December 19 to 25, 2010

December 19 to 25, 2010 ; Yuma, Arizona


Sunday ; Well done, Daniel ! Within 24 hours of arriving in Yuma, I found us a very suitable place to rent for the winter, at a very reasonable price !

I had insomnia last night. In the middle of the night I was on the computer, searching for an RV lot to rent for the winter. I found ads for six spots that I thought might be suitable. First thing in the morning we went out to see them. By the time we had seen five of the six, a decision was made. We decided we wanted the first one we had seen. We returned home, I got on the phone, did a bit of negotiating, et voilà … we have a spot for the winter.

Five of the six spots were lots in the Foothills, most of them half of a lot serviced for two RV’s. The sixth one, the first we looked at, and the one we rented, is a site in a full service RV park, very similar to, and very close to, Kofa Ko-op. On Christmas morning we will be moving to Rancho Bonitos on Avenue 4E, just “around the corner” from Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park. We rented the site from the owners ( or more precisely, the lifetime leaseholders, same as at Kofa Ko-op ), a couple in Oregon who only use the lot for October and November of each year. And their son is the caretaker in the park, which should likely prove to be somewhat helpful. And we will remain there until April 1.

This afternoon we did quite a bit of routine maintenance chores. We put all the parts I scavenged form our dead fridge ( doors, door panels, shelves, door bins, etc. ) on the bargain table. We took Bo for a walk around the perimeter of the dog park. I posted my weekly journal to my blog. We struggled to flip and rotate our mattress, as well as remove, wash, and replace the mattress cover. Easier said than done ! I examined our old converter, to see if there were any parts worth scavenging. There weren’t. And I think the only reason it was malfunctioning was … 12 years of accumulated dirt. It looked like someone had dumped a vacuum bag into the electronic “guts” of the converter. I glue repaired a broken buckle on my fanny pack. Hope it works !

We went to the regular Sunday afternoon ice cream social, then returned home to prepare and eat dinner, and watch the 3 hour long season finale of Survivor.

Monday ; Today was cloudy, warm, and a bit windy.

We spent most of the day out, running shopping errands. First stop was RV Connection for an RV part. Then Barney’s to refill with diesel … before fuel prices get jacked up for the holiday season ! I went to the Sears Auto Centre to meet with the manager to discuss the incident in Fresno, California whereby I and the service manager there had a disagreement about whether or not I was entitled to free tire rotations. The service manager here certainly believes that I am, but he’s going to have to discuss it with his superiors to determine whether he’s wrong, or the fellow in Fresno was wrong. In the meantime, while I went to Sears, Joanne walked over to Goodwill for some thrift store shopping. From Sears I went to Pep Boys for some automotive wiring, which they didn’t have. I picked Joanne up at Goodwill, and we drove to Tipton’s Automotive, where I bought the automotive wiring I needed. We had a very late lunch across the street at Wienerschnitzel. After lunch we headed for Yuma Farm & Home Supply where I bought some wiring connectors that neither Pep Boys nor Tipton‘s had. Then it was on to Harbor Freight Tools to shop for a variety of advertised specials on “guy stuff”. Great stuff, great prices at Harbor Freight Tools ! Final stop was Fry’s for groceries.

Bo had come along with us for our day of shopping, eager to go “drivey”. And he’s such a good dog when it comes to waiting in the truck for us while we’re shopping. Good dog, Bo ! When we got home there was just enough daylight time left for a walk around the dog park perimeter. He made two new friends in the dog park, Patty the Papillon and Inga the … ?

In the evening I did some minor maintenance projects and some online work.

Tuesday ; Today was cloudy with light intermittent rain. It doesn’t rain much in Yuma ! This morning we did some routine maintenance chores. In the afternoon I retrieved, printed, reconciled, and paid our U.S.$ MasterCard bill. WOW … expensive month ! Expensive repairs to Harvey / the fifth wheel trailer ! And I started to feel my annual Christmas season blues < shrug >.

Milk makes Sully vomit. And he’s always trying to stick his face into my glass of milk ! So … the other day when I saw lactose free eggnog in the grocery store, I bought a quart … to share with Sully. HMPH … he doesn’t like it ! Stupid cat !

Wednesday ; Today was cloudy, mild, windy, with intermittent rain. Our plan for today was to go to Los Algodones, Mexico, primarily so I could get a $3 haircut and beard trim. First we drove over to nearby Rancho Bonitos, the RV park we will be moving to on Christmas morning. We had to register in their office as new “residents”, and their office is open only a couple of mornings each week. From there we headed for Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico. By the time we arrived at the border crossing it was raining heavily And the free roadside parking had been eliminated, forcing everyone into the $5 parking lot. I didn’t feel like paying $5 to park, then walking a fair distance in heavy rain just to get a $3 haircut, and then probably have to stand in line for more than an hour to cross back into the United States. I’ll trim my beard myself before Christmas, and get a haircut next week or the week after in Mexico.

We drove to PetsMart to buy some “stocking stuffer” gifts for Sully and Bo. Then we went looking for a bank where we could cash some traveller’s cheques in order to pay our January “rent” tomorrow. And perhaps open an account. We’re going to need a bank account in Yuma. We thought that Sun Bank inside Wal-Mart would be convenient. But … HA HA HA … they wouldn’t cash traveller’s cheques because … wait for it … traveller’s cheques are “too difficult to verify”. We very quickly decided we could not do business with a bank that stupid ! What part of “bank” did you folks not understand ?

Since we were already there we did some Wal-Martin’. Bumped into Santa Claus doing some grocery shopping. Merry Christmas, Santa. He reached into his sack and gave me a candy. I guess because I was a good little boy for wishing him Merry Christmas ? ! It was a bit cool today so Santa was wearing his long pants. When we saw him at Sunday’s ice cream social at Kofa Ko-op he was wearing red velvet shorts with a short sleeved coat. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA … I didn’t even know Santa had red velvet shorts. But … I guess … < shrug > … down here in the desert … HA HA HA !

We drove over to Bank of America. We got some information, cashed some traveller’s cheques, and set up an appointment to open an account. We decided that dealing with a large national bank was probably wiser than dealing with a local “Mickey Mouse” bank. We did a bit of grocery shopping before returning home in time for Joanne to prepare her contribution to today’s social hour / appetizer potluck. At the social hour it was announced that Joe Peterson died this morning. Joe and his wife Kay were the founders of the Escapees RV Club over thirty years ago. I’m certain that when they started, they never imagined that their little “club” would become the support system for over 100,000 RV’ers, mostly full timers and half timers / Snowbirds. There was a sad minute of silence observed at social hour in Joe’s honour.

Thursday ; Well, Yuma is back to its typical sunny, warm weather. This morning we drove over to Rancho Bonitos and paid our site rental for January ( and the last week of December ). From there it was over to Arizona Market Place, the huge flea market nearby. Joanne shops there weekly for fresh produce and I needed a couple of hardware items.

After lunch, a nap with Sully, and a walk around the perimeter of the dog park with Bo, I wrapped Christmas presents. In the evening, while Joanne wrapped gifts, I did online research into periodontists in Los Algodones. I have a gum problem that I think should be dealt with by a periodontist.

Friday ; Christmas Eve ;  Today was a sunny, warm, perfect “June 18” day.

This morning I took my little netbook computer to the clubhouse to use Wi-Fi to make some phone calls. After setting up some appointments I returned home and trimmed my beard. Gee, I was really starting to look like a “bushy”. And probably still do … I’m way overdue for a haircut. I have a periodontist appointment in Los Algodones on Monday, so I can get a haircut at that time. I’m quite impressed that I can send an e-mail to a periodontist in Los Algodones late in the evening on Thursday, and by Friday afternoon … and Christmas Eve at that … I have an appointment for Monday morning.

