Category Archives: Arizona

Happy Birthday Sara

Although the afternoons have been quite warm, the dew point is low and the dry air is agreeable. Even without clouds, the desert sunsets can be spectacular.

Beautiful sunset from our site at Usery Mountain

Beautiful sunset from our site at Usery Mountain

The evenings cool quickly. On Friday evening, after enjoying happy hour at the Red, White and Brew, Donna and I dined al fresco on grilled boneless chicken thighs at our site at the Usery Mountain Regional Park. It was so nice out, we sat outside until well after 10pm.

Dinner in the open air

Dinner in the open air

In the morning, Donna asked me to scooter her to the Pass Mountain Trailhead.  This seven-and-a-half mile trail has an accumulated elevation gain of nearly 1,200 feet. Most people report taking up to three and a half hours to complete the loop – Donna did it in two hours and fifteen minutes.

While Donna was hiking, I scootered over to the Ace Hardware on Power Road. I was looking for a way to add tie-down points along the walls of the trailer. I didn’t find what I was looking for there, so I went down the road to Home Depot. No luck there either. So I scootered over to the Ace Hardware on Higley, which is a well-stocked store. Strike three. I guess I’ll have to wait until we reach San Diego and order what I want from Amazon.

We wanted to rent a car to go to a celebration at the Beer Research Institute (BRI) on Stapley in south Mesa. Our friend Sara Graff’s birthday is this Tuesday and her husband Howard arranged a get-together on the back patio of BRI. We waited too long to book a rental car. Most of the places had closed at noon on Saturday – the ones that were open didn’t have availability.

Making the 18-mile ride (each way) after dark on the scooter didn’t seem like a good idea, especially since I intended to sample a couple of brews. But Howard and Sara offered to come all the way out to the park to pick us up – Sara said she wanted to meet Ozark. Still, that was really nice. Thanks, Howard and Sara!

Donna was feeling adventurous and had a sample flight with a saison, vanilla porter and coffee porter. I had a West Coast style IPA and a black IPA. The beer was good. We had a plate of appetizers that included pretzel balls with dips, southwest poutine and meat candy – yum. The meat candy is sriracha-coated candied bacon.

Sara's party enjoying the back patio at BRI

Howard and Sara’s party on the back patio at BRI

We ordered entrees as well – Howard generously picked up the tab from the open menu to celebrate his wife’s birthday. I like your style, Howard! Donna had a mac and cheese bowl with green chilies and machaca. (She figured she earned it after her hike!)

Mac and cheese with green chilies and machaca

Mac and cheese with green chilies and machaca

I went for the New Mexico stacked enchiladas plate, which is layers of corn tortilla and shredded chicken with green chilies, cheese and sour cream with a sunnyside up egg on top. We were told we had to try this when we in Albuquerque, but never got around to it.

Stacked enchiladas

Stacked enchiladas

After dinner, it was time to break out the cake and sing happy birthday to Sara.

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Make a wish

Make a wish

We had a great time. Donna used the Lyft app on her phone to call for a ride home. The Lyft driver showed up within minutes and took us right into the park and dropped us off outside our coach. (If you ever want to try Lyft – or Uber – we have free ride codes we can share with you. Just ask.)

I’ve been dealing with a sore lower back for the past few days. I plan to take it easy, watch the Moto GP race from Sepang and some NFL action. Donna has plans to meet up with her friend, Julia, from Fountain Hills.

Power Outage

I haven’t posted for a couple of days as things have been fairly quiet around here. On Monday morning, we expected a scheduled power outage as the park is upgrading transformers. The power was supposed to be out at 6am and remain out for four to six hours. To compensate, a free breakfast was scheduled at the sister resort, Towerpoint, next door (map). Donna and I walked over to Towerpoint at 7:30am. The breakfast was great – I had a full plate of eggs, bacon, potatoes and a biscuit with sausage gravy! That’s way more than I usually eat, but you know how breakfast buffets are.

After breakfast, we walked over to the Towerpoint Sports Complex. We brought our pickleball gear and met a few players on the court. We played five or six games and had a good time. When we came home, we found the power was on at 9:30am. Later, a park employee came by and delivered a flyer saying the transformer work was delayed and the scheduled outage would occur Tuesday morning, followed by another outage Wednesday afternoon.

Donna serving on the Towerpoint pickleball court

Donna serving on the Towerpoint pickleball court

On Tuesday morning, we went back to Towerpoint and played pickleball again. We love this game. I also went to their office to see if they had any availability for us to return here in mid-February. They couldn’t find a site for us – January, February and March are the busiest months for RV parks in the Phoenix area. Later, the woman at the Towerpoint office phoned me and said she found two sites that should be suitable for us and advised me to come back and look at the sites. I reserved site J27 from February 15th through April 15th. This should work out fine for us – our tax accountant is here in Mesa and we can get that handled while we’re here.

