Sunday ; Sunny and very warm today.
This morning we went shopping to Yuma Park N Swap a.k.a. Swap Meet Los Perros a.k.a. Dog Track Flea Market. I needed some Guasave accident roof repair hardware. Then it was over to Lowe's. More Guasave accident roof repair materials. Finally ... across town to The Foothills to Al's RV Service & Supplies. More accident roof repair materials ! We crossed the street over to Fry's where we had lunch in their "meals to go" section and then shopped for groceries.
This afternoon as part of the repair / replacement of the broken skylight on the roof I had to remove the inside portion of the skylight, on the ceiling of the shower stall. < sigh > I discovered a lot of dry rot damage in the shower ceiling wood. I cleaned out much of the rotten wood and ... < sigh > !
I'm not even sure how to repair this kind of problem ! And I feel ... again ... like I'm taking two steps backwards for each step that I take forward.
I went up on the roof and used fiberglass jelly epoxy to do some repair to the damaged wood around one of the waste tank vent pipes. I'll assess tomorrow how successful that was. If it was successful, maybe that's a viable approach to repairing the shower ceiling dry rot wood damage ? We went to the Sunday evening ice cream social. We watched Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice.
Monday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne went out to run errands for most of the day. I did maintenance and repairs. Story of my life !
I removed the old and installed new sink strainers. The old ones were leaking. I assembled and installed a new shelving unit inside the trailer's entry door to replace the shoe / boot tray unit that broke during Mexico travels. And ... I spent most of the day up on the roof working on Guasave accident repairs. WHEW ... it's very hot on the trailer roof. I made good progress on repairs five, six, and seven of eight. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Late in the afternoon after I finished working on the roof I went to the newly refurbished and just re-opened swimming pool. As did everybody else in the park !
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. This morning I did some Guasave accident repairs on the roof then went to Lowe's to buy some repair supplies. After lunch I continued working on the roof repairs. Around
4 PM I took a break, we went for a walk around the dog park with Bo, then went to the swimming pool to cool off. I continued working on the roof, a much more pleasant task after the heat of the day had passed, after 5:30 PM. By the time I stopped working, around 7 PM, I had finished repairs five and six of eight, and seven of eight was half done. The final repair won't be done until sometime during the summer, back home in BC, so ... not too much more to be done down here.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot. This morning I worked on the roof. So what else is new ? ! ? I made significant progress on the seventh of eight necessary repairs, and the last one I will be doing here in Yuma. If all goes well, I should be finished that repair tomorrow.
We drove out to The Foothills to have lunch with our friends Lynn and Micha. First we stopped at Al's RV Service & Supplies to return a repair item that I bought but did not need after all. We drove to Lynn and Micha's to have lunch and see their new fifth wheel trailer. Bo enjoyed visiting with his old friend Gypsy. He took a bone of hers right out of her mouth ! ! ! I was stunned ! What a bad dog ! How lucky he is that Gypsy is friendly ! We spent the entire afternoon chatting with Lynn and Micha. They will be travelling across Canada this summer and we are eager to have them visit us.
When we got home I did a bit more work on the roof in the cool of late afternoon / early evening. We had a wonderful supper and watched Survivor. Joanne tried a new recipe that worked out very well ! This morning she put a "dry rub" seasoned beef roast into the Sun Oven to slow bake into a "barbecued beef brisket". When we returned home ... it was done ! And it was good !
Thursday ; Sunny and hot.
Good news ; This morning I completed Guasave accident repair seven of eight, the last one I will be doing here in Yuma. WOO-HOO !
Bad news ; This afternoon I discovered that the trailer's rubber roof is cracked in many places along the very edge where it wraps over the side, on the driver's / street side, the side that faces south both on our lot here and on our lot in BC. The rubber roof is baked by the intense sunlight, here in the winter and back home in BC all summer. < sigh > I'll have to repair all those open cracks before we leave here in a week and a half. I guess fifteen years is the life of an RV rubber roof. Must be why they're guaranteed for twelve years !
This afternoon we went to Country Roads RV Park to visit with our friends from back home at Riverside RV Park Resort, Paul and Kolly. Other neighbours from back home, Dave and Joy, were also there. We had a very pleasant afternoon and evening of chatting and munching on appetizers.
Good Friday ; Still sunny and hot !
This morning I reinstalled the kitchen Fantastic Fan's MaxxAir cover which I had removed yesterday. I had to do some resealing of the rubber roof around the kitchen Fantastic Fan. I finished lubricating the slides, which I had started yesterday as well. Joanne came up on the roof and helped me re-measure the clearance height of the trailer now that I have replaced the ( seven of eight ) damaged components. It's actually an inch lower than it used to be. I guess the MaxxAir cover clones that I used are an inch less tall then the brand name MaxxAir covers. I will leave the clearance height markings posted on the dash of the truck alone, allowing an extra inch of leeway. Getting Joanne up onto the roof of the trailer was very difficult. She's very uncomfortable climbing up there.
Joanne defrosted the fridge. I drained and flushed the water heater. What a lot of scale came out ! Yuma's water is so full of minerals. Mexico's is as well, I think. Everybody spent the hottest part of the afternoon in the Arizona room with the swamp cooler running. It's much cooler in the Arizona room than outside. We continue to be surprised that a swamp cooler is so effective at "air conditioning" a screen room.
Late this afternoon I spray painted a white stripe on the trailer's top entry step at Joanne's request. We did some difficult spring cleaning inside the trailer. We went to the swimming pool to cool off.
I tried to flick a drowning wasp out of the pool and ... I got stung for my efforts ! That's the last time ! From now on I'll just float by and watch them drown ! We went to Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que for dinner to celebrate the completion of ( seven of eight of ) the Guasave accident roof repairs. We were both feeling a bit silly on the drive home, and Joanne wanted to go cruisin', so ... I took us for a high speed, off road , 4 wheelin' romp across the desert in the dark. HA HA HA ... what a lot of fun !
Saturday ; Whew ! Blistering hot desert sun ! Unable to work on trailer roof between 11 AM and 5 PM !
Early this morning ... long before we got up ... some park residents discovered a litter of six puppies dumped on the road outside the park. The puppies would not allow themselves to be caught, but with food they were lured inside the fenced maintenance yard. I was just stepping out of the shower a few hours later when Carol Mae showed up to recruit me to assist in their capture and transport to the Humane Society. I lent her my truck so that she could go to the Humane Society to get a large pet carrier to transport the puppies. When she returned we headed to the maintenance yard to capture the six puppies.
Five of the six puppies were black, short haired, and looked like cross bred Shar-Peis. One was brown, long haired, and looked like a cross bred Shepherd. The five black Shar-Peis all had visible mange. They stuck together like a pack and did not want to be captured. While Carol Mae herded them into a corner of the maintenance yard using a rake, I caught them one by one and handed them over the fence to Joanne who put them into the large pet carrier in the bed of our truck. The first one I caught was the brown Shepherd. The second one captured went okay. The third one was screaming like a stuck pig when I caught it, and as I carried it screaming toward Joanne it released its bowels, spewed diarrhoea all over me, and bit me ... twice ! The first bite was to my fingertip, with a sharp little puppy tooth sliding in underneath one of my fingernails. OW OW OW OW OW ! That one really hurt ... and still does many hours later, especially as I'm typing this. As I yanked my hand away, it squirmed around and bit me again ... in my abdomen. I have two puncture wounds on my stomach. I did not pass that one to Joanne, putting it into the carrier myself. Adhering to the concept of shutting the barn door after the horse is gone ... I donned long welding gloves. The next pup also bit me. But ... wearing long welding gloves, it didn't matter. All the puppy got was a mouthful of leather. By the time all six were caught Joanne and I both had diarrhoea and urine all over us. I changed clothes and cleaned myself quickly, did first aid on my bite wounds, then Carol Mae and I drove the six puppies to the Humane Society. Good luck, little fellows !
Shortly after returning from the Humane Society it was time to head to the clubhouse for the swimming pool grand re-opening party and hot dog barbecue and potluck luncheon. We had a great hot dog and potluck lunch, chatted with friends and neighbours ... said lots of goodbyes as everyone is leaving soon ... then joined the crowd in the swimming pool. I returned home before Joanne to get some work done, but it was too hot to work on the trailer roof so I puttered around with other chores. And ... spent some time resting in the swamp cooler cooled Arizona room with Sully and Bo. Sully loooooves the Arizona room on hot days when the swamp cooler is running.
Around 5 PM I got up on the trailer roof and spent two hours working on patching cracks along the edge of the rubber roof on the south side. I suppose I had better inspect the north side tomorrow. We weren't hungry yet so we drove to Lowe's to do some hardware shopping then crossed the street to Albertson's to do some grocery shopping. We returned home and had a late pizza supper.
DSK
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
March 17 to 23, 2013
Sunday ; Sunny and hot again.
This morning I did an agility session with Bo, then Charlie the "problem dog" came over for his morning behavioural pack walk session. You know, as problem dogs go ... he's not that much of a problem ! We had a pack walk with five dogs. No fights ! A couple of brief episodes of "posturing", no blood lost, no fur flying.
I did some maintenance work, we had an early lunch, and we left to attend a performance of Steel Magnolias by Yuma Community Theater at Gila Ridge Center For Performing Arts. I thought it was a very well executed performance of a mediocre storyline.
We returned home and before our late afternoon pack walk I completed the repairs to the trailer's lower skirt panel damaged by an exploding tire on our Mexico trip. Well done, Daniel ! On our afternoon walk I think Charlie may have "turned a corner" in terms of aggressive behaviour. Time will tell. Well done, Daniel !
We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. Park population is dwindling. The northward migration to summer homes has begun. Afterwards we had supper ( dessert before supper on Sundays ... HA HA HA ) then watched Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice on TV.
Monday ; Still sunny and hot. This morning I made some phone calls then took Bo for a short drivey to go pick up my custom fabricated trailer steps repair bracket that I ordered from a local farm implement manufacturing and repair business. It wasn't ready yet ! I returned after lunch and picked it up. It was better than expected !
This afternoon I removed the trailer steps assembly and worked on precisely measuring and drilling the custom repair bracket. Tough work, but it went well.
Charlie was brought over for both a morning and afternoon behaviour modification pack walk. He's doing excellent ! Well done, Daniel ! However ... on the afternoon pack walk, Spanky attacked Angel the Golden Retriever. Angel's owner Cindy got bit by Spanky while she was trying to separate the fighting dogs. OUCH ! ! ! Dog bites hurt ! She has a deep puncture wound and scratches around her wrist. To his credit, Charlie did not get involved. He just looked on, bewildered. Good dog, Charlie. Bo rushed over but stayed out of it. Good dog, Bo. I'm extremely pleased that neither my own dog, nor the "aggressive problem dog" in my care got involved. Neither Bo nor Charlie was on a leash at the time. None of the dogs were. Angel is a very sweet dog, like most Golden Retrievers. Sometimes Spanky's behaviour is ... < raising eyebrows > !
We spent the evening running shopping errands. Long day !
Tuesday ; Yesterday and today had too much doggie drama for me. And WAY too much drama for Joanne !
Still sunny and hot. < sniff, sniff, sniff > MMMMM ... the lemon trees around us are blossoming.
This morning we took Charlie for his morning behavioural modification walk around the dog park, as we have every morning and afternoon for the last four days. He has been brought to us each time not by Charlie's current owner, but by helpful and caring neighbours. Charlie's current owner seems to have given up on him ... or so we were led to believe. The helpful and caring neighbours thought it would be best for all concerned if we ... Joanne and I ... kept Charlie with us for the next couple of days until his new adoptive owners come to get him on Friday. Okay ... fine by us. Only moments later Charlie's current owner showed up to "reclaim" him. And the drama of Charlie goes on ... and on ... and on !
