Category Archives: Arizona

Cactus Garden

Yesterday was a laid back day. In the morning, after I posted to the blog, Donna went for a hike. While she was out, I took care of a couple of chores that needed to be done before we head out of here on Sunday. I cleaned and lubed the chains on our bicycles. The chain on my mountain bike picked up a lot of grit from the dusty trails around here.

I used to have a complete bicycle mechanic tool set from Park Tools, but they were stolen along with our cargo trailer by those Dirty, Rotten Thieves. I didn’t replace the complete set, but I did buy a Park CM-5 Cyclone Chain Cleaner from Amazon. This makes getting the chain clean a breeze. I use a 50/50 Simple Green and water mixture to scrub the chain. Then I follow up with plain water to rinse it clean and dry the chain. Then I lube it with DuMonde Tech chain lube.

Once I had that job done, I hung the bikes in the trailer. I need to straighten out a few more things in the trailer before we can load the scooter.

Brett Miller posted a comment in yesterday’s blog about the cactus garden here at North Ranch RV Park. After lunch, we walked over to office to ask about it. It turned out to be a little park at the end of the street where we are parked. It’s on the north end of the street, which is basically a dead end. We hadn’t been down there and didn’t know about it. It’s a beautiful garden with many of the plants labeled. We strolled through and I took pictures. Many of the plants were blooming. You’ll want to click on the photos to enlarge them.

Chenille prickly pear blooms

There are two large, old saguaros in the park. This begs the question (again). Why do these saguaros survive here while only one saguaro stands in the desert for miles around the park? These saguaros were here long before the park existed. We have a few theories, but that’s all they are.

There’s an ancient, giant saguaro called Methuselah in the park. A placard claims it dates back to 1600. I’m not sure how that was determined. The Arizona – Sonoran Desert Museum says saguaros can live up to 150 – 200 years. Having said that, I’ll add that Kevin Hultine, a plant physiologist at Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden says that a typical saguaro can live up to 200 years but adds, “We are not entirely sure of the true age of the largest individuals.”

Methuselah – an ancient saguaro

There’s another old saguaro called Sheba. The placard says “circa 1870”. This could very well be true. We saw a Gila woodpecker nesting in Sheba. You can see some flowers blooming and others ready to blossom on the ends of the “arms.”

Sheba – another old saguaro

Some of the prickly pear cacti had pretty blossoms, especially the Santa Rita prickly pear cactus with its yellow flowers.

Santa Rita prickly pear

The park is very clean and nicely laid out. The paths wind around the cactus displays with groomed gravel over a hard packed base.

Saguaro Park

Santa Rita (right) and purple prickly pear (left)

Cow tongue cactus

The wind picked up in the afternoon as we were enjoying the cactus garden.

Windblown Donna taking a break

At the other end of the park we saw a sign warning about an active javelina visiting the park to forage.

Javelina spotted in the park

We didn’t encounter javelina, however we did see a couple of interesting lizards. The first was a desert spiny lizard. He was trying to hide beneath a prickly pear cactus.

Desert spiny lizard

He’s there in the circled area

The other lizard we saw was a Western whiptail. He didn’t let me get too close. As I closed in for a photo, he would scramble away.

Western whiptail lizard

Last night we watched a movie called Waterproof, starring Burt Reynolds. What a flop. No wonder I never heard of it before. Donna will return it to the park library, where she borrowed it.

The wind was still blowing at bedtime. I battened down the hatches in anticipation of more wind and rain. The wind woke me up a few times as the coach rocked. The rain came early this morning, but moved out of the area by 9:30am.

We have a project for later today, then I need to pack the scooter and prepare to leave tomorrow. We’ll head over to the Camp Verde – Cottonwood area first. Then I think we’ll go to the Grand Canyon.

Lonesome Saguaro

While Donna was out riding her bicycle yesterday, I rode the scooter down to Wickenburg. I went to the Basha’s grocery store to pick up a few things. I brought bungee cords with me so I could secure a case of bottled water on the back seat. I had everything loaded nicely and I made an uneventful trip back.

Scooter loaded under seat, on rear seat and in front

For lunch, Donna made tomato basil wraps filled with scrambled eggs, black forest ham and sharp cheddar cheese. I wanted to go for a bike ride, but thought I should wait for a while after eating. I walked over to the clubhouse to return a book I read and select another one. The were five guys there playing music. One guy was clearly the leader. He played a weird four-string acoustic guitar through a small amp. They played old country/folk music. Pretty basic, simple music, but they sounded good. The guy with the four-string guitar sang really well.

