Category Archives: Scooter

Yuma Checklist Done

There were a few things we wanted to get done while we were in Yuma, Arizona. Of course pickleball was high on our list – that’s why we booked three nights at Fortuna De Oro RV Resort. They have eight pickleball courts and lots of players.

The next thing I wanted to get done was a wash and wax of our coach. We had a crew come out on Tuesday afternoon. They washed the coach with a high-pressure soft water supply, towel dried it and hand applied Meguiare’s liquid carnauba wax. They did a nice job and they cleaned the windows really well. Two guys spent about three hours on it and it cost $140. This is a deal. In California a wash and wax job like this on a 40-foot coach would be $300.

They came back on Wednesday to clean our carpets. Donna has wanted to have this done for a while now. Most places charge too much to come out to clean a small area like ours. We only have carpeting in the bedroom and in the front seat area. These guys did it for $35.

Before they started on the carpets, I noticed water dripping from the fresh water hook-up. I tightened the hose, but I couldn’t get the drip to stop. I replaced the rubber washer in the hose connection but it continued to drip. The fresh water fitting that our fresh water hose hooks up to has been a little loose for a while. I figured the fitting was worn and creating the leakage.

I disconnected the fresh water hose and disassembled the fresh water connector. This connector has a brass coupler for the hose and a check valve where the water flows into the fresh water system of our coach. I forgot about the check valve and removed the fitting while the fresh water pump was turned on. Without the check valve water came out of the tubing inside the coach and squirted about 10 feet out the side! I called out to Donna, “Shut off the pump!”

I took the fitting with its plastic recessed mount and rode the scooter over to Al’s RV Parts about three miles away from the park. I wanted to match up a new coupler with the same recessed mount dimensions. I lucked out and found a perfect match. When I got back, I installed the new fitting.

Coupler and mounting pate removed - this is the PEX tubing that shot water 10 feet

Coupler and mounting plate removed – this is the PEX tubing that shot water 10 feet

Back side of the recessed mount with check valve

After reattaching the hose, I saw water dripping. It was coming from the hose connection to the new coupler. I messed around with it and tried new rubber seals on the coupler but it still leaked. I finally discovered an invisible fracture on the hose end was causing the leak where it screwed on to the fresh water fill. The hose was the culprit! Our fresh water fill is oriented horizontally, parallel to the ground. The hose comes up through an opening in bottom of the wet bay. The hose has to make a 90-degree turn to attach to the fresh water fill fitting.

Hose attached to the fresh water fill. Hose makes a 90 degree bend to attach.

I rode the scooter back to Al’s RV Parts and bought a new Valterra drinking water hose. When I came back and hooked it up, I was in trouble again. As soon as I turned the water spigot on, water was shooting straight up from a cut in the hose! I disconnected the hose and saw a cut – it looked like someone had cut the hose with razor blade – maybe from a box cutter when it was unpacked.

I got on the scooter and made another trip to Al’s. They exchanged the hose for me. This time I was back in business. No water drips or leaking hose.

Donna and I walked down to the pool area for happy hour. They had a band playing – mostly covers of country hits. They also had a bar with drinks – a donation of two dollars bought a beer. I didn’t stay long. Donna got her hula hoops and went back to hoop to the music – she loaned one of her hoops out to anyone interested and she had fun.

This morning Donna and I played two hours of pickleball, then returned to the coach to shower and pack up. It was time to move on. We pulled out of Fortuna De Oro RV Resort around 11:45am. Our first stop was the Pilot/Flying J travel center. I filled our fuel tank with diesel fuel @ $2.26/gallon. We’re headed to California and I know I won’t find diesel fuel for that price there.

Next we made a stop at Walmart. We ate lunch at the Del Taco there and shopped. I resupplied our beer and bottled water while Donna bought paper products and a few other necessities. From there we headed west on 32nd Street to the Arizona Market Place. This is a flea market with stalls in long canvas covered aisles. It’s like the Arizona Market Place in Mesa, but on a much smaller scale. It’s open Thursday through Sunday. I stopped there to go to the RV Water Filter Store. That’s the company that I bought our two-canister fresh water filtration system from. I picked up two sediment cartridges and an activated carbon fiber block cartridge. When we set up in San Diego, I’ll change out our filter cartridges.

While I was at their booth, I saw something interesting. It was called a Kwik Link. It’s an angled coupler for the fresh water hose. This solves the problem of the hose making a 90-degree bend and putting strain on the fresh water hook-up. I bought the 105-degree Kwik Link to allow clearance from the recessed mount. The Kwik Link points down and comes with a quick coupler that screws on the end of the fresh water hose. This product appears to be very well made and it’ll extend the life of our fresh water hose and fresh water fill coupler.

Kwik Link on our fresh water fill

We drove west on I-8 and entered California – another state for Ozark the cat to add to her list of visited states. At the checkpoint, the border patrol officer asked me what was in the trailer. That was a first. I told him and he asked if we had any plants or fresh produce on board. When I said, “No,” he waved me through.