AND ... < sputter > ... moments after that little episode played out ... another neighbour showed up asking us for dog advice and first aid assistance. OH, SHIT ! Molly the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had blood and pus all over the side of her face and underneath her long, floppy ear. I took one look under the ear and realized she had an abscess on her cheek that had burst. OW ... how painful ! Poor Molly ! I cleaned it ... just a tiny bit ... but it was obvious she was in a lot of pain. On my advice, Molly's owners left with her headed for the local veterinarian. I told them to not even bother phoning for an appointment, just show up as a "walk in emergency". They took my advice.
They returned a few hours later. The abscess on Molly's cheek was now shaved, cut open, drained, and a cloth drain wick was inserted to help remove all the remaining pus and blood over the next few days. Molly and her owners had attended the SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally out in the desert last week. Molly must have poked herself in the cheek on a cactus quill, or more likely, been bit by a scorpion or tarantula or Black Widow Spider or Brown Recluse Spider or rattlesnake or ... ? ? ? The veterinarian doesn't think it looks like a snake bite, but the necrotizing tissue around the ruptured abscess is indicative of a venomous bite of some sort. Poor Molly ... she's in a lot of discomfort.
This afternoon I completed Guasave accident repair four of eight ! I removed the bathroom fan roof vent lid and operator arm, replaced them, and installed a new MaxxAir ( clone ) cover. It was so hot that Joanne wanted the Arizona room’s swamp cooler put into operation. Okay ! I removed the swamp cooler cover, completed a tiny repair on the swamp cooler, relocated the small desk in the Arizona room away from the swamp cooler outlet on the wall, connected the garden hose to the swamp cooler and ... let ‘er rip ! Cooled off the Arizona room quickly and well !
I arranged a tour of the Humane Society of Yuma’s new animal shelter for SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 / Kofa Ko-op ... next December. And I booked their multi-purpose room for a fund raising luncheon following the tour. Carol Mae will arrange for a catered lunch, and we will raise funds to sponsor some animals for adoption next Christmas season. Well done, Daniel ... and Carol Mae !
Wednesday ; Still sunny and hot. After my morning behaviour modification session with Charlie we went out to run errands. Bo was eager to go for a drivey. I bought what I needed to repair the Arizona room's swamp cooler at RV Connection. I bought some bungee balls at Sewmasters.
I dropped Joanne off at a laundromat in The Foothills. She needed to wash some small floor rugs and that's not allowed in Kofa Ko-op's washing machines. I went shopping at Al's RV Service & Supplies. I picked up the new skylight I had ordered. I went to "A TO Z BLINDS" to get some nylon bushings to repair broken day / night shades. Just in case ! I refilled Lanoire with diesel.
WOO-HOO ... price of diesel is down ! I picked up Joanne at the laundromat and drove to Wally's World to buy a lot of "guy stuff" I needed. Last stop was a sharpening business to drop off clipper blades for sharpening. We returned home for a late lunch.
In the afternoon I fixed the swamp cooler's water inlet line ... again. I did an obedience session with Bo. What a good dog ! Joanne made lasagne in the Sun Oven to take to this afternoon's Happy Hour Potluck. MMMMM ... lots of good food ! Chatted with George and Betty about how their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Molly is doing. She’s improved in the last day and a half.
In the evening I took Charlie for a long walk around the RV park. Problem dog ? What problem dog ? ! ? He certainly is different than he was five days ago. All he needs is a strong and calm “leader of the pack”.
Thursday ; Still sunny and hot.
< sigh > I'm "Charlie'd" out ! I regret offering to work with Charlie the "problem dog" twice a day for his final week here. Too much human drama involved. Oh, well ... only one more day to go. And ... well ... I did achieve some very good results ! Well done, Charlie, good dog !
After my morning "Charlie session" I worked on some small home improvement and maintenance projects. Joanne went out to run errands. I mounted a new thermometer beside the trailer's rear kitchen window to replace the one lost in Mexico. I installed new plastic bumpers on the dinette chairs to replace the ones lost in Mexico. They help to reduce "road rash" on the dinette chairs from bouncing and rubbing against one another. Admittedly, that's not really much of a problem on most Canadian and American roads.
And then ... I installed the custom made repair bracket underneath the trailer, and with Joanne's help when she returned from running errands, I reinstalled the trailer's steps assembly. Finally ! It's been more than a month and a half since the steps mounting bracket on one side fractured. That was a tough repair ! Well done, Daniel ! Nice engineering work !
After my afternoon "Charlie session" we went out for supper with our friends Carol Mae and Larry. We took them to an El Salvadoran food truck. Warm weather, nice sunset, good El Salvadoran pupusas eaten at a picnic table beside the food truck. Everybody got to practice a bit of Spanish. The owner / operator of the truck, Maria, doesn't speak English.
Friday ; Still sunny and hot. This morning we were joined on the "Charlie session" by Charlie's current owner as well as the other "Charlie regulars". Her first time with us ! I'm eager for this "Charlie drama" to be over ! His new owners will arrive later today. I'm typing this at noon.
After the Bo and Charlie pack walk was over and Charlie and his entourage left, an insurance appraiser arrived. He was hired by the Mexican insurer to appraise the damages to the trailer from the Guasave underpass accident. We climbed up on the roof, he examined all the damage, some of which has been repaired already, and took photos. Which leaves me wondering ... what was the point of the adjuster in Mexico who came out to do the same thing the day after the accident ?
Our friend Pat came over to give me a pound of fresh shrimp. Our deal was ... you supply the fresh shrimp, you clean the shrimp, I cook it in the Sun Oven in fresh coconut milk and lime juice, we have lunch together. I put the shrimp to bake / poach in the Sun Oven while Joanne prepared a rice pilaf and salad. Lunch was good ! After lunch Pat and Tom visited with us in our Arizona room.
Late in the afternoon Charlie was brought over ... with his new owners. We talked ... and walked. They are eager and excited about having Charlie. We discovered that Charlie has friction burns on the pads of his front feet. UH-OH ... poor Charlie. He must have tried to zig and somebody else thought he should zag, while on the park's asphalt streets. The wounds are already healing, so it must have happened at least a few days ago. We did some first aid before Charlie left ... for the last time. Goodbye, Charlie, and good luck. Be a good dog !
Saturday ; Still sunny and hot ! This morning we attended the Open House at the Humane Society Of Yuma. We toured their new facility, then visited with the cats and dogs in the adoption wings.
This afternoon I worked on Guasave accident roof repairs. I removed the remnants of the broken bathroom skylight, grey tank vent pipe cap, and black tank vent pipe cap. Inside the trailer, behind the hallway closet drawers, I cut off the grey tank vent pipe, shoved the broken pipe up through the roof, and installed a new section of pipe. I cut off all of the damaged rubber roof membrane from around the skylight and the two vent pipes. < sigh > All easier said than done ! I damaged both of the new vent pipe caps I had purchased, and will have to buy two more. I'm angry and upset with myself. I have difficulty forgiving myself for mistakes.
DSK
This morning I did an agility session with Bo, then Charlie the "problem dog" came over for his morning behavioural pack walk session. You know, as problem dogs go ... he's not that much of a problem ! We had a pack walk with five dogs. No fights ! A couple of brief episodes of "posturing", no blood lost, no fur flying.
I did some maintenance work, we had an early lunch, and we left to attend a performance of Steel Magnolias by Yuma Community Theater at Gila Ridge Center For Performing Arts. I thought it was a very well executed performance of a mediocre storyline.
We returned home and before our late afternoon pack walk I completed the repairs to the trailer's lower skirt panel damaged by an exploding tire on our Mexico trip. Well done, Daniel ! On our afternoon walk I think Charlie may have "turned a corner" in terms of aggressive behaviour. Time will tell. Well done, Daniel !
We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. Park population is dwindling. The northward migration to summer homes has begun. Afterwards we had supper ( dessert before supper on Sundays ... HA HA HA ) then watched Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice on TV.
Monday ; Still sunny and hot. This morning I made some phone calls then took Bo for a short drivey to go pick up my custom fabricated trailer steps repair bracket that I ordered from a local farm implement manufacturing and repair business. It wasn't ready yet ! I returned after lunch and picked it up. It was better than expected !
This afternoon I removed the trailer steps assembly and worked on precisely measuring and drilling the custom repair bracket. Tough work, but it went well.
Charlie was brought over for both a morning and afternoon behaviour modification pack walk. He's doing excellent ! Well done, Daniel ! However ... on the afternoon pack walk, Spanky attacked Angel the Golden Retriever. Angel's owner Cindy got bit by Spanky while she was trying to separate the fighting dogs. OUCH ! ! ! Dog bites hurt ! She has a deep puncture wound and scratches around her wrist. To his credit, Charlie did not get involved. He just looked on, bewildered. Good dog, Charlie. Bo rushed over but stayed out of it. Good dog, Bo. I'm extremely pleased that neither my own dog, nor the "aggressive problem dog" in my care got involved. Neither Bo nor Charlie was on a leash at the time. None of the dogs were. Angel is a very sweet dog, like most Golden Retrievers. Sometimes Spanky's behaviour is ... < raising eyebrows > !
We spent the evening running shopping errands. Long day !
Tuesday ; Yesterday and today had too much doggie drama for me. And WAY too much drama for Joanne !
Still sunny and hot. < sniff, sniff, sniff > MMMMM ... the lemon trees around us are blossoming.
This morning we took Charlie for his morning behavioural modification walk around the dog park, as we have every morning and afternoon for the last four days. He has been brought to us each time not by Charlie's current owner, but by helpful and caring neighbours. Charlie's current owner seems to have given up on him ... or so we were led to believe. The helpful and caring neighbours thought it would be best for all concerned if we ... Joanne and I ... kept Charlie with us for the next couple of days until his new adoptive owners come to get him on Friday. Okay ... fine by us. Only moments later Charlie's current owner showed up to "reclaim" him. And the drama of Charlie goes on ... and on ... and on !
AND ... < sputter > ... moments after that little episode played out ... another neighbour showed up asking us for dog advice and first aid assistance. OH, SHIT ! Molly the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had blood and pus all over the side of her face and underneath her long, floppy ear. I took one look under the ear and realized she had an abscess on her cheek that had burst. OW ... how painful ! Poor Molly ! I cleaned it ... just a tiny bit ... but it was obvious she was in a lot of pain. On my advice, Molly's owners left with her headed for the local veterinarian. I told them to not even bother phoning for an appointment, just show up as a "walk in emergency". They took my advice.
They returned a few hours later. The abscess on Molly's cheek was now shaved, cut open, drained, and a cloth drain wick was inserted to help remove all the remaining pus and blood over the next few days. Molly and her owners had attended the SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally out in the desert last week. Molly must have poked herself in the cheek on a cactus quill, or more likely, been bit by a scorpion or tarantula or Black Widow Spider or Brown Recluse Spider or rattlesnake or ... ? ? ? The veterinarian doesn't think it looks like a snake bite, but the necrotizing tissue around the ruptured abscess is indicative of a venomous bite of some sort. Poor Molly ... she's in a lot of discomfort.
This afternoon I completed Guasave accident repair four of eight ! I removed the bathroom fan roof vent lid and operator arm, replaced them, and installed a new MaxxAir ( clone ) cover. It was so hot that Joanne wanted the Arizona room’s swamp cooler put into operation. Okay ! I removed the swamp cooler cover, completed a tiny repair on the swamp cooler, relocated the small desk in the Arizona room away from the swamp cooler outlet on the wall, connected the garden hose to the swamp cooler and ... let ‘er rip ! Cooled off the Arizona room quickly and well !
