Category Archives: Beer

Registration Blocked by DMV

The registration for our coach and Spyder expire at the end of June. I wanted to renew early as it takes about 10 days for the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue the license plate tabs which are then mailed to our service (MyDakotaAddress) in Madison, South Dakota. From there, they’ll have to be forwarded to us. I thought if I renewed online now, I could have the tabs in hand while we’re in Portland at the end of June.

I went to the website to renew. I kept getting an error message when I tried to renew the coach registration. I tried to renew the Spyder and it went to the shopping cart with no problem. I tried the coach again for the umpteenth time and got the error message telling me to contact the DMV. When I clicked on the contact link, I got another error telling me the page couldn’t be opened!

I phoned Terri Lund at MyDakotaAddress and asked her to help me. She asked for the title number of the coach and said she would contact the DMV on my behalf. A few minutes later, she called me back. She said the reason I was getting the error is because the DMV had the coach registration blocked! On the South Dakota DMV website, there is a message center which is accessible after you login. I had a message in my inbox dating back from 2014 saying I needed to provide documentation of the gross vehicle weight. The message was more than two years old – I never looked at my inbox on this site and I had no trouble renewing last year.

I asked Terri what I needed to do. She told me to take a photo of the weight label behind one of the kitchen cabinet doors and e-mail it to her. I found the label and sent it – she printed it and took it to the DMV for me. She said I should be able to renew once the system is updated in a few days. She provides such a great service – not only with our mail but anytime we need help with things like this.

Weight label

I was hoping to receive the new ignition wires for the Spyder Thursday morning. With rain in the forecast, I wanted to replace them while it was dry out. No such luck – the Priority Mail package didn’t arrive.

Spyder ready for rain

On Thursday night, we watched a movie on our hard drive – The Revenant. I think my expectations were a little too high – I’d heard so much hype about this movie. I was a little disappointed but Donna really enjoyed it.

Donna made roasted chicken thighs with lemon, tarragon and fennel. She served it with risotto and green beans. Delicious.

Roasted chicken thighs with lemon, terragon and fennel

Roasted chicken thighs with lemon, tarragon and fennel

The rain came earlier than forecast and it was raining shortly after dinner. The outside temperature also dropped considerably. We had the heat pumps running. When it gets cold, Ozark likes nothing better than to snuggle up.

Ozark snuggling with Donna and staying warm

It rained all night with the temperature dropping down to 40 degrees. The rain and cooler temperatures continued on Friday. We had a few breaks in the rain, but more often than not, it was raining. The snow level dropped to about 5,000 feet and we could see fresh snow on the hilltops around us – we’re at about 4,200 feet.

Once again, the mail delivery Friday didn’t include a Priority Mail package for me. This is worrisome. We will pull out of here on Monday. If it doesn’t come today, I can hang around here Monday morning until the mail arrives – which is usually between 9 and 11am. Then we’ll have to move on. I e-mailed the shipper and he said the tracking shows it out for delivery – but he didn’t provide a tracking number for me to use.

We spent the entire day indoors. I read a book while Donna wrote an article. I changed the strings on my guitar and practiced a bit. I watched two motorcycle races that I had on the DVR. Donna had a sausage with white bean and spinach stew in the slow cooker all day. Nothing like the aroma of a stew cooking on a rainy day.

Sausage and white bean with spinach stew covered with fresh grated parmesan cheese

I paired it with a local brew – Fall River Pittville porter. The porter was very good with hints of chocolate and coffee.

Fall River Pittville porter

Donna received a package from a PR firm she writes for. They sent a device called Force of Nature, a new approach to cleaning that takes salt, vinegar and water and electrolyzes it, turning it into a cleaning solution containing sodium hydroxide (0.2%) – this is a common cleaning compound called lye – and hypochloric acid, a disinfectant. They claim it will kill 99.99% of germs. You put the pre-measured packet of salt and vinegar into the device and add water. Plug it in and turn it on – five minutes later you have the cleaning product. The kit included a heavy-duty sprayer. The solution is good for up to 14 days. Donna will try it out in the coach.

Force of Nature

Last night, we watched another highly acclaimed movie – The Martian. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I know we’re a little behind the times on movie releases. We rarely go to the theater and don’t see many first runs of movies. A good film is still good later though, right?

I mentioned that the rain came earlier than forecast and it appears to have stopped earlier too. We have cloudy skies, but it’s cool and dry. The temperature will only reach the low 50s today but the weather guessers say there’s only a 15 to 20% chance of rain.

Lake Almanor

On Wednesday morning after I posted, I got Donna’s bicycle out of the trailer and pumped up the tires. We mapped out a route that would take her on the paved bike path up Skyline Road, then down into town on Paul Bunyan Road to Ash where she could pick up the Susan River Trail. The ride involved some climbing but it wasn’t as long as she anticipated – the total distance was only 11 miles and that included exploring some streets in a development across from Diamond Mountain Casino. Here are a couple of photos from her ride.

Paved path on Skyline

Waterfall on Susan River

After her ride, we had a snack and prepared to head out on the Spyder. We wanted to check out Westwood, an old mill town about 20 miles west of here. We also wanted to get a look at Lake Almanor. We thought we could have a proper lunch near the lake.

We headed west out of Susanville on CA36, which immediately climbs for two miles outside of town. The road surface is great. It becomes a two-lane highway with passing lanes on the inclines. It cuts through the Lassen National Forest. We topped out at Fredonyer Pass over 5,700 feet above sea level, then descended a few hundred feet into Westwood.