When we were in Albuquerque, Donna noticed the left reverse light was out on our coach. I didn’t bother with it while we were there due to all of the balloon activity filling my days. I also didn’t bother with any diagnostic work. Since the right reverse light worked, I ruled out any possibility of a problem with the signal reaching the lights. The tail light and turn signal worked so I didn’t think I had a ground problem either. I went to NAPA Auto Parts and bought new bulbs. The 3156 bulbs came in packages of two. Since the reverse lights and the turn signal lights use the same bulb, I bought two packs so I would have bulbs on hand for all four positions.

I removed the left rear light assembly and took the bulb socket out of the bulb holder by twisting it 90 degrees. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the bulb and the filament appeared to be intact. I broke out my Fluke multimeter and checked continuity through the bulb. I read 50 mega ohms of resistance (50,000,000 ohms)! The new bulb showed 0.9 ohms of resistance. Apparently there was an internal problem with the bulb that wasn’t visible to the naked eye and that’s why it wasn’t working.

Looks can be deceiving

Looks can be deceiving

Later that afternoon, I stopped in at Lucky Lou’s and met up with the usual crowd – Leendert Hartoog, John Huff, Mike and Jodi Hall and Pat Fitzpatrick – for a cold one. I came home and our friends and former neighbors, Joel Myaer and Lana Jansen, picked us up and drove us to Alessia’s Ristorante Italiano on the corner of Higley and Brown for dinner. The food was outstanding. I had the strangola over capellini and Donna had pesce puttanesca. Donna and Lana split a bottle of Sangiovese while Joel and I enjoyed Birra Moretti (Italian lager). It was a beautiful evening and we had the entire outdoor patio to ourselves!

Joel, Lana and Donna at Alessia's

Joel, Lana and Donna at Alessia’s

We’ve had some wet weather since we arrived here in Mesa. Thunderstorms have passed through daily with sudden wind gusts and rain. Most of the severe weather has passed by to the west and north of our location. The forecast calls for drier weather ahead.

Donna had an early dental appointment at 7am this morning. I’ll go to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning this afternoon. The power will be out again this afternoon and the park has a free early dinner scheduled. I’ll start packing the trailer this afternoon. We’ll pull out of here tomorrow and head up to Usery Regional Park where we have a site reserved through Monday. We love that place – the hiking, biking and views are so nice there.

Polishing Headlights

Donna and I hit the pickleball courts Friday for the first time since we were in Santa Fe. The courts are on the west end of the RV park – our site is on the east end. As we were leaving the coach, Donna asked a woman passing by on her bicycle if she saw anyone on the pickleball courts. The woman said she hadn’t seen anyone doing much of anything in the RV park. No one came out for pickleball, so Donna and I played singles. It was fun and a good way to work on accuracy and positioning, but doubles is a better game. We played five or six games – about an hour.

After we came home and hung out for a while, I received a severe weather warning on my smartphone. Thunderstorms and a possibility of a severe dust storm (haboob) were in the forecast. I saw rain falling to the south of us and heard thunder. We had a couple of passing showers, but not enough rain to wet the roads.

At 4pm, hoping that the showers had passed, we hopped on the scooter to meet up with Mike and Jodi Hall at Lucky Lou’s. As we rode east on McKellips, we rode right into a rain shower. It rained on and off for more than an hour while we were at Lucky Lou’s and we rode home through showers on wet roads.

On Saturday morning, I rode the scooter down Main Street. The traffic was very light. Most of the RV parks are empty as it’s early for the snowbird season. I stopped at a motorcycle shop and ordered a new front tire for the scooter. Our front tire is worn and I didn’t like riding on a wet road the night before with a worn tire. It should arrive by Wednesday and I’ll have it installed then.

I made another stop at O’Reilly Auto Parts. I had a $10 gift card from the time I recycled our old batteries at O’Reilly in San Diego. I wanted to buy a headlight polishing kit. Our headlight covers are made from a polycarbonate material. When they’re manufactured, a coating is applied to prevent scratching and UV degradation (yellowing from sunlight). Over time it degrades – it’s a common problem on cars and trucks made in the ’90s and early 2000s. Our coach uses BMW E39 headlights. Ours are scratched and pitted from exposure.

After comparing a few products, I settled on Meguiars Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit. The kit is complete with sanding discs, polishing compound and a polishing wheel designed to be used with an electric drill – it even includes a microfiber cloth for the application of the protectant formula once the lens is polished.

Scratched and pitted headlight cover

Scratched and pitted headlight cover with masking tape around it

I started by wet sanding with a 1000 grit sanding disc on a velcro sanding pad. Then I followed that with a 3000 grit disc. After sanding, I applied compound on the wool buffing pad with my cordless drill. It took about two hours – not including the half hour break while rain was falling – before I applied the protectant over the cover and declared it job done. It’s not perfect, but they are much better. When they degrade again, I think it’ll be time for replacement.