We came back to our boondocking spot off Ogilby Road. I wrote about the rock garden here in this post and that’s where we are. We noticed the shoulders along the road looked like soft, deep sand. There were berms piled up in places. I told Donna they must have had a flash flood here and the sand was pushed off the road. At the rock garden there’s more evidence of a flash flood. The rock garden is worse for wear – it’ll take a fair bit of work to bring it back. We’re only here for one night, so we won’t attempt to repair it. I think the regular visitors from Washington who winter here will most likely repair it.

The only other coach within sight is an Alpine Coach with Montana plates we passed on the way in. The rock garden is about half a mile away from them. We’ll head out of here in the morning and check in at Mission Bay RV Resort at De Anza Cove in San Diego.

Happy Birthday Sara

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

Beautiful sunset from our site at Usery Mountain

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

Dinner in the open air

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

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

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

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

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

Sara's party enjoying the back patio at BRI

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

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

Mac and cheese with green chilies and machaca

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

Stacked enchiladas

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

Happy birthday to you

Make a wish

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

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

The Moron Behind Me

While Donna was at the dentist Wednesday morning, I walked over to the Towerpoint pickleball courts. It began to sprinkle rain before I got there. The rain didn’t last, it was just a brief, light shower. It was enough to keep everyone away though – no one showed up to play. I practiced serving for about 20 minutes, then Donna stopped by on the scooter on her way home from the dentist and we rode home.

My day became busier when the dentist offered a 1:50pm opening in the schedule for an exam and cleaning. I took the appointment. I hoped to have the new front tire mounted on the scooter before I went to the dentist, but the tire didn’t arrive at the shop until 1pm.

I went to Steve’s Motorcycle shop after I was finished at the dentist and had the new tire mounted and balanced. By the time I got home from the shop, it was already time for the early dinner at Towerpoint. The power was out at Sun Life RV Resort while the transformer upgrades were being completed. A free dinner was arranged at the neighboring Towerpoint resort to compensate for the loss of power. Both parks are owned by Cal-Am corporation. We enjoyed the dinner and met three other couples we shared a table with. Coincidentally, one of the couples was from our adopted home town of Madison, South Dakota. We’ve met other RVers on the road that use the Madison mail forwarding service (MyDakotaAddress.com), but this was first time we met someone who actually lives there.

Donna and I hit the pickleball courts at 7:30am the next morning. We played several games, then came back to our site at 9:30am to pack up and hit the road. I didn’t have anything loaded in the trailer. We arranged for a late checkout and set our sights on leaving by noon. I managed to get everything packed, take a shower, dump and flush our tanks, pull the slides in, retract the jacks and hook up the trailer in the allotted time.

Our destination was a short drive away – Usery Mountain Regional Park (map). We booked a pull-through site here until Monday. We stayed here last year in site 14, this time we are in site 13. The park has 30 and 50 amp electrical hookups and fresh water, but no sewer hook up at the sites. There’s a dump station near the campground entrance. The views and natural desert landscape are stunning. There are great hiking and mountain biking trails. Road biking is good too – the road outside the park takes you down to the Bush Highway along the Salt River or you can go the opposite way into town.

Back among the saguaros

After setting up, I decided to ride the scooter over to Lucky Lou’s for a last cold one with the guys. Everyone has plans for the weekend and we won’t be getting together again until we return to Mesa in February. On the way there, I had a frightening experience on the scooter.

I was stopped at a red light in the left turn lane on Power Road at the junction with McKellips. I heard a car with a loud exhaust system rev and downshift as it stopped a couple of feet behind me. The driver of a Camaro ZL1 revved the engine a few times, then did a power-brake burnout! Power-braking is where the driver steps on the brake with his left foot and floors the accelerator with his right foot. The front brakes are locked so the car shouldn’t move while the powerful engine overcomes the rear brakes and the tires spin madly and begin to smoke. This was going on two feet behind my scooter at a stop light! When the light turned green, I gassed it hard and heeled the scooter over through the turn like I was riding my old Ducati Superbike. I was glad I had new rubber on the front. The Camaro was squealing the tires through the turn right behind me. I pulled into the parking lot at Lucky Lou’s and the Camaro followed me in. I found a parking space – the Camaro parked next to me. I was mad as can be and had a few choice words for the driver – he said, “I wasn’t going to hit you.” What an irresponsible moron.

The ZL1 has a supercharged 580 horsepower engine and can light up the tires at will. This doesn’t mean it should be driven without regard to the safety of others on a public road. When I was leaving Lucky Lou’s, the guy with the Camaro came out at the same time. He got in his car, then motioned me to go ahead of him. I said, “No chance, I’ll wait here until you are clear of the area.” He lit up the tires again in the parking lot and left.

If you see a Camaro ZL1 with this plate, I advise you to stay away

If you see a Camaro ZL1 convertible with this plate, I advise you to stay away.

I came home to a beautiful sunset and watched the NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.

Soft light on Pass Mountain at sunset

Lately, Ozark has been amusing herself by picking nuggets of dry food out of her dish and hiding them under the living room rug. Sometimes she burrows under the rug to retrieve them, other times we have to clean up after her. I don’t know what brought this behavior on.

Ozark looking under the rug

Today we expect clear, sunny skies and the temperature should reach the low 80s. Donna has a lunch planned with Lana Jansen. I have a couple of projects to take care of.

