had a community patio sale. Many of the homes here in the park put out items for sale. Donna had a lot of stuff she wanted to get out of the house before we move in. She sold quite a few items. The things that didn’t sell we took to Goodwill.

She’s been working on replacing window coverings with help from our friends, Roxy and Dick Zarowny. They also did some paint touch up. Roxy repainted a cabinet, changing the white finish to gray.

The RV park is slowly emptying out as snowbirds return home. Our friends Chuck and Sue Lines left last week to head back to Illinois. We have about a dozen empty sites in front of our coach and only three RVs in sight.

I ordered set of coarse (400 grit) and medium (1000 grit) diamond sharpening stones and had another go at Roxy’s LC Germain kitchen knives. These stones were aggressive and worked better on this steel than the fine synthetic Japanese water stones I used before. They left a toothy finish that I refined a bit on a medium Spyderco Sharpmaker stick. The result was an acceptable level of sharpness that remained on the toothy side. A toothy edge is good for cutting most proteins or things like thick-skinned tomatoes. A more refined edge is needed to make clean cuts of fish. I think her knives will work better now.

By Wednesday, I had almost everything out of the trailer and needed to advertise it for sale. I was a little worried as I had to have it out of here on the 30th of March – only six days away. Donna wrote up an ad and posted it on Facebook Marketplace Wednesday evening. She had immediate responses! I had searched online to find comparable trailers to set a price and had a hard time finding anything. The closest I could find were either beat-up and selling for cheap or they were really high-end models – I only found a few examples and nothing really matched our trailer.

I told Donna what I expected to get for the trailer and soon found out I under-priced it. We had people lining up to buy it and a bidding war broke out. I sold it for $700 over my asking price and the guy came Thursday morning from Casa Grande to buy it. He paid cash and left with a smile on his face. I thought the lack of trailers this size online indicated a lack of interest – most of the trailers were around the 12-foot length. It turns out there’s low supply and much demand for larger trailers. I probably could have sold for a higher price, but I’m satisfied with how things turned out.

We’ll be moving into our new place over the weekend. On Tuesday, I’ll take the motorhome to a new storage facility that opened on Main Street near the Loop 202. I’ll have it under a covered space there. I think we’ll hang around here until mid-May unless it gets too hot earlier. We don’t have a real plan for the summer yet – we just know we want to leave before the temperatures are in triple digits.

The weather for the past week had been fickle. We’ve had warm, sunny days with the high temperature ranging from the mid-70s to mid-80s broken up by a few cooler days with wind and rain showers in the 60s. It’s cool today with a predicted high of 62 degrees, but we’ll warm up to the 80s over the weekend and may hit the 90s by the end of the week.

It’s Not If, It’s When

We’ve been busy here at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort. The painter we hired, Gary, started working on prepping the interior of our new-to-us park model home last Friday. He sprayed the interior, including the ceiling in the all of the interior except for the Arizona room addition. He finished spraying on Tuesday and on Wednesday did some touch-up and clean-up.

Saturday morning we played in the annual pickleball tournament. Donna and I teamed up in the 3.0-3.5 group and had a good time. Went 3-3 but all of the games were close. I really don’t mind losing a game if we’re competitive and put up at least eight or nine points.

Wednesday was St. Patrick’s Day and we had corned beef in two slow cookers. I had trimmed the corned beef early in the morning and Donna got them started by 8:30am. I sliced cabbage and potatoes later. Donna had Irish soda bread in the oven in the afternoon. At 4pm, we transferred everything to our new place.

Our friends Chuck and Sue Lines and Dick and Roxy Zarowny joined us on the rear deck for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner. It was pleasant outside, mostly blue skies and the temperature was in the low 70s with very light wind. I was surprised to find the golf course empty. We enjoyed the company and had lots of conversation to go with our meal. Sue brought glazed carrots and Roxy contributed key lime pie for dessert.

We broke up the dinner party early – around 7:30pm. Chuck and Sue had an early morning on Thursday as they were pulling out with their fifth-wheel trailer to head back to Illinois. I was enjoying myself and relaxing so much, I failed to take any photos!

Donna has been busy taking stuff out of the coach basement storage areas – some things we haven’t used in a long time, but we wanted to keep. Now we won’t have to carry everything we own around with us – some things will remain here at the house.