By the time I got my gear on and headed out on my bike, it was 2pm. I went out to the same trailhead as before, but this time I took a different trail at the four corners crossing. I saw a trail called Lonesome Saguaro. I wanted to see if a saguaro actually existed out there. I found it a short time later. This is puzzling to me. The saguaro looks to be at least 50 years old, judging by its size and the arms starting to form. The terrain it’s growing in doesn’t look any different than the surrounding desert. I wonder how this lone saguaro survived here when no other saguaros are to be found in the area.

Lonesome saguaro

I rode out to Martinez Wash. The ride to the wash was difficult. It had a few short, steep drops and climbs. Most of the drops into little washes had soft sand or decomposed granite in the bottoms. A few times, my front tire dug in too deep and I had to hop off the bike. I made the return trip past the cattle and water tank. I saw tracks in the soft sections made by one or two other mountain bikes. Now that I think about it, I think it was one bike going out and back. The tracks looked pretty squirrely through the soft stuff.

I’d waited too late in the day to ride. The heat was oppressive and I wasn’t feeling well by the time I got back just after 3pm. I took it easy for the rest of the day.

Donna saw a new neighbor pulling into a site behind us. She said it looked like an older coach, but she didn’t know what it was. I looked out the window and saw another Alpine Coach. This one is an older single-slide model. That makes five Alpine Coaches currently here in the park. Before coming here, I had only seen two Alpine Coaches – one in San Diego when we still had our Gulfstream and one in Usery Park.

Last night, Donna and I grilled chicken breasts and skewered fresh strawberries. Donna made a balsamic reduction to put on the chicken and drizzle over the strawberries. Grilling the strawberries brought out the sweetness. This sweetness combined with the balsamic reduction was a great combination. This was the first time we tried this dish. I’m sure we’ll have again at some point.

Grilled fresh strawberries and chicken breasts with balsamic reduction

Donna remarked yesterday how this place is growing on her. It’s so quiet and the hiking and mountain biking paths are easy to access. This morning I awoke to the sounds of doves cooing and quail calling. It’s not a bad place, but it will be too hot here next week.

Today, the forecast calls for a high of 77 degrees with winds from the southwest picking up to more than 20 mph. There’s a 50% chance of rain by tomorrow morning. It should calm down and clear up by the time we pull out on Sunday.

Stuff in the Desert

We extended our stay here at North Ranch Escapees RV Park until Sunday. That will get us through the wind forecast for tomorrow and the cold front over the weekend.

I got my mountain bike out of the trailer and went for a ride. I haven’t been riding since I hurt my shoulder. I thought I could ease back into it with a short ride. I wanted to check out some of the trails Donna has been hiking.

The trailhead is accessed through a gate at the east end of the park. There’s a sign there showing which way to go to various points of interest. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Trailhead sign

There are a few more of these signs at trail intersections in the desert. The trails are wide enough for use by ATVs. The surface is mostly good with some soft, sandy sections and few sections of loose rock.

Wide trail

I rode along a ridge to Inspiration Point. The view from there was a wide desert vista. I took pictures looking different directions from the point.

Looking east

Looking north

Looking northwest

There’s a lot of wide open BLM public land. I’ve said it before and it’s evident in these photos; the desert is never as flat as it seems. At mid-day you don’t have visual cues such as position of the sun and shadows to give you a sense of direction. It’s easy to get turned around out there.

I turned at an intersection and the trail lead me to a large wash. The trail down into the wash was very steep. I could see where the trail led out of wash on the other side, at least a half-mile away. I saw cattle in the brush down in the wash.

The big wash

I decided against crossing the big wash. I didn’t want to overdo my first bike ride after a month of rest. I turned back and followed a different trail. Sometimes you find unexpected things in the middle of nowhere in the desert. I came across bee hives set up on the trail.

Bee hives in the middle of nowhere

I didn’t want to get too close. I could see and hear bees buzzing around the hives. I’m still bothered by the bee sting on my right arm from last week.

I turned around and found another trail to follow. This one led me to another unexpected find. Parked behind some brush was a Komatsu bulldozer. It looked like it had been sitting there for awhile, judging by the cobwebs inside.

Bulldozer in the desert

I wondered who would leave a piece of expensive equipment out on public land and why? I rode on.

My next find was a herd of open range cattle. Ranchers get grazing permits on BLM land and the cattle roam free. Eventually, cowboys will round up the cattle and haul them to market. The cattle had ear tags and brands on their hides to identify ownership.

I don’t think they’ve seen too many people on bicycles. They stared in my direction, then most of them began moving away. Three stood their ground and looked like they wanted to charge. I wasn’t too concerned about the steers, but I saw a large bull lying in the shade of a tree. I won’t challenge a bull. I’ve told the story of my experience with a bull here.

Open range cattle

In the photo you can see the water trough for the cattle. A little way down the trail I came across an odd sign. Camping is allowed on this section of BLM land. However, the sign stated that it was illegal to camp within a quarter of a mile from any waterhole or trough.