I spent the afternoon doing some maintenance projects, including rewiring the trailer battery with heavier gauge wires and lugs. It was a very pleasant day to be working outside. I wanted to get the trailer battery rewiring job done before we leave this site because there is a work bench with a vise on it behind the storage shed on this site. I needed the vise to crimp the heavy lugs onto the wires. I also disassembled and cleaned the insides of the cooling unit on top of our little 12 volt fridge. The amount of work that it has done in the last month or so is probably equivalent to many years of “normal” use for this little fridge.

At dusk we returned to the clubhouse with the computer to make a Christmas phone call to Joanne’s family. No answer ! Joanne prepared tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, her family’s traditional Christmas Eve dinner. Thank you, my dear !

After supper we went for a walk around the park with Bo, because the park had placed and lit luminaries along the road at each site, a Christmas Eve tradition here at Kofa Ko-op. WHEW … time to lose some weight ! WHEW … time to tell my doctor I need a cardiovascular checkup !

Saturday ; Christmas Day ; Kofa Ko-op to Rancho Bonitos

Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad

What a gorgeous Christmas Day in Yuma. Bright sunshine, 74 degrees all day long, no wind. Pretty typical for Christmas Day in Yuma, actually. This morning we prepared for departure, left Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park, and drove north on South Avenue 4E for about 2 miles to Rancho Bonitos Co-op RV Park. We got set up in our new site, and our home until April 1.

Because we had to move this morning we did not have our traditional Christmas morning breakfast. And ever since we began travelling … seven Christmases ago, we have not had my family’s traditional Christmas morning breakfast, which had become “our” traditional Christmas morning breakfast. Because we haven’t had a waffle iron in the trailer. Until now ! ! ! WOO-HOO … Joanne bought me a waffle iron. So tomorrow morning, we will resume having waffles for Christmas breakfast, albeit delayed by one day.

Gift opening time ! We allowed Bo to open his two gifts first. And each Christmas, for seven Christmases now, he has become more and more adept at opening gifts. And more and more enthusiastic about it ! So … perhaps unwisely … this morning we allowed him to “help” us unwrap all of our gifts. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA … way to go, Bo ! The more gifts he unwrapped, the more frantic and frenzied he became. Must be somewhat like letting a little kid eat too much sugar ! BO … RELAX !

After cleaning up the gift wrap mess, we got dressed for Christmas dinner and headed back to Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park for Christmas dinner. We went early, and took the computer, planning to use Wi-Fi to phone our families. We had a wonderful Skype video chat with Joanne’s family before it was time for dinner. What an excellent pronunciation of Feliz Navidad by nine year old Amelia. Too bad she couldn’t be wishing us that at the Mazatlán airport today, as had been the plan earlier this year < sigh >. Kofa Ko-op prepared turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and dressing. All other side dishes and deserts were contributed potluck style. It was a pretty good dinner, but not the best communal / potluck Christmas dinner we’ve had. We were seated at a table of twelve, including a Canadian couple from Kingston, Ontario. After dinner and socializing, we phoned my sister and her husband. No answer !

We returned to Rancho Bonitos, and fed Bo and Sully their Christmas turkey dinners, so to speak. It was a pouch of soft morsel dog food in gravy. Sully got the gravy, Bo got the meat, everybody was happy. We went for a walk around the park, Joanne with the dog, me carrying the computer, searching for an unsecured Wi-Fi signal. There was one near the trailer of the park’s caretaker, also the son of the owner of the lot we’re on. He had already advised me that it would be okay to use his Wi-Fi signal. But I would like to have Wi-Fi right at our trailer, if that can be possible. Next week I will phone Qwest, the local Internet Service Provider to see if I can get Wi-Fi for three months.

   DSK

December 12 to 18, 2010

December 12 to 18, 2010 ; Desert Hot Springs ( Palm Springs ), California to Yuma, Arizona


Sunday ; Desert Hot Springs to San Bernardino ( east side of Los Angeles )

Today was sunny and hot ! This morning we slowly prepared for departure then spent over an hour in the swimming pools at Caliente Springs Resort. Each of the three pools was at a slightly different temperature but all of them were pleasantly … tepid. And after an hour in the slightly warm mineral pools, my sore, arthritic left hand was completely pain free. We departed Caliente Springs Resort and drove into Desert Hot Springs, to a laundromat. Joanne got the laundry started, then we had lunch in the trailer in the parking lot of the laundromat. After lunch, before the laundry was finished, I wanted to post my weekly journal entry to my blog, so I turned on the computer hoping to find an unsecured Wi-Fi signal. Well, there were no unsecured signals, but lots of secured ones. I went to the pizza restaurant beside the laundromat and asked if I may use their Wi-Fi signal. NO ! Okay … I went to the legion on the other side of the laundromat and asked there. Sure … one dollar please ! That was reasonable. I sat in the legion, at the bar, and while Joanne finished the laundry I worked online.

We left Desert Hot Springs and headed west on Interstate 10 towards Los Angeles. Within half an hour or so we were passing Morongo Casino. I wanted to take a look at Morongo Casino to see if it was a viable boondocking spot for the future. Our “usual” routing and timing brings us into Palm Springs late in the afternoon or early in the evening, and I don’t like to pay premium price in expensive RV parks when arriving late in the day. I would prefer to boondock overnight nearby for free and arrive at an expensive RV park / resort in the morning. So … we pulled into Morongo Casino and … first thing we found was their travel center / fuel bar, with excellent prices. We refilled with diesel. Then … we found their large parking lot dedicated to RV’s. Very nice. An excellent boondock location !

So … next year … I know where we will boondock overnight upon arrival in the Palm Springs area. And I’ve already picked out what I want for my next lunch at Sherman’s Deli. HA HA HA !

We continued west on I-10 … squabbling and bickering all the way. We’d been doing that on and off all day ! The congestion and confusion of the Los Angeles area freeways in a big rig were stressful and even a bit scary, even on a Sunday afternoon ! In San Bernardino, on the eastern edge of Los Angeles, we found our way to Camping World. We arrived just as it turned dark. Perfect timing ! We got set up in their parking lot, extended the slides, and I hooked up the generator to the trailer. We don’t usually extend the slides when boondocking, but … ! I wanted to try something new.

Tonight was the finale of Amazing Race. We have not had a chance to try out our “new” TV, purchased last winter, using the trailer’s antenna. The United States “over the air” TV signals have been digital for about a year and a half. And we’ve had this “digital capable” TV for almost a year. And I didn’t want to miss the finale of Amazing Race !

So … we extended the slides so we could see the TV. I hooked up and started the generator. I raised the antenna, thinking I would figure out afterwards which direction to “aim” it. I turned on the TV, and started the scan function. HUH ? It found 65 channels ? All digital ? Is that right ? Is that possible ? The first channel it settled on after the scan was completed was … channel 2. HUH ? CBS ? The Amazing Race network ? And …
< blinking > … OMG … that’s the best picture I’ve ever seen on a TV !
I flipped through another half dozen or so channels and they were all … amazingly great pictures. Who knew ? ! ?

We took Bo for a long walk around the neighbourhood. What a lot of noise ! We were at the intersection of I-10 and I-215, and … underneath an arrivals route to LAX ! Bo didn’t care ! He was thrilled to be somewhere new ! All it takes to thrill Bo is … arrive somewhere … or depart somewhere ! HA HA HA … he’s pretty easy to please.

We had supper, then watched Amazing Race. Congratulations, Nat and Kat.

Monday ; Camping World in San Bernardino, California

Two defective fridges in a row ? ! ? That’s not really possible, is it ? ! ?

Today was sunny and hot. Once again, we got up very early to be ready for trailer service when Camping World opened at 8 AM. I met with the General Manager of the store to discuss our sad fridge tale. He wanted to try the same repair that had been recommended by the mobile service technician in Desert Hot Springs. NO ! ! ! New fridge, please. With barely a hint of reluctance showing, he agreed to remove the fridge and install another new one. I was very impressed with his common sense and customer service skills.