A couple of hours later they look much better

A couple of hours later they look much better

While I was working on the headlights, Donna had guests. She scheduled a meet-up through the local minimalist group to discuss downsizing and living on the road. Our friends, Lowell and Debi Hartvikson came and a woman named Cindy from the minimalist group also attended.

In college football action, the big game Saturday was the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans against the University of Michigan (UM) Wolverines. The game was won as time expired in an improbable play by MSU. A local Michigan TV station, WZZM, apparently wanted to be the first to report on the game. Trouble was, they didn’t watch the final 10 seconds. They reported that UM defeated MSU for the Paul Bunyon trophy! That’s the problem with TV news coverage – being the first to report is more important then being accurate.

I grilled our favorite turkey burgers with special sauce for dinner, then we called it a day and watched a movie – Dallas Buyers Club. It’s based on the true story of Ron Woodruff.

Donna’s heading out for a bike ride this morning, I plan to spend the day watching NFL football.

Arizona Pine Forests

After the hustle and bustle of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, a couple of dark, quiet, secluded nights in a national forest campground were just what we needed. Late Wednesday afternoon, we walked about three quarters of a mile to the Porter Mountain Steakhouse across the street from the entrance to Scott Reservoir for happy hour. We had a couple of craft beers and Donna had a yummy top sirloin steak salad while I had cup of enchilada soup and Asian chicken wings.

Scott Reservoir

Scott Reservoir

We changed our plans and decided against staying in Payson after finding that there was nothing really suitable. We booked a site at Sun Life RV Resort in Mesa instead. They accepted Passport America and we booked a week at half price. It’s still hot in the Phoenix area but the forecast calls for cooler weather by the weekend. We pulled out of our free campsite at Scott Reservoir in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest around 9:30am. Donna enjoyed the drive through Show Low – it’s a clean, western town that looks like it has everything. Good shopping, lots of restaurants and it’s surrounded by pine forest.

When most people think of Arizona, images of desert landscape or colorful rocky mesas come to mind. But the northern portion of the state at higher elevations is heavily forested.

We drove across AZ260 westbound. This kept us on the Mogollon Rim most of the way. I rode this route on my BMW motorcycle back in the fall of 2008 – here are a couple of photos I took at that time.

Forest south of AZ260

Forest south of AZ260

AZ260

AZ260

We climbed and gained about 1,000 feet in elevation, topping out at 7,700 feet. Some of the grades were long and steep at 6%. The outside air temperature was 90 and my engine coolant temperature rose to 200 degrees on most grades – on one long, steep pull it went up to 210 degrees – the highest I’ve ever seen it. But it cooled quickly to the high 180s after we crested the grades.

Payson sits at an elevation of 5,000 feet so we had a number of long descents before we reached the town. The two-stage Jake brake on our Cummins ISL made the downhills easy. I know I’ve mentioned it many times, but the Jacobs Engineering engine brake is a marvel that I wouldn’t want to live without.

In Payson we hit AZ87 (Beeline Highway). The Beeline Highway has a number of climbs and descents before it intersects with the Bush Highway. We took the Bush Highway past Saguaro Lake then climbed over Usery Pass into Mesa. We found something unusual in the Valley of the Sun – humidity! Humidity is a rare thing here at this time of year.

My first stop was at the Chevron fuel station on the corner of Brown and Ellsworth. This is a couple of blocks away from our old house and I knew they had the cheapest diesel fuel around. I filled our tank with 60 gallons at $2.15/gallon.

While I was fueling, I saw a sticker on the diesel pump with fine print. It said it was illegal to fuel vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 26,001 lbs or more. I saw a guy fueling a medium-duty truck conversion for hauling a fifth-wheel at one of the pumps. I asked him about it and he said we were fueling illegally. Later I went online and found this:

The Arizona tax on gasoline (motor vehicle fuel) is 18¢ per gallon. Use fuel (diesel) is taxed at two rates in Arizona.

  • If the use fuel is used in the propulsion of a use class motor vehicle on a highway in this state, the tax rate is 26¢ for each gallon.
    • A “use class motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle that uses use fuel on a highway in this state and that is a road tractor, truck tractor, truck or passenger carrying vehicle having a declared gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds or having more than two axles.
  • If the use fuel is used in the propulsion of a light class motor vehicle (such as a pickup truck) or an exempt vehicle (certain school buses, government and non-profit vehicles, see 28-5432.C) on a highway in this state, the use fuel is taxed at the same rate per gallon as the motor vehicle fuel tax (18¢ per gallon). (See28-5601, 5605, 5606.)

Our GVWR is 31,000 lbs, so I was fueling illegally. I’m supposed to get fuel at a truck stop and pay the additional eight cents per gallon tax. I could have been fined up to $1,000 for fueling at a diesel pump that applies the light class tax. Yikes!

I saw another diesel pusher motorhome pull up to the pump as we were leaving. I wonder how stringent the enforcement is? I think I’ll stick to truck stops in Arizona in the future.