Further along the trail, I came across another water source. This was a large cylindrical water tank that was tilting like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Water tank

From there I continued on and looped back to the trailhead. I was out for about an hour. Lots of interesting and curious finds out in the desert. One thing I didn’t find was saguaro cactus.

Saguaro cactus are found throughout the Sonoran desert. It’s the only place they’re found. When you don’t find them in the Sonoran desert, it can only mean one thing. It gets too cold in that particular area during the winter. If the temperature drops below freezing for more than three or four consecutive nights, the saguaro will die. This area must have cold nights in the winter due to the elevation.

In the hilly desert to the northwest of here, you can see saguaros growing abundantly, then they disappear half way up the hillside. That marks the frost line of the hill.

In the afternoon, Donna looked out the window and said, “Our neighbors are gone.” I looked out and sure enough, Dave and Lynda’s Alpine Coach wasn’t there. But they left a bicycle near their picnic table. I went to the office to see if they could contact Dave and let him know he left a bicycle behind. They told me Dave and Lynda didn’t leave the park. They extended their stay due to the weather forecast and moved to a different site. They found an open site with trees and shade.

I went to their new site and chatted with them. The shade may be handy today, but I don’t think the trees will be desirable if the wind is as strong as expected tomorrow.

This morning I’ll take the scooter to town for a few provisions (beer). I think I’ll take another bike ride in the desert later.

Blowin’ in the Wind

The wind blew out of the south yesterday at a sustained 20 mph with occasional gusts. It rocked the coach a time or two, but wasn’t a big deal. Our intention was to wait for the wind to die down and move on to Kingman today and then to Lake Mead.

After looking at the latest weather forecast, we’ve ditched that plan. Lake Mead will have sustained 40 mph winds on Friday. We would have to pull the slides in and hunker down while the coach takes a battering. A cold front is forecast to move through the area over the weekend, followed by temperatures in the mid-90s next week. This doesn’t sound too appealing.

We’re looking at our options again. Our first thought is to book another four nights here and wait out the stormy Friday and cooler weekend. We’ll scratch Nevada from our current plan and head towards Flagstaff. This will probably mean we’ll backtrack along the Carefree Highway through Anthem and stop at Camp Verde. I wouldn’t try to take AZ89 over Yarnell – it would be shorter, but it’s not a big rig friendly road. There are tight switchbacks as you descend into Prescott. I remember switchbacks so tight that there were 10 mph speed advisory signs.

We have a few days to ponder our course. Meanwhile, it’s analysis paralysis. I want to avoid wind, extreme heat and cold. Donna may need to fly to New York on May 5th and, if so, we need to be somewhere near an airport. We’ll have a week’s notice or so for that. She’s already booked a flight out of Denver at the end of May for a conference back in Phoenix.

This time of year, weather is hard to call in the southwest. It’s typically windy in northern Arizona and southern Nevada. The desert is heating up. The higher elevations have comfortable daytime temperatures, but places like Flagstaff can still be below freezing overnight.

The other thing we need to think about are the sights we want to see. Our original intent was to go through Zion National Park. Maybe we will scratch that as well. We can go to the Petrified National Forest, then head north and go to Moab. There’s so much to see.

We’ll sit tight and I’m sure a plan will come together over the next few days.

Today, I will get my mountain bike out and ride some of the trails Donna has been hiking on.

Vulture Mine Shortcut

Donna started her day yesterday with a bike ride here in the park. She rode around the park and through the streets, trying to get some mileage in. She kept passing a guy on a golf cart. He would raise his hand as she went by and she thought he was waving at her. Finally, as Donna made another pass by the guy, she could see he was motioning for her to slow down. She called out, “I’m only doing 16 miles per hour!” The speed limit on the roads is 20 mph. Maybe 16mph looks faster on a road bike.

After Donna’s bike ride, we took the scooter to town. I turned off US93 at Vulture Mine Road. This was a shortcut with little traffic. We stopped at El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant. Our soon to be full-timing RV friend, Brett Miller, recommended the place and it had good reviews.

When I try a new Mexican place, I usually order the chili verde. This is one of my favorite dishes and I can compare the food to other favorite Mexican restaurants. I didn’t do that this time. I allowed the waiter to talk me into the daily special, which was chicken enchilada casserole. This was basically chicken enchilada filling between layers of corn tortilla and cheese. It was constructed somewhat like a lasagna.

Donna ordered the tricolor enchiladas which consisted of three enchiladas – a chicken enchilada with green sauce, a cheese enchilada and a beef enchilada with red sauce.