We sat in the customer waiting area with Sully and Bo all morning, periodically taking them outside for a walk and some fresh air. We thought the trailer would be ready around noon, but when it wasn’t ready at 1 PM we put the animals in the truck and went across the street to Popeye’s Chicken for lunch. Popeye’s is the Louisiana Cajun version of KFC. We wandered back across the street to Camping World about 2 PM and they were just finishing with the trailer. Once again I was very impressed.

First thing in the morning I had attempted to purchase a door hinge reversal kit. The General Manager advised me that at this Camping World store, they did not charge customers for the door hinge reversal kit, and they did not charge for the labour to install the kit / reverse the door from right hand hinged to left hand hinged. BUT … they didn’t have the correct door reversal kit in stock. And it would take one to two weeks to get one. I asked Joanne if she thought we could tolerate the fridge being hinged on the incorrect side for the entire winter, and she said yes. I told the General Manager I would like to return in four months or so to have the kit installed / door hinges reversed to the other side. When we returned from lunch we discovered why the removal of the defective fridge and installation of the replacement took longer than we had expected. The shop foreman knew from previous experience that it was possible to reverse the door hinges without the kit, by using the existing hinges, flipping them over, drilling some new holes in the hinges and door frame, then tapping / threading the holes. And that’s what they had done. So … the fridge was hinged on the “correct” side for our installation. Well done !

It was our intent to stay in the Camping World parking lot overnight again, to ensure that the fridge operated correctly for at least 20 hours or so, then move to Hemet for three days. Hemet is not too far away, and that would allow us to remain reasonably close to this Camping World for at least the first four days of operation of this fridge.

But … alas … at 5:50 PM … after operating for just 6 hours … just like the other fridge … it failed, and displayed an E3 error code ! ! ! The E3 code indicates that the cooling unit has overheated. I hurried into the store, which closes at 6 PM, hoping to find the General Manager. I found the Service Manager, and advised him. He didn’t look very pleased. I’m certain I didn’t either. He suggested that I try a “restart”, and see him in the morning. The fridge restarted immediately, but then again, so did the other one. And then it would fail again approximately every six hours.

I just can’t believe that it’s possible for two brand new fridges in a row to be defective. Since both fridges indicated an overheating problem … is it possible there’s a problem with the venting ? The fridge’s side wall vent is okay ! Tomorrow morning I’m going to climb up on the roof and check the fridge’s roof vent. Maybe it’s clogged with dirt or something ? But I checked it a few weeks ago when our old fridge first died and it seemed okay. < big sigh >

Tuesday ; San Bernardino to Hemet, California

I was up very early this morning to check something on the trailer before I went into Camping World when they opened at 8 AM. The E3 error code that keeps occurring on the fridge indicates an overheating problem. I thought that maybe the fridge vent on the roof might be clogged with dirt or … acorns ? By 7:30 I was up on the trailer roof. I removed the fridge roof vent cover and discovered that the screened vent underneath was perfectly clean ! At 8 AM I was inside Camping World and met with the General Manager, the Service Manager, and the shop foreman. The “defective” fridge that was removed from our trailer yesterday had been operating in their service shop for almost 24 hours without a problem ! While 3 out of 4 of us were trying to figure out whether to wind our watches, take a shit, or steal third base, the shop foreman suggested that there might be a low voltage problem in our trailer’s 12V electrical system. A “low voltage” situation in the 12V electrical system feeding power to the fridge’s control module might cause “mystery” error codes to occur ! < huge sigh > A low voltage situation could result from a failing 120V / 12V power converter unit in the trailer.

After some discussion with them I decided we would depart Camping World and head to Golden Village Palms RV Resort in Hemet, about an hour away, and there I would do extensive voltage testing at the trailer battery, and at the converter, with AC plugged in, with the truck alternator providing a charge, with an external battery charger connected to the trailer battery, etc. But … it was becoming obvious that I had insisted that Camping World remove and replace a “defective” fridge that probably wasn’t ! With that in mind, and some … criticism … from Joanne, I made the drive through rush hour traffic on Riverside Freeway and Escondido Freeway from San Bernardino to Hemet feeling like shit ! Not a fun drive !

We arrived, checked in, and got set up in a site at Golden Village Palms RV Resort in Hemet. I spent much of the rest of the day doing voltage testing, recording data, and trying to interpret the data. I’m still a bit uncertain, but I think what it indicates is that the converter inside the trailer needs to be replaced … AND … the truck alternator is not charging the trailer battery. The latter is a problem that has been occurring intermittently for the last two months. Joanne is critical that I hadn’t already turned to a “professional” to address that problem.

We spent some time in the hot tub late in the afternoon. I did some online shopping for a new converter … at Camping World, of course. I summarized my voltage testing results in a spreadsheet and sent it by
e-mail to the Camping World General Manager in San Bernardino. I will phone him in the morning, discuss that, and make an appointment to have a new converter installed … I guess.

Wednesday ; Today was cloudy and cool. This morning I phoned Camping World in San Bernardino and made an appointment for the purchase and installation of a new converter / charger tomorrow. We went to view two other Passport America parks nearby, one just outside the city and one within the city. The one outside the city was a dump. The one within the city was worse than a dump. We went to the Hemet dog park. There were two other dogs there, both pit bulls. I’m of the opinion, ignorant as it may be, that the only good pit bull is a dead pit bull. Bo wasn’t very interested in socializing with them. Which was fine, from our perspective, they weren’t friendly dogs.

After the dog park we went shopping. Radio Shack, Walgreens, Lowe’s, Sally Beauty Supply, then Wienerschnitzel for lunch in the mall across the street from Golden Village Palms. Joanne walked from the restaurant to the 99¢ Only store in the same mall, then walked from there to home. I drove to Home Depot to buy something, then drove home.

It was too cold today for us to want to go for a soak in the outdoor hot tubs. I did some minor maintenance chores, and napped with Sully. We spent way too much time and effort squabbling and bickering and making one another totally miserable !

Thursday ; Hemet to San Bernardino to Cabazon, California

Today was cloudy with early morning rain. This morning we prepared for departure, then did more voltage testing ; at the battery, at the converter, at the back of the fridge … with no charging provided, with 120V AC charging, and with truck alternator charging. It seemed pretty conclusive. The converter was not functioning correctly. Time to head back to Camping World in San Bernardino.

We departed Golden Village Palms RV Resort and headed west on Hwy. 74 back to the LA freeways, then northwest on the Escondido Freeway and northeast on the Riverside Freeway back to Camping World on the San Bernardino Freeway. We arrived shortly after noon, got the truck checked in at the service department for installation of a new converter / charger, then walked across the street to have lunch at Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen … again.

The trailer’s converter / charger is the electrical “centre” of the trailer. It receives 120 volt AC power when the trailer is plugged into “shore” power. It receives 12 volt DC power from the trailer’s “house” battery. It distributes 120 volt AC and / or 12 volt DC power as needed within the trailer. It charges the trailer “house” battery from 120 volt “shore” power, or it charges the trailer “house” battery from the truck’s alternator when the truck engine is running.

After lunch we sat with Bo and Sully in the Camping World customer waiting area. They were both very well behaved. When the installation of the converter / charger was completed, we once again did extensive voltage testing. Yup … big differences. The old converter was “shot” ! And the “truck not charging the trailer” situation was caused by the malfunctioning old converter. So that problem was solved as well by the new converter. I met with the General Manager and the Service Manager, thanked them profusely for taking a bad situation and making it all better with a bit of common sense and lots of good customer service skills. And I apologized for insisting that they replace a “defective” fridge that wasn’t ! We will try to do as much of our Camping World shopping as we can at the San Bernardino store in the future. Thank you, gentlemen, for a job very well done !