We settled into site G15 at the Sun Life RV Resort by 2pm. I had to drop the trailer in our site before I could back the coach in. We stayed here back in January 2014 – we checked in with our Gulfstream Sun Voyager coach and by the time we left we had our Alpine Coach.

After my usual set-up routine, I washed the front cap and windshield before installing the sun shades. We collected an incredible amount of bugs crossing New Mexico. Sometime during the next week I’ll wash the coach and try to polish out the scratches left by the tree at Scott Reservoir.

Last night I watched the NFL game as the New Orleans Saints knocked off the previously unbeaten Atlanta Falcons. By the time I went to bed, Ozark was cuddled up the back of Donna’s knees and they were both sleeping soundly.

Ozark cuddling with Donna

Ozark cuddling with Donna

I slept fairly well – it’s quieter here than Orangewood Shadows where we last stayed in Mesa. We’ll head over to the pickleball courts this morning and see if we can find someone to play.

Long, Lonesome Highway

After getting up around 4am for nine straight days to crew at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, it felt good to sleep in past 7am on Monday. We took our time preparing to move on from The Vineyard where we’ve been since September 30th. In 12 days of dry camping, we used less than four gallons of water a day. But then again, we were away for 7 hours a day, only prepared meals a few times, and had access to showers at the community clubhouse.

We paid up at the office and said our good-byes to Larry and Ruth, then pulled out around 1:30pm. It was a short hop back to High Desert RV Park west of Albuquerque on I-40. We decided to go back there as it is fairly inexpensive and I would be able to dump and flush our tanks thoroughly and fill with known good fresh water before heading to Arizona.

After we set up, I took a shower. But I had a problem – the shower head was cracked and leaking. By the time I finished my shower, the crack had opened up and was spraying water all over.

The next morning, Donna went for a walk while I took care of the tanks and fresh water. Then we pulled out and went directly to Camping World across I-40 from the RV park. I knew I could find a new Oxygenics shower head for less money online, but we needed it now. I like the Oxygenics because it uses less water than most shower heads and still provides a good spray. Camping World had the shower head in stock so I bought it and we hit the road.

Our route took us about 60 miles west on I-40, then south on NM117. This took us through the Malpais National Monument and the Acoma Indian Reservation and across the Continental Divide. There were many interesting looking bluffs and rock formations. Donna amused herself by taking a few windshield view photos with my smartphone. At one point, we pulled off at a scenic viewpoint – a large lot with vault toilets.

Donna wanted to hike to the arch rock formation but I vetoed the idea. I wasn’t dressed for hiking and by the time I changed my clothes and shoes, made the hike and got into comfortable driving clothes again we would have burned up an hour. I wanted to keep moving knowing that we might encounter a change of plans along the way and it could be a long day. We wanted to find one of several boondocking sites Donna had researched.

High desert rock formation

High desert rock formation

View from roadside lot with trail to rock arch

View from roadside lot with trail to rock arch

Another view from the roadside lot

Another view from the roadside lot

Highway 117 undulates – the surface contnually dips and rises over what are essentially ripples with an interval of a few seconds. At some point, Ozark got carsick from all the motion. We stopped in Quemado and Donna took Ozark out of her crate to clean up. This is the first time that has happened.

While we were driving, I heard a loud thunk from the rear of the coach. Donna went back to see what fell. She said it looked like the shower head came completely apart and was lying on the floor of the shower.

Once we hit US60 and headed west, we were on familiar ground. Donna and I traveled this route in 2005 when we rode from Mesa, Arizona to Datil, New Mexico with a group of Moto Guzzi riders. Donna and I had Moto Guzzi touring motorcycles before we switched to BMWs.

Once we were in Arizona, we climbed the White Mountains and crossed the Cerro Montoso Summit at 7,550 feet above sea level. We also gained an hour when we crossed the state line.

Rolling down that long, lonesome highway

Rolling down that long, lonesome highway

Do you remember the show "Then Came Bronson"

Do you remember the show “Then Came Bronson”

We discussed our options for the night and settled on Scott Reservoir Campground near Show Low, Arizona. This is a National Forest campground in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that allows up to five nights of free camping. You must camp in a designated site – there are 15 sites with tables and fire rings – and there aren’t any hook-ups, but you can’t beat free. And the air here smells of the pine trees all around.

Pulling into the narrow dirt road from Porter Mountain Road (map) was a little scary. I didn’t know what I was getting into and hoped I would be able to get turned around. We followed the washboard surface for about half a mile, then found a turnaround. It wasn’t big enough and I had to jockey back and forth a few times before I could complete the turn. There was a large tree in the center of the turnaround and I scraped the left rear of our coach against branches. I hope the scratches will buff out!