I arranged a tour of the Humane Society of Yuma’s new animal shelter for SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 / Kofa Ko-op ... next December. And I booked their multi-purpose room for a fund raising luncheon following the tour. Carol Mae will arrange for a catered lunch, and we will raise funds to sponsor some animals for adoption next Christmas season. Well done, Daniel ... and Carol Mae !
Wednesday ; Still sunny and hot. After my morning behaviour modification session with Charlie we went out to run errands. Bo was eager to go for a drivey. I bought what I needed to repair the Arizona room's swamp cooler at RV Connection. I bought some bungee balls at Sewmasters.
I dropped Joanne off at a laundromat in The Foothills. She needed to wash some small floor rugs and that's not allowed in Kofa Ko-op's washing machines. I went shopping at Al's RV Service & Supplies. I picked up the new skylight I had ordered. I went to "A TO Z BLINDS" to get some nylon bushings to repair broken day / night shades. Just in case ! I refilled Lanoire with diesel.
WOO-HOO ... price of diesel is down ! I picked up Joanne at the laundromat and drove to Wally's World to buy a lot of "guy stuff" I needed. Last stop was a sharpening business to drop off clipper blades for sharpening. We returned home for a late lunch.
In the afternoon I fixed the swamp cooler's water inlet line ... again. I did an obedience session with Bo. What a good dog ! Joanne made lasagne in the Sun Oven to take to this afternoon's Happy Hour Potluck. MMMMM ... lots of good food ! Chatted with George and Betty about how their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Molly is doing. She’s improved in the last day and a half.
In the evening I took Charlie for a long walk around the RV park. Problem dog ? What problem dog ? ! ? He certainly is different than he was five days ago. All he needs is a strong and calm “leader of the pack”.
Thursday ; Still sunny and hot.
< sigh > I'm "Charlie'd" out ! I regret offering to work with Charlie the "problem dog" twice a day for his final week here. Too much human drama involved. Oh, well ... only one more day to go. And ... well ... I did achieve some very good results ! Well done, Charlie, good dog !
After my morning "Charlie session" I worked on some small home improvement and maintenance projects. Joanne went out to run errands. I mounted a new thermometer beside the trailer's rear kitchen window to replace the one lost in Mexico. I installed new plastic bumpers on the dinette chairs to replace the ones lost in Mexico. They help to reduce "road rash" on the dinette chairs from bouncing and rubbing against one another. Admittedly, that's not really much of a problem on most Canadian and American roads.
And then ... I installed the custom made repair bracket underneath the trailer, and with Joanne's help when she returned from running errands, I reinstalled the trailer's steps assembly. Finally ! It's been more than a month and a half since the steps mounting bracket on one side fractured. That was a tough repair ! Well done, Daniel ! Nice engineering work !
After my afternoon "Charlie session" we went out for supper with our friends Carol Mae and Larry. We took them to an El Salvadoran food truck. Warm weather, nice sunset, good El Salvadoran pupusas eaten at a picnic table beside the food truck. Everybody got to practice a bit of Spanish. The owner / operator of the truck, Maria, doesn't speak English.
Friday ; Still sunny and hot. This morning we were joined on the "Charlie session" by Charlie's current owner as well as the other "Charlie regulars". Her first time with us ! I'm eager for this "Charlie drama" to be over ! His new owners will arrive later today. I'm typing this at noon.
After the Bo and Charlie pack walk was over and Charlie and his entourage left, an insurance appraiser arrived. He was hired by the Mexican insurer to appraise the damages to the trailer from the Guasave underpass accident. We climbed up on the roof, he examined all the damage, some of which has been repaired already, and took photos. Which leaves me wondering ... what was the point of the adjuster in Mexico who came out to do the same thing the day after the accident ?
Our friend Pat came over to give me a pound of fresh shrimp. Our deal was ... you supply the fresh shrimp, you clean the shrimp, I cook it in the Sun Oven in fresh coconut milk and lime juice, we have lunch together. I put the shrimp to bake / poach in the Sun Oven while Joanne prepared a rice pilaf and salad. Lunch was good ! After lunch Pat and Tom visited with us in our Arizona room.
Late in the afternoon Charlie was brought over ... with his new owners. We talked ... and walked. They are eager and excited about having Charlie. We discovered that Charlie has friction burns on the pads of his front feet. UH-OH ... poor Charlie. He must have tried to zig and somebody else thought he should zag, while on the park's asphalt streets. The wounds are already healing, so it must have happened at least a few days ago. We did some first aid before Charlie left ... for the last time. Goodbye, Charlie, and good luck. Be a good dog !
Saturday ; Still sunny and hot ! This morning we attended the Open House at the Humane Society Of Yuma. We toured their new facility, then visited with the cats and dogs in the adoption wings.
This afternoon I worked on Guasave accident roof repairs. I removed the remnants of the broken bathroom skylight, grey tank vent pipe cap, and black tank vent pipe cap. Inside the trailer, behind the hallway closet drawers, I cut off the grey tank vent pipe, shoved the broken pipe up through the roof, and installed a new section of pipe. I cut off all of the damaged rubber roof membrane from around the skylight and the two vent pipes. < sigh > All easier said than done ! I damaged both of the new vent pipe caps I had purchased, and will have to buy two more. I'm angry and upset with myself. I have difficulty forgiving myself for mistakes.
DSK
Sunday, March 17, 2013
March 10 to 16, 2013
Sunday ; Today was sunny, windy, and warm. Joanne cooked a large, plump Foster Farms chicken in the Sun Oven today. Those Foster Farms chickens aren't cheap, but they sure are good. Especially when cooked in the Sun Oven !
Well ... it took until almost 6 PM, but we finally trapped and captured Siemen in our Arizona room. Bad kitty ! Another twenty-four hour "escape" ! Hans and Peta were very relieved to have him back ... again !
Joanne went shopping this morning and finished buying the ingredients for our cooking classes and dinner for sixty people at the upcoming Escapee Roadrunner Chapter 7 Spring Rally out in the desert in a couple of days. I did some landscaping work. Probably a bad choice of priorities, but ... ! I also did some maintenance work, but none of the Guasave accident repairs that I should be doing. Yesterday I bought a new type of fiberglass repair kit. Today I used it to repair some damage on our travel satellite dish. I wanted to try the new fiberglass repair kit products on the satellite dish before I use them to repair the damage on the trailer's lower side skirt caused by the exploding tire. The repairs on the satellite dish turned out well, so I'm confident about using the kit to repair the trailer damage.
In the evening we went to the regular Sunday evening ice cream social, then watched Amazing Race..
Monday ; Sunny and hot again. WOO-HOO !
This morning we did some routine pet care ; trim nails, clean ears, dispense medications. Joanne baked a couple of zucchini loaves in the Sun Oven. They're for our Wednesday evening Haystack Dinner at the Escapees Roadrunner Chapter 7 Spring Rally.
This afternoon I phoned some local welding shops and arranged to bring the trailer in tomorrow for an estimate on repairing the stress fractured trailer steps mounting bracket. I did Guasave underpass accident repair number three of eight. I removed the bedroom roof vent lid and operator arm, and installed a new vent lid and operator arm, then installed a new roof vent cover. The trailer used to have what's known as MaxxAir covers, but I bought a different "clone" brand. We prepared for departure tomorrow.
Tuesday ; Kofa Ko-op to SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally
Today was sunny and hot. We woke early this morning so that we could be ready to depart for the Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally reasonably early as we had some errands to run on the way. It was not meant to be !
As we prepared for departure we ran into a plumbing problem. Specifically a toilet problem. It took me two hours to solve < sigh >. By the time we left Kofa Ko-op we were already two hours behind schedule ! Not a great start to the day !
I had phoned three different local welding companies regarding the broken trailer steps bracket. My plan was to take the trailer to all three companies on our way to the rally and get estimates from each, as well as assess each one's "creative problem solving skills". I never got to the second and third. The first one's creative problem solving skills led to a collaborative solution that I believe is very workable. They will custom fabricate a "U channel" bolt on bracket for me that I will drill and install myself. Welding the existing broken bracket is not feasible. Welding under there would likely set the underside of the trailer floor on fire !
I finished at the welding company, we refilled Lanoire with diesel at Barney's and headed out of Yuma westbound on Interstate 8, across the Colorado River into California. The Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally is out in the desert off Ogilby Road, about 30 miles northwest of Yuma. We arrived at the rally site and parked beside Hans and Peta. There are more than 30 rigs at the rally, and over 60 people. Too many people, too much noise, for my tastes.
We visited and chatted, had ( way too early ) communal dinner, and sat around a campfire in the evening.
Wednesday ; Today was sunny and hot out in the desert at our rally site, temperature up in the 90's. Too hot for many of the almost seventy attendees. The group is a bit too large. Too crowded in the "tent" shelter. Too noisy as well. Not just me who thinks that.
Today was "our "day at the rally. This morning I conducted a Sun Oven Banana Nut Loaf cooking class. I had two batches of banana nut loaf batter / dough prepared by class attendees under my supervision, then placed them in the Sun Oven. The class attendees were able to repeatedly wander by and watch the loaves baking in the Sun Oven. After an hour and a quarter, they gathered around and watched me remove two gorgeous, perfect banana nut loaves from the Sun Oven. Well done, Daniel.
In the afternoon I helped Hans with a difficult "home improvement" project on his new motorhome. That inspired me to do one of my repair projects while we were out here in the desert. I needed to do some fiberglass repair work on the trailer's street side / driver's side lower skirt where there was some damage from the tire that exploded recently on our last day in Mexico. It was easier to work on that side of the trailer without the constraint of the fence in our yard at Kofa Ko-op. So ... using the new fiberglass repair kit I recently purchased, I repaired the damage. Well done, Daniel. Maybe tomorrow I will paint the repair.
Late in the afternoon we ( me as the "front man", Joanne behind the scenes ) conducted our Haystack Dinner cooking class. That got half a dozen or so people helping us prepare Haystack Dinner for almost seventy people. During the actual "cooking" time, I entertained the large, hungry group with an impromptu magic show. Blew one routine horribly ! Oh, well ... they're old people, they'll forget the "flub" soon. HA HA HA !
Haystack Dinner preparation had a couple of problems, with the cooking of the rice and the cooking of the cheese sauce. BUT ... while imperfect, the dinner was still pretty good. Almost seventy people got served quickly. There was lots of food, lots of people had "seconds" there were even some who got "thirds". Almost everybody seemed satisfied. A few weren't, but ... being a retailer for a long time taught me that you simply cannot make all of your customers happy all of the time. Dessert was great. The banana nut loaves cooked today in the Sun Oven were a huge hit. The zucchini nut loaves cooked by Joanne a few days ago, as well as the sugar free, gluten free, everything but the kitchen sink free dessert Joanne made, seemed to satisfy everybody. No, I'm wrong. One person complained about the raisins in the "everything free" dessert. I would like to say "well done, Daniel" but it was really a case of ... well done, Joanne !
As a very special treat, our friend Larry had set up the TV in their motorhome so that we could watch Survivor tonight. AND ... while we watched Survivor, his wife Carol Mae took care of washing the dishes and cleaning up the huge mess left behind by supper. Our friend Terry took care of the difficult job of cleaning the cheese sauce thickly burned onto the bottom of one of the pots we used. Thank you to all !
Thursday ; Whew ... about 100 degrees today out here in the Sonoran Desert ! Pretty hot for
mid-March !