We went to the visitor center there and found it’s only open on Friday and Saturday at this time of year. We didn’t find any suitable eateries in the small town – the population is about 1,700.

We rode out of town through pine forest on the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. This took us to Lake Almanor – which is actually a reservoir created when Canyon Dam was built on the north fork of the Feather River in 1914. The lake is surrounded by private properties – rustic cabins, huge summer homes and resort cottages. There’s very little public access.

The area reminded me of Big Bear Lake in southern California near San Bernadino with the mountains and pine trees. The difference is the amount of tourism. Big Bear feeds off the huge southern California population and also has a winter ski area, so it’s always bustling with activity. Lake Almanor, not so much. The biggest draw is fishing on the lake for rainbow trout, brown trout and small mouth bass.

We found a couple of RV parks on the lake. One was gated and we couldn’t enter but the second one was open so we rode in and parked. The sites were laid out in such a way that I couldn’t figure out how they even got their rigs in there. Most of the sites had fifth-wheel trailers that looked to be permanent or semi-permanent set-ups.

Cove on Lake Almanor

Another view of the lake from the RV park

Another view of the lake from Big Cove RV park

The little villages on the north shore of the lake were sleepy. I guess the season doesn’t really start here until after Memorial Day. Most of the restaurants were closed. With so little of the lake shore accessible, we decided to head back to Susanville for a late lunch.

We stopped at the Pioneer Cafe – home of Lassen Ale Works where we had the fried mushrooms the day before. I had fish and chips while Donna went for a bowl of chicken noodle florentine soup with a small pub salad. The food at this place is excellent. The batter on the cod I had was perfect – paper thin with a toughness that held the fish together without being crunchy. Donna’s soup was loaded with chunks of chicken, carrots, celery and spinach noodles and she said it was terrific. She asked for blue cheese dressing on her salad – all of the dressings and sauces are made fresh in the kitchen. Her dressing seemed to be laced with fennel while the tartar sauce that came with my fish and chips featured capers.

I had the Lassen Ale Works ESB (Extra Special Bitter) – a British-style ale – that was tapped with nitrogen. The nitrogen gives it a creamy head and it was a delight.

Lassen Ale Works ESB

Those who read this blog regularly know I try to keep it up to date at least four or five days a week. One blog I follow (What’s Newell) written by Clarke Hochwald is updated every day. It’s rare for Clarke to miss a post. I’ve only met Clarke once briefly in a Walmart parking lot in Yreka, California. But after following his blog for over three years, I feel like I know him. That’s how the RV community is among bloggers – we know what our fellow travelers are up to and enjoy following them.

I noticed Clarke didn’t post yesterday. Last night, I checked his site again and no update. This was odd. I sent him an e-mail asking if he was okay. He responded and said he wrote his post but somehow forgot to post it! I didn’t mean to be nosy or be a blog stalker – RVers tend to watch out for each other and I wanted to make sure he was alright.

We’re expecting another fine day today with the temperature reaching 70 and a slight chance of a shower this afternoon. I’m hoping the new spark plug wires for the Spyder show up. The forecast says rain will come overnight and it’ll be rainy for a couple of days. I’d like to get the work done on the Spyder before the rain hits.

Bizz Johnson Trail

The weather here in Susanville, California was near perfect yesterday. The afternoon temperature reached the low 70s with light winds and a nearly cloudless sky. Susanville is located in a basin between the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains at an elevation of about 4,200 feet. It’s the Lassen County seat and has a population of around 17,500 people. Susanville was named after Susan Roop – the daughter of an early settler by the name of Isaac Roop – in 1857.

The town was served by the Southern Pacific Railroad on the Fernley and Lassen line. In 1978, Southern Pacific received permission to abandon the line. Former Congressman Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson was instrumental in transforming the Fernley and Lassen branch into a rails-to-trails conversion. The trail is called the Bizz Johnson Trail and runs 30 miles between Susanville and Westwood.

The trail starts at around 4,200 feet above sea level and climbs to about 5,500 feet at Westwood. Donna and I went out to hike a few miles on the trail yesterday. It was an easy and enjoyable hike in the afternoon sunshine. Over its full length, the trail crosses the Susan River 12 times over bridges and trestles. We crossed it three times. It’s very scenic.

The trail follows the Susan River canyon with steep, rocky cliffs to the north and pine forest hills to the south. The only wildlife we encountered were lizards in the rocks, ground squirrels and a variety of birds – including a bright orange and black Bullock’s Oriole.

Bizz Johnson Trail

Susan River below the trail grade

Rocky bluff on the north side

Pine trees and sub-alpine meadow

After our hike, we rode the Spyder to the old downtown area. We wanted to check out the local brewery – Lassen Ale Works at the old Pioneer Saloon. First we stopped next door at Maggie’s Book Nook. This is a book store selling new and used books. There were books of every genre stacked on shelves along the wall, on tables and even stacked on the floor. It could take hours of searching, but I’m sure there are a few gems to be found. I picked up two fictional thrillers and Chris Kyle’s autobiography – American Sniper. Donna found a couple of books as well. Five books cost a grand total of $21.50!

In the saloon, Donna ordered an Devil’s Corral Imperial stout and I had the Volcanic Double IPA. These are tasty albeit strong beers. Much better than the local brew at Mt. Diamond brewery. We ordered Bizz Johnson beer-battered deep-fried mushrooms which I paired with a Belgian style dubbel while Donna went for the Thompson Peak Pilsner. The mushrooms were outstanding.