Tricolor enchilada plate

The chips were good and they served them with two great salsas and an excellent bean dip. However, I don’t think they were on their “A” game on this day. The chicken enchilada casserole was bland and made with too much cheese. Donna’s tricolor enchilada plate was good, but they had the sauces mixed up. The chicken enchilada had red sauce and the beef enchilada had the green tomatillo sauce. I would go there again, but next time I’ll try the chili verde.

We rode the scooter downtown and parked next to the City Hall. We wandered around and looked at clothing and boots in the western wear shops. Wickenburg is a quirky old west town, but it’s not too touristy. The western wear and saddle shops cater to the real cowboys working on the ranches in the area.

Double H hat shop – Wickenburg

Wickenburg is the oldest Arizona town north of Tucson. Henry Wickenburg discovered gold here in 1863. The Vulture Mine became the richest Arizona gold producer ever. Many of the historic buildings in the town date back to that era. We were told at the Chamber of Commerce information center that tours of the mine can be taken on Saturdays.

On the way back from Wickenburg, I stopped at the NAPA Auto Parts store to buy a solenoid to replace the sticking accessory solenoid I wrote about a couple of days ago. I didn’t see any part number on the old solenoid when I looked at it. I showed a picture of the solenoid and described its function to the guy at the parts counter. He said he knew what we needed.

He came back with a ST89 solenoid rated for 36 volts. I thought that seemed odd, but he was very sure of himself. I figured since this was a continuous-duty application, the higher voltage rating may be correct.

When we returned to the park, we saw Mark and Emily Fagan’s rig in the dry camp area (Roadslesstraveled.us). Their fifth wheel trailer was set up but their Dodge Ram 3500 truck was not there.

We came back to our rig. I turned the chassis battery switch off and disconnected the accessory solenoid. Once I had the old solenoid out, I saw it was stamped 88-24V on the bottom. I looked up specifications and found the correct replacement would be an ST88 24-volt solenoid. The ST89 36-volt solenoid wouldn’t work. Usually you need to apply nearly half of the rated working voltage to trigger the solenoid. I didn’t have enough voltage available to trigger the 36-volt solenoid. I put the old one back in temporarily and decided to wait until morning to take the ST89 back and exchange it for an ST88.

We had the air conditioner running. It was the hottest day since we’ve been here with a high temperature of 92 degrees. We’re on a 30-amp service so we can only run one air conditioner. I closed the bedroom doors and we had the front air on. We relaxed and read books for awhile.

Donna saw our neighbor, Lynda, outside and went out to talk to her about campgrounds at Lake Mead Boulder Beach. While she was out, Emily came over. The three of them chatted outside until after dark. Emily came inside with Donna and we caught up on their travels. Mark was napping back in the trailer. He had a tough day dealing with a punctured tire on the trailer. He was concerned about the trailer being overweight, so they came here to get the axle weights. There are three Escapees parks where you can always get your rig weighed. They weigh each wheel individually. That way you can determine if you should re-balance your load and also know what the correct tire pressures should be.

This morning, Donna went out hiking in the desert. While she was doing that, I made the 13.5 mile ride back to the NAPA store. On the way out, I saw Mark and Emily with their trailer at the weigh station. Their trailer weight is fine. Mark will move a few things around for better balance, but he doesn’t have to worry about overloading the tires or axles. They’re heading out this morning to Camp Verde and on to Sedona.

On the way back, I stopped and took a photo of one of the memorial signs for the 19 firefighters killed last year in the Yarnell wildfire.

I installed the new ST88 solenoid when I got back a little while ago. I’m still scratching my head though. The new solenoid is acting like the old one. It sticks and I have to tap on the case to make it engage. I’ve checked voltages and grounds and can’t find a problem. That will keep me going for awhile today.

EDIT: I worked the solenoid by turning the key to the accessory position and tapping on the solenoid. I repeated this several times. Now it’s functioning fine. When I turn the key to accessory, the solenoid engages without me touching anything other than the key. My theory is that internal friction was causing it to hang up. Working the solenoid burnished whatever was causing the friction and now it operates without any issue.

Delay in Congress

Donna went for a hike early yesterday morning. She took a trail out of the east end of the park and hiked out into desert. She crossed a wide wash where she saw a small snake. From there, she continued on until she spotted a steep, flat-topped ridge that she figured might have a nice view. She left the trail to scramble up to the ridge. On the other side of the ridge was a steep cliff and down below, she saw some people dry camped on the BLM land. They didn’t see her, but she heard a woman ask, “What happened to my mimosa?”

Getting back to the trail created a challenge for Donna. Looking back as she prepared to make her way to the ridge, she looked for landmarks and noticed two ocotillo shrubs flanking the trail. They were the only two octotillos around – or so she thought. She found them on her return and started heading back. Then she noticed or rather did not notice any footprints in the sandy trail ahead of her. She was on the wrong trail.