After communal breakfast this morning we had a "desert car rodeo". Driver blindfolded, navigator giving verbal instructions, driving around a marked course. Joanne navigated for Hans. Terrible. Hans navigated for me. Terrible. Carol Mae navigated for me ! Terrible ! I navigated for Carol Mae. Terrible. Our Kofa Ko-op next door neighbour John navigated for me. Pretty good. John seemed to be the champion navigator. Anybody who did the course with him as the navigator did pretty well. He and another driver came in first place.
I did some maintenance chores this afternoon, including exercising our generator and painting yesterday's fiberglass repair. Using my machete, I opened our last three coconuts from Mexico, saving the coconut milk for cooking, and sharing the fresh coconut meat at this afternoon's Happy Hour before supper. Communal dinner was a nicely prepared chili, followed by a lengthy "charity auction" and the rest of the evening around the campfire. Joanne's 92 year old friend from water aerobics Eilene was brought out from Kofa Ko-op for the auction, bearing a lemon meringue pie she had baked earlier in the day. It sold at auction for $350 !
Friday ; SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally back to Kofa Ko-op, Yuma, Arizona
Another very hot day ! This morning I ... at this point, I invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
We said our goodbyes to the rally participants that would not be returning to Kofa Ko-op, including Hans and Peta. We left the rally site, drove south on Ogilby Road back to Interstate 8, then east on I-8 back to Yuma. We did not return directly to Kofa Ko-op. We drove out to The Foothills to shop for more repair supplies at Al's RV Service & Supplies. They had another 15% off everything sale today, including items that were not in stock, but ordered and paid for today. Fair enough ! I ordered and paid for a new bathroom skylight, the last significant item I need to repair the Guasave accident damage.
We returned home to Kofa Ko-op, backed into our site, had a late lunch, then got set up in our site. Carol Mae came over to talk to me about a "problem dog" in the park. I assured her I could and would help solve the problem. The dog was recently adopted from the Humane Society by a resident of Kofa Ko-op. It has not worked out well, and the dog will be going to a new home a week from now. In the meantime, I will work with the "problem dog" twice a day to minimize the problems.
Carol Mae, Joanne, I, Bo, and Charlie went for a pack walk around the dog park. Charlie is not much of a problem ... for me. The pack walk was brutally hot so we finished with a brief rest break in our Arizona room. I look forward to working with Charlie, and making his remaining week here relatively problem free and stress free, for both him and his current owner.
We went for the late afternoon communal turkey soup supper. Kind of a hot day for soup supper, but ... it's near the end of the season, and the leftover turkey from communal meals ( like Christmas dinner ) needed to be used up ! Dinner was finished early enough that there was still a bit of daylight left, so before it got dark, I ... at this point, I once again invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
Saturday ; Another sunny, very hot day.
This morning I went for a behavioural pack walk with Charlie and Bo ... and Spanky. Good idea ! Good challenge ! Spanky is very dominant. Charlie is aggressive with dominant male dogs. Judy managed Spanky. I managed Charlie. Bo chased lizards in the desert. Everybody did fine !
After the morning behavioural pack walk I ... at this point, I once again invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
Joanne went grocery shopping. I worked on some landscaping projects. I spent much of the afternoon once again working on a toilet / black tank problem. It was interrupted by my afternoon pack walk with Bo and Charlie and other dogs. Just before dusk, and with the assistance of an RV accessory I borrowed, I solved the problem. Gonna have to buy myself that RV maintenance accessory !
DSK
Well ... it took until almost 6 PM, but we finally trapped and captured Siemen in our Arizona room. Bad kitty ! Another twenty-four hour "escape" ! Hans and Peta were very relieved to have him back ... again !
Joanne went shopping this morning and finished buying the ingredients for our cooking classes and dinner for sixty people at the upcoming Escapee Roadrunner Chapter 7 Spring Rally out in the desert in a couple of days. I did some landscaping work. Probably a bad choice of priorities, but ... ! I also did some maintenance work, but none of the Guasave accident repairs that I should be doing. Yesterday I bought a new type of fiberglass repair kit. Today I used it to repair some damage on our travel satellite dish. I wanted to try the new fiberglass repair kit products on the satellite dish before I use them to repair the damage on the trailer's lower side skirt caused by the exploding tire. The repairs on the satellite dish turned out well, so I'm confident about using the kit to repair the trailer damage.
In the evening we went to the regular Sunday evening ice cream social, then watched Amazing Race..
Monday ; Sunny and hot again. WOO-HOO !
This morning we did some routine pet care ; trim nails, clean ears, dispense medications. Joanne baked a couple of zucchini loaves in the Sun Oven. They're for our Wednesday evening Haystack Dinner at the Escapees Roadrunner Chapter 7 Spring Rally.
This afternoon I phoned some local welding shops and arranged to bring the trailer in tomorrow for an estimate on repairing the stress fractured trailer steps mounting bracket. I did Guasave underpass accident repair number three of eight. I removed the bedroom roof vent lid and operator arm, and installed a new vent lid and operator arm, then installed a new roof vent cover. The trailer used to have what's known as MaxxAir covers, but I bought a different "clone" brand. We prepared for departure tomorrow.
Tuesday ; Kofa Ko-op to SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally
Today was sunny and hot. We woke early this morning so that we could be ready to depart for the Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally reasonably early as we had some errands to run on the way. It was not meant to be !
As we prepared for departure we ran into a plumbing problem. Specifically a toilet problem. It took me two hours to solve < sigh >. By the time we left Kofa Ko-op we were already two hours behind schedule ! Not a great start to the day !
I had phoned three different local welding companies regarding the broken trailer steps bracket. My plan was to take the trailer to all three companies on our way to the rally and get estimates from each, as well as assess each one's "creative problem solving skills". I never got to the second and third. The first one's creative problem solving skills led to a collaborative solution that I believe is very workable. They will custom fabricate a "U channel" bolt on bracket for me that I will drill and install myself. Welding the existing broken bracket is not feasible. Welding under there would likely set the underside of the trailer floor on fire !
I finished at the welding company, we refilled Lanoire with diesel at Barney's and headed out of Yuma westbound on Interstate 8, across the Colorado River into California. The Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally is out in the desert off Ogilby Road, about 30 miles northwest of Yuma. We arrived at the rally site and parked beside Hans and Peta. There are more than 30 rigs at the rally, and over 60 people. Too many people, too much noise, for my tastes.
We visited and chatted, had ( way too early ) communal dinner, and sat around a campfire in the evening.
Wednesday ; Today was sunny and hot out in the desert at our rally site, temperature up in the 90's. Too hot for many of the almost seventy attendees. The group is a bit too large. Too crowded in the "tent" shelter. Too noisy as well. Not just me who thinks that.
Today was "our "day at the rally. This morning I conducted a Sun Oven Banana Nut Loaf cooking class. I had two batches of banana nut loaf batter / dough prepared by class attendees under my supervision, then placed them in the Sun Oven. The class attendees were able to repeatedly wander by and watch the loaves baking in the Sun Oven. After an hour and a quarter, they gathered around and watched me remove two gorgeous, perfect banana nut loaves from the Sun Oven. Well done, Daniel.
In the afternoon I helped Hans with a difficult "home improvement" project on his new motorhome. That inspired me to do one of my repair projects while we were out here in the desert. I needed to do some fiberglass repair work on the trailer's street side / driver's side lower skirt where there was some damage from the tire that exploded recently on our last day in Mexico. It was easier to work on that side of the trailer without the constraint of the fence in our yard at Kofa Ko-op. So ... using the new fiberglass repair kit I recently purchased, I repaired the damage. Well done, Daniel. Maybe tomorrow I will paint the repair.
Late in the afternoon we ( me as the "front man", Joanne behind the scenes ) conducted our Haystack Dinner cooking class. That got half a dozen or so people helping us prepare Haystack Dinner for almost seventy people. During the actual "cooking" time, I entertained the large, hungry group with an impromptu magic show. Blew one routine horribly ! Oh, well ... they're old people, they'll forget the "flub" soon. HA HA HA !
Haystack Dinner preparation had a couple of problems, with the cooking of the rice and the cooking of the cheese sauce. BUT ... while imperfect, the dinner was still pretty good. Almost seventy people got served quickly. There was lots of food, lots of people had "seconds" there were even some who got "thirds". Almost everybody seemed satisfied. A few weren't, but ... being a retailer for a long time taught me that you simply cannot make all of your customers happy all of the time. Dessert was great. The banana nut loaves cooked today in the Sun Oven were a huge hit. The zucchini nut loaves cooked by Joanne a few days ago, as well as the sugar free, gluten free, everything but the kitchen sink free dessert Joanne made, seemed to satisfy everybody. No, I'm wrong. One person complained about the raisins in the "everything free" dessert. I would like to say "well done, Daniel" but it was really a case of ... well done, Joanne !
As a very special treat, our friend Larry had set up the TV in their motorhome so that we could watch Survivor tonight. AND ... while we watched Survivor, his wife Carol Mae took care of washing the dishes and cleaning up the huge mess left behind by supper. Our friend Terry took care of the difficult job of cleaning the cheese sauce thickly burned onto the bottom of one of the pots we used. Thank you to all !
Thursday ; Whew ... about 100 degrees today out here in the Sonoran Desert ! Pretty hot for
mid-March !
After communal breakfast this morning we had a "desert car rodeo". Driver blindfolded, navigator giving verbal instructions, driving around a marked course. Joanne navigated for Hans. Terrible. Hans navigated for me. Terrible. Carol Mae navigated for me ! Terrible ! I navigated for Carol Mae. Terrible. Our Kofa Ko-op next door neighbour John navigated for me. Pretty good. John seemed to be the champion navigator. Anybody who did the course with him as the navigator did pretty well. He and another driver came in first place.
I did some maintenance chores this afternoon, including exercising our generator and painting yesterday's fiberglass repair. Using my machete, I opened our last three coconuts from Mexico, saving the coconut milk for cooking, and sharing the fresh coconut meat at this afternoon's Happy Hour before supper. Communal dinner was a nicely prepared chili, followed by a lengthy "charity auction" and the rest of the evening around the campfire. Joanne's 92 year old friend from water aerobics Eilene was brought out from Kofa Ko-op for the auction, bearing a lemon meringue pie she had baked earlier in the day. It sold at auction for $350 !
Friday ; SKP Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally back to Kofa Ko-op, Yuma, Arizona
Another very hot day ! This morning I ... at this point, I invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
We said our goodbyes to the rally participants that would not be returning to Kofa Ko-op, including Hans and Peta. We left the rally site, drove south on Ogilby Road back to Interstate 8, then east on I-8 back to Yuma. We did not return directly to Kofa Ko-op. We drove out to The Foothills to shop for more repair supplies at Al's RV Service & Supplies. They had another 15% off everything sale today, including items that were not in stock, but ordered and paid for today. Fair enough ! I ordered and paid for a new bathroom skylight, the last significant item I need to repair the Guasave accident damage.
We returned home to Kofa Ko-op, backed into our site, had a late lunch, then got set up in our site. Carol Mae came over to talk to me about a "problem dog" in the park. I assured her I could and would help solve the problem. The dog was recently adopted from the Humane Society by a resident of Kofa Ko-op. It has not worked out well, and the dog will be going to a new home a week from now. In the meantime, I will work with the "problem dog" twice a day to minimize the problems.
Carol Mae, Joanne, I, Bo, and Charlie went for a pack walk around the dog park. Charlie is not much of a problem ... for me. The pack walk was brutally hot so we finished with a brief rest break in our Arizona room. I look forward to working with Charlie, and making his remaining week here relatively problem free and stress free, for both him and his current owner.
We went for the late afternoon communal turkey soup supper. Kind of a hot day for soup supper, but ... it's near the end of the season, and the leftover turkey from communal meals ( like Christmas dinner ) needed to be used up ! Dinner was finished early enough that there was still a bit of daylight left, so before it got dark, I ... at this point, I once again invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
Saturday ; Another sunny, very hot day.