While she was cleaning out one of the bins, she noticed a wet area. There was a very slow drip coming from the inlet to the electric water pump for the fresh water tank. I crawled under to have a look. Getting into the compartment, I banged my head on the door latch. I had to twist a bit to see the source of the leak. It was the filter – really just a metal mesh strainer with a plastic housing – on the pump inlet.

The small cut on my head was bleeding – even small head wounds can bled profusely. Twisting and turning my head while I was stretched out in the compartment caused the blood to run across my forehead and down my nose. I got out and walked to the door of the coach. Donna and Roxy were outside talking. When they looked at me they thought I had been wrestling in a WWE event – blood was running all over my face. It was a minor cut really and I was able to stop the bleeding quickly with a wet paper towel compress.

I put an oil drain pan under the drip – it holds a couple of gallons – and went online to find a new strainer. I ordered one from Amazon that would arrive the next day. While I was checking the leak out, I thought about the spare water pump I had. About six years ago we were in San Diego when I saw another Alpine Coach. The owner was busy repairing a water leak. I asked him what was up. He told me his water pump was leaking and had to be replaced.

He said it was a common issue with the RV Aquajet pump used in Alpine Coaches. He advised me to order a Shurflo 4008 RV Revolution replacement pump to have on hand. His words were, “It’s not if, but when your Aquajet starts leaking.”

Amazon delivered the replacement strainer on Wednesday as promised. I got back into the compartment to compare the part and see what it was going to take to install it. I was shocked to see we no longer had a slow drip – it went from a drop every 10 seconds or so to a steady drip, drip, drip and it was coming from the bottom of the water pump. The Aquajet pump failed. Now I was glad I had carried a replacement to have on hand for the last six years!

Aquajet pump leaking – line already disconnected from output side

I drained our fresh water tank and removed the old pump. The Aquajet and the new Shurflo are different designs with different dimensions. Luckily, the new strainer I got from Amazon was a direct fit on the Shurflo.

New pump and old pump – different dimensions on the mounting brackets

The mounting brackets were different, but I could see they would fit on either pump with just two screws. Rather than drill new mounting holes in the coach, I swapped the mounting bracket so I could use the existing holes and original bracket on the Shurflo.

When I got the pump mounted, I had another problem. Due to the different dimensions of the pumps, the water line from the fresh water tank to the inlet strainer was now an inch short. I needed 39 inches of water line and it was only 38 inches. I pulled the old line and rummaged around in the trailer. I found a 44-inch length of 1/2″ pex tubing. Perfect. I cut it to size and was back in business.

After assembling it all, I turned the water supply back on and checked for leaks and found none. I filled the fresh water tank about a quarter full and ran the pump. No leaks, good flow and pressure. The new pump is much quieter than the old Aquajet – it’s nearly silent. Job done!

I have another project that’s taking valuable time from our move effort. The electric heating element on our Suburban 10-gallon water heater in the coach is going out. It doesn’t bring the hot water up past lukewarm. We have to run it on propane to get hot water. That project will be fodder for another post.

I’m continuing to work on my kitchen skills. On Monday, I made miso soup. So what, you say. Well, I didn’t make it from a package – I made it from scratch. That meant I had to make dashi first. Dashi is a Japanese broth that’s the base for a lot of Japanese recipes, including miso soup. I made awase-style dashi which is flavored by boiling dried kelp, then adding bonito flakes as it cools. After straining it, you have dashi.

The miso soup had yellow miso, tofu cubes, dried king black (shiitake) mushrooms and chopped scallions. It was good, but I needed to do a better job of reconstituting the dried mushrooms. I served it as an appetizer while Donna made a proper dinner plate.

She made pan seared scallops with lemon-caper sauce and steamed asparagus on the side.

This was a delicious meal – every bit as tasty as the fancy recipe looks.

The weather has been a little crazy over the last week. We had rain showers Friday and again on Saturday afternoon and the thermometer struggled to top 60 degrees both days. By Monday, we had low 70s but dipped down to 60 again on Tuesday. As already mentioned, St. Patrick’s Day was fine with mid 70s and we hit 83 degrees yesterday. Today’s forecast calls for 80s again before dropping back into the 70s for the coming week.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Alpine Coach

Snail Mail

Face Plant

Farm to Table

Sand Canyon Cliff Dwellings

Motion is Lotion

Pine Trees and Petrified Forest

Covered Gold Mine

Transition

Trailer For Sale – Sold

It’s Not If, It’s When

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