After some backtracking and much debate with herself, she decided to continue on, hoping that this trail would lead her to the wash she crossed earlier. All the while, though, she kept looking to her right to see if there was another trail because she had a strong feeling that she should be over there. Sure enough, she spotted the other trail across a wash and made her way to it. There she found her footprints.

All in all, she figures she hiked about four or five miles. She has a new app on her phone that counts steps and mileage (Striiv), but it must have stopped calculating when she was taking photos and only counted a portion of it. She was out for about an hour and a half.

I couldn’t pull in the over-the-air signal from the Phoenix NBC broadcast, so I went to the clubhouse and watched the Detroit Red Wings game on cable there. The Boston Bruins won and the series is now tied 1-1. That’s what you hope for in a playoff series when you have to start on the road. If you can split the first two games against the home team, you’re in pretty good shape heading back to your own home ice. We’ll see how this plays out. Boston had the most points of any NHL team during the regular season and will be tough to beat.

Yesterday I wrote about the permanent lots here available to Escapees members. Here’s another photo showing an improved lot with a house on it.

Permanent lot at North Ranch RV Park

Donna and I took an evening stroll through the park. The weather cooled after 6pm and the evening air was agreeable.

Sunset behind our site

We thought we would pull out of here today and make the 100-mile run to Kingman before continuing on to Lake Mead. Plans have a way of changing.

The weather forecast is calling for high winds tomorrow. Both Kingman and Lake Mead will have fierce winds. The forecast calls for 20mph wind here tomorrow. I think our best option is to stay put in Congress for two more nights.

Today, we’re thinking about taking a ride on the scooter back to Wickenburg. We can kick around downtown and have lunch there.

Bees and Bikes

Yesterday was a fairly quiet and lazy day for me. In the morning, I unloaded Donna’s bicycle from the trailer. This isn’t a good location for riding a road bicycle. The park is just off AZ89 on a straight, narrow stretch of two-lane highway with a 65mph speed limit. Too dangerous to be out there on a bicycle.

Donna rode laps of the park, zig-zagging her way through the streets. The North Ranch RV Park has three distinct sections. One area has gravel sites for dry camping. The problem with dry camping here is that generator use is banned. If you have a sufficient solar system, it’s not an issue. It wouldn’t work for us though. The next area is full hook-ups for RVs. It’s also on gravel and that’s where we are. The largest section of the park consists of privately owned lots on paved roads. You have to be an Escapees member to buy a lot.

People do different things with their lots. Some are just covered with gravel and have RV hook-ups. Some are landscaped with concrete pads and hook-ups. Most of them have a structure of some type on them. It may be a small storage shed or garage. In some cases they have built small houses on the lot.

A private lot in North Ranch with a small dwelling and million-dollar Newell motorcoach

After lunch, we rode the scooter up AZ89 to the small town of Congress. There isn’t much there – an antique store, gas station, Dollar Plus store. As we were bombing along on the scooter, a bee bounced off of my right bicep. He left his stinger behind. I pulled the stinger out as we rode into town. We cruised through the back streets to see what else we could find. We saw a public library – would that be the Library of Congress? We stopped at the antique shop and poked around. They also sold ice cream. Donna had a cup of chocolate ice cream and I had a cone with rocky road ice cream.

Another five or six miles up the highway is the town of Yarnell. This is the site of a tragic wildfire. The fire started from a lightning strike on June 28, 2013. On June 30th, a team of 20 firefighters called the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew from nearby Prescott, Arizona, went in to fight the fire. The wind kicked up and the fire shifted, trapping 19 of the firefighters in a box canyon where they perished. There is a very good article describing the fire at this link. It’s written by Stacie Solie, the same author that wrote this comprehensive account of the devastating mudslide near Darrington, Washington.

I didn’t want to ride up the hill to Yarnell. The traffic moves too fast on AZ89. I wanted to come home and put Benadryl cream on the bee sting. We rode back home and went to the book exchange library. I dropped off a book I finished reading and picked out another one. Donna also found a book. We relaxed and read for the remainder of the afternoon.

Last night, I grilled garlic shrimp on skewers. Donna served it with zucchini sauteed with fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic, topped with parmesan cheese.

Grilled shrimp

Donna also baked an almond torte. Her sister, Linda, sent her the recipe. It was the first time she baked in the convection oven. The torte was delicious.

Almond torte

Donna is going to make chili in the slow cooker today – not exactly a traditional Easter dinner, but it sounds good to both of us. I want to watch the Formula One race and the Red Wings playoff game in Boston. This is problematic for me. Both telecasts are scheduled for 3PM EDT. The race is on NBCSP which I get on the Dish Network and the game is NBC local broadcast, which I get over the air. My current set-up doesn’t allow me to record. I need to buy another hard drive that I can format to allow Dish Network recording.