This morning I went for a behavioural pack walk with Charlie and Bo ... and Spanky. Good idea ! Good challenge ! Spanky is very dominant. Charlie is aggressive with dominant male dogs. Judy managed Spanky. I managed Charlie. Bo chased lizards in the desert. Everybody did fine !
After the morning behavioural pack walk I ... at this point, I once again invoke the privilege granted by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. HA HA HA !
Joanne went grocery shopping. I worked on some landscaping projects. I spent much of the afternoon once again working on a toilet / black tank problem. It was interrupted by my afternoon pack walk with Bo and Charlie and other dogs. Just before dusk, and with the assistance of an RV accessory I borrowed, I solved the problem. Gonna have to buy myself that RV maintenance accessory !
DSK
Monday, March 11, 2013
March 3 to 9, 2013 ; Yuma, Arizona
Sunday ; Partially overcast and warm.
We have been back here at Kofa Ko-op in Yuma for two days. We've been very busy. And I don't seem to have accomplished much of my urgent priorities. I need to get more focused and organized. And perhaps avoid socializing, although after being away for a couple of months, that's difficult to do. Friends and neighbours want to visit and chat.
I blew a bicycle tire this afternoon. I think bicycle tire tubes have a life expectancy of about one year down here in the brutal desert sun and heat. I helped Peta configure the new laptop computer she bought yesterday. She'll need more help adapting to Windows 8 and transferring from her old computer to her new one over the next few days. We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We chatted for quite awhile with Barry and Jackie. We watched Amazing Race and then the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice.
Monday ; Sunny and hot today. AHHHHH !
This morning I finally repaired the freshwater city water inlet system. Permanently ... with the correct parts ! So ... the trailer no longer has a length of various sizes of hoses and clamps and fittings hanging out the side wall like some kind of RV hernia !
This afternoon I was just about to begin washing the truck when the park's water system had to be shut down for a few hours to repair a water main leak. I installed my new printer’s software on my new computer. I finalized arrangements for Thursday’s solar power tour at Arizona Western College. I phoned the vet regarding a prescription order placed and paid for early in December ... and not yet received < fume >. I phoned the American insurance agent of our Mexican vehicle insurer regarding the Guasave accident claim. I wasn’t pleased that all he did was throw hurdles up in my path, and hoops to jump through. Old friends from Maple Leaf Chapter 18 ( Ontario ) moved onto the site across the street today. We had a pleasant “pack walk” around the dog park today. We went out for dinner to a Chinese buffet restaurant with Barry and Jackie who are leaving tomorrow.
Tuesday ; Another sunny, hot day. People are beginning to complain that it's "too hot". Which means, from my perspective ... and Sully's ... that's it's just about perfect !
Joanne spent the entire day out shopping < rolling eyes >. I made some phone calls back to my doctors in BC about scheduling some medical procedures this summer. I paid some bills. I sent some documents to my Mexican insurer. I did some maintenance on the shed. I did some gardening. I replaced a bicycle tire tube. AND ... < insert drum roll here > ... I replaced the first of eight roof top components destroyed in the Guasave underpass accident. The fridge roof top vent was the easiest component to replace. I guess I'm going to replace them in order of easiest to most difficult. After Joanne returned home I washed the truck. Goodbye Mexico road grime. Well ... on the truck ! The trailer is still filthy.
Wednesday ; Still hot and sunny !
Joanne spent much of the day washing the trailer. Thank you, my dear. This morning I did an obedience session with Bo. It's been a long time since we've done an obedience session. It showed. It was almost like "no habla ingles, señor". HA HA HA !
I removed the damaged air conditioner shroud and installed a new one. Easier said than done. Repair two of eight done. I thought there was no damage to the air conditioner itself, but ... I was wrong. Underneath the damaged shroud, the sheet metal at the top front of the air conditioner had abrasion damage. Nothing that a bit of Eternabond couldn't fix !
I did some work on the trailer's converter charger switch that I installed in Teacapan. I discovered that the freshwater city water inlet system rebuild / repair that I completed yesterday ... < sigh > ... was leaking ! And while I repaired that ... again ... I discovered ... < sigh > ... another problem that needed attention.
We went to the Wednesday afternoon Happy Hour / appetizers potluck. Afterwards I went over to continue setting up Peta's new computer. There was a Windows 8 set up problem that took me quite awhile to resolve. In the evening we watched TV and I worked on the computer.
Thursday ; Today started out sunny and warm, but the evening became cloudy and cool.
This morning we headed for Arizona Western College to attend a tour of their very impressive solar power arrays. In December I had arranged this tour for members and guests of Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7. It was not "advertised" here at Kofa Ko-op until last Sunday evening's ice cream social, so ... attendance today was poor. BUT ... it was a great tour.
Arizona Western College has five separate solar power arrays, each very large, utilizing five different types of solar power technology, owned and operated by five different corporate "partners". They generate enough power to supply all of the college's daytime power requirements, and have surplus to sell to Arizona Power which offsets the cost of the power the college must purchase during darkness hours.
After the tour we ran some shopping errands, and visited briefly with Paul and Kolly, neighbours of ours back home at Riverside RV Park Resort, at their winter home here in Yuma. We had a message to pass on to them from another neighbour.
On the way home we stopped at an RV dealer to look at a cheap, old Class C motorhome they had for sale. Piece of junk ! We had lunch at home and I went out to run more errands. When I returned home I helped Joanne finish cleaning the front of the trailer. We had an early supper then headed downtown to Historic Yuma Theater for their monthly "foreign art film" night. We saw "Found Memories", a Portuguese film made in Brazil. I didn't get it. Joanne said there was nothing to "get", it was a "foreign art film". Yeah ... I still don’t get it ! But it was nice to have a “date night”.
Friday ; BRRRRR ! Cold, windy, rainy ! End of winter ! Going to be sunny and hot starting on Sunday.
After being very impressed with the Mexican insurance company when I contacted them the day after my underpass accident in Guasave a month ago, I am not so impressed with their American agent here in the United States. I spoke to him on the phone today.
I phoned MasterCard today and verified that the three fraudulent transactions charged in Montreal
recently to Joanne's U.S.$ MasterCard have been resolved, and that they have sent a new card for Joanne to here.
Joanne went out shopping for most of the day. I reinstalled the freshwater city water inlet that is now no longer leaking ... I hope. I finished repairing and reinstalling a trailer side marker light.
I crawled underneath the trailer and did some preliminary work to prepare for having the broken step mounting bracket welded.
When I went to check our mailbox in the clubhouse lobby ... WOO-HOO ... there was a SkilSaw on the bargain table. That will come in handy in a couple of months when I'm building a shed on our new lot at Riverside RV Park Resort.
In the evening I did some online financial work.
Saturday ; The weather varied today, from sunny and warm to cloudy, windy and cold.
This morning we went shopping. I dropped Joanne off at Goodwill Thrift Shop ... 50% off everything today ... and I went to Sears to exchange a broken tool, then to Yuma Indoor Marketplace to pick up the two Extreme Vents I had ordered, then to Pep Boys to buy a fiberglass repair kit. I returned to Goodwill, parked and went inside to find Joanne. The place was a mad house ! And there was my .... obviously pissed off wife ! Somebody had taken the shopping cart she had been using. With the items she was purchasing. But most importantly ... it had her pretty little notepad folder sitting in it. With important paperwork inside. She was annoyed ! She had searched and searched for it prior to my arrival, and then we both searched for it. The notepad folder was either in somebody's purse or pocket by then, or tossed somewhere in the store, on a shelf or maybe even in a garbage can. It was hopeless. We left. She's mad ! There's a moral in there somewhere ... but I'm not stupid enough to suggest it in writing. HA HA HA !
In the afternoon we went to visit with Rick and Debbie, friends and neighbours of ours back home at Riverside RV Park Resort. They are passing through Yuma on their way home from their second winter in Mexico. Their winter down there didn't seem much better than ours, in many respects. The back of Rick's head is filled with stitches from a fall he took in Puerto Vallarta recently. And one of their rig's slide outs won't come out due to a broken cable. And they also had multiple tire problems.
As we were finishing supper Hans came over to tell us that Siemen had just escaped / "run away from home" again. We turned on a light in our Arizona room, and propped the doors open slightly, hoping that Siemen would eventually come over here and enter "his" Arizona room.
DSK
We have been back here at Kofa Ko-op in Yuma for two days. We've been very busy. And I don't seem to have accomplished much of my urgent priorities. I need to get more focused and organized. And perhaps avoid socializing, although after being away for a couple of months, that's difficult to do. Friends and neighbours want to visit and chat.
I blew a bicycle tire this afternoon. I think bicycle tire tubes have a life expectancy of about one year down here in the brutal desert sun and heat. I helped Peta configure the new laptop computer she bought yesterday. She'll need more help adapting to Windows 8 and transferring from her old computer to her new one over the next few days. We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social. We chatted for quite awhile with Barry and Jackie. We watched Amazing Race and then the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice.
Monday ; Sunny and hot today. AHHHHH !
This morning I finally repaired the freshwater city water inlet system. Permanently ... with the correct parts ! So ... the trailer no longer has a length of various sizes of hoses and clamps and fittings hanging out the side wall like some kind of RV hernia !
This afternoon I was just about to begin washing the truck when the park's water system had to be shut down for a few hours to repair a water main leak. I installed my new printer’s software on my new computer. I finalized arrangements for Thursday’s solar power tour at Arizona Western College. I phoned the vet regarding a prescription order placed and paid for early in December ... and not yet received < fume >. I phoned the American insurance agent of our Mexican vehicle insurer regarding the Guasave accident claim. I wasn’t pleased that all he did was throw hurdles up in my path, and hoops to jump through. Old friends from Maple Leaf Chapter 18 ( Ontario ) moved onto the site across the street today. We had a pleasant “pack walk” around the dog park today. We went out for dinner to a Chinese buffet restaurant with Barry and Jackie who are leaving tomorrow.
Tuesday ; Another sunny, hot day. People are beginning to complain that it's "too hot". Which means, from my perspective ... and Sully's ... that's it's just about perfect !
Joanne spent the entire day out shopping < rolling eyes >. I made some phone calls back to my doctors in BC about scheduling some medical procedures this summer. I paid some bills. I sent some documents to my Mexican insurer. I did some maintenance on the shed. I did some gardening. I replaced a bicycle tire tube. AND ... < insert drum roll here > ... I replaced the first of eight roof top components destroyed in the Guasave underpass accident. The fridge roof top vent was the easiest component to replace. I guess I'm going to replace them in order of easiest to most difficult. After Joanne returned home I washed the truck. Goodbye Mexico road grime. Well ... on the truck ! The trailer is still filthy.
Wednesday ; Still hot and sunny !
Joanne spent much of the day washing the trailer. Thank you, my dear. This morning I did an obedience session with Bo. It's been a long time since we've done an obedience session. It showed. It was almost like "no habla ingles, señor". HA HA HA !
I removed the damaged air conditioner shroud and installed a new one. Easier said than done. Repair two of eight done. I thought there was no damage to the air conditioner itself, but ... I was wrong. Underneath the damaged shroud, the sheet metal at the top front of the air conditioner had abrasion damage. Nothing that a bit of Eternabond couldn't fix !
I did some work on the trailer's converter charger switch that I installed in Teacapan. I discovered that the freshwater city water inlet system rebuild / repair that I completed yesterday ... < sigh > ... was leaking ! And while I repaired that ... again ... I discovered ... < sigh > ... another problem that needed attention.