We came home and had a quiet evening. Donna made blackedned fish tacos for dinner. Then we watched an episode of The Night Manager. Next week will be the finale of this six-episode mini-series.

Today the forecast calls for warmer weather with the temperature reaching the 80s. We want to take advantage of the nice weather and ride the Spyder up to Westwood and Lake Almanor today. The weather can take sudden turns in the mountains and now the weather guessers are calling for much cooler temperatures and rain over the weekend. We can chase the sun, but there are no guarantees!

Plan A, Plan B, Plan C

Donna was back for our last weekend in Sparks. On Saturday morning, she went for a run around the Marina Park Lake. She said she struggled and afterwards, she felt whipped – no doubt from a full day of air travel on Friday. Traveling on airlines always leaves you a bit dehydrated and jet lag doesn’t help. Of course, with Donna back I was treated to a much better dining experience – not just the company, but the great meals she prepares.

On Saturday night, she made tortilla crusted tilapia with pico de gallo and sauteed veggies on the side. Absolutely delicious. We buy only fresh tilapia farmed in Mexico or Central America, not the Chinese or Indonesian frozen fish as farming practices there are a bit scary based on what we’ve read.

Tortilla crusted tilapia with pico de gallo and sauteed veggies

I started Sunday by watching the Formula 1 race from Barcelona, Spain. It turned out to be one of the most entertaining F1 races in recent memory. The odds-on favorites from the Mercedes team, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, collided going into turn four and were out of the race. In my opinion, Nico took a defensive line, which is expected, but Hamilton thought he could barge past since he had greater speed on the exit of turn three. He should have backed off. Instead he went into the grass, got sideways and took both cars out. From there it was all about young Max Verstappen. The 18-year-old became the youngest Formula 1 winner – his father Jos Verstappen was a Formula one racer as well.

I also recorded a few motorcycle races – World Superbike and Moto-America races. I’m loving the coverage of motorcycle racing on BeIn Sports. They show the races without commercial interruption.

I didn’t watch the motorcycle races right away, I had to figure out our next move. I thought I had a plan. We ditched our initial thought of heading to Lake Tahoe due to the wet and cold forecast for the coming week. Then I found what looks to be a great RV park at the Expo grounds in Sacramento, located on the Sacramento River with long pull-through, full hook-up sites and miles of paved bike trails right outside the park. I sent an e-mail inquiry. Unfortunately, due to the dirt track mile motorcycle races next weekend and the county fair over Memorial Day weekend, they only had a couple of nights open.

So, plan A and plan B fell through. After some searching, we decided to head up to Susanville for a week, then on to Corning, California for 10 days. The weather forecast looks favorable and Susanville has an RV park that looked good. In Corning, we thought the RV park at Rolling Hills Casino would work – long pull-through sites and not likely to be booked over Memorial Day. I made phone calls and we’re set. This will position us nicely for our reservation in Bend, Oregon beginning June 4th.

Donna made a spiced pork tenderloin with maple-chipotle sauce. She served it with smashed garlic red potatoes and steamed broccoli. Once again, I’m feasting like a king.

Pork tenderloin with maple-chipolte sauce

We finished the day by watching a movie recorded on our hard drive. It was Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks. The pace of the movie was slow and it was less than we expected – Donna said she had all she could do to keep her eyes open as the movie dragged on.

On Monday morning, we prepared to leave Sparks Marina RV Park. We had everything done and were rolling by 9:30am. On the way out, Donna remarked how much she liked the place and how they do things right here. The park has wide lanes making it easy to maneuver. It’s exceptionally clean and well-maintained. The picnic tables are well constructed and set up with a metal plate to have a small barbeque like a Weber Q on one end. We’ll remember this place next time we come through the area.

Our Route took us up US395. US395 starts out sharing the I-580 designation in Reno and is three or four lanes wide through the metro Reno/Sparks area. It climbs out of the valley immediately with fairly steep grades. Traffic quickly thins out and it becomes a divided highway with two lanes in each direction, then merges into a two-lane highway. It rolls up and down hills with passing lanes on the steeper grades. Before long we crossed the state line and we’re back in California.

It was an easy drive – very scenic with the eastern Sierra Nevada range on our left and a wide valley on our right. We stopped at the Honey Lake rest area (map). It’s a relatively small rest area, but has a nice view and several information kiosks describing the geology, flora and fauna of the area.

View of Honey Lake from the rest area

After walking around the rest area, we continued on to Susanville, California and the Susanville RV Park. When I made the reservation, I was told we would have a 65′ pull-through site. At check-in, the woman at the counter looked at our rig out the window and said,”You know you have a 65′ site.” I told her as long it was really 65′ we should be fine. She went on to say it was not permissible to overhang the site into the street due to it being a fire lane.

I was wondering if this would be like the “65-foot” site in Sparks that was too short for our 64′ 9″ length. We pulled into site 63 and Donna directed me. After a couple of adjustments back and forth, I had us in – barely.

Mirror technically extends past site boundary – but we’re in

Back of trailer right on the line

Our 65′ site

After settling in, we took a ride through town to have a look. We stopped at the Lassen Brewery to wet our whistle, but they don’t open until 4pm on Mondays and it was only 2:30pm. We rode around some more and then headed over to the new Mt. Diamond Brew Pub in the Mt. Diamond Casino. I had an IPA and Donna ordered the Kolsch. We were both disappointed in the quality of the brews and being in a casino means cigarette smoke. We won’t bother stopping there again.