Meanwhile, it’s a beautiful morning here. It’s 68 degrees this morning. The weather guessers are forecasting a mostly sunny day with a high of 82 degrees.

Escapees

When we’re dry camped, move days are easier. You don’t have hoses and power cords to deal with. Preparing to leave Lake Pleasant was really easy since we didn’t drop the trailer. In the morning, Donna walked to the pool and swam laps. She showered at the resort before walking back. While she was out, I tidied up the trailer and loaded the scooter.

Donna already had most of the interior packing done before leaving for the pool. When she returned at 10:40 AM she only had a few things left to do. We had the slides in, jacks up and engine running for an 11:00 AM departure. We drove west about 20 miles on the Carefree Highway to its end at the junction with US60. We turned north on US60 and drove about 10 miles to the town of Wickenburg.

I used to make this drive at least once a month when we lived in Mesa. My job included technical support for the Volkswagen dealers in Las Vegas and this was the route I traveled to Las Vegas. We planned to stop at the grocery store in Wickenburg for a few supplies. We came through the outskirts of town and it was mostly the same as I remembered it. Before we reached the old downtown area, where the grocery store is, there was a roundabout. This was new to me. The roundabout is the junction of US60 and US93. I turned out of the roundabout on US93, then I realized this was a bypass of the town.

A few miles up the road, there was another roundabout. I circled around there and returned to town. Finding parking for our rig downtown wasn’t easy. The Basha’s grocery store lot didn’t have room. We drove around the block and pulled up parallel to the curb over several diagonal parking spaces. We weren’t legally parked, but I thought we would be okay if we didn’t stay too long. We were next to a small park and noticed a sign for public restrooms. Donna and I decided a quick comfort stop was in order.

When we entered the building, I realized it was the City Hall and police station. I went into the police station and told the officer at the counter that I had parked my motorhome along the curb, but would only be there for a few minutes. He gave me the okey-doke and we walked over to the grocery store.

Donna bought mostly produce, but we also had a few heavy items. We stocked up on drinking water, beer and wine. We took the grocery cart across the street, past the police station to our coach. I quickly unloaded the cart and wheeled it back to the Basha’s store. While I was doing that, Donna made turkey-avocado wraps for lunch.

We got back on US93 north and drove another 10 miles or so to the junction of AZ89. We turned right there and drove another five miles to the North Ranch Escapees RV Park. The Escapees are an RV organization that offers many services to its members. They operate 19 RV parks across the country. Eight of the RV parks are what they call Rainbow Parks. Rainbow Parks allow non-members to stay and offer discounted rates to members. The remaining 11parks are called SKP Co-ops. You must be a member of Escapees to stay in an SKP Co-op.

We arrived at the park at 12:40PM. They close the office for lunch from noon to 1PM, so we had twenty minutes to kill. We walked into the RV park to look around. I saw an Alpine Coach! We haven’t run across too many of these on our travels, I think we’ve only seen one other and that was at Usery Park. We walked down to take a look and met the owner, Dave. Dave is from Portland, Oregon and has owned his 2005 Alpine Coach 40 FDTS since new. Actually, it had about 6,000 miles on it when he bought it. Western RV was using it as a show coach for various RV shows around the country. Dave bought it on his birthday at the Portland RV show. Dave is very enthusiastic about Alpine Coaches. He told us there were three more here in the park.

When we checked in, I joined the Escapees. We paid for three nights here. As a member, the rate for three nights with full hook-ups and tax was $60. Add that to $44 we paid for four nights at Lake Pleasant Harbor and another $22 for generator fuel and that comes to a the total of $126. That’s $18 per day for the last 7 days. Not bad.

We had to drop the trailer at our site before I backed the coach in. It took a bit of maneuvering to get things where I wanted them. While I was backing the trailer into place, the coach was blocking the road. A fire engine approached with lights flashing. Before I could move, he swung into our site and went around behind me. Quick thinking and a good move by the driver of the fire engine. Apparently someone had a medical emergency down the street from our site.

It was cloudy outside as we set up. The wind picked up and it was cool – about 75 degrees. Once we were set up, Donna wanted us to take a get-acquainted ride around the park on the scooter. Before I could unload the scooter, rain drops were falling. It wasn’t much of a shower. We waited a few minutes, then I unloaded the scooter.

We took a ride around the park and saw two of the Alpine Coaches Dave told us about. I didn’t see the third one.