We went to the Wednesday afternoon Happy Hour / appetizers potluck. Afterwards I went over to continue setting up Peta's new computer. There was a Windows 8 set up problem that took me quite awhile to resolve. In the evening we watched TV and I worked on the computer.
Thursday ; Today started out sunny and warm, but the evening became cloudy and cool.
This morning we headed for Arizona Western College to attend a tour of their very impressive solar power arrays. In December I had arranged this tour for members and guests of Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7. It was not "advertised" here at Kofa Ko-op until last Sunday evening's ice cream social, so ... attendance today was poor. BUT ... it was a great tour.
Arizona Western College has five separate solar power arrays, each very large, utilizing five different types of solar power technology, owned and operated by five different corporate "partners". They generate enough power to supply all of the college's daytime power requirements, and have surplus to sell to Arizona Power which offsets the cost of the power the college must purchase during darkness hours.
After the tour we ran some shopping errands, and visited briefly with Paul and Kolly, neighbours of ours back home at Riverside RV Park Resort, at their winter home here in Yuma. We had a message to pass on to them from another neighbour.
On the way home we stopped at an RV dealer to look at a cheap, old Class C motorhome they had for sale. Piece of junk ! We had lunch at home and I went out to run more errands. When I returned home I helped Joanne finish cleaning the front of the trailer. We had an early supper then headed downtown to Historic Yuma Theater for their monthly "foreign art film" night. We saw "Found Memories", a Portuguese film made in Brazil. I didn't get it. Joanne said there was nothing to "get", it was a "foreign art film". Yeah ... I still don’t get it ! But it was nice to have a “date night”.
Friday ; BRRRRR ! Cold, windy, rainy ! End of winter ! Going to be sunny and hot starting on Sunday.
After being very impressed with the Mexican insurance company when I contacted them the day after my underpass accident in Guasave a month ago, I am not so impressed with their American agent here in the United States. I spoke to him on the phone today.
I phoned MasterCard today and verified that the three fraudulent transactions charged in Montreal
recently to Joanne's U.S.$ MasterCard have been resolved, and that they have sent a new card for Joanne to here.
Joanne went out shopping for most of the day. I reinstalled the freshwater city water inlet that is now no longer leaking ... I hope. I finished repairing and reinstalling a trailer side marker light.
I crawled underneath the trailer and did some preliminary work to prepare for having the broken step mounting bracket welded.
When I went to check our mailbox in the clubhouse lobby ... WOO-HOO ... there was a SkilSaw on the bargain table. That will come in handy in a couple of months when I'm building a shed on our new lot at Riverside RV Park Resort.
In the evening I did some online financial work.
Saturday ; The weather varied today, from sunny and warm to cloudy, windy and cold.
This morning we went shopping. I dropped Joanne off at Goodwill Thrift Shop ... 50% off everything today ... and I went to Sears to exchange a broken tool, then to Yuma Indoor Marketplace to pick up the two Extreme Vents I had ordered, then to Pep Boys to buy a fiberglass repair kit. I returned to Goodwill, parked and went inside to find Joanne. The place was a mad house ! And there was my .... obviously pissed off wife ! Somebody had taken the shopping cart she had been using. With the items she was purchasing. But most importantly ... it had her pretty little notepad folder sitting in it. With important paperwork inside. She was annoyed ! She had searched and searched for it prior to my arrival, and then we both searched for it. The notepad folder was either in somebody's purse or pocket by then, or tossed somewhere in the store, on a shelf or maybe even in a garbage can. It was hopeless. We left. She's mad ! There's a moral in there somewhere ... but I'm not stupid enough to suggest it in writing. HA HA HA !
In the afternoon we went to visit with Rick and Debbie, friends and neighbours of ours back home at Riverside RV Park Resort. They are passing through Yuma on their way home from their second winter in Mexico. Their winter down there didn't seem much better than ours, in many respects. The back of Rick's head is filled with stitches from a fall he took in Puerto Vallarta recently. And one of their rig's slide outs won't come out due to a broken cable. And they also had multiple tire problems.
As we were finishing supper Hans came over to tell us that Siemen had just escaped / "run away from home" again. We turned on a light in our Arizona room, and propped the doors open slightly, hoping that Siemen would eventually come over here and enter "his" Arizona room.
DSK
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
February 24 to March 2, 2013 ; Nogales to Yuma, Arizona
Sunday ; Nogales to Patagonia State Park
After boondocking overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot I was up at 6:30 AM so that I could be in the store buying new trailer tires as early as possible. Why is the Wal-Mart in Nogales, Arizona so busy at 7:45 AM on a Sunday morning ? Are all Wal-Marts that busy at 7:45 AM ?
Wal-Mart had stock of two Goodyear Marathon trailer tires in the size I needed. I wanted to examine the tires to see the manufacturing date code before I would commit to buying them. One tire was manufactured in the 35th week of 2012. One tire was manufactured in the 36th week of 2011. If both tires had been manufactured in late August / early September of 2012 I would have bought them ... with extreme reluctance. With one tire being manufactured about a year and a half ago ... I refused to buy either one. Why buy only one when I really need two ? Tires have a life expectation of about six years, notwithstanding the mileage put on them. I am not going to buy expensive trailer tires that are a year and a half old by the time they're bought. I am hopeful that I can buy two tires elsewhere and both will be "fresher" than six months old.
We drove northeast on Arizona SR 82 for only about half an hour to reach Patagonia State Park. We got set up in a site and I took a nap with Sully. It was sunny today, but cold and windy at the high elevation of Patagonia State Park. My priority for the afternoon was to set up the satellite dish so that we could watch Amazing Race tonight. I was so physically tired from getting up at 6:30 AM and mentally stressed by travelling in Mexico ... I spent about an hour trying to aim the satellite dish ... 180 degrees from where it needed to be ! ! ! What an idiot ! I'm ashamed ! And very "off my game" !
After boondocking overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot I was up at 6:30 AM so that I could be in the store buying new trailer tires as early as possible. Why is the Wal-Mart in Nogales, Arizona so busy at 7:45 AM on a Sunday morning ? Are all Wal-Marts that busy at 7:45 AM ?
Wal-Mart had stock of two Goodyear Marathon trailer tires in the size I needed. I wanted to examine the tires to see the manufacturing date code before I would commit to buying them. One tire was manufactured in the 35th week of 2012. One tire was manufactured in the 36th week of 2011. If both tires had been manufactured in late August / early September of 2012 I would have bought them ... with extreme reluctance. With one tire being manufactured about a year and a half ago ... I refused to buy either one. Why buy only one when I really need two ? Tires have a life expectation of about six years, notwithstanding the mileage put on them. I am not going to buy expensive trailer tires that are a year and a half old by the time they're bought. I am hopeful that I can buy two tires elsewhere and both will be "fresher" than six months old.
We drove northeast on Arizona SR 82 for only about half an hour to reach Patagonia State Park. We got set up in a site and I took a nap with Sully. It was sunny today, but cold and windy at the high elevation of Patagonia State Park. My priority for the afternoon was to set up the satellite dish so that we could watch Amazing Race tonight. I was so physically tired from getting up at 6:30 AM and mentally stressed by travelling in Mexico ... I spent about an hour trying to aim the satellite dish ... 180 degrees from where it needed to be ! ! ! What an idiot ! I'm ashamed ! And very "off my game" !
I got a few small maintenance jobs done this afternoon. Twice we went for a walk around the campground, but it was so cold and windy that we kept the walks fairly short. We spent the evening watching TV. Maybe I should have spent that time studying how to read a compass, something I learned to do quite competently when I was about eight years old ! ! ! BUT NOT TODAY !
Monday ; Today was a lovely day, sunny and warm, a pleasant change from yesterday's cold and wind.
We rested a lot today. I was suffering from some manner of sinus infection. Joanne was suffering from some manner of gastro-intestinal problem. We've both decided to take oral antibiotics for a few days. I did some minor maintenance work, whatever I could accomplish with the supplies I had on hand. After a couple of months in Mexico with almost zero water pressure everywhere we went, it was nice to have adequate water pressure. Actually, this state park has more than adequate water pressure, it's quite high. I was able to clean a few items outside with a garden hose and nozzle.
We borrowed a Tucson and area phone book from the Park Ranger station. Joanne found and phoned a glass shop in Green Valley ( between Nogales and Tucson ) and arranged to have the truck's windshield repaired tomorrow. We sustained three rock chips in Mexico, and one will have to be repaired to stop it from spreading into a long crack. I phoned some tire shops and found a Goodyear Auto Centre on the south side of Tucson, near the Interstate, with stock of the trailer tires I need. And the tires are fresh, manufactured about three months ago. First stop tomorrow, windshield repair in Green Valley, second stop at Goodyear for two trailer tires, then on to Camping World ... for lots of repair supplies.
Late in the afternoon we went for a walk around the campground and a short distance on a park hiking trail. Bo was very eager to go on a long hike ... but we weren't. Sorry, Bo. The weather was very pleasant, but neither of us was feeling well, Joanne with a "tummy ache", me with a sinus headache.
We barbecued thick, juicy steaks for supper and spent the evening watching mindless TV.
Tuesday ; Patagonia State Park to Tucson
Today was sunny and mild. We got a lot done today !
This morning we prepared for departure and left Patagonia State Park, backtracking southwest on Arizona SR 82 to Nogales, then heading north on Interstate 19. About halfway to Tucson, at Green Valley, we found our way to National Auto Glass where we had an appointment to have the windshield chip repaired. They were efficient and quick. We're very glad to have that problem solved. The last couple of cold nights at Patagonia State Park had already begun the process of cracks emanating outwards from the stone chip.
At Suaharito we pulled off the Interstate and into a shopping mall parking lot to have lunch. While eating lunch in the trailer we watched an obvious drug deal take place, involving two vehicles, two duffel bags, and three men. Just like in the movies ! There were even a couple of stereotypes ; one of the men was a greasy haired New Jersey Italian with a cell phone pasted to his ear the whole time, and another was a steroid filled, shaved head Arab.
After lunch we continued north on I-19 into Tucson and found the Goodyear Auto Service Center where we had an appointment for the purchase, mounting and balancing of two new trailer tires. Like the earlier glass shop, they too were efficient and quick. It's a great relief to us to have the two new trailer tires. No more travelling with a damaged tire on the trailer, and no spare ! And as they promised me yesterday by phone, the tires were "fresh", having been manufactured in the 47th week of 2012.
We headed for Camping World. On the way, we refilled an empty propane tank at U-Haul, and refilled Lanoire with diesel at QuikTrip. We spent a long time at Camping World, and bought a lot of RV parts that we needed, including more than half of the parts required to repair the Guasave accident damage. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the plumbing repair parts I desperately need. We got a recommendation for a plumbing supply store and headed over there, struggling through rush hour traffic and arriving there just before closing time. The plumbing supply store did not have the parts I need. Oh, well ... today we got a lot of what we needed, the rest will have to wait until we're back in Yuma.
It was 6 PM, half an hour until dark. I suggested to Joanne that we boondock overnight at the Desert Diamond Casino where we spent a night in December on the way down to Mexico. More rush hour traffic, backtrack about 15 miles south on Interstate 19, we arrived at Desert Diamond Casino just as it got dark.
Wednesday ; Tucson to Picacho Peak State Park
Today was sunny and mild. We left the parking lot of Desert Diamond Casino and drove back into Tucson, to Home Depot. We returned a defective electric heater we bought in Yuma before we left for Mexico. We shopped for groceries at Fry's. We drove north a short distance on Interstate 19, then headed west on Interstate 10 to Picacho Peak State Park.