Polishing Headlights

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scratched and pitted headlight cover with masking tape around it

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

A couple of hours later they look much better

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

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

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

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

Final Days – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

I’ll try to recap the final three days of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta without being too repetitive. Rather than a blow-by-blow account, I’ll hit the highlights of days seven, eight and nine.

Day seven, Friday, was full of highlights for me. As we prepared the Hearts A’Fire hot air balloon for flight, our pilot, Brad Rice, called out to me. He was standing by the inflator and I thought I was about to have a new job running the inflator fan. As I approached, his wife Jessica came over and handed me a waiver and a pen to sign it. I was going up in the balloon! Brad had decided to pass on the day’s competitive event and take me up in the balloon.

I went about my usual tasks making the balloon ready. The difference this time was once the balloon was fully inflated, I climbed into the basket. I was joined by another passenger, Tia – a childhood friend of Jessica. It was surreal as Brad heated the envelope which added tension to the lines and raised the basket a few inches off the ground. The crew (which included Donna) walked the basket to our designated launch spot and Brad gave the command “hands off” to the crew. With a blast from the burners we were airborne!

In the basket

Hands off!

Burner blazing to gain altitude

As we began to climb over the park, I had a new view of the happenings. The crowds around the balloons were larger than I thought. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is not only the largest hot air balloon event in the world, it’s also one of the few events that allow spectators on the field to mingle with the balloonists and crews. It’s like having a pit pass when you buy your ticket.

I saw many people around the launch areas

As we climbed higher, I could see there were tens of thousands people

We started out with a breeze from the north pushing us south over the park. From up high, I saw how many pilots and crews had RVs parked on the south end. I had no idea before.

RVs parked in the south lot behind the hospitality tents

We continued to climb as we passed over the RV lot on the south side of Alameda Boulevard. This is where the various Escapees groups were staying.

RV park – nice landing fields

The ideal situation is when the air flow over the field creates what they call “the box.” This happens when the lower level air moves from north to south with a wind shear at higher altitude moving from south to north. When this sets up, the pilots fly low and head south, then they gain altitude to come back north over the Balloon Park field. I was taking in the unbelievable panoramic views as we flew southwest.

View to the east

View southwest toward downtown

At higher altitude we came back north

We gained altitude and came back north, but the wind was fickle. We were moving northeast, then directly east. This took us over I-25 and over Sandia Indian Reservation land. I posted before about the trouble that comes when you land on reservation land.

Crossing I-25

Abandoned runway – old airport was deeded to the Indians

Brad was watching other balloons around us, but it was impossible to suss out the winds – we saw three balloons lined up and heading west just south of us. At the same time there were three more balloons a hundred yards south of them at the same altitude heading directly east!

Brad found an air current that carried us south. We were over our chase crew at the reservation border.

Our chase crew in the center of the photo – Indian land on the left

We hoped to put down on the dirt road bordering the Indian land. This plan was dashed when another balloon landed in front of us, blocking our path. Brad had no choice but to climb clear of them and head toward a residential area.

Coming down ahead of the chase crew

As we descended, we were moving in a northeasterly direction at about 7 knots. Brad was aiming for the last road in the development on the edge of reservation land. I saw a barbed-wire fence on the north side of the road and pointed it out to Brad. I’m sure he was already aware of it and calculating our best option. There was a small mound on the south side of the road. Brad opted to stop the basket on the south face of the mound.

With the ground rising before us, the basket stopped abruptly on contact. The seven knot wind blew the balloon over the mound, tipping us on the side of the basket. The crew quickly caught up with us and stabilized the basket. What a ride! My words and pictures can’t adequately describe it.

It’s important for passengers to remain in the basket until the pilot gives the okay to get out. The pilot monitors the air temperature in the envelope. It may be at a point of equilibrium with the payload. If passengers jump out of the basket too soon, the balloon will immediately rise again.

Once we were clear to get out of the basket, I was back to work as a crew member. Over the radio, we heard the day’s competition had been cancelled due to the increasingly variable winds. Brad made a good call to skip it and go out just for fun.

Out of the basket and guiding the deflating envelope

Starting to squeeze and strap the envelope

Envelope ready to pack

Back at the park, it was tailgate time.

Tailgate time!

Of course, I had to go through the first-timers initiation to the world of ballooning ceremony. I won’t reveal the details of the ceremony other than to say it involves champagne and fun! You’ll have to take a flight if you want to know more.

Brad performs the ceremony for Tia and me

After the ceremony, Brad and Jessica had one more surprise for me. They gifted me with an official embroidered Hearts A’Fire Crew polo shirt! Nice!

Saturday was a mass ascension day – there were no competitions on the schedule. The box set up perfectly with low level wind blowing balloons south and an upper wind taking them back north. After launching, we watched and waited near the RV park.

Mass ascension heading south out of the park

Brad made a full pass through the box, then landed the balloon on the west road of the RV park near Paul and Nina’s RV (Wheeling It). I expected him to land in the field in the center of the RV park, but a low level wind shift had him over the road. I made a mad dash to the road, then slowed to a jog to stay in front of the basket. A couple of other crew members were running behind it. As soon as it touched down we were hands on and adding our weight to the basket to stabilize it. The kids Brad had taken up were offloaded and a couple more kids climbed aboard and Brad went back up. This is known as a “hop.”