We backed into a large, fairly level site and were set up in no time. I was surprised to find a Verizon 4G signal with full bars! I went to the back and looked at the shower head. I found the source of the loud thunk. It wasn’t the shower head – it was the handle that turns on the shower and regulates the hot/cold water flow. The set screw had backed out and the handle fell off. Next I found that I had misdiagnosed the Oxygenics shower head problem. I didn’t need a new shower head – the crack was in the fitting on the hose connecting to it. I could have bought a new hose for a third of the price of a new Oxygenics shower head kit. Doh!

I re-installed the shower handle with thread locker on the set screw and replaced the shower hose while Donna set off on her second walk of the day. She hiked a trail around the lake and then, when the lakeside trail petered out, followed a horse trail she found that led to a road that intersected with the road we came in on.

Ozark was feeling much better after we settled in – I believe it was the constant up and down on NM117 that made her queasy.

Ozark felling better and playing

Ozark feeling better and playing

Although it was in the upper 70s when we arrived yesterday, it’s cool this morning. Our current elevation of 6,700 feet above sea level means cool nights. It’s 47 degrees outside as I type this and a cool 59 degrees in the coach. It felt good to sleep under a comforter with the windows open. The day will warm quickly under clear skies to the mid 70s. We’ve decided to spend another night here before we go to Payson for a few days to wait out the heat wave in Phoenix. We’re hoping things cool down there and we can move to Mesa by the end of the week.

Our free site

Enjoying peace and quiet in our free site

Back to the Doc

I took it easy Sunday. I soaked my feet in a pail of warm salt water and let my bare feet dry. The infection that had been treated two weeks ago returned and was spreading across the top of my feet. To make matters worse, the contact dermatitis on my arms never fully cleared up and it was making another appearance.

I put triple antibiotic ointment on my feet and used hydrocortisone cream on my arms. It didn’t bring much relief. In fact, the ointment seemed to make the skin infection on my feet worse.

I tried to find the Indianapolis Moto GP race on the campground cable network. It turned out the race was being televised on Fox Sports1 and the campground cable service didn’t carry that channel. I didn’t want to download the race on my computer because I was near the end of my data cycle and a 2+ gigabyte download would put me over the limit and cost $15-$20 in extra charges. So I went to Crash.net and followed the race on their race day coverage. The page updates every minute or so with lap-by-lap descriptions and an occasional still photo. It was an interesting way to follow the race which turned out to be an exciting one.

By the end of the day, it was apparent to me that I needed another visit to the doctor. So on Monday morning, I went to the Hudson Headwaters Health Center in Warrensburg (map). When I checked in, I was informed they won’t bill my insurance – I would have to pay upfront and seek reimbursement from Cigna. What a mess health care insurance has become.

I was checked in quickly and waited only about five minutes before I was taken to an exam room. A nurse spent a few minutes checking my vitals and going over my history and current issue. Ten minutes later, I was seen by a doctor. He told me the contact dermatitis was a reaction of my immune system. The pollen contact on my skin provoked an allergic reaction which my immune system interpreted as an attack. This in turn led to release of histamines which creates the redness and itching. I think I got that right – I’m no expert. He prescribed a much more aggressive course of Prednisone for the dermatitis. I have three days of high dosage followed by seven days of tapering off. For the skin infection on my feet, he wants me to wash them twice a day with antibacterial soap and pat dry, then let them dry out without socks or shoes as much as possible. He also prescribed ten days of Keflex oral antibiotics.

When I picked up the prescriptions, the people at the pharmacy were great. The girl at the counter looked up my insurance information and I was charged a grand total of 24 cents for both medications!

While I was at the pharmacy Donna sent me a text telling she was out for a 28-mile bike ride. Later I learned she rode right past me at the pharmacy.

I spent the rest of the day hanging out in the coach with bare feet and reading a book. Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night with searing stomach pain. It felt like a hole was burning through my stomach. I chewed on a couple of antacids and drank some water. Eventually the pain was reduced and I went back to sleep. I don’t know if it was due to the high Prednisone dose or the antibiotic, but I think it’s the medication that caused the stomach issue.

I haven’t been sick in well over two years – not even a cold since we’ve been on the road – until this skin condition surfaced a month ago. I hope it goes away for good once I complete the 10-day cycle of medication and I can go back to being my normal healthy self.

It’s raining this morning and the rain is forecast to linger most of the day. Looking at the weather radar app, I believe it. There’s a huge system to the west of us slowly moving eastward. I’ll lie low again, keep my feet dry and read another book. Donna is going to meet her friend Karen for lunch and spend the afternoon with her in Westport, NY.

Continental Divide

I’m typing this after a long day on the road. After I posted to the blog last evening, Donna and I sat up and watched two episodes of House of Cards – season three. When I went to bed, I slept like a rock. Donna was awakened by the sound of a car pulling into our spot at 2am. The car departed shortly after pulling in. She didn’t hear any doors open, just a strange muffled sound. Today we think it was probably law enforcement – a cop or border patrol car. The sound may have been a radio receiver in the vehicle. They probably just did a drive-by to see who or what was in the area.