We've been here twice before. It's a lovely desert park, filled with Saguaro Cacti. We checked in, got set up in our site, had lunch, and I napped briefly with Sully. We spent the afternoon puttering around with maintenance chores and we went for a walk around the large campground. I set up the satellite dish so that we could watch Survivor tonight. I must be getting better at aiming the satellite dish ... when I read the compass correctly ! It used to take me anywhere from half an hour to an hour to get the dish aimed accurately. Today it took me just a few minutes.
Thursday ; Today was sunny and warm, but windy. I spent the day working on trailer repairs. A bunch of small jobs, accomplished with parts and supplies bought in Tucson. We went for a long afternoon walk. We separately worked on planning our contribution to the upcoming Escapees Roadrunners Chapter 7 Spring Rally. We're conducting a cooking class that results in the production of a couple of Sun Oven baked banana nut loaves ( mostly my project ), and another cooking class that results in a Haystack Dinner for about sixty ( mostly Joanne's project ).
Friday ; Picacho Peak State Park to Yuma
Well ... I sort of saved a cat's life today ! And sometimes that's all I need to feel pretty damn good !
Today was sunny and warm at Picacho Peak State Park, hot by the time we got to Yuma. This morning we prepared for departure and left Picacho Peak State Park. We headed west on Interstate 10 until the beginning of Interstate 8, then west on Interstate 8. We stopped for a late lunch at Dateland, Arizona. Lunch included date shakes. WOO-HOO ! ! ! And this time ... Bo got some. WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... Bo loooooves date shakes. When we drove through Dateland eastbound on December 27, we weren't able to allow Bo to have any date shake due to him having an upset tummy already. We all enjoyed our date shakes today !
We were approaching Yuma from the east by mid-afternoon. So we were going to make it to Al's RV Parts & Supplies in the Foothills before they closed for the day. Every first Friday of each month everything is 15% off at Al's. WOO-HOO ! I got almost all the RV parts and supplies I still needed. And all at 15% off ! WOO-HOO ! AND ... a chocolate covered doughnut. WOO-HOO !
We refilled with diesel at Barney's. The truck computer's "distance to empty" was less than 20 miles ! We arrived home at Kofa Ko-op around 4 PM. AHHHHH ... good to be home ! We were home for only a few minutes when our Escapees BC Okanagan Chapter 33 friends Barry and Jackie came by to say hello. They had arrived at Kofa Ko-op a few days ago and knew that we would be returning today. We visited with them briefly. Then ... Hans and Peta came by to say hello.
Hans and Peta had been renters on our lot during our entire absence. They had moved onto our lot upon our departure on December 27, and were on our lot until yesterday. Their "original" cat Siemen, and our feral rescue kitten that they adopted, Kacey, now renamed Kofee, quite enjoyed their daily "outings" in our Arizona room. When Hans and Peta were moved to a vacant site on the other side of the RV park yesterday ... Siemen was upset. He threw a "hissy fit" and escaped ! They chased him unsuccessfully, then searched and searched and searched, last night and today. He was gone ! By now, 24 hours later, they were certain he had been eaten by coyotes, the usual fate of stray cats around here.
Their news was very upsetting to us. Sully throws similar "hissy fits" and tries to "run away from home" to express his displeasure at us. Maybe that's typical Siamese behaviour ? Siemen is also a Siamese. Hans and Peta were devastated. And we weren't far behind !
As Joanne prepared supper, I went outside to check whether or not I had closed the kitchen grey tank valve that I had opened to drain earlier. I checked the valve under the rear corner of the trailer, and as I stood up ... I sensed something. I shone my flashlight towards the dog park behind our yard and ... OMIGAWD ... there was Siemen sitting on our back fence, glaring at me !
He was alive ! ! ! And sitting on "his" back fence. Probably wondering who the hell was I ? And why was I in "his" yard ? I stepped toward him and called his name. His angry looked instantly changed to a look of fear. "UH-OH ... this man knows my name, and is approaching me". He rose from his crouched position and appeared ready to bolt. I backed away quickly !
I opened our trailer door, babbled at Joanne that Siemen was on the back fence, and told her to go talk to him softly while I ran to get Hans and Peta. I ran ... as quickly as I could ... I don't run well anymore ... to the other side of the RV park, and pounded on their door, hollering at them that Siemen was alive in our back yard. HURRY ! We rushed back to our yard. Joanne was in the back yard, confused. She never did see Siemen on the back fence. OH, NO ! Did he run ?
Hans and Peta called Siemen. MEOW ! He was still sitting on the fence, but in our neighbour's yard now. Hans went to get him. And Siemen ran ! OH, NO ! Hans chased Siemen out onto County 17th Street. Where Siemen finally gave up, sat down in the middle of the road, and waited for Hans to pick him up !
< breathing a huge sigh of relief >
Saturday ; First full day back "home" in Yuma. Hot, sunny, busy !
This morning I went shopping to RV Connection and Lowe's to get the last couple of items I need to finally do a permanent repair on the trailer's freshwater system. It's currently on version four of the temporary repair. Each version of the temporary repair is better than the one before, but ... it's temporary !
This afternoon our Escapees BC Okanagan Chapter 33 friends Barry and Jackie came by to visit. Afterwards Joanne went shopping and I continued puttering around with repairs, my main activity for at least the next month, I expect. At 4 PM I took Bo for a walk around the dog park. The daily 4 PM pack walk around the dog park seems to have died out with our departure a couple of months ago. Bo and I walked from our back fence to the dog park's entrance gate. I left Bo inside the dog park and went to recruit Bob and his sweet dog Maizie. They were both glad to see both of us. Bob, Maizie, Bo and I went for a walk around the dog park. Bob and I chatted for quite awhile. When Bo and I finally returned home ... UH-OH ... I had left the roast a bit too long in the Sun Oven. I forgot how intense the desert sunlight is. Oh, well ... Joanne always did prefer meat well done !
I spent the evening working on accounting and online work. I had forgotten how bad the Wi-Fi is here at Kofa Ko-op !
DSK
Saturday, March 2, 2013
February 17 to 23, 2013 ; Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico to Nogales, Arizona, U.S.A.
Sunday ; This morning Joanne discovered that the trailer's exterior thermometer is gone, having been knocked out of its mounting bracket beside the kitchen's back window, presumably by the irate Guasave a*****e "car washer" as we drove away. Hopefully that's the last of his retribution that we find.
This morning we headed downtown to run some errands. It's been almost three weeks since we've had access to self-service laundry facilities. Yesterday as we drove through Guaymas we saw a lavenderia auto-servicio. While Joanne did laundry I went next door to Burger King and did an hour and a half of online work using their Wi-Fi, including uploading my weekly blog entry.
After laundry and Wi-Fi work were finished we went exploring, driving through Guaymas and over to the nearby upscale resort town of San Carlos. While checking out an RV park in San Carlos we came across the family that had been our next door neighbours at Mr. Moro Hotel & RV Park in Las Glorias. We chatted with them briefly and will see them again at our next destination. We continued exploring San Carlos then drove back to Miramar on back roads following the coastline. The hotel and RV park that we're staying at is technically not in Guaymas. It's in the nearby resort community of Miramar.
We had a very late lunch. I napped briefly with Sully. We headed back into Guaymas to do some shopping. I dropped Joanne off at Ley to shop for groceries and I drove over to Home Depot. I found one of the three items I was looking for. Next stop was AutoZone. Again I found one of the three items I wanted. I joined Joanne at Ley and helped her finish the grocery shopping. We rushed back home to be in time to see the season premiere of Amazing Race.
Monday ; Another beautiful, hot, sunny day. Joanne suggested we spend another day here. Good idea. We needed a "day off". Too bad we blew the entire day squabbling and sniping at each other.
This morning I attempted to improve upon the temporary repair on the freshwater city water inlet system I had to do a month or more ago. I bought a plumbing part yesterday at Home Depot. While installing it ... I broke it ! Story of my life ! I drove back to Home Depot and bought three more ... just in case ! I installed it successfully and now have two spares. BUT ... it's still a temporary repair, although improved. I used a "home" plumbing part and it's not exactly the RV specific plumbing part that is needed.
This afternoon I went over to the hotel's pool patio to use Wi-Fi. What a lovely setting. I worked on the computer sitting under a canopy looking out over the Sea of Cortez.
Tuesday ; Guaymas to Bahia de Kino / Kino Bay
Today started out cloudy and cool at Guaymas but became sunny and warm this afternoon after we arrived at Kino Bay.
This morning we prepared for departure and left Hotel Playa de Cortés. We headed through Guaymas then north on MEX 15 until we reached Hwy. 24, a secondary highway "shortcut" heading towards Kino Bay. Well ... wasn't that the worst 80 km. / 50 miles we've ever driven ? ! ? We turned east on Hwy. 16 and before we reached Kino Bay we pulled off the highway to have lunch. While Joanne prepared lunch Sully and I went for a walk in the Sonoran Desert. We seemed to be in a Cholla Cactus "forest". I found two dead Cholla and decided I would like to have a couple of Cholla Cacti "skeletons" as landscaping in our Yuma yard. I pushed the dead Chollas over with my foot and loaded them into the back of the truck. In the meantime ... Sully had managed to get himself tangled up in some thorny bush. Sully seems to lack some desert "smarts".
Joanne chastised me for allowing Sully to wander around in the desert unescorted just a few minutes after we saw a wolf cross the road in front of us. My response was ... Hey, he's old, I don't think he's that tasty. HA HA HA !
When we arrived in Kino Bay we found our way to Islandia RV Park in Kino Viejo / Old Kino ( as opposed to Kino Nuevo / New Kino. We selected a site, got set up quickly, then went for a long walk on the beach. WOW ... what different shells from the other beaches we've been on. Our shell collection is getting ... large ! We plan to glue our collected shells onto our Keremeos yard's low fencing. After our beach walk we once again set up the satellite dish so that we could watch Survivor tomorrow evening. < gritting teeth > It's not getting much easier ! While I worked on repairing today's road vibration damage < rolling eyes > Joanne stripped the "bark" off the dead Chollas. Nice cactus skeletons ! I hope we can get them across the border into the U.S.
Wednesday ; Sunny, cool, very windy !
This morning I worked on some minor repairs, touching up some Mexico road rash on our new dinette chairs with stain and varnish. < sigh > Imagine taking all the furniture in your home, and putting it into a giant, tumbling clothes dryer, that's what travel on Mexico roads does to furniture.
I also worked on buffing and polishing out the Guasave car washer's vandalism scratches on the truck's rear door. A*****e ! ! ! While checking the air pressure in the trailer's tires I discovered ...
< sigh > ... the newest trailer tire, the one moved from the spare position onto the trailer in Teacapan was severely damaged by yesterday's pothole filled roads. Now I have two severely damaged trailer tires, one in the spare position and one on the trailer. I hope I can make it back to Yuma without blowing a tire ! Maybe I'll buy two new trailer tires in Tucson. Where ... we've found out a few minutes ago ( 12:30 PM ) ... it's snowing ! Snow in Tucson ? ! ?
We went for a walk into town, looking for pescaderias / fish mongers. This is a fishing village. Most of the pangas / fishing boats were sitting on the beach by the wharf. Too cold and too windy for the fishermen to go out today, I guess. Only a couple of pescaderias were out selling fish today. We checked out their offerings, but didn't buy any fish today. We went for lunch to a restaurant that looked appealing. We ordered their special, filetes de Lizas. We didn't know what kind of fish Lizas were. YUCK ! First Mexican meal we didn't like.
This afternoon the family with the little girls that were our neighbours at Las Glorias arrived here today. Sedona and Georgia came over to visit with Bo and Sully. Their mother sent a coconut over to be opened. HA HA HA ... have machete, will travel ! Georgia joined us on a beach walk to find interesting shells. One of the RV park's many semi-stray dogs also joined us.