Joanne wanted to boondock overnight in the Camping World parking lot. She didn’t want to leave until certain that the new fridge and new converter were both functioning correctly. I was confident that they would after doing the voltage testing. I wanted to boondock overnight at the Morongo Casino just west of Palm Springs on Interstate 10.

We left Camping World around 4 PM heading east on I-10. We were at the Morongo Casino about an hour later just as it got dark. We parked in the very large, very well lit parking lot dedicated to RV’s. There were only seven rigs there including us. We unloaded what little food we had from the little 12V truck fridge into our new fridge in the trailer. That little 12V truck fridge has certainly paid its way in the last few weeks ! I turned on my computer and … oh boy … free Wi-Fi from the casino, and it reached all the way out here to the back end of the RV parking lot.

Hopefully our fridge “drama” is now over. Hopefully our stress and tension will be over as well. I proposed to Joanne that we consider going into the casino to have dinner at the buffet restaurant to celebrate the end of the fridge drama and hopefully our personal drama as well. We went into the casino and walked around, checking out the restaurants and the gaming areas. It’s a pretty upscale casino ! The buffet restaurant looked pretty good, but a bit expensive. When we got to the “new player’s club” membership desk we found out that registering as a new player earned a free buffet meal. WOO-HOO … guess who are “new players” at the Morongo Casino ? ! ? HA HA HA !

Damn fine meal it was, too ! Joanne played penny slots until she lost a dollar. I played penny slots until I broke even. What a couple of “players”, eh ? HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

Friday : Cabazon to Andrade, California

Today started out very cold at the Morongo Casino and ended up quite warm out in the desert not too far west of Yuma, Arizona. Our plan for today was to boondock overnight at “Slab City”. We didn’t !

This morning ( BRRRRR ) before leaving the Morongo Casino we pulled into their Travel Center, refilled Lanoire with diesel, refilled the little gas can with fuel for the generator, and refilled Harvey’s fresh water tank. We headed east on Interstate 10. On the east side of Palm Springs, in the very ritzy neighbourhood of Rancho Mirage we found our way to an Albertsons to buy some groceries now that we’ve finally got a functional RV fridge. We continued east on I-10 then southeast on Hwy. 86S and Hwy. 111 around the east side of the Salton Sea. We were on our way to Slab City.

Slab City is iconic in the RV world, a “Mecca” like Quartzsite, Arizona and Livingston, Texas. It is a boondocking area out in the desert near Niland, California. The “slabs” are the remains of the buildings of the military base that was there during the second world war.

On the way there we passed the little < ahem > “village” of Bombay Beach. We had heard of Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea, and drove off the highway and into the village to take a look. It was a ragtag collection of decrepit old mobile homes, RV’s, and shacks. And old vehicles up on blocks. We’ve seen that kind of hillbilly poverty reminiscent of the movie “Deliverance” in the Ozarks in Missouri, but we never expected to see it in Southern California ! A few more miles south on Hwy. 111 and we were passing Fountain Of Youth Spa & RV Resort. HA HA HA ! We’ve shared many laughs around campfires with our SKP BC Okanagan Chapter 33 friend Susan as she tells tales about her experiences as a single woman staying at Fountain Of Youth. We drove in to take a look.

Our directions to Slab City were “drive to Niland … and ask anybody”. HA HA HA … so that’s exactly what we did. And found our way to Slab City. What a filthy dump ! ! ! It’s an area of desert filled with … shacks, decrepit old RV’s, and other old vehicles such as school buses being used as dwellings, and … < shrug > regular, modern, full timer / “Snowbird” RV’s. And 65 years worth of accumulated filth and refuse ! Or however long the disillusioned and psychotic have been living there. Why would “regular” full timer / Snowbird RV’ers want to spend the winter there ?

We pulled off the road into the desert. I asked Joanne to make us a very late lunch, planning to leave as soon as we ate lunch ! I walked Bo around the desert, trying to avoid stepping on broken glass, burnt remains of mattresses, and more filth and refuse than you could ever see in Mexico !
I can hardly wait for the opportunity to make a snarky response the next time I hear an American tell me that they don’t want to go to Mexico because of the “filth” !

 On the way out of Slab City I felt … compelled … to stop and take a picture of Salvation Mountain, a 25 year effort by a religious fanatic / psychotic to paint a mountain with religious … statements !

 We drove south on Hwy. 111 all the way to Interstate 8, then east on I-8 almost all the way to Yuma. Our “plan B” was to boondock at the new Quechan Casino just outside Yuma on the road to Los Algodones, Mexico. But when we got to the casino we found that they now charge $5 to park overnight in their gravel parking lot. Forget that ! We drove back across to the other side of I-8 and spent the night parked out in the desert around a lot of other boondocking RV’s.

Saturday ; Yuma, Arizona

Well, the good news is … Joanne’s water aerobics friend Eilene is not dead ! And the bad news is … 1. I slightly crumpled the bed rail of the truck on one side yesterday and 2. We were able to get a site at Kofa Ko-op only until Christmas morning !

Yesterday just before we got to Bombay Beach I pulled off the highway, through the ditch and into the desert to stop for a bathroom break. The ditch was a bit deeper than I thought. When I was pulling back onto the highway through the ditch, I saw in the truck’s rear view mirror that as the truck leaned one way coming up out of the ditch the trailer was leaning the other way as it was still going down into the ditch. With the truck and trailer leaning in opposite directions the underside of the trailer bedroom overhanging the truck banged against the truck bed rail. When we unhitched today at Kofa Ko-op I discovered that it had hit hard enough to slightly crumple the truck bed rail. Oh, well … just another “war wound”.

Today was sunny and warm. AHHHHH … welcome to Yuma ! This morning we departed our boondock camp in the desert and drove a bit east on Interstate 8, across the Colorado River into the state of Arizona and the city of Yuma. Arriving in Yuma and Kofa Ko-op feels almost as much like “coming home” as arriving back at Keremeos and Riverside RV Park Resort in the spring. When we arrived at Kofa Ko-op, the SKP RV park, and checked in, we were only able to get a site for one week. DARN ! ! ! We intend to be here for Christmas dinner, so … on the morning of Christmas Day, we will have to vacate our site, move to the boondock area overnight, and depart on December 26. Unless … another long term rental site becomes available. But … we are number 7 on the long term rental site waiting list, so that’s extremely unlikely.

We got set up in our site, had lunch, I went to nap with Sully and Bo, Joanne went to do laundry. We took Bo for a walk around the 7 acre dog park, a daily ritual for us when we are here. And … Joanne discovered that her friend Eilene is alive and well here. We were worried when we were unable to reach her by phone last spring on our way home, and there was no one at her home in Oregon when we stopped there on November 2.

Since we are probably going to have to leave here on December 26 we did some planning. After yet more discussion < sigh > we made a decision not to go to Teacapán, Mexico. I’m very disappointed ! Joanne has been expressing reluctance to go to Mexico this year ever since her family cancelled their plans to meet us in Mazatlán on Christmas Day.

After supper we did our Christmas decorating.

DSK

December 5 to 11, 2010

December 5 to 11, 2010 ; Coarsegold to Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs, California


Sunday ; Today was mostly cloudy and warm. In preparation for departure tomorrow I cleaned hundreds of acorns out of the hitch pin box. WHEW … what busy Acorn Woodpeckers here. When we get to Yuma I am going to have to remove the air conditioning shroud on the roof to clean out acorns, and search for any other spots where acorns might be stashed. I took the computer to the clubhouse and did some online work including posting my weekly journal entry to my blog. Joanne joined me in the library and made a phone call to her sister.

After lunch we went to the clubhouse to see “Art in the Park”, an exhibition of the arts and crafts created by a variety of artists residing in the park. There was some interesting stuff. From there we headed to Oakhurst for the Oakhurst Community Band Christmas Concert. Once in Oakhurst we refilled with diesel then found our way to the high school. WOW … we got lost on the high school campus ! It seemed more similar to a university campus than a high school in a small town out in the middle of nowhere. Finally we found the Performing Arts Center. In a high school ? ! ?