The boondocking spot we found off AZ85 south of Gila Bend had a ramada and a sign that said “overnight parking permitted, no camping.” We took that to mean “don’t pitch a tent or get in a sleeping bag under the ramada.”

It was a fairly quiet spot and we couldn’t beat the price – free.

Sunset at our boondocking spot in the desert

Sunset at our boondocking spot in the desert

We were up early this morning. We had breakfast and coffee and had the slides in and jacks up by 8:15am. We changed our plan and decided to go the extra 30 miles and maybe add 45 minutes to our drive by continuing south on AZ85. This would take us through the towns of Ajo and Why before we headed east on AZ86 to Tucson. There was very little traffic and it was more interesting than droning along on I-8 to I-10.

Our boondocking site after sunrise

Our boondocking site after sunrise

We eventually hit I-10 at Tucson. We stopped at a rest stop east of Benson and ate lunch, then motored on. Donna was working at her laptop while I drove. After about 300 miles of driving in windy conditions, we crossed the border into New Mexico. I’ll need to update our states visited map. I’ve been to New Mexico many times, but we only count the states we’ve visited since we started full-time RVing.

I don't know if the sign was messed up or the picture pixilated

I don’t know if the sign was messed up or the picture pixilated

After a stop at the Flying J in Lordsburg, where we topped up the tank with 55 gallons of diesel fuel, we crossed the Continental Divide at an elevation of 4,585 feet above sea level. For those of you who don’t remember what the significance of the Continental Divide is – it marks the difference of where watersheds drain. West of the Continental Divide, water flows to the Pacific Ocean. East of the Continental Divide, it flows to the Atlantic (via the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean Sea in some cases). From there we drove on to Deming. We are currently dry camped at an SKP park here. The day’s total mileage was 377 miles. I usually like to limit my drive to 250-300 miles per day. We’ll push on again in the morning and drive about 340 miles to Fort Stockton, Texas.

Anniversary Dinner in San Diego

Tuesday morning got off to a great start when Bob and Sini Schmitt invited us to join them for breakfast in their coach. Sini had just returned from two weeks of travel, while Bob was living the bachelor life. She went to Hawaii for a wedding, then to Seattle to look after some business at their house in Edmonds. Bob cooked up excellent breakfast burritos for us and we got caught up on Sini’s trip.

After breakfast, I started breaking down our outdoor gear. I folded up the chairs, took down the front window covers, and got things organized. Bob lent me his GMC Jimmy to move everything to the trailer while he and Sini drove to LA in a rental car to attend a show. Their goal was to get tickets to The Voice, but to get that, they had to agree to be members of the audience for the filming of an episode of AD. I loaded some of the gear into the Jimmy, then took a break to go to Pacific Beach Recreation Center to play some pickleball. I cut it short and left after a few games to get back to packing up.

Back at the coach, I stowed the tire covers and checked tire pressures. I loaded the Weber Q grill and ladder into Bob’s Jimmy and took everything to the trailer. By the time I had the trailer packed, another hour and half had passed. I still needed to load the scooter and Donna’s bike after she returned from her ride. I had that all done by 5pm.

This worked out perfectly since we planned to head out to our anniversary dinner at Island Prime at 5:45pm. I had time to shower and have a cocktail before our ride picked us up. Donna used one of the free Lyft coupons she had. Lyft is a taxi service that operates much like Uber. Our friend Mona is an Uber and Lyft driver. We planned it so Mona could be our driver. She came to the RV park at 5:45, we jumped in her car and then Donna requested a pick-up. Since Mona was the closest driver, she got the fare.

Island Prime is on the eastern point of Harbor Island, which like most of the “islands” in San Diego, is a peninsula. We made a quick stop for a couple of photo opportunities on the way.

Coronado bridge from Harbor Isalnd

Coronado Bridge from Harbor Island

Do you think they dropped off pineapples

Do you think this freighter dropped off pineapples?

The Island Prime restaurant features great views of both Coronado Island and the San Diego downtown skyline. We didn’t have a window seat, but our booth was only one table away from the glass. We watched boats sailing by as we had a drink and shared an appetizer.

I know this isn't a sloop, maybe a ketch?

I know this isn’t a sloop – maybe a ketch?

Ahi Stack appetizer

Ahi stack appetizer

We had the Ahi stack for an appetizer. The stack includes guacamole, sushi grade ahi tuna and creamy crab on top served with taro chips and a pineapple salsa and caviar.

Donna ordered the macadamia crusted sea bass. She hadn’t tried sea bass before and wanted to try something new. It was flaky and cooked perfectly. I had the filet trio – a trio of three, three-ounce medallions of filet mignon with three different toppings – bleu cheese, crab, and wild mushrooms – served over mashed potatoes.

Macadamia sea bass

Macadamia sea bass

Filet trio

Filet trio

It was an excellent meal coupled with outstanding service and unbelievable views. I can’t entertain like this every night, but it’s the right thing to do with my wife on our anniversary.