We hit the sack around 10pm. It’s very quiet here and I slept soundly – the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while. The forecast for the next few days looks good – we’re expecting high temperatures in the 70s and 80s. We plan to take advantage of the weather and the area by hiking some of the trails nearby.

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, 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!

Sparks in Sparks

After writing yesterday’s post I set to work on the Spyder. I pulled the center side panels and the top body panel off. With the tupperware out of the way, I removed the two-piece airbox assembly. This gave me an unobstructed view of the throttle body and all vacuum hoses, the idle air control valve (IACV) and the spark plug leads.

Airbox assembly removed

I started the engine and checked the IACV operation. It worked fine and I didn’t find any vacuum leaks. As the engine warmed up to temperature, I realized it wasn’t misfiring. This puzzled me as I hadn’t fixed anything. I let the engine run for several minutes and it was perfect.

I shut the engine off and reinstalled the lower half of the airbox. Then I started the engine again. After a minute or so, it began to misfire. I turned it off and looked things over. What changed when I installed the lower airbox? I saw two things – the fuel line to the injectors was pushed against the cylinder block and likewise, the front spark plug high voltage lead was pushed to the block.

I started the engine again and put my head down near the front cylinder. When it misfired, I could hear the snapping sound of a spark arcing. I shut the engine off and re-positioned the front spark plug lead. I started the engine again it didn’t misfire. Apparently when the high voltage spark plug lead was pushed against the cylinder block, a voltage leak developed and it would jump to ground on the block, thus the spark plug wouldn’t spark when this happened. Positioning the lead away from the block made it too big of a gap for the voltage to jump – it was easier to bridge the gap at the spark plug. Electricity, like water, will follow the path of least resistance.

So the guys on the Spyder Lovers forum who pointed to the high voltage spark plug wires as the issue were correct. I still don’t understand why the lead would short to ground only at idle and initial throttle opening. In theory, the problem should worsen as the throttle is opened. Sometimes hands-on experience with a certain issue beats all the book knowledge and theory. When we get to a place where I can receive packages I’ll order a new set of plug wires.

After I put all of the tupperware back in place, I went for a test ride. The engine ran smooth and never missed a beat. I rode over to Smith’s grocery where I found a beer that I hadn’t tried before last weekend. It’s Innis and Gunn Scottish beer aged in oak barrels.

Innis and Gunn oak aged beer

The label on calls it Scottish beer, not ale. Looking at their website, I found very little information. I don’t know if it’s fermented with ale yeast or lager yeast. I discovered on their website that some of their beers are oak flavored with a process they call an oakerator. This unit forces the beer through a vessel filled with oak chips. The beer I bought says it’s aged in an oak barrel for 77 days.

This beer has a unique flavor and I found subtle differences among bottles with the same label. I really liked it and I wanted to buy a few more bottles. I don’t recall ever seeing this beer before – I’ll probably stock up with a few more bottles before we leave on Monday.

Donna’s flight home from Albany, New York left on time. She had a short layover in Las Vegas before making the final hop to Reno/Tahoe airport. She sent me a text when she was in a cab leaving the airport. I went online and ordered a pizza from Roundtable Pizza right away. The pizza was delivered shortly after she got home.

We sat at the table and talked while we ate. I have to admit I’d ordered a pizza last weekend as well. When Donna is away, pizza is a good option. We watched an episode of The Night Manager, then we had a brief discussion on where we’re going when we leave here. We’re still undecided.

We’ve ruled out Lake Tahoe as the night time temperatures are forecast to be below freezing. We’d rather be somewhere warmer. We aren’t booked anywhere until we reach Bend, Oregon on June 4th, giving us nearly three weeks to fill.

Today we plan to go grocery shopping to restock the larders and look at places to stay when we leave here.

Sitting Tight in Vegas

After another quiet night at the Kingman Elks lodge, we woke up early on Wednesday. Donna finished writing an article that was due. Then we rode the Spyder up Stockton Hill Road. After a mile or so, Stockton Hill Road becomes Hualapai Mountain Road. The road goes uphill as you head east, rapidly climbing to 5,000 feet above sea level at the Hualapai Mountain Park ranger station. The peaks in the park reach elevations greater than 8,400 feet. Hualapai (pronounced wah-lah-pie) is the name of an Indian tribe. It means “People of the Pines.”

Hualapai Mountain Park

We rode to the resort – it’s a small hotel, restaurant and store popular with ATVers.

Motorcycle parking

We went into the restaurant for lunch.

Donna in front of the restaurant

It’s a typical rustic setting with tables mostly set for parties of four. There’s also a bar and patio. It was larger inside than it looked from the entry. Donna had half a grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and a bowl of minestrone soup. I had the chili burger which was real man food. It was a ground beef patty covered with chili, smothered with cheese. The chili had chunks of beef and beans – lots of protein.

We took a look around but didn’t hike anywhere. There are a number of hiking trails in the park, but after a big lunch we weren’t up for it. The views coming down Hualapai Mountain Road were spectacular. On the way home, we reconnoitered the Super Walmart parking lot. We thought about stopping there on our way out of town to pick up groceries. However, the entry/exit was narrow and I decided it was too risky to try to get in there with the coach and trailer. The truck entrance led to a loading dock – not a place for us to park. We went back to the Elks Lodge and I loaded the Spyder in the trailer.