You know, while in the United States every winter, I am proud to brag about the elements of Canadian society / culture that are … superior … to the United States. But … I’m embarrassed by how inferior our education system is in music and sports. The scope and magnitude of high school music and sports programs in the United States are immeasurably greater than in Canada.

The concert was quite enjoyable. The Oakhurst Community Band was like a symphony orchestra without a string section. It was comprised of men and women from high school age to older than us. The program was varied, and included not only some Christmas music, but a recent composition done locally entitled Yosemite Autumn. While introducing it, the conductor was brought to tears. I’m not sure what that was about. That musical piece was enhanced by a slide show of photos of Yosemite National Park.

Midway through the concert was a … HUH ? … cookie intermission ! HA HA HA ! I’ve never been to a concert that had a cookie intermission. The entire audience filed outside the Performing Arts Center where there were tables filled with an endless supply of really good, home baked cookies provided by the Oakhurst Community Band’s Women’s Auxiliary. After the cookie intermission, I felt inspired to increase the amount of donation that I had made when they “passed the hat” at the beginning of the free concert. After the second half of the concert I was inspired to further increase my donation.

After the concert we stopped at Vons for a few groceries and to refill a water jug. Just after we arrived back “home” it began to rain heavily. I hope it stops by morning. I hate preparing for departure in the rain. After supper we watched Amazing Race and the season finale of IRT Deadliest Roads. Way to go, Lisa !

Monday ; SKP Park of the Sierras, Coarsegold to Camping World, Bakersfield, California

Well … a lovely, sunny, warm day ! It took us a long time this morning to get out of SKP Park of the Sierras. While preparing for departure, I kept running into little problems and discovering minor repairs that needed to be done. And … lots of little places on the exterior of the trailer packed with acorns !
I had some “checkout anxiety” because the last time we were leaving SKP Park of the Sierras it took 50 minutes for the office staff to process our checkout. Today the checkout process took just a few minutes.

We headed south on Hwy. 41 to Fresno, then onto Hwy. 99 heading south. We had lunch in a roadside rest area. Some minor electrical problems convinced me that the trailer battery needed to be replaced. At Bakersfield we found our way to Camping World. We verified with the service department that the fridge we ordered was in stock, and that we had a service appointment for tomorrow morning. And while I ordered the fridge last month at a discounted sale price, this month fridge installation is half price. WOO-HOO … fridge on sale and installation at half price ! We bought some items we needed and checked prices on the line of batteries that Camping World carries.

We left Camping World headed for a nearby Wal-Mart to check battery prices, and decide whether to buy a replacement house battery for the trailer at Camping World or Wal-Mart. The nearby Wal-Mart did not have an auto department, so we got directions to another Wal-Mart. At the second Wal-Mart I made a decision to buy a battery there. I removed the old battery out of the trailer and went inside with it to buy a new battery. The sales clerk was going to check the charge level on the new battery I was buying, and offered to check the condition of the old battery I was replacing. Sure … why not ? HUH ? ? ? It checked out as all okay ! I decided to hold off buying the new battery for awhile longer, until I figure out whether the battery is the problem or is there some other electrical problem ?

I reinstalled the old battery … as darkness arrived, making the task a bit difficult. We returned to Camping World where we boondocked overnight in the parking lot.

Tuesday ; Bakersfield to Victorville, California

Today was sunny and warm, a bit of a tough and unusual day. I got up very early ( 6 AM ) this morning to prepare for our service appointment at Camping World at 8 AM. With very little load on it overnight, just the little 12V fridge, the trailer house battery did not have enough “juice” left this morning to power the water pump. I couldn’t shower, or even flush the toilet, until I went outside in the dark to connect and start the generator < sigh >. I was convinced that it was a mistake not to have bought a new battery for the trailer yesterday evening. I suppose the Wal-Mart’s battery tester device was not meant to test deep cycle RV batteries, just regular automotive starting batteries.

The generator got us through our morning rituals. I disconnected it and put it away in the truck. I unhitched the truck from the trailer. We loaded Bo, Sully, and Sully’s litter box into the truck. I was at the Camping World service desk right at opening time. Dometic fridges come from the factory with the door hinges on the right hand side. We need our fridge to be hinged on the left hand side. I was unwilling to pay Camping World for half an hour of labour
( at $121 per hour ! ) to reverse the fridge doors, but I ordered the door hinge reversal parts kit, planning to do the work myself at a later date, probably after we get to Yuma. Before they took the trailer into the shop I removed the dead house battery. We went into Camping World’s retail store to look for an item and discovered that three items that we bought yesterday afternoon at $10 apiece had gone on sale this morning for $7 apiece. HMPH ! With no hassle at all, they cheerfully refunded $9 to us.

We headed to Wal-Mart to buy a new battery for the trailer. Beside the Wal-Mart was a Walgreen’s. We went inside to look at the weekly flyer of advertised specials. Joanne bought me a Christmas present. And … apparently … I bought one for her. Well … that was the easiest Christmas shopping I’ve ever done. HA HA HA ! On the way back to Camping World we stopped at Albertson’s for some groceries, anticipating that we were about to have a fridge in the trailer. After Albertson’s as we pulled into a fuel bar to refill with diesel, Joanne spotted … WOO-HOO … a panaderia ( Mexican bakery ). We refilled with diesel then went to buy some pan dulce ( Mexican pastries ). OH … a very nice panaderia ! We bought a lot of pan dulce !

We got back to Camping World just as they finished installing the new fridge. Unfortunately they did not have the parts kit that is necessary to reverse the doors from right hand hinged to left hand hinged. I’ll have to obtain that when we get to Yuma. I began to install the new battery before paying the bill, to ensure that the fridge was working properly on propane ( it needs 12V battery power to ignite the burner and operate the fridge using propane ). Joanne was inside the trailer examining the new fridge and discovered that at least one shelf was missing ( based on the display model inside the store ), the shelves were missing the flip up bars ( that the display model had ) across the front of the shelves that prevent products from falling out of the fridge when the door is opened, and a door bin was missing the rubber fingers ( that the display model had ) that hold bottles in place. After some discussion with our service writer he agreed to open and unpack another new fridge box to determine whether parts were missing from our fridge or was it a “new design” issue. He opened a new fridge and … ours was indeed missing a shelf, but the other items that differed from the display model were obviously “new design”. He agreed to give us the missing shelf and then contact the manufacturer to obtain one for the fridge in their inventory that is now missing a shelf. I’m a bit disappointed and miffed at the design changes, but … I guess everybody, including the fridge manufacturer, needs to cut back a bit in this bad economy !

We finished installing the new battery, started and adjusted the fridge, and were ready to hit the road … < sigh > … at noon ! Sully had been in the truck with us all morning, and seemed content, so we decided to keep him in the truck for the afternoon and see how he liked travelling with us in the truck instead of being alone in the trailer.

We headed east out of Bakersfield on Hwy. 58 towards the Tehachapi Pass. We skipped lunch, and munched on a pan dulce instead. Before too long we were on the 16 km / 10 mile long climb up over the Tehachapi Pass. Then … over the top, and … AHHHHH … first view of the seemingly endless Mojave Desert ! Hellooooo, Mojave ! We stopped at a roadside rest area for a bathroom break and to check on the fridge function. Sitting on a picnic table were … HUH ? … two pairs of dress shoes ; one man’s, one woman’s. At first I thought someone had stopped on their way to or from a dressy event, and decided to change to more comfortable shoes, then forgot their shoes on the picnic table. But no, that couldn’t be, because … these shoes were brand new, never worn ! I walked over to the picnic table, looked at the shoes, and they looked … new. I picked them up, examined the outsides, examined the insides, then flipped them over. HUH ? No dirt, no scuffs, perfectly clean soles, no evidence that they’ve ever been worn. New shoes, right out of the box ! HUH ? I decided to take them, and donate them to a thrift shop. Wonder what their story is ? ? ?