Balloons landing in the RV park

We made one more chase and Brad landed uneventfully in an open field.

On Saturday afternoon, Donna and I scootered over to the RV park and joined the Xscapers, a sub-group of Escapees, for their happy hour. We had a good time catching up with friends and discussing possibilities of hooking up again down the road.

Sunday was the final day. I have to say it was a fun-filled nine days, but I had all the fun I could stand at this point. Everyone was tired. We were lucky to come to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in a year where the balloons were able to fly every day. That doesn’t always happen. High winds or thunderstorms are two things that can cancel the day’s flight.

Sunday’s flight took the Hearts A’Fire hot air balloon northwest to the village of Corrales. Everyone seemed to come into the same area at the same time. The pilot next to us on the field ended up with his basket about ten feet to the left of us on landing. Balloons were raining out of the sky all around us. It was a crazy scene as I assisted three balloons touching down without crews in the area and another on our crew assisted five others. What a way to end the adventure!

We’ll pack up today and head out. I need to dump our tanks and take on fresh water after dry camping for 11 days. I’m not sure where we’ll end up tonight.

We’re already thinking about coming back again next year.

Day One – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

The past few days have been eventful for Donna. On Thursday morning, I walked her out to the front gate at The Vineyard and used a card key to open it so she could get into the taxi cab waiting for her. She was off to the airport for a trip to New York City via Atlanta. It was a long day of travel made longer by the rehearsal she had at the studio Thursday evening for Friday morning’s satellite media tour. I tried to get a little more sleep after she left and managed to doze off for a short time.

Around noon, Larry, our host here at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, picked me up and we drove over to the Balloon Fiesta Park (map). We drove into the park and walked to the new building which replaces the tents that were used to house all of the registration tables and provide meals. Larry introduced me to several key players and I met the owner of the Heart’s A’Fire – the balloon we would be crewing for (article about the Balloon Fiesta and Hearts A’Fire here).

After Larry dropped me off back at our coach, I rode the scooter back to the balloon area to check out the RV park there. It’s a huge dirt lot across the street from the Hot Air Balloon Museum. It was only about 1/4 full but RVs were streaming in. I found Paul and Nina’s coach (WheelingIt). I didn’t see them around and their door was closed so I left.

On Friday morning, Donna made her appearances on 20 TV stations around the country. She was interviewed about fall cleaning and organizing tips. I went back over to the RV park and found Chris and Cherie (Technomadia) and stopped for a quick chat. They were setting up their 600 watts of portable solar panels to go with the 800 watts on their roof. They said I just missed Paul – he was out and about on his bicycle. I didn’t want to be a bother as they set up – I figure we’ll get a chance to catch up later, so I left. I went to Paul and Nina’s site and had a short chat with Nina. Donna and I met Chris and Cherie and Paul and Nina when they were lighthouse hosts at Cape Blanco our first year on the road.

RVs were continuously pulling into the RV lot. Most of the sites are dry camping – so water conservation and electrical usage are a factor. I don’t know how many sites there are, but it has to be four figures.

The RV lot is huge and quickly filling up on Friday – Hot Air Balloon Museum in the background

Donna’s flight back from New York City had an hour delay in Atlanta – she finally made it home at 11:30pm. I met her at the gate to The Vineyard so I could let her in. We slept fitfully until my alarm sounded at 4:15am for our first day as balloon crew. We left Larry and Ruth’s place at 4:45am and were in the park a little past 5am. Six of us were in the van – Larry and Ruth, their neighbors Jim and Barb and Donna and me. Breakfast is provided for pilots and crew members. We went to the new building where they were serving breakfast burritos, Krispy Kreme donuts, juice and coffee.

Breakfast crowd

We were there early but it was already getting crowded. By the time we finished our breakfast, the line went halfway around the building.

We met Steve at breakfast. Larry, Steve, Donna and I were on the crew for Hearts A’Fire. Ruth, Jim and Barb crewed on a different balloon.

I wasn’t able to capture the nice photos you can find of this event – I was busy most of the time and I didn’t have the luxury of gaining a nice vantage point for maximum photo opportunity. Our balloon was at site H7, so regardless of lighting, that’s where I took my photos when I had a chance to do so.

First we attended the pilots briefing at 6am. The dawn patrol was setting up and the balloons glowed when they hit the propane burners to heat the air in the envelope.

Dawn patrol morning glow

The dawn patrol goes up first to check and confirm wind conditions.

Dawn patrol launching

Most of my duties entailed grabbing a handle and lifting. We lifted the gondola (basket) out of the trailer and set up the superstructure that holds the propane burner. The gondola with three propane tanks is heavy – five of us lifted it, put it into position and set it up.

Setting up on the “H” line

Once the burners were connected, our pilot Brad Rice checked everything over and test fired the burners.

Test firing the propane burners

Next the balloon – more properly called the envelope – was unloaded and stretched out on the grass.