Sunset on my shoulder and a smiling face on my anniversary

Sunset on my shoulder and a smiling face on my anniversary

We pulled the same gambit to have Mona be our Lyft driver on the way home. While we waited outside, I shot a couple of photos. I think a pair of Maseratis (one a spyder, the other coupe) and a Tesla valet-parked in front speak to the upscale clientele of this restaurant. Not that I’m all that impressed with material possessions. Just saying.

Maserati duo

Maserati duo

The ubiquitous SoCal $100k Tesla electric car

The ubiquitous SoCal $100k Tesla electric car

Mona gifted us with a bottle of wine when she picked us up. Now, how many of you had your driver gift you with a bottle of wine?

I had hoped to be on the road by 9:30am on Wednesday morning, but we were a bit behind schedule. We plodded along methodically and had everything in order by a little after 10am. Then we needed to drive the coach to the overflow lot and hook up the trailer. We managed to get everything done without any undue stress and hit the road at 10:30am. The 9:30am departure was only a wish, not a drop-everything-and-let’s-get-rolling deal, so all was well.

We rolled easily along I-8 eastbound and made our usual stop at the Buckman Springs rest area. From there we crossed the three 4000+ foot summits and descended to the desert. It was an easy drive. I followed a tractor-trailer rig through the steep, twisty downgrade and held my speed in check with the Jake brake.

Our original plan was to stop for the night near Wellton, Arizona and dry camp. We were there before 3pm so we decided to move on. That’s how it goes sometimes – you make decisions on the fly. Donna was looking at the Escapee’s Day’s End directory on her laptop as we drove. We finally decided to press on to Gila Bend. Once there, we went south on AZ85 and found a legal boondocking spot to spend the night.

It’s quiet and the view is nice, but it’s windy and we’ve stayed indoors. After consulting the map, I think we’ll backtrack 10 miles in the morning back to I-8 and take that to I-10 and try to make it to Deming, New Mexico. We’d like to bank some miles before we take a two-night stop in order to be sure we can make it to Houston by the 14th.

Shaken in the Desert

We  started our last day at Casa Grande RV Resort with a free waffle breakfast at the clubhouse yesterday. We sat at a table with a couple from Camano Island, Washington. I asked them if they knew Ed and Martha King who also live there. They didn’t know them, but they were surprised that I knew where Camano Island is.

After breakfast, I loaded the trailer. I did the usual dump and flush of the tanks and we took our time getting ready for the road. We said our goodbyes to Bill and Cris Filby from Stanwood, Michigan who stopped over to wish us safe travels. Gayle Devall from Ontario also stopped by to say goodbye. We always meet the nicest people as we travel. We drove out of the park at 11am.

I headed south on Pinal Avenue (AZ387) figuring it would intersect with I-8. I followed a sign directing me west on AZ84 (also called the Gila Bend Highway). This turned out to be a better route than jumping straight on I-8. We drove west through farmland. Several miles later, the road curved to the southwest at the junction with AZ347. That’s when I realized what road we were on. We’ve traveled down AZ347 from the Wildhorse Pass Casino before when we rode our motorcycles from Mesa to San Diego. This was a good route – a few miles later we were on I-8 westbound.

Our first stop was at 12:30pm at Gila Bend. I remembered a Subway sandwich shop at a big truck stop there. The truck stop had ample parking, so getting in and out was easy. We found out that they also have a small RV park in back with full hook-ups. Our next stop was another 40 miles down the road. We stopped at Dateland. Dateland is a small community at exit 67 with a specialty shop selling – wait for it – dates! We parked across the street in an abandoned gas station and walked over for date shakes. These are one of Donna’s favorite treats. Donna also bought a few items in the shop to use as gifts later.

We continued on to Yuma where I stopped again at Fortuna Road to top off our fuel tank at the Pilot/Flying J station. I wanted to have the tank full of fuel when we entered California. Fuel is more expensive in California. We took on 35 gallons of fuel at $2.50/gallon. We drove a couple of miles to Walmart from there to stock up on groceries. The Walmart lot had a number of trees with low branches. I had no choice in a few spots but to drive through them. I was not happy about that!

After we crossed the California border, we had to go through an inspection station. We stopped at the kiosk and the Border Patrol agent asked if we had fresh fruit on board. Since the grapefruits and lemons we had were at least a week old, I didn’t consider them fresh and answered, “No.” He waved us through. It was 4:30pm by then. Our stops along the way had slowed our progress, but it was all right. I didn’t want to stop for the day in the heat of the afternoon anyway. I had the generator running and roof air conditioners on since leaving Walmart. It was 91 degrees outside.

We found our way to our favorite boondocking spot near the Imperial Sand Dune Recreation Area. The area we’re in is actually called the Picacho Recreation Area. It’s BLM land and you can dry camp for up to 14 days with no fee. We’ve stayed here twice before.