At Four Corners we turned south onto Hwy. 395. As we approached Victorville around 4PM we realized that if we kept going, we were going to get to the Los Angeles eastern suburbs of San Bernardino and Riverside right at rush hour ! I wasn’t up for Los Angeles suburban rush hour on the freeway today. I was too tired ! We stopped at Victorville and boondocked in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Sully travelled well with us all day in the truck. All of our previous electrical problems disappeared with the installation of the new trailer house battery. The new fridge ... seems to have an intermittent overheating problem. And, yes … I did have a galleta ( Mexican cookie ) at bedtime.

Wednesday ; Victorville to Desert Hot Springs, California

Well, I’m feeling a little more hopeful now ( at 9:30 PM ) but a few hours ago ( at 6 PM ) I just wanted to crawl into bed and cry.

Today was sunny and hot ! I love the Mojave Desert ! We decided this morning we would prefer to cross the desert to get to Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs than drive through the urban congestion of San Bernardino and Riverside. The desert route might be a few more miles, but probably less time. And certainly more scenic and less stressful. We left the Wal-Mart parking lot in Victorville this morning and headed a few miles north on Interstate 15, then east on Hwy. 18, east and south on Hwy. 247, then west and south on Hwy. 62 to Interstate 10 at Palm Springs. A few miles east on
I-10 and … Desert Hot Springs on the north side of the Interstate and Palm Springs on the south side.

We arrived, checked in, and got set up in a site at Caliente Springs, a very expensive but luxurious RV resort on the Desert Hot Springs side of the Interstate. We had lunch, I had a well deserved brief nap with Sully, and we went into Desert Hot Springs to buy some groceries. First stop, though, was the Post Office to pick up a batch of mail forwarded from home. We went to Stater Bros., one of my favourite grocery stores anywhere ! And I bought a jug of Arnold Palmer Tee, one of my favourite grocery products anywhere ! Arnold Palmer Tee, available only in Southern California, is a blend of iced tea and lemonade. We returned home laden with groceries to restock our new fridge to find …

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH … our 1½ day old fridge was dead ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I hardly know what to say ! The LED display on the fridge was showing an E3 error code. Turning it off for a few minutes and turning it back on would not solve the problem. I got online, and spent much of the evening working on the problem. First I warranty registered the fridge purchase. Then I searched for a local Dometic warranty repair location. I found a local RV mobile service technician that is a registered Dometic warranty repair service. I sent him an urgent e-mail and he responded within a couple of hours. He’s coming tomorrow around noon ! That calmed my anxiety a bit. I sent an e-mail to Dometic advising them of the situation. In the meantime … we brought the little 12V truck fridge back into the trailer and … once again … transferred the food from the dead RV fridge to the little 12V truck fridge.

In the evening we watched Survivor and the MythBusters episode with special guest Barack Obama.

Thursday ; Some days I just want to scream at the world “WHY ME ? ? ?” Much of today was dedicated to dealing with the fridge problem.

Today was sunny and very warm. Very nice weather here in Palm Springs / Desert Hot Springs. I was able to successfully restart the fridge early this morning. I dealt with the batch of forwarded mail we picked up at the Post Office yesterday. We took Bo to this RV resort’s fenced dog park / dog run. On the way there we took some garbage to the dumpster. HUH ? ? ? There was an unopened bottle of white wine from Idaho sitting beside the dumpster. How bad can Idaho wine be ? ! ? HA HA HA ! I guess somebody bought two bottles, and after drinking the first decided that the second should be discarded. We took it !

Around noon the Dometic factory authorized warranty repair service technician arrived. He recommended that the fridge’s heat sensor and associated fused wiring be replaced. He phoned Dometic for authorization. < SPUTTER > Not only did Dometic refuse to authorize that repair, they refused to pay his $65 service call fee ! ! ! Their position was that since my trailer was mobile, I was obligated to take it to a service facility, not use a mobile service, despite the fact that this local mobile service technician was a Dometic authorized warranty repair service and ….
< SPUTTER > … I only called him because the Dometic website referred me to him as the nearest Dometic authorized warranty repair service ! ! ! ! ! I paid his $65 fee ! And so far, both Dometic and Camping World refuse to reimburse me !

After lunch we went shopping. We drove to the Flying J in Thousand Palms to refill with diesel. And refilled with diesel at the Valero across the street from Flying J. On the way to Trader Joe’s we stopped to shop at the Goodwill Thrift Shop. I love Palm Springs thrift shop shopping. I bought two pairs of pants ! Today was “all pants on sale for $3.99” day. Minus my 10% senior’s discount, of course. WOW … a hundred bucks worth of pants for $7.18 ! HA HA HA ! The only thing I love more than Palm Springs thrift shop shopping is shopping at Trader Joe’s. Especially just before Christmas ! We bought quite a bit of Trader Joe’s specialty grocery products. Like chocolate coated sugar cookie “stars”. And chocolate coated marshmallows. And a one pound chocolate bar. Notice a theme developing there ? ! ?

We returned home and went to “take the waters”. This resort has stupendous mineral hot pools. As do all the RV parks and hotels / spas in this area. The water comes out of the ground at about 140 degrees and gets cooled before being piped into the first and largest hot pool. It’s a bit cooler as it flows into the second hot pool. And a bit cooler as it flows into the third hot pool. Then a bit cooler as it flows into the warmest swimming pool. And a bit cooler as it flows into the second and third swimming pools. Finally, it flows out to be used for irrigation of the golf course.

I spent quite awhile around supper time on the phone and sending e-mails dealing with the fridge. It failed again around 5 PM ! ! ! That’s it … I’ve had enough ! Especially after paying a $65 service fee for essentially nothing ! Talk about adding insult to injury ! I advised Camping World and Dometic that I demand that the fridge be replaced. Not removed, diagnosed, repaired, and reinstalled. REPLACED ! Is there any part of that that you don’t understand ? ! ?

After supper we headed downtown for “Village Fest”. Every Thursday evening downtown Palm Springs is closed to vehicular traffic, and it becomes a huge, outdoor shopping mall filled with arts and crafts and foods and … stuff … for sale. I felt Bo should be treated to an evening at Village Fest. Palm Springs is very dog ( and gay ) friendly, and many very well dressed dogs can be seen at Village Fest. Joanne has always felt that Bo looks like some kind of Alabama refugee ( well, actually, he is ! ) at Village Fest with his usually ratty looking bandana wardrobe. SO … HA HA HA … this year, she has been saving a brand new CANADA bandanna for him to wear to Village Fest. But … to no avail. This is Palm Springs. Even the pig being walked around Village Fest wearing a harness and sweater was better dressed than Bo. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! ! !

Friday ; Today was sunny and hot again. Well, there have been a lot of phone calls and e-mails back and forth between me, Dometic ( the manufacturer of the fridge ), and Camping World ( the retailer and installer of the fridge ). Whether they are indifferent by choice, or just plain stupid,
I can’t even get a sensible response out of Dometic, let alone a satisfactory one. Camping World, on the other hand, is putting effort into resolving this problem in a way that salvages for them a long term customer. I recall from our own days as retail business owners that sometimes it takes the retailer to solve the problems created by the indifference or stupidity of the manufacturer.

This morning I received a sensible e-mail response from the Service Manager at Camping World in Bakersfield, where we bought the fridge and had it installed … only three short days ago ! ! ! It seems like an eternity ago ! Then I received a phone call from the General Manager of Camping World in San Bernardino where we will be heading to on Sunday to have the fridge replaced ( or possibly, although not very likely, repaired ) Monday morning. His attitude and approach calmed me down a lot !