When we returned, I tuned the Dish Network satellite in and found the Detroit Red Wings playoff game against the Boston Bruins. It was a tough game with great goal tending on both sides. In the end, Detroit prevailed 1-0. They play in Boston again tomorrow. The park has an Easter lunch scheduled at the club house, but I think I’ll stay home and watch the Formula One race and The Red Wings hockey game.

Last night Donna whipped up Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs. I’ve really come to like the boneless chicken thighs. The Asian glaze was spicy and very tasty.

Asian glazed chicken thighs

Although our present site is only about 50 miles away from Lake Pleasant, the elevation of 2,900 feet is higher here. The temperature here should be a little cooler.

Today, Donna will bike around the park. I want to take the scooter into the little town of Congress and poke around.

No Accessories

I started the day yesterday with a hearty breakfast. Donna made an omelette for me in her Pampered Chef microwave egg cooker. The omelette consisted of two eggs, grilled asparagus, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan cheese. She served it with fresh tomato wedges. Add a cup of coffee and my day was off to a great start.

Breakfast is served

Donna worked for awhile after breakfast while I wrote my post. Then we went down to the marina. We rented a two-seat kayak and paddled through the coves near our boondocking spot. We had fun on the water, but when you rent by the hour you have to be mindful of the time. This is distracting to me. I see a Sea Eagle kayak in our future.

Donna in front of the kayak on Lake Pleasant

We had lunch at the picnic table and our chipmunk friend joined us again. I know I shouldn’t feed wild animals, but he was so cute, I couldn’t help it. I gave him some of the whole wheat tortilla wrap I had for lunch.

The afternoon heated up. The temperature was in the low 90s. We went down to the pool. Donna took a dip in the pool, then we used the shower facilities. When we returned, I wanted to turn on the air conditioners. Before I did that, I checked the oil level on our Onan 7.5-kilowatt diesel generator. Our generator is mounted on rails at the front of the coach. To access the generator, the hydraulically actuated rails slide the front panel and generator out.

Generator access (file photo)

To operate the generator slide, the ignition switch must be in the accessory position to power the HWH hydraulic pump. After I checked the oil, I pushed the button to pull the generator slide back in. Nothing happened. The control panel for the HWH hydraulic pump wasn’t powered up. I went back outside and looked to see if any wire connectors pulled loose when the generator was moved out. I didn’t see anything out of place.

I came back inside and tried the blower fan. It didn’t have power either. This meant the problem was in the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, not the HWH control panel. I tried switching the key from off to the accessory position a few times. Nothing changed. I thought about it for a minute and realized I should hear a relay click when I go to the accessory position.

I pulled the kick panel off in front of the co-pilot seat. Western RV did us a big favor when they built Alpine Coaches. They labeled the wiring, relays, fuses and solenoids. With the panel off, I could see the large silver solenoid marked “Accessory Solenoid.” Sometimes solenoids can stick and don’t create the electrical contact they should. I gave the solenoid a tap with a screwdriver handle and turned the key again. Bingo! The panel lit up and I pulled the generator slide in.

Accessory solenoid at the bottom center

The park is filling up with campers here for the Easter weekend. Even our dry camping spot on the bluff has new arrivals. By evening, we had five new trailers pull in. I think today is a good day for us to move on.

Last night we claimed the picnic table and grilled teriyaki pork kabobs for dinner.

Kabobs on the grill

Teriyaki pork kabob with brown rice

One of our neighbors came over and chatted with us for awhile at the picnic table. I almost missed getting a shot of the sunset over the lake. We won’t see this view again until next year.

Sunset over the lake

We’re heading out this morning. I think we’ll stop and pick up a few groceries in Wickenburg, then continue on towards Congress and the Escapees RV Park.

Scorpion Bay

Yesterday, Donna started her day with what turned out to be about a 6-mile hike. She followed the dirt road down from the bluff to the water. The road wrapped around to the boat launch behind the point of the bluff where we are dry camped. She saw a dirt road leading up from the water on the other side of the boat launch ramp and decided to bushwack her way across a rocky slope to get to it.

This trail ended after about a quarter of a mile at the water’s edge of a cove. She saw a small building at the end of a peninsula and figured she would set her sights on getting there to check it out, which meant more scrambling along the shore. She remembered seeing what she thought was a dirt road along the peninsula and looking up from the water’s edge, thought she saw what could be that road. More bushwacking took her up to what was not a dirt road, but a wide trail that she followed. It was a marked trail, well-used by hikers and horseback riders, which she later learned is called the Honeymoon Cove Trail. This trail meandered along the peninsula with sweeping vistas of the lake and the occasional informational placard. It looped around the peninsula and on the return trip, she noticed several large buildings up in the hills. She followed the trail toward the buildings and found its origin. It was the Maricopa County Outdoor Desert Center. A man and a woman were sitting on bench outside the building. When Donna approached, the woman asked, “Can I help you?”