Envelope on the grass

We tipped the gondola on its side and connected the cables from the envelope to it. Next a fan driven by a small Honda gasoline engine was fired up. We grabbed the envelope along the bottom and held it open. The fan forced air into the envelope which inflated but still stayed on its side on the ground.

Inside view of the partially inflated envelope

We held station for quite a while waiting until balloons lifting off ahead of us were airborne. There’s a lift-off schedule. The pilot cannot be released until an official wearing a striped shirt – like a football referee – gives the signal. Of course everyone refers to them as zebras. As our time drew nearer, we picked up the gondola to a 45-degree angle. Brad hit the burners and flames shot through the opening in the bottom of the envelope. This quickly heated the air in the 90,000 cubic foot balloon. The hot air caused the balloon to further inflate and rise. The fan was shut off and we tipped the gondola upright. Several of us leaned on the perimeter of the gondola to hold it down.

First wave of balloons taking flight

Two passengers joined Brad in the basket. Brad told us to take our weight off the gondola but keep our hands on as he checked the balloon temperature. The safety tether was disconnected. The balloon rose slightly and we walked the balloon away from the trailer to his launch point. He hit the burner and told us to let go on the launch signal and he was on his way up.

Hearts A’Fire in the center after launching

We drove out of the park to begin our chase. We lost sight of the balloon and went west, then turned north scanning all of the balloons in the sky. There were over 500 balloons and we couldn’t locate Hearts A’Fire. We stopped on the side of the road and I climbed up a short brick wall to get a better look. I still couldn’t find it. We circled back south, then east. Near the park entrance, I spotted the balloon low and well to the east of us.

We tracked it down. It looked like Brad might put it down in a large field that was part of the Indian reservation. This would be bad. It takes special permission to remove the balloon once it lands on Indian property – this can take hours. Our other chase vehicles arrived. I got out and walked to the barbed wire fence marking the Indian land. Brad called down to us to go to the next road to the east and turn left. I ran back to the van and told Larry where to go. It turned out to be a gated community but someone was able to open the gate for us. We pulled in just as Brad was setting down in a cul-de-sac.

Hearts A’Fire coming in to land

Once again we held the gondola down. It took a coordinated effort to safely deflate and guide the envelope onto the street without snagging anything. Then we disassembled the balloon in reverse order of set-up. We had a large crowd of spectators from the gated community.

Hearts A’Fire down in the cul-de-sac – note the light post behind it which Brad avoided

Once we had everything loaded in the trailer, we all drove back to the launch site at the park. Tables and chairs were set up and it was time to tailgate. We had food, mimosas and beer before noon!

We were back at our coach by 12:30pm and ready for a nap. Donna really needed the rest and slept for a couple hours. I dozed for about 30 minutes, then I read a book.

Tomorrow morning we’ll do it all over again. The opening Saturday is when the balloonists have the most support crew. On the weekdays, some the crew members will have to work and we’ll have fewer people. Hopefully the weather holds out although the current forecast calls for rain by noon tomorrow and more rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. We had showers this afternoon as we left the park but it cleared up after 2pm.

I may be publishing my posts at odd hours for the next week as the balloon schedule has me occupied in the mornings.

In Search of Slime

A reader posted a question about me going back to work at a part-time consulting gig I wrote about in an earlier post. I have to catch up on Friday and Saturday’s activities before I go into that story – but I will tell the tale soon.

The plan for Friday was to scooter down to Old Town Albuquerque where Donna would meet her friend and professional organizing colleague, Hazel Thornton, so they could catch-up over lunch. I thought I would make a run to Costco. After studying the map, I knew where to take Donna, but Costco didn’t seem to make sense. Next Wednesday we’ll move to The Vineyard off Edith Boulevard (map) where Larry and Ruth live to begin our stint as volunteer crew for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. This happens to be only a few miles from Costco, so we can go then.

I scootered Donna to the Old Town Plaza where we met Hazel at the gazebo (map). From there, I went southeast to check out Robinson Park where the Downtown Growers’ Market is held on Saturday mornings. Here in Albuquerque, they call what is essentially a farmers’ market the growers’ market. Donna and I wanted to go on Saturday morning, so I thought a pre-run to check the area out was a good idea.

Donna enjoyed a long lunch with Hazel. Hazel dropped her off back at the RV park around 3:30pm. I was already back, having run a few errands.

On Saturday, we took off before 10am to hit the growers’ market. We like to visit farmers’ markets as we cruise around the country. There are always similarities, but each one has its own vibe and regional flavor. Albuquerque is a distinct case in point. The market covers the perimeter of the triangular-shaped Robinson Park with a diagonal path cutting through the triangle. There are a diverse range of vendors covering every step of the way.

Albuquerque growers’ market

Along the east side of the park, a large grassy area had a band and many people lounging on the grass.

Enjoying the weather and music on the grass

This is a relatively large market. Our intent was to meander around and see what it had to offer – not really shop. We ended up buying more than we thought we would. Local, fresh-baked green chile sourdough bread was irresistible plus some green chile sauce that we will add to pork tenderloin in the crockpot tomorrow. An apricot flan that was too delicious to walk away from. Peruvian purple fingerling potatoes, kumato (brown) tomatoes and some hand-crafted soaps. I bought Donna the cutest hat from a French woman who handmade them. I also had my share of free food samples!