Later we popped in to the Elks Lodge for a cold one at happy hour, then returned to the coach to prepare dinner. Donna made yet another version of lemon-butter chicken – this one with chicken breasts instead of thighs.

Lemon-butter chicken breasts with roasted zucchini and tomatoes

She served it over leftover herbed brown rice and roasted zucchini and tomatoes. Yummy!

It rained overnight. On Thursday morning, we had a few sprinkles as I prepared to move. Donna went for a short run and did some exercises, then we finished packing up. We pulled out of the Kingman Elks Lodge a few minutes after 10am.

I expected rain on the way out of town. Heading up US93, I figured we would put the rain behind us after thirty miles or so. This turned out to be the case – and the forecast called for 0% chance of rain in Las Vegas.

Google maps and our GPS showed a route to the Thousand Trails Las Vegas RV Resort that took us up US93 until it becomes I-515. Then we would exit onto Boulder Highway and backtrack south, make a U-turn and enter the park. This may be the fastest route, but I wasn’t too keen to try it. The exit from I-515 onto Boulder Highway south requires a sharp right turn of about 135 degrees. Also, making a U-turn isn’t advisable with our overall length.

I modified the route to exit I-515 at Tropicana so I could make an easy 90-degree turn to the right. Then I turned left on Nellis taking me north. Nellis intersects Boulder Highway, which is a diagonal road compared to the north/south – east/west grid of the other major roads in the area. It was a gentle left turn of about 45 degrees onto Boulder Highway.

With our overall length of nearly 65 feet now, it pays to take a few minutes to study a map and plan for alternate routes. We could easily find ourselves in a bad situation otherwise. We pulled in to the RV park just after noon. The girl at the security station told me the biggest site they had available was 55 feet long and 24 feet wide. I said it sounded big enough for me to drop the trailer and park the motorhome next to it.

Once we were in the park, I could see we had our work cut out for us. The roads in the park are narrow, the sites are tightly packed together and I have my doubts about the 24-foot site width. We found site 34 and Donna and I talked over our plan for getting the trailer in it. With the narrow road, I was limited on how much maneuvering I could do without hitting anything with the coach.

Donna stayed in the site at the rear of the trailer and directed me with her handheld Cobra CB radio. I was having problems at the front of the coach. There were a couple of vehicles on the opposite side of the road. As I backed the trailer in, I had to swing the front of the coach to the right, toward the vehicles. As I got close to the vehicles, they disappeared from sight as they are much lower than the front of the coach. A neighbor came over and started directing me from the front. With Donna at the back and another set of eyes at the front, I worked my way into the site. It took a few attempts to get the trailer positioned where I wanted it.

We finally dropped the trailer, then I had to maneuver the coach into the site right next to the trailer. It took more than 35 minutes of jockeying back and forth to get the trailer and coach into the site. It’s tight. Our door clears the trailer with only a few inches to spare.

It’s a tight site – the yellow line marks the boundary

I got the Spyder out and made a quick beer run. I had a few raindrops on the way. I hurried back to coach as I could see heavy, dark clouds looming. At the park entrance, a car was stopped at the entrance barrier. The guy in the car stuck his head out the window and asked me if I knew the entry code. I said I knew the code, but I didn’t know him. He got out of his car and started yelling at me and cussing me out for not letting him in. A few big rain drops started falling. I punched in the code and told him to move his car. He kept yelling at me. Now it was really starting to rain. He finally got the message and got in his car and pulled through, letting me get into the park.

I got to our site and covered the Spyder just as the clouds really opened up and started pouring rain. So much for the 0% chance of rain in Las Vegas.

Donna made sweet and spicy salmon in the convection oven – last time I cooked it on the grill. It came out great. She served it with spinach sauteed with garlic oil and leftover Israeli couscous.

Sweet and spicy salmon with spinach and Israeli couscous

We had more rain into the night. We sat up and watched another recorded episode of The Americans that now brings us up to date with the live series. We expect a sunny day today with the temperature in the high 70s. Rain is forecast to return tomorrow, then we should have nice weather for the rest of our week in Las Vegas.

Tlaquepaque in Sedona

On Saturday morning, Donna and I went down to the pickleball courts here at Thousand Trails Verde Valley RV Resort and Campground. There are two pickleball courts by the pool area. The courts are open on three sides with a fence at the back of the court closest to the Verde River. No one was there. We hit a few balls back and forth and decided it was too windy to try a singles game.

We came home and decided to ride the Spyder to Sedona (map). Sedona is an upscale resort community about halfway from our current location to Flagstaff. The population of Sedona is around 10,000 and it sits at an elevation of about 4,500 feet above sea level. The area is known for its natural beauty with red rock formations surrounding the town and Oak Creek running through it. A number of festivals including a film festival and jazz festival are held at this popular tourist destination.

Our first stop was Tlaquepaque Village. Back in the 1970s, Sedona was a sleepy community consisting of mostly open range and a single stoplight. A Nevada businessman named Abe Miller started coming to Sedona for vacations. He had a vision of creating a village within the town patterned after small communities he’d seen in Mexico. He saw it as a place where artisans could create in view of the public and sell their work while living onsite as well.

He bought several acres of land and created Tlaquepaque. The name comes from the Mexican Nahuatl Native Indian language and means “the best of everything.” I don’t know much about the early years of Tlaquepaque, but today it’s an area filled with boutique shops and restaurants. Not exactly what Abe Miller envisioned, but a nice place to visit nonetheless.