She told Donna the center was open for use by reservation only. This is due to the fact that it’s mostly used for school field trips. Children are bussed from schools in the greater Phoenix area to learn about the desert they live in. The woman added that many children don’t even realize they live in a desert! Adults have to make a reservation to enter the center. This is for the protection of the children. It’s sad, but true. Donna was basically trespassing.

She had been out for about an hour and a half at that point. She called to tell me she had wandered farther than she expected and it would take another 30 minutes to return. She had tired legs and quite a story when she got back. She took a lot of photographs with her cell phone, but unfortunately, can’t get them to download because she doesn’t have a good cell signal.

We ate lunch outside at the covered picnic table. Our chipmunk friend didn’t join us this time. After lunch, I was feeling a little restless and suggested a scooter ride to look around the area outside of Pleasant Harbor.

As we were leaving, Donna suggested that we follow the road she hiked down to the edge of the water. As soon as I started down the road, I knew it wasn’t the best idea. This is a scooter made for pavement – not a motocross bike. We went down a steep, rocky hill to the lake. I stopped and took a picture, looking west to Scorpion Bay on the other side of the lake. If you look closely, you can see the marina just to the left of center in the photograph. As always, clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

Looking across the lake to Scorpion Bay

Getting back onto the road from the edge of the lake was challenging. We had to climb a steep hill which was a mixture of hard packed rocky surfaces and soft sand. The back wheel was spinning as we fishtailed our way up. We made it without incident, but I have to admit there were a few dicey moments on the way up.

We went out the gate, onto the road. I wanted to find a way to cross the dam and see the Lake Pleasant Regional Park on the other side. The dam isn’t accessible though. The road is closed and it’s fenced off. We took the long way around, riding down to the Carefree Highway, then headed west for a few miles before turning on to the road to the park.

There are wild burros in the area, but the only signs we saw of them were on the side of the road.

Watch for wild burros - this and a few droppings were the only sign we saw

Watch for wild burros – this and a few droppings were the only signs we saw

The road to the park winds along for five miles or so before you find the actual park entrance. Day use of the park costs six dollars for entry. We sweet talked our way in, telling the gate attendant we just wanted to take a ride through and see if it was suitable for a big rig motorhome. She gave us a 30-minute guest pass.

We pulled over to take in the view and shoot a photo or two on the way in to the Scorpion Bay Marina.

Looking south towards the dam from a high vista point

The park has a 10-lane boat ramp on the south side and a smaller four-lane ramp to the north. The marina sits below a bluff with a parking area. You have to climb down a stairway to access the marina. There’s a restaurant called Dillon’s there that we heard was good. There’s also a convenience store.

Scorpion Bay Marina

We didn’t walk down to the marina. We only had 30 minutes and wanted to check out the campgrounds. We looked around and took a few pictures.

Looking north from Scorpion Bay

Looking east from Scorpion Bay – you can see Pleasant Harbor Marina just left of center

We rode through the Desert Tortoise camp sites. I didn’t see any sites that were appealing for our 40-foot rig and trailer. The area is nice, but the sites are too small for us. Many of the sites weren’t level. We didn’t go out to the Roadrunner Campground. If there were big enough sites, this would be a great place to visit and hike around the area. We were told that most weekends are booked six months in advance though.

When we returned, I dropped Donna off at the pool. She had her bathing suit on under her shirt and shorts. I came back to our motorhome and picked up our toiletry bags, towels and clean clothes. We showered down at the resort. While I was enjoying a hot shower, a thought occurred to me. I was wondering why our house battery bank goes down so quickly when we use the inverter. I have to run the generator twice a day to recharge the battery bank.

The hot shower had me thinking, what if the hot water heater is running off of the inverter? It didn’t make sense to me to have it wired that way, but what if? When we came home, I checked the hot water. Sure enough, it was heated by 120V AC power off of the inverter. Heating elements can draw a lot of current. I tripped the breaker for the hot water heater so it wouldn’t be drawing from the inverter. It didn’t make sense to me to wire it this way. I checked the wiring schematic to see if something was wrong, but the schematic shows it is wired correctly with a feed from the inverter.

From now on, when we dry camp, I’ll trip the circuit breaker for the water heater. If we need hot water, we can turn on the propane switch and have hot water in about ten minutes.

Donna fixed blackened tilapia Baja fish tacos for dinner. She said it’s a simple recipe. I said it was delicious!

Blackened tilapia fish tacos

Today, we’ll rent a kayak and continue to explore.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Arizona

Cactus Garden

Lonesome Saguaro

Stuff in the Desert

Blowin’ in the Wind

Vulture Mine Shortcut

Delay in Congress

Bees and Bikes

Escapees

No Accessories

Scorpion Bay

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