We headed across the Interstate to Palm Springs for Bo’s annual visit to the City Of Palm Springs Dog Park. WOO-HOO ! He recognized where we were and where we were going when we turned the corner at Palm Springs City Hall. Upon our arrival there were no dogs on the small dog side of the park, and only two dogs on the large dog side of the park. Bo’s always thought that if you can’t run with the big dogs … go home ! HA HA HA ! Almost immediately he became BFF with Silas the Giant Schnauzer. Silas’s female owner, a woman about our age, was from Chilliwack, near Vancouver, BC. She was born and raised in Lima, Peru, and has spent more than half her life living in or near Vancouver. While Bo and Silas romped and romped and romped with the many dogs that came and went, we chatted with the woman. She’s been in Palm Springs for 4½ months on a work assignment which she has just completed. She’s fallen in love with Palm Springs, and doesn’t want to return to Canada and winter.

We returned home, had lunch, and went into Desert Hot Springs for more thrift shop shopping. First stop was the Post Office. When we were there two days ago to pick up our batch of forwarded mail from home, I told the postal clerk I was looking for only one piece of mail, a 9 x 12 XpressPost envelope from Canada. I had forgotten that I was expecting one other piece of mail, a letter sized envelope. With a $5 bill in it ! From Petco. For filling out an online survey. Well, Petco … that’s the way to do it ! Everybody … and his dog … HA HA HA … wants customers to fill out surveys. Like our time is free ! Forget that ! Petco’s doing it right ! You want me to fill out your survey ? ? ? Okay … five bucks !

We shopped in a couple of thrift stores. I bought another pair of pants … and a brand new, never used, … never even assembled … egg poacher. Hey … I like Eggs Benedict. And we bought Hollandaise sauce yesterday at Trader Joe’s. The Hollandaise sauce cost more than the egg poacher. HA HA HA ! We went to Glossy, Joanne’s favourite swim suit shop. As is almost always the case when we go there, Joanne bought another swim suit. Glossy specializes in mastectomy swim suits, and has a good selection and great prices.

Yesterday as we walked across the Trader Joe’s parking lot, I could see … because of the way the setting sunlight was hitting the front of the truck … that the tubular metal frame of the truck’s radiator was … HA HA HA … packed with acorns. Today, after I took a picture, Joanne used dental tools to remove all the acorns. HA HA HA !

We gave Bo a bath. He hasn’t had a bath since rolling on a dead salmon at Mabel Lake almost a month and a half ago. PHEUW … what a stinky little dog ! Before preparing supper we went to soak in the mineral hot pool for awhile. AHHHHH ! ! !

Saturday ; Another sunny, hot day ! What great weather in Palm Springs !

This morning we went to the Christmas Craft Fair here at Caliente Springs Resort. We browsed through all the displays set up around the clubhouse and pool patio, but didn’t buy anything. We headed for downtown Palm Springs to shop at Revivals, our favourite thrift shop. It redefines “thrift shop”. It’s very upscale, selling designer clothing and upscale home furnishings as well as “regular” thrift shop offerings. It’s operated by a gay men’s organization. Free AIDS testing every Saturday ! Joanne found a lovely pink knit top, priced at $4, brand new, never worn, still bearing the retailer’s price tag ( Talbots ; $48 ). I bought a Christmas stocking for Joanne for fifty cents. On the way out the door there was a magazine rack. I picked up … HUH ? … a bunch of gay Christmas gift catalogues. Didn’t know there was such a thing ! HA HA HA … guess Bo’s not the only redneck in the family !

Before leaving downtown we went for lunch at Sherman’s Deli. From my perspective, the highlight of any trip to Palm Springs ! Sherman’s is an authentic New York Jewish deli. Their food is soooo good ! A tray of deli pickles and sauerkraut to munch on while waiting for your food. Sweet & sour cabbage ( & beef ) soup. A hot pastrami sandwich on sourdough for me … oh, my goodness, my mouth is watering again as I type this. A chopped liver and egg salad sandwich on rye for Joanne. Boston cream pie. Astoundingly good service from a waiter that we have seen there in previous years. In other words, a career professional waiter, not a teenager with a few weeks of experience who will be moving on in another few weeks. A waiter who notices things like … he ordered soup, she didn’t, … better bring two spoons because there’s no doubt she’s going to ask to try his soup.

After lunch … on Sherman’s patio, temperature today in the mid 80’s … we drove out of downtown and east towards suburbia. We shopped again at Revivals, at their “suburban” location. It wasn’t as good as the downtown store, and is slated to be closed down at the end of the month. From there it was over to PetsMart for some pet Christmas gifts, then to Wal-Mart
< sigh >.

Back at home we trimmed Sully’s and Bo’s claws, then went to the hot pools for our daily “taking the waters”. As much as I disbelieve “hocus-pocus”, I’m convinced that there is some sort of therapeutic value to soaking in hot mineral waters. Within 15 minutes of soaking in the hot pool, my left hand was “loosened up” after being cramped and crippled by arthritis since I awoke this morning. I prepared Eggs Benedict for supper, using my new egg poacher, and Trader Joe’s Hollandaise sauce. Well done, Daniel ! ! !

DSK

November 28 to December 4, 2010

November 28 to December 4, 2010


Sunday ; Today we remember Toby the cat, who died 6 years ago, while we were WorkCamping at Trout Lodge up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri.

Today was sunny but cold. We are determined to remain here for another eight days to take advantage of their attractive monthly rate, but we’re also eager to move further south, to warmer climes. The weather here is now about the same as it was back home in Keremeos when we left four weeks ago. BRRRRR !

I was a bit ill with a colitis flare up today. I probably ate some “prohibited” food at yesterday’s Thanksgiving Leftovers Dinner. This morning I did an obedience session with Bo. Good dog, Bo, well done ! I measured the width of the fridge and the trailer’s exterior doorway to see if the fridge can be taken out through the door or will a window have to be removed to get the fridge out. The fridge will fit through the door … just barely ! I went to the clubhouse with the computer and posted my weekly journal to my blog. In mid-afternoon we went to the weekly ice cream social. I didn’t feel like eating ice cream. In the evening we watched Amazing Race and a new reality show based on California Fish & Game Wardens. HA … and you thought Border Patrol was a waste of tax dollars ? ! ?

Monday ; This morning Sully woke me at about 6 AM. I think he was cold. The furnace was blowing cold air. Another empty propane tank ! We have been consuming propane at a rapid clip. The problem this morning was … we didn’t have a full tank to switch to. The last empty tank I took for refilling wasn’t refilled yet. The park’s propane refill station only refills “small” tanks on Mondays and Wednesdays. I reluctantly removed the empty tank from the tank storage compartment, loaded it into the truck, and drove it over to the refill station, figuring it made sense to get it there in time to be refilled today, along with our other empty tank. BRRRRR … frost on the truck’s windshield at that time of the morning.

When I returned home I switched the water heater from propane to electricity, then went back to sleep. We have been running the water heater on propane because of the expensive electricity here in Central California. Later in the morning we went to the clubhouse with the computer to make a phone call. I wanted to get information on the Oakhurst Community Band’s Christmas Concert next Sunday. Then we went and picked up both refilled propane tanks.

After lunch we went to Oakhurst to run some errands. We found the high school where the concert will be next Sunday. We refilled a five gallon water jug. We shopped at CVS Pharmacy for some advertised specials. And we shopped at Vons for a small amount of groceries. By the time we returned to SKP Park of the Sierras it was dog party time. But … alas … once again Bo was alone. It seems as if it has become too cold for the “locals” to have the daily dog party. After spending some time in the dog park with Bo, Joanne returned with him to the trailer and I went to the library to do some online work. I was hoping that maybe I could find a Cyber Monday online sale price for the RV fridge we want that would be lower than the Camping World sale price. I didn’t !

There is a man in the park walking around with a forehead full of stitches. Evidently I wasn’t the only one who took a tumble on that night of freezing rain a week ago.