We left the market and rode back to Old Town. We made a stop at the visitor’s center and then went to a shop that Hazel recommended to Donna. I bought a hot air balloon spinner ornament to hang from our coach’s side view mirror. Donna bought me a T-shirt with hot air balloons that changes color when exposed to sunlight.

Our next stop was up the road at The Bikesmith shop. We wanted to get Slime self-sealing inner tubes for Donna’s bike. I expected to have the Gatorskin tires I ordered delivered to the RV park by the time we returned. I wanted to set her up with self-sealing tubes and puncture-resistant tires to ride here in Albuquerque and throughout the southwest.

We found the bike shop but a sign in the window said they would be closed until Tuesday due to a big mountain bike event here this weekend. Another guy was looking at the sign and checking his cell phone. I asked him if he knew of another place nearby. He suggested REI several miles away. I looked at the map on my smart phone and found another bike shop four or five miles away. Off we went.

Along the way, Donna spotted a Cost Plus World Market. She knew that I was in need of my favorite martini garnish – Old South Tomolives – and Cost Plus is the place to buy them. I made a mental note of the location since I’ve been without tomolives for the past couple of months.

We found the next bike shop – Bikeworks – and it was closed with a similar sign about the mountain bike event. I looked at the map again and decided to move on to REI – it wasn’t that far now that we’d gone all the way to Bikeworks.

As we pulled off of Montano Drive heading to REI, I saw Performance Bike. They were open. They had the Slime self-sealing tubes we were after and I also bought Stan’s sealant for my mountain bike tires. The Stan’s sealant works really well, but it dries out over time and needs to be replenished and I’m probably overdue for resealing.

Slime self-sealing tube

The Performance Bike shop was about a block away from Costco – that’s how far we had come. But now we were loaded up from the growers’ market, Old Town shopping and bike shop, so a Costco run was out of the question. Since we were this far, we decided to call Larry and Ruth to see if they were available. The plan was to meet with them before we showed up in our motorhome so we could see where we would be parked. It’s always nice to preview a location when possible and decide on the best way to to enter.

They were home and invited us to drop by. It was only a few minutes away from the bike shop. Larry and Ruth welcomed us into their place and told us more of what to expect during the Balloon Fiesta. They’ve coordinated volunteer crews for the event for decades. They also showed us where we’ll be parked and took us on a tour of the clubhouse amenities we’ll have available. It will be a dry camping test – with the exception of 30-amp electric, we’ll be without hook-ups for about two weeks.

On the way back, we made a short detour to stop at Cost Plus for the tomolives. By then we were both hungry. It was well after 1pm and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast other than the food samples I had at the market.

We stopped at a combination Subway sandwich shop and Twisters. We weren’t familiar with Twisters. It turned out to be very good fast food Mexican fare and they’ll even customize a plate for you. Donna wanted a bowl – no tortilla – and they made a nice chicken chile bowl for her. Twisters, by the way, was the setting used for the Los Pollos Hermanos fast food scenes in the TV series Breaking Bad.

When we returned to the RV park, the new tires for Donna’s bike had been delivered. I broke out my bicycle mechanics stand and removed her wheels again. Mounting the new Gatorskin tires was a tough task. These tires are so stiff, I think they’re the toughest tire to mount I’ve ever encountered. I probably say that every time I mount brand new tires.

Donna’s Trek Madone on the bike stand

Gatorskin mounted

Once I had the tires mounted, Donna was raring for a ride. She headed out on Old Route 66. About 40 minutes later, my phone was ringing. It was Donna. I couldn’t believe it. She had a flat tire! She told me she picked up a nail in her tire. She pulled the nail and the tire went flat! I was thinking, when was the last time I picked up a nail in a bicycle tire? Short answer – never!

She was close to the park, so she walked her bike back. I’ll pull the wheel this morning and see if the tube is savable. Other than that, I have a full day of spectating. Formula One from Japan, Moto GP from Spain and NFL Football action. Donna is planning to scooter over to a regular Sunday morning event at the Railyards Market in Barelas where she will meet up with Centerforce Hoops to do some hoop dancing to live music.

Last Weekend in Santa Fe

We’re not in Santa Fe anymore but I need to catch up on our last weekend there. On Saturday, Donna and I rode the scooter to the farmers’ market down by the Railyard Park. We originally planned to ride the bus, but took the scooter instead to save time. It was nearly noon by the time we got there and the market closes at 1pm. We were surprised at the size of the market – this is a big farmers’ market. We’d only been through about half of the vendors when some of them began breaking down their displays around 12:30pm. Donna bought a small bag of roasted Hatch chiles.

I was hungry and hoped to find tamales or street tacos for lunch, but the food vendors were sold out. We thought about stopping at the Second Street Brew Pub, but the food was overpriced and I didn’t want to have a beer that early before riding the scooter home.

We headed back south on Cerrillos Road and stopped at a Mexican restaurant called Los Potrillos. The salsas they provided with a bowl of chips were outstanding and I knew we were in for a good meal.

Tres salsa and chips

I had the enchilada suizas plate and Donna had chicken enchiladas con mole. It was delicious and we took home leftovers.