Donna in front of the Oak Creek Brewery and Inn

Tlaquepaque fountain

Donna and I started at the Oak Creek Brewery and Inn. We had lunch and a cold one. I ordered a glass of porter – all the beer is brewed onsite. The porter they had available was a chocolate-cherry porter. It really wasn’t my cup of tea, but Donna liked it. So I gave it to her and ordered a glass of their nut brown ale. This went well with my brie-mushroom burger.

Chocolate-cherry porter at Oak Creek Brewery and Inn

After lunch, we spent the next hour walking through the various shops and then taking a stroll over the Oak Creek bridge to have a look around. The scenery is spectacular – my photos taken from town don’t do it justice.

Oak Creek from the highway 89A bridge

Colorful mesa seen from town

Red rock spires viewed from town

We stopped at an artist show on the side of the road near the south side of Sedona. It was mostly native Americans from Monument Valley, Utah. We looked over their wares and talked to a couple of interesting people. One was a guy who identified himself as a Navajo-Zuni from Monument Valley. He told us a few stories about the symbolism of the designs in the jewelry he created. The designs were traditional – some Zuni, some Navajo and some Hopi. He’s married to a Hopi. Like most Navajo people I’ve encountered, he was very soft spoken and I strained at times to hear what he was saying. Donna ended up buying a pair of turquoise earrings to go with the necklace she was wearing.

On Sunday morning, we decided to try our hand at pickleball again. We practiced a bit then started a singles game. While we were playing, a guy and his teenage son showed up and started hitting a ball on the other court. We invited them to join us for a doubles game. They were beginners, so we went over the rules and some basic strategy. Donna partnered with the son and I lined up with the dad. We split the first two games and Donna’s team won the rubber match. It was fun and we may have made more pickleball converts.

We met another couple there, Eddie and Carolyn. They play as well but weren’t dressed to play at the time. They’ve been to this park before and they said pickleball can be popular here with people waiting to get into a game. We talked to them for a while and learned about a few other Thousand Trails parks.

The rest of Sunday was pretty laid back. I booked us into the Thousand Trails park in Las Vegas for a week beginning next Thursday, April 28th. We made a run to Walmart to stock up on fresh veggies and beer. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching a great Moto GP race from Jerez, Spain and reading a book. Donna went out for a hike on the trails in the park.

On Sunday evening, Donna prepared a Moroccan spiced rack of lamb. I grilled it on the Weber Q – five minutes bone side down, then I flipped it and continue to grill for about 18 minutes until the internal temperature of the meatiest part was between 135 and 140 degrees. Donna served it with Israeli couscous and a stir fry of asparagus, mushrooms, peppers and leeks. A meal fit for a king!

Dinner fit for a king

This morning I’ll be loading the Spyder in the trailer, then I’ll do the usual dump and flush of the holding tanks and top up the fresh water while Donna secures the interior of the coach. Of course I’ll do another check of the trailer lug nuts and tire pressures all around. The rules of our Thousand Trails membership require us to stay out of TT parks for one week if we spend more than four consecutive nights. We have three nights to fill before we get to Vegas and we think we’ll play it by ear and boondock our way there. Our first stop will be a couple of miles outside the park where dispersed camping is allowed on National Forest land. We were planning to head up to Flagstaff but high wind advisories will keep us off the road today.

Breaks From the Routine

It’s been a fairly routine week here at Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona. That’s what happens when we stay in one location for an extended period of time – we fall into a routine. Donna plays pickleball with me on Monday, Wednesday and Friday – I play at least five days a week. On Tuesday and Thursday, Donna works out with a personal trainer. She also bicycles, runs or walks a few times a week, so we’re getting plenty of exercise.

On Mondays and Fridays, I hit happy hour at Red, White and Brew. On Thursdays, I have happy hour with the usual crew at Lucky Lou’s. Last Wednesday, we met my friend from our high school days, Andy King, and his wife Donna for sushi at Osaka Japanese Steakhouse. We each ordered our favorites a la carte from the sushi menu and sat and talked for about two hours. It was a good time and I’m looking forward to meeting up again next Wednesday at the Handlebar Pub where Andy will be performing with the String ’em Up bluegrass band.

On Thursday at Lucky Lou’s, tables were set up by the entrance with a variety of snack foods. It was a fundraiser for Golden Gates of America – a local non-profit funding education for learning challenged kids.

Fundraiser at Lucky Lou’s

That night, Donna prepared a new recipe – fennel-crusted pork chops. She cooked 1-inch thick pork chops in a cast iron skillet on the induction cooktop along with potatoes and shallots, then popped the skillet in the oven to finish cooking.

Fennel-crusted pork chops in the skillet

Fennel-crusted pork chops with potatoes and broccoli

It was an excellent meal. Donna says it was easy to prepare – everything in one skillet, except for the steamed broccoli which was cooked separately. Next time, she says she’ll make it even simpler by just mixing fresh baby spinach or other greens in with the potatoes when they come out of the oven.

I managed to do a little more work in the trailer this week – it’s shaping up. I’m waiting for two more Suncast cabinets to arrive. Meanwhile, I have a few things that need to be done on the coach. I’ll try to get started on those projects this weekend.