Thursday ; Today was a lovely, sunny, warm day. Yesterday's cold spell lasted only one day.
Yesterday's high waves washed a lot of stuff up onto the beach ; lots of stinky seaweed, shells, chunks of coral, garbage, sea creatures, and ... all sorts of stuff ! This morning we went for a long beach walk. At least three times Bo flipped and rolled on something dead. Later in the afternoon Joanne found a chunk of smelly, dead fish on his harness. For crying out loud, Bo ! When I saw a squid on the beach I reached down to touch it to see if it was still alive. It was ! It squirted "ink" on my finger ! The moral of that story is ... don't poke live squid ! HA HA HA !
Our new "family of friends" invited us to join them on a walk to the panaderia in town. Of course ! We were almost out of pan dulce. Even if we weren't we wouldn't decline an invitation to go to a panaderia. After stocking up on lots of pan dulce we wandered around the village of Viejo Kino. We walked out on the long wharf and then part of the group walked back to the RV park down the road, and some walked back down the beach. Joanne went by road, I went by beach. I collected more shells on the walk home. Perhaps I've collected too many shells ?
Early this evening I fulfilled a promise I made to the little girls while still back at Las Glorias / Mr. Moro. I built a campfire and performed more magic for them. While I was performing a magic trick for the girls, some neighbours brought chairs over and joined us around our campfire. Then more neighbours. Then more neighbours ! We chatted around the campfire until late in the evening. And I got rid of all the firewood I had, as it wouldn't be allowed back across the border into the U.S., despite being firewood from Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada.
Friday ; Another beautiful, sunny, warm day at the beach. Our last one !
This morning I phoned MasterCard in Canada. My latest U.S.$ MasterCard billing has three fraudulent charges, all made the same day, all made at the same Esso station in Montreal, all made on Joanne's card number. It wasn't difficult for their fraud department to understand that I ( or Joanne ) can't be in Mexico and Montreal at the same time. Her card had to be cancelled, a new one will be sent to Yuma.
We took Bo for a beach walk, probably his last one for a long time. After lunch and a nap with Sully we walked into town to buy some fresh fish. We bought a couple of pounds of lovely, fresh flounder fillets, and a pound of fresh large scallops. A kilogram of flounder fillets was setenta-cinco ( 75 ) pesos and a half kilogram of scallops was sien ( 100 ) pesos. The scallops were so large that we cut them in half before packaging them into four meals. We packaged the flounder fillets into five meals. This was our last opportunity to buy fresh fish and seafood. Nine meals of fresh fish and scallops ... about fourteen dollars. Firewood can't cross the border into the U.S., but fish and seafood can !
I chopped open our last two coconuts from Las Glorias. Lots of clear milk, lots of tasty meat. We gave all the coconut milk and half the coconut meat to Nicole and her family. Since we ran out of dog food today, Bo will be eating cat food and fresh coconut for the next couple of days. HA HA HA ! He's very happy about that ! I got a lot of computer work done today, both online and offline.
I don't know when we will next have access to Wi-Fi. We watched the sun set on the Sea of Cortez for the last time. Beautiful ! After watching the sunset I went to perform my last magic trick, as promised, for Sedona and Georgia, and two of their Mexican friends.
Saturday ; Bahia de Kino, Sonora, Mexico to Nogales, Arizona, U.S.A.
Another beautiful, sunny day. This morning we prepared for departure, said goodbye to Robin, Nicole, Georgia, and Sedona, and left Islandia RV Park in Bahia de Kino. As we drove through town on the way back to the highway we stopped at an aqua purificadora and refilled a water jug.
We drove east on SON 16 towards Hermosillo. We stopped at a Santa Fe supermarket in the town of Miguel Aleman to buy just a few grocery items. We needed to keep the fridge pretty empty for crossing the border. We weren't sure that we would drive all the way to the border today, but it was a possibility.
We made it to and through Hermosillo without too much difficulty but it certainly wasn't due to good road signage ! And after we drove from the south around the city on the west on what seemed like a relatively new ring road, we ended up on MEX 15 ... southbound. There was no way from the ring road to get onto MEX 15 northbound. Why would one want to drive all the way around the city from the south, only to end up on the north side of the city ... heading south ? ! ? Typical Mexican road "engineering" ! ! ! We pulled a retorno and headed north on MEX 15.
We refilled with diesel at Hermosillo. The Pemex pump attendant was passive aggressive. I guess he's got a chip on his shoulder towards gringos. Eat s***, pal ! I suppose you can tell that by the time I'm typing this at 10 PM I'd had enough today !
We drove a lot of miles today. We reached the border at Nogales, Sonora, Mexico around 5 PM. We pulled up to U.S. Customs and while answering the CBP agent's questions another agent came over to ask if I knew that the trailer had an exploded tire ? AW, **** ! ! ! Story of my ****ing life ! ! !
CBP sent us for a secondary inspection by Agriculture. That's common, and sensible, for RV's. The Agriculture inspector was mostly interested in the contents of the trailer's fridge and kitchen cupboards. They wouldn't allow me to change the trailer's exploded tire there so I had to drive slowly to a Shell service station just beyond the border crossing.
We were now in Nogales, Arizona. I pulled into the Shell station and changed the exploded tire. The trailer's spare was the tire I damaged in Mazatlan, so I'm not very confident in it. It's not likely to survive much more. While I was changing the tire an employee of the Shell station was "hanging around". I thought he was on a meal break and was killing time. He seemed to speak no English.
I thought that was odd since we were now in the United States. We later discovered that most of Nogales, Arizona doesn't speak English ! When I was finished changing the tire and was about to pull out of the Shell station he came over to advise me that there would be a $4 "parking fee".
I ... < ahem > ... advised him that I would not be paying a $4 "parking fee" to change a tire ... and I ... < ahem > ... left ! And I thought, in my ignorance, that that sort of crap existed only on the other side of the border ! I guess Mexicans are Mexicans no matter which side of the border they live on !
With a bit of difficulty we found our way to the Wal-Mart in Nogales, Arizona. Before pulling into the Wal-Mart I stopped at Home Depot to look for a few hardware items. We pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and went into the store and ... spent a long time and a lot of money there ! The automotive department was closed, but ... I could see that they carry the Goodyear Marathon trailer tires I want. I need two tires ! First thing tomorrow morning I will go back into the store and hopefully they will have the size I need.
I shouldn't have gone to Home Depot. By the time we were finished shopping at Wal-Mart it was after 8 PM. We were very tired and very hungry. We returned to the trailer and ate supper. Then Joanne cleaned up all the exploded tire black rubber "dust" that had found its way into the trailer at the bottom of the living room slide. < sigh >
This morning I phoned MasterCard in Canada. My latest U.S.$ MasterCard billing has three fraudulent charges, all made the same day, all made at the same Esso station in Montreal, all made on Joanne's card number. It wasn't difficult for their fraud department to understand that I ( or Joanne ) can't be in Mexico and Montreal at the same time. Her card had to be cancelled, a new one will be sent to Yuma.
We took Bo for a beach walk, probably his last one for a long time. After lunch and a nap with Sully we walked into town to buy some fresh fish. We bought a couple of pounds of lovely, fresh flounder fillets, and a pound of fresh large scallops. A kilogram of flounder fillets was setenta-cinco ( 75 ) pesos and a half kilogram of scallops was sien ( 100 ) pesos. The scallops were so large that we cut them in half before packaging them into four meals. We packaged the flounder fillets into five meals. This was our last opportunity to buy fresh fish and seafood. Nine meals of fresh fish and scallops ... about fourteen dollars. Firewood can't cross the border into the U.S., but fish and seafood can !
I chopped open our last two coconuts from Las Glorias. Lots of clear milk, lots of tasty meat. We gave all the coconut milk and half the coconut meat to Nicole and her family. Since we ran out of dog food today, Bo will be eating cat food and fresh coconut for the next couple of days. HA HA HA ! He's very happy about that ! I got a lot of computer work done today, both online and offline.
I don't know when we will next have access to Wi-Fi. We watched the sun set on the Sea of Cortez for the last time. Beautiful ! After watching the sunset I went to perform my last magic trick, as promised, for Sedona and Georgia, and two of their Mexican friends.
Saturday ; Bahia de Kino, Sonora, Mexico to Nogales, Arizona, U.S.A.
Another beautiful, sunny day. This morning we prepared for departure, said goodbye to Robin, Nicole, Georgia, and Sedona, and left Islandia RV Park in Bahia de Kino. As we drove through town on the way back to the highway we stopped at an aqua purificadora and refilled a water jug.
We drove east on SON 16 towards Hermosillo. We stopped at a Santa Fe supermarket in the town of Miguel Aleman to buy just a few grocery items. We needed to keep the fridge pretty empty for crossing the border. We weren't sure that we would drive all the way to the border today, but it was a possibility.
We made it to and through Hermosillo without too much difficulty but it certainly wasn't due to good road signage ! And after we drove from the south around the city on the west on what seemed like a relatively new ring road, we ended up on MEX 15 ... southbound. There was no way from the ring road to get onto MEX 15 northbound. Why would one want to drive all the way around the city from the south, only to end up on the north side of the city ... heading south ? ! ? Typical Mexican road "engineering" ! ! ! We pulled a retorno and headed north on MEX 15.
We refilled with diesel at Hermosillo. The Pemex pump attendant was passive aggressive. I guess he's got a chip on his shoulder towards gringos. Eat s***, pal ! I suppose you can tell that by the time I'm typing this at 10 PM I'd had enough today !
We drove a lot of miles today. We reached the border at Nogales, Sonora, Mexico around 5 PM. We pulled up to U.S. Customs and while answering the CBP agent's questions another agent came over to ask if I knew that the trailer had an exploded tire ? AW, **** ! ! ! Story of my ****ing life ! ! !
CBP sent us for a secondary inspection by Agriculture. That's common, and sensible, for RV's. The Agriculture inspector was mostly interested in the contents of the trailer's fridge and kitchen cupboards. They wouldn't allow me to change the trailer's exploded tire there so I had to drive slowly to a Shell service station just beyond the border crossing.
We were now in Nogales, Arizona. I pulled into the Shell station and changed the exploded tire. The trailer's spare was the tire I damaged in Mazatlan, so I'm not very confident in it. It's not likely to survive much more. While I was changing the tire an employee of the Shell station was "hanging around". I thought he was on a meal break and was killing time. He seemed to speak no English.
I thought that was odd since we were now in the United States. We later discovered that most of Nogales, Arizona doesn't speak English ! When I was finished changing the tire and was about to pull out of the Shell station he came over to advise me that there would be a $4 "parking fee".
I ... < ahem > ... advised him that I would not be paying a $4 "parking fee" to change a tire ... and I ... < ahem > ... left ! And I thought, in my ignorance, that that sort of crap existed only on the other side of the border ! I guess Mexicans are Mexicans no matter which side of the border they live on !
With a bit of difficulty we found our way to the Wal-Mart in Nogales, Arizona. Before pulling into the Wal-Mart I stopped at Home Depot to look for a few hardware items. We pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot and went into the store and ... spent a long time and a lot of money there ! The automotive department was closed, but ... I could see that they carry the Goodyear Marathon trailer tires I want. I need two tires ! First thing tomorrow morning I will go back into the store and hopefully they will have the size I need.
I shouldn't have gone to Home Depot. By the time we were finished shopping at Wal-Mart it was after 8 PM. We were very tired and very hungry. We returned to the trailer and ate supper. Then Joanne cleaned up all the exploded tire black rubber "dust" that had found its way into the trailer at the bottom of the living room slide. < sigh >
DSK
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)