The last time we stayed here, I posted about the rock garden in the desert. We found the rock garden and the site was empty. We only saw two rigs in the area and the rock garden was more than a quarter of mile away from them. We set up quickly and enjoyed a cocktail outside in the shade.

Happy hour in the desert

Happy hour in the desert

Donna asked for something she hasn’t had in a quite a while. I mixed one part fresh squeezed lemon juice with two parts vodka and a dash of cayenne pepper in a shaker over ice. I shook it vigorously and served it in a martini glass. This drink is called a Holland Razor Blade. I made my usual vodka martini, shaken not stirred, garnished with a tomolive.

Donna enjoying a Holland Razor Blade in the shade

Donna enjoying a Holland Razor Blade in the shade

We relaxed and took in the view. Despite the temperature, we were quite comfortable thanks to the dry air and a light breeze.

View to the east from our site

View to the east from our site

We sat outside until dark and looked at the starry sky. There was more light at the Imperial Dunes area than I expected.

Desert sunset last night

Desert sunset last night

This morning I was up early. We had a very windy night – it interrupted my sleep several times as it shook the coach. I’m sure it will catch up with me later, but at 6:30am I was wide awake and decided to get out of bed.

Our site shortly after sunrise

Our site shortly after sunrise

Today we’ll get back on I-8 westbound and drive to El Centro where we’ll turn north on CA111. We have about 200 miles ahead of us before we reach Hemet.

Between Here and San Diego

They are pretty serious about pickleball here at Casa Grande RV Resort. I’ve played for a few hours every morning for five days straight. On Saturday, Donna and I went out for an evening walk and found people playing on the lighted courts. It was mostly the same group that plays in the morning – they were playing twice a day! No wonder there are so many good players here.

Two of the blogs I follow had similar themes recently. Nina Fussing (Wheeling It) wrote about their top six “incidents” on the road. Then Clarke Hockwald (What’sNewell) wrote about “when, not if,” things go sideways. Wouldn’t you know it, we had an “incident” Sunday night. I wanted to watch Wicked Tuna, so I turned on the satellite and TV. When I turned on the audio amplifier, I had no sound. I thought this was odd. I noticed the radio in the dashboard had a blank display. I thought a fuse may have blown and the radio and amplifier weren’t receiving 12 volts from the chassis batteries. The audio amplifier is on the chassis circuit, not the house 12-volt circuit. I think Western RV wired it this way so that when you’re driving down the road, listening to the in-dash radio which also goes through the audio amplifier, it wouldn’t be drawing current from the house batteries. Like Clarke said, “It’s when, not if things go sideways.”

After checking fuses, I got my multi-meter out and went outside to check the batteries. Oh no! The chassis batteries only showed 7 volts. Something had drawn the battery down. I looked around and found that I had neglected to turn off the CB radio. It doesn’t draw much current, but five days of continuous parasitic draw had killed my chassis batteries. I put a charger on the batteries right away. By Monday morning, they were up to 12.8 volts. I’m sure damage has been done. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope they can hold an acceptable level of charge.

Donna hoped she might be ready to play pickleball on Saturday, but in doing a couple of squats to test her readiness, she aggravated the muscle pull in her groin. She had been trying to stay active by walking, but even that’s more than is comfortable right now. The afternoons have been clear and very warm with the temperature approaching 90 degrees. We’ve relaxed most afternoons and have been running the air conditioners. It cools at night – the temperature dropped to the low 50s last night.

Sharon, one of the pickleball players, organized a happy hour gathering at the courtyard by the clubhouse yesterday. Everyone brought hors d’oeuvres which really turned out to be dinner. There was a lot of food and we enjoyed hanging out for a couple of hours and talking with different people.

Happy hour with the pickleball group

Happy hour with the pickleball group

Donna and I were trying to figure out what our plan is for the 12 open days we have between our check out day here and check in at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego. We thought about extending our stay in Casa Grande, but we really felt like moving on. Donna found a special offer at a high-end RV resort in Hemet, California. The full price rate for a week-long stay at Golden Village Palms RV Resort runs from $336 to $546 – way more than we usually pay. The special deal Donna found was for first time visitors to the resort. We reserved a site for one week for $199. It’s a true RV resort with all the amenities – three swimming pools, hot tubs, fitness center, pickleball courts and more. They have a concert series as well featuring artists such as the Eagles, Shania Twain and Tim McGraw, and Jimmy Buffet. Unfortunately, we missed their winter concert season.

We’ll pull out of here tomorrow. Our plan is stop in Yuma for fuel and groceries, then head west and spend a night in the desert. From there, we’ll travel up through El Centro on highway 111 past the Salton Sea and through the Coachella Valley to Hemet. We’ll cover about 200 miles per day and check in Thursday afternoon. After our week in Hemet, we can spend a few days at the Escapee’s Jojoba Hills park before we head down to Mission Bay. That’s our plan – we’ll see how it works out.