On Friday morning, instead of playing pickleball, Donna took an Uber ride to downtown Phoenix. She met Jan Walker at 40th and Van Buren (map). Jan is traveling by foot from Oceanside, California to the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia. The reason for her long journey is to raise awareness and funds for the September 11th National Memorial Trail. Donna has been following Jan’s journey via Facebook after a fellow minimalist from San Diego mentioned meeting her on the first day of her trek. Donna walked with Jan for about seven miles – Jan said it made the time go by much easier. Their route took them up Galvin Parkway past the Desert Botanical Garden to McDowell Road. I rode the Spyder to the intersection of McDowell and Pima Road to pick Donna up at 12:30pm. Jan planned to make it to Fountain Hills by the end of the day.

Donna and Jan and Jan's Rise Up for the Fallen cart on McDowell

Jan and Donna and Jan’s Rise Up for the Fallen cart on McDowell

I picked Donna up so we could make it to a lunch date at Fat Willy’s restaurant at the Viewpoint RV Resort. We met our friend, Marilyn Cross, there for lunch on the patio. We met Marilyn and her husband Ron in Hemet, California at the RV Resort there. They took us on a day trip to Idyllwild when we were in Hemet. They were in Mesa for the afternoon having some interior work done on their motorhome. Ron stayed with the coach while Marilyn met a friend to play pickleball in the morning, then ran a few errands before meeting us for lunch.

Marilyn is an avid pickleballer and we talked a little about game strategy. Donna and Marilyn caught up on things and the conversation danced around politics – scary topic. We talked about border crossings – Ron and Marilyn are Canadians. She told us a couple of funny stories. Once, when crossing the Canadian border, Ron was asked if he had any firearms in his coach. He said, “No, but my wife’s a pistol.” Another time he was asked if had anything to declare and he said, “I do declare I’m one handsome guy.” Funny stuff, but you have to be careful – not all border agents have a sense of humor.

After taking Donna home, I made my usual stop at Red, White and Brew. They had a new IPA on tap – Birthday Suit from Goldwater Brewing in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s a new brewery and pub that opened about a year ago. The IPA was citrusy and surprisingly light-bodied although it had a kick with 7.6% ABV.

A citrusy and refreshing IPA

While I was sipping my beer, a woman sat next to me at the bar and started conversation. A few minutes later, three guys walked in. There were only two open seats at the bar. One of the guys came up to the woman and asked her if she wanted tickets for the Indycar Race at Phoenix International Raceway. He said he would give her two tickets so we could go to the races. She told him she wasn’t with me – we’d just met. Then she told him she couldn’t make it to the race. The guy offered the tickets to me if I would give up my seat at the bar. I thought it might be some kind of April Fool’s prank but I took him up on it and called my friend, Mike Hall. Mike was planning to go to the race and buy tickets there. I told him I had two free tickets – he’ll pick me up this afternoon and we’ll head out to Glendale for the race.

Free tickets!

Speaking of April Fool’s, I posted on Facebook that our old house here in Mesa was up for sale and Donna and I were getting off the road and buying our old house back. This morning I revealed it was an April Fool’s post. Actually, our old house WAS for sale in the fall when we stopped in Mesa for a brief visit. It’s since been sold.

Last night at 5:30pm, one of our neighbors organized a potluck dinner for the people on J Street and friends. Donna made chicken meatballs to contribute. It was a fun time and good eats too!

Chicken meatballs over a bed of spinach

J Street potluck

Today my projects will go on the back burner again so I can go to the races.

Hot Car Show

Saturday morning Donna rode the Spyder to meet her friend, Stevie Ann Rinehart, for breakfast in Scottsdale. She went to Merci – a French bistro that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stevie Ann was the first person Donna met when she came to Arizona in 2002. It’s been two years since they were able to get together. They enjoyed the breakfast and the chance to visit.

When Donna came home around noon, I took the Spyder and rode to Mesa Community College (MCC) on Power Road. They were having a car show there and a few of my friends had cars in the show. It wasn’t as large a turnout as I expected – probably because there was also a car show at Falcon Field where they were having an open house and planes flying in formation overhead, including WWII warplanes. The MCC show was free though while the Falcon Field show charged admission.

I walked through and looked at the cars – a few were really nice. I talked to my friend, John Huff – he had his ’30 Ford he calls Lucy at the show. I also talked to Wayne – he had his ’63 Nova on display.

Lucy – John Huff’s Ford

I posted pictures and descriptions of Wayne’s outrageous Nova before. This time I shot a photo showing the plumbing from the dual fuel pumps to the big Holley four-barrel carburetor and the two-stage nitrous injection system. The workmanship is immaculate throughout this car.

Fuel system plumbing on Wayne’s 540 cubic inch Nova

Another guy I know, Ray, had his Hennessey Camaro there. Hennessy is an aftermarket performance car builder in Texas. Ray’s Hennessey is a HPE600. It features a supercharged LS3 V8 with 376 cubic inches of displacement producing 602 horsepower.

Ray’s Hennessey Camaro

Hennessey LS3 engine with Magnussen TVS2300 supercharger

Hennessey plate under the hood

This really clean 1956 Chevy Bel Air caught my eye. That was the year I was born. It featured a swiveling driver’s seat – it swiveled 90 degrees making it easy to enter or exit.

1956 Chevy Bel AIr

I also liked this 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra roadster replica.

1965 Shelby 427 Cobra replica

The unshaded parking lot was hot. Cars left the show before the 3pm closing time. John was one of them. After grabbing a fish taco plate at Seńor Taco, I met John and Mike Hall at Lucky Lou’s for a cold one. Since it was only 2:30pm, I went for a cold Bud Light – it was too early to drink my usual IPA.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing and reading. Donna went grocery shopping then prepared balsamic chicken breasts with peppers and onions over spinach tagliatelle nests. It was delicious.