We made another stop to buy a whole chicken. Donna had invited our neighbors – the ones with the medium-duty truck in my last post – Audrey and Steve – to join us for dinner. Around 5pm, I fired up the Traeger smoker/grill and roasted the whole chicken which Donna prepared by lightly coating it with olive oil, salt and pepper. After about 75 minutes, my new Palermo instant read thermometer showed an internal temperature of 175 degrees. I turned down the Traeger to the smoke setting and basted the chicken with a barbeque sauce Donna had whipped up from scratch. Ten minutes later, we had a nicely roasted barbeque chicken.

Roasted barbeque chicken

I cut the chicken into quarters. This worked out well since Donna and Audrey preferred the leg/thigh quarters while Steve and I took the wing/breast quarters. Donna served it with fresh steamed green beans and cheesy cauliflower biscuits. Audrey contributed mashed potatoes and a couple of bottles of wine.

Chicken dinner plate

We sat together at the table outside and talked for a few hours. At one point Audrey said, “Look, you have a praying mantis on your back.” The praying mantis climbed up my neck onto my head. Donna snapped a couple of photos. I don’t think I’ve ever had a praying mantis land on me before.

Praying mantis walking up my neck

Praying mantis perched on my head

We talked well into the night and finally went indoors after 10pm. Audrey and Steve planned to pull out of Santa Fe Sunday morning.

On Sunday morning, we said our goodbyes to Audrey and Steve. I watched the Formula One race from Singapore, then proceeded to be a couch potato for the rest of the day watching NFL football. Donna went out for one last bike ride on the Santa Fe trails.

The entire time we were in Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV park, there was a 45-foot Beaver Patriot Thunder parked two sites away from us. The Beaver Patriot Thunder is a high-end motorhome with lots of features including powerful engine options. This one had a 15-liter 525 horsepower Caterpillar engine. The thing that piqued my curiosity was the fact that we never saw anyone enter or leave the coach for nine straight days. It was hooked up to water, sewer and electricity and the AC was running, but it just sat there empty. This seems like an awfully expensive way to store a coach.

On Monday morning, I heard the rumble of a large diesel engine running. It was the Beaver. There were two guys walking around the coach, putting away hoses and disconnecting the electricity. There were two cars – one behind the coach and one next to it by our site. The older of the two guys got behind the wheel of the Beaver and drove away followed by the younger man in a Volkswagen GTI. They left the second car – a Porsche Cayman GT4 behind. Curious again. Why did they come in separate cars and leave the $85,000 Porsche behind?

Porsche Cayman GT4 left behind

I took my time packing our trailer and getting ready for the road. We had a short trip planned and I didn’t need to leave the park before the 11am check-out time. Donna had the interior packed early and walked over to the Ross store to buy a skirt she saw there the day before and decided to go back for. She came back just as I fired up the Cummins ISL. The Porsche was still in the empty site hours after the Beaver pulled out.

Our plan was to head down to Albuquerque where we will stay for two nights at the Sandia Casino & Resort. They have free overnight parking in their RV lot. Our route took us south down NM14 which is also known as the Cedar Crest Scenic Byway or Turquoise Trail. It was a pleasant drive. We went through a few old mining towns. I wanted to stop in Madrid – the town featured in the movie Wild Hogs. The town is quaint, but the road through town is very narrow and there’s no place to park a big rig. We drove slowly through and continued on our way. We turned west at the junction of I-40.

I knew there was a Pilot/Flying J travel center off I-40. I programmed it into the GPS and stopped there for fuel. Then I programmed the Sandia Casino as my destination. I should have studied the map. The Pilot/Flying J is about six miles past the casino, near the High Desert RV park which is our next destination.

We found a nice spot at the back of the RV lot at the Sandia Casino. We have a view of mountains to the east and the city in the valley to our west. Donna and I went into the casino where we were given $25 gift cards to play the slots since we’re first-time visitors. Afterwards, we had a beer at one of the casino bars. Then we checked in with security and they gave us a pass for up to four nights of free parking.

We had rain overnight and there’s more rain in the forecast. If the weather clears, we may take the tram up to Sandia Crest which is a 10,000-foot high viewpoint. If the low clouds hang all day though, the tram ride will not be worth it.

By the way, Donna’s doing a book giveaway and today (September 22nd) is the last day you can download her Kindle book, Secrets of Professional Organizer’s Volume I for free at Amazon. Grab your free copy and help her reach her goal of getting listed in the Top 100 Free Kindle Books by the end of the day!

Sour Ale

Thursday was a pretty quiet day around here. My big deal for the day was servicing the scooter. I changed the engine oil and filter and also the gearbox lube. This is required every 3,000 miles. Donna went out for about an hour on her bicycle. Later she walked to the natural foods store half a mile from here. She was disappointed in the quality of their produce though. As usual, Ozark hung out and watched the birds outside.

Ozark keeping an eye on things

I went to the office and extended our stay here at Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV park through Monday. It’s a good thing I did it when I did – the place is sold out next week! The Thursday night NFL game was entertaining. It looked like it was heading to overtime when the Broncos stunned the Chiefs in the waning seconds to win 31-24.