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and cool. I think there are no more warm days left up here in the Sierra Nevadas until next spring. I spent the morning disassembling / cannibalizing / scavenging the fridge. I want to keep as a spare the $60 burner igniter control module I replaced just a few months ago. And there are a lot of parts in the fridge that routinely need to be replaced, and are either quite expensive or extremely difficult to find. Especially things like the door shelves. I scavenged as many parts as was reasonable, including the decorative oak wood door panels. RV fridges come without exterior door panels. We’ll buy new black Plexiglas panels for the new fridge, but I’ll put the old wood panels and all the scavenged parts that don’t fit our new fridge on the bargain table at Kofa Ko-op SKP RV Park in Yuma, Arizona when we arrive there. I’m certain that most of them will find a new home quickly. That kind of “recycling” instead of simply disposing is a common and attractive feature of the Escapee family.

After lunch I read … and napped … and read some more. It’s tough work, but somebody’s got to do it. HA HA HA ! Joanne took Bo to the dog park. I took the computer to the library and did some online work. Back at home I read some more. And I browsed through a Harbor Freight Tools catalogue. HMMMMM … what a lot of neat “guy stuff”. I want to go shop at Harbor Freight Tools when we get to Yuma.

Wednesday ; Today was a gorgeous, sunny, mild day. And probably the last really nice day before we leave here next Monday. I decided that on such a nice day I wanted to go on an outing. First I went to the clubhouse with the computer to make a phone call and do some online work. Then, by special request, I prepared a batch of my apparently wonderful pancakes. I must admit, they’re second only to my Aunt Lena’s pancakes. She was my pancake mentor when I was a teenager working on her farm during the summers.

After pancake brunch we headed out for some back roads exploring. We drove north on Hwy. 41 to Coarsegold, then turned west on Road 415 to the little village of Raymond. From Raymond we took Road 600 north to Awhanee, then Hwy. 49 east to Oakhurst where we stopped at Vons for some groceries. The back roads we drove, winding up and down and around in the Sierra Nevadas, were extremely scenic. This area was the southern edge of the Gold Rush of 1849. “There’s gold in them thar hills !” We stopped to read one of the few memorial plaques that were alongside the road. It marked where the Gold Rush town of Grub Gulch had existed. It’s just a pasture now. There was a beautiful golf course on rock laden hills near the town of Awhanee. I don’t play golf, but it certainly looked like a tough course.

After buying groceries at Vons we headed home for a very late lunch. I read and napped. We went to the dog park with Bo. We did some trip planning. We’re having a new fridge installed at Camping World in Bakersfield next Tuesday, and consequently don’t know what time we’ll be leaving Bakersfield and how far we will drive that day.

In the evening I printed the bank statements and investment updates I had downloaded this morning. I reconciled the bank statements. I updated our investment files. We watched Survivor.

Thursday ; Today was cloudy but mild. We had such an enjoyable “back roads exploring” outing yesterday we decided to do it again today ! We followed Road 416 from the entrance of SKP Park of the Sierras east to Road 415, then Road 415 south to Road 400 / River Road, then along River Road to Yosemite Lakes Park, a large suburban development with large, estate type homes on large properties. We drove through Yosemite Lakes Park all the way back to Hwy. 41 a bit south of SKP Park of the Sierras. Yosemite Lakes Park was a surprisingly large suburban development. Must have been done by a developer with a lot of money and a lot of vision. Very well done ! What a nice neighbourhood ! It reminded us of the last “bricks and sticks” home we owned just outside of Ottawa.

Back at “home” I worked on dismantling / removing the fridge. I didn’t want to actually remove it out if its location in the wall, but I did want to reduce the amount of effort and time that Camping World will have to put into removing it … at about eighty bucks an hour ! And … I thought it would be a good learning exercise. If I was going to screw anything up, much better to do it on a dead fridge that’s about to be removed and discarded, than on a good fridge that I’m trying to repair at some point in the future. I removed the fridge and freezer doors, most of the trim pieces, most of the mounting screws, disconnected the 120V AC wiring and the 12V DC wiring. I did not disconnect the propane. I don’t have a plug to install in a disconnected propane line.

I also dismantled and cleaned the fan / cooling unit on our little 12V DC fridge which has been running continuously for about the last ten days. I don’t think it was designed to run continuously ! There was a build up inside of dirt and dust and … cat hair ( ? ) causing the fan to be noisy. After a late lunch I laid down on the bed with Sully cuddled into my armpit ( his favourite afternoon nap position ), read, and iced my shoulder. A few days ago I had a flare up of a bursitis / rotator cuff tendonitis problem in my left shoulder. Icing it helps. Icing it about three times a day for 20 or 30 minutes each time helps it a lot ! And since there is an ice machine in the clubhouse … !

We took Bo to the dog park. I went to the library to do some online work. In the evening we watched “Somersby”, a “chick flick” that Joanne found in this park’s library inventory of movies on VCR. I didn’t think it was a good movie.

Friday ; Today was cloudy and mild. This morning I did my regular monthly computer maintenance work ; defragmenting, virus and malware scanning, backups, that sort of stuff. Since I had the portable hard drive out I found an old, archived photo I took back home at Riverside RV Park Resort a few years ago of a Black Widow Spider. Well, that photo was still not enough to convince either Joanne or Star, a woman that we meet almost daily in the dog park, that the red hourglass mark on a Black Widow Spider is on the topside of the spider’s abdomen. I had been arguing with Star who maintains that the red hourglass mark is underneath the spider. I had previously downloaded photos from the Internet proving my point. She had downloaded research that proved hers ! After she and Joanne both found my photo inconclusive < fume > I worked myself into a fit of infuriation then stomped over to the clubhouse to find more conclusive photos on the Internet. I downloaded seven photos. Three photos show the red hourglass mark to be on the topside of the abdomen. One shows it to be on the underside. One shows it to be on the side ! One shows the marks to be red dots on the topside of the abdomen. One shows the marks to be white dots on the topside of the abdomen. I gave up ! ! !

Joanne took Bo to the dog park while I iced my shoulder and Sully napped in my armpit. Joanne prepared her contribution to today’s social hour / hearty appetizers potluck. She made a perogies and sausage dish. Our last bag of perogies had thawed long ago and needed to be used. The dish was not a big hit here. I don’t think anybody here knew what perogies were. At the end of each week’s social hour, most of the attendees move to the other side of the clubhouse to play a table game called Bunco. We always remain at the social hour / potluck side of the clubhouse and chat. Tonight we chatted with our friend Diane, the 82 year old “mommy” of Molly the Pomeranian. One other table mate had left a partial bottle of wine on the table when he went to play Bunco. Diane slowly sipped wine … and got a bit drunk … as we chatted. HA HA HA ! It was sort of amusing. I hope she doesn’t have a hangover in the morning. We learned that Diane is originally from Pasadena, making her … wait for it … the little old lady from Pasadena. HA HA HA
< SNORT > HA HA !

Saturday ; Today was a rainy day. I don’t like rainy days ! Until
mid-afternoon when the rain stopped I had a very lazy day, doing not much of anything except laying around reading. I took Bo to the dog park for his last dog party, while Joanne baked cookies for today’s Tree Trimming Party & Dinner.

At 4 PM we headed to the clubhouse for the very well attended Tree Trimming Party. There were two trees, one very large, set up in the clubhouse waiting to be decorated. There were boxes of special ornaments donated by park residents over many years. There was eggnog, both “leaded” and “unleaded”. Everybody participated in trimming the trees, drinking eggnog, and socializing. Santa arrived. Christmas carols were sung. Dinner was served and eaten. There were some Christmas poetry recitations ( rolling eyes ). And then … dessert ! ! ! The park’s social committee had provided supper. All the attendees brought Christmas desserts to be shared potluck style. Is it any wonder that I have gained a pound a week for the four weeks we’ve been here ? ! ?

This was the first time we participated in a communal tree trimming party. It was great !

DSK