Balsalmic chicken breasts with peppers and onions over spinach tagliatelle nests

After dinner we watched a couple of episodes of Sons of Anarchy, but couldn’t get into it.

This morning, Donna went out for a 30 mile bicycle ride. I hung out and finished the book I was reading. I planned to go to the hardware store for a few things I need to continue working on some projects but they’re closed for Easter Sunday.

Donna usually makes a traditional Irish dinner of corned beef, cabbage and soda bread on St. Patrick’s Day. That didn’t work out this year, so she’s making it today for our Easter dinner. I’ll tell you about it later.

Today is another warm day – the temperature should be near 90 degrees. We’ll have the same tomorrow before this heat spell breaks.

Stop, Drop and Roll

I’ve been a little sore the past couple of mornings. On Wednesday morning during my first pickleball game of the day, my opponent hit a lob over my head. I turned around to run to the back of the court to return the ball. Somehow my feet got tangled together and I was going down! I pulled my arms in and rolled as I hit the pavement. It worked pretty well – I didn’t bang my head or lose any skin. I feel it in my neck in the mornings though – I guess the fall really jolted it. My teammate said the roll was an awesome move and he was sure it prevented me from being injured.

This reminded me of something that happened about five years ago. Donna and I visited Greece and Turkey – we had a great trip. While we were on the Greek island of Naxos, we walked down the road along the beach to a restaurant we’d heard about. The restaurant was on a point where the highway forked. The sidewalk was raised a couple of feet above the roadway near the entrance to the restaurant.

We had an early dinner and the place was nearly empty when we arrived. We saw raki on the drink menu and decided to try it as an aperitif. Raki is a popular drink in Turkey – it’s similar to ouzo found on the Greek mainland and has an anisette flavor. Our waitress was enthusiastic about raki and told me they had several different brands on hand. After our meal, the waitress joined us with three glasses of raki – she drank one with us. Then she appeared with another brand of raki for us to sample. The raki is very easy to drink and doesn’t seem very high in alcohol.

It was dark out when we were ready to leave and the restaurant had filled with parties at most of the patio tables. After I stepped out the front door and turned to my right, I looked back at Donna said “Watch your step.” The raki was much stronger than I thought – later I found out it was 90 proof. I was a little wobbly. The next thing I knew my left foot was off the high sidewalk. My foot hung in the air for second as I realized I was about to fall into the street. Rather than falling to the pavement a couple of feet below me, I reacted by pushing off hard with my right leg. I tucked my chin in and launched into a forward roll.

My momentum coupled with the height of the sidewalk above the street allowed me to do a complete flip in the air and land in the street on my feet. I continued to walk along like I did it on purpose. People dining on the patio witnessed this feat and gave me a round of applause. Donna stood on the sidewalk dumbfounded. We laughed so hard as we walked home from there without further incident.

On Thursday afternoon, I made a stop at Lucky Lou’s. Donna has been saving fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen. I brought a bag of scraps to give to Mike and Jodi Hall – they have at least four desert tortoises in their yard. The tortoises love citrus and vegetables. While I was there, I saw Wayne pull up in his ’63 Nova. I posted about this hot rod before. I took a few pictures of it in the parking lot. It’s hard to believe something like this is driven on the street.

Wayne’s ’63 Nova

Look at the size of those rear tires

Super clean installation of the dash panel

I didn’t stay at Lou’s for very long. I wanted to get back to Towerpoint RV Resort for their annual end-of-season dinner. They had tables set up around the pools and bar areas. They set up for a crowd of 1,000 people. Towerpoint (Cal Am) provided free sloppy joes with coleslaw and chips and 25-cent drinks (soft drinks or beer). The 25-cent drinks were a fundraiser for the park’s charitable volunteer group called Squires.

Some of the crowd by the pool area

More of the dinner crowd

They had a bandstand and live music. The band was very good – they played a mix of classic rock and country music. Donna hoop danced to the music and had a blast. She was invited to come to the sock hop put on by the pickleball group next year – the organizer is planning to have a hula hoop contest.

Live music

I wore myself out Friday morning. Donna and I played in the open social session at the pickleball courts from 8am to 10am. Then I signed up for the 3.5-level round robin. This had me playing until noon.

I spent the afternoon relaxing with a book. At 5:30pm, we went to the Roma Cafe Ristorante on Main Street east of Power Road (map). We had a reservation to meet up with our nomadic friends, Brett and Cheri Miller. It’s been a year since our paths last crossed. We enjoyed a leisurely meal and caught up with each other over the next two and a half hours. It was a good time with good food and we plan to get together again in a couple of weeks. Roma Cafe serves a very laid back, European-like dinner. No rush – take your time and enjoy. It’s family-operated and they make you feel at home.

Blurry self-shot photo – me, Donna, Brett and Cheri

This morning, Donna took off to Scottsdale on the Spyder to meet up with her friend, Stevie-Ann Rineheart, for breakfast. I’m lazing about taking a break from pickleball and reading a book. The warmer than usual weather returned – we can expect highs near 90 degrees for the next few days before we get back to more seasonable mid-70s.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Beer

Registration Blocked by DMV

Lake Almanor

Bizz Johnson Trail

Plan A, Plan B, Plan C

Sparks in Sparks

Sitting Tight in Vegas

Tlaquepaque in Sedona

Breaks From the Routine

Hot Car Show

Stop, Drop and Roll

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