On Friday morning, I rode the scooter over to the community center to play pickleball. Donna walked over about a half hour after I arrived. I played for nearly three hours. I was whipped by the time we were done! We were told about a new outdoor pickleball court that will open Saturday afternoon. I don’t know if my legs can take another day of pickleball at this point though.

On Friday afternoon, I repaired the windshield washer nozzle on the passenger side. I’ve been putting it off since we arrived here. The plastic housing where the hose attaches cracked and separated from the nozzle. After thinking about it, I decided to try gluing it back together with a contact adhesive called Goop. This stuff will adhere to almost anything. The trick is to pre-fit the parts so you know exactly how you want them positioned. I applied a thin bead on both parts and allowed it set for two minutes. Then I pressed the housing into place and held it for a few minutes. That’s all there was to it. By allowing the contact adhesive to set up first, when you press the parts together, they bond immediately. It looks like it will be a good repair – time will tell.

For happy hour, Donna and I went to Duel Brewing – a Belgian-style brewery and tap room (map). Duel isn’t your run-of-the-mill micro-brewery. They specialize in Belgian-style beers that are complex to brew and unique in taste and character. I had a Belgian pale sour ale. Sour ales are so different and can be very tasty. They are made sour by intentionally allowing wild yeasts or certain bacteria to enter the wort. Usually brewmasters do everything possible to keep a sterile environment and only allow specific brewers yeasts into the fermentation. Brewing sour beer is risky – if the wild yeast or bacteria get out of control, the brew is ruined. The sour ale I tried was out of this world! Donna had a Belgian witbier called Marcel – it’s brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. She really liked it. We shared sardines and olive tapenade and cornichons with sliced baguette.

Belgian pale sour ale

We only had one beer each as we were on the scooter. When we returned to the RV park, it was filling up fast. I saw an unusual outfit in one of the sites. It was a tiny trailer that transforms into an elevated tent with a canvas room trailing behind. I wish I could have watched them put it up.

Small trailer transformed into this

Another unique RV pulled into the site next to us. It’s a medium-duty Freightliner truck with a long wheelbase and living quarters. It also has a gooseneck trailer hitch. I talked to the owners – a friendly couple from Minnesota. They use their RV to haul a horse trailer. They spend the summer in Minnesota, then haul their horses to Georgia in the winter. The truck is fairly new to them and they’re out for a few weeks of travel without the horse trailer.

Freightliner medium-duty truck – RV

Gooseneck hitch in back

On the other side of our site, we have two identical Newmar Dutch Stars. They’re traveling together – I don’t know if they’re related to each other. One has a Mississippi plate, the other Louisiana. Other than that, they are the same with a 4018 floorplan and exactly the same paint scheme. They even have similar name signs on the dashboard.

Today we’ll buy bus passes and head downtown. We’ll decide later if we want to play pickleball this afternoon.

Stay and Play in Santa Fe

Donna and I rode the scooter over to the community center yesterday. The Genoveva Chavez Community Center in Santa Fe houses swimming pools, an ice skating rink, workout rooms and a large gymnasium. They have a ton of scheduled activities, including pickleball on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Non-member visitors pay a $6 fee to use the facility.

I haven’t played pickleball since we were in Branson, Missouri at the end of June. I expected to be rusty but I actually played a decent first game. I thought I would improve after a few games, but I was wrong again. I slumped through games three and four but picked up my level of play again in my fifth and last game. Donna played well and we had a lot of fun. It’s a nice group of people there and we’ll probably go again tomorrow. Overall, the level of competition is somewhat lower than we found in Arizona and San Diego which was good for us getting back into the game.

We’ve worked out our travel schedule for the next few weeks. We’ll extend our stay here in Santa Fe and depart next Monday. Our next destination is Albuquerque. We plan to spend two nights dry-camped at a casino before checking into the High Desert RV Park there. We’ll stay in the RV park for a week before we meet up with Ruth and Larry for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We met Ruth and Larry when we were in Mesa, Arizona earlier this year. They coordinate volunteers to crew for balloon teams. We’ll be dry-camped at their place while we crew at the balloon fiesta.

After the balloon fiesta, we plan to head to Arizona. We need to figure out where we’ll stay there and for how long. We’re thinking about boondocking at the Phon D Sutton Recreation Area in Mesa. We want to stop in Casa Grande and Yuma as well. From there, we’ll probably spend a night or two at our favorite boondock in the desert before heading back to San Diego. I’ve booked two months at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego beginning November 6th.

Last night, I enjoyed a bottle of Stone IPA while we watched the republican presidential debate. As always, the Stone was excellent. I won’t editorialize on the debate as I don’t want this blog to get mired in politics.

The good stuff

Nothing too exciting on the agenda today. I’ll service the scooter – change the engine oil and filter and change the gear box oil. Donna is going out for a bike ride. Tomorrow we’ll hit the pickleball courts again.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Scooter

Yuma Checklist Done

Happy Birthday Sara

The Moron Behind Me

Polishing Headlights

Final Days – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Day One – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

In Search of Slime

Last Weekend in Santa Fe

Sour Ale

Stay and Play in Santa Fe

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: