December 23 to 29, 2018

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I did some routine maintenance in the trailer. I removed the bathroom sink faucet aerator, and the shower head. I dismantled the shower head, then soaked the shower head components and the faucet aerator in CLR to remove the built up mineral deposits. The water here in the desert has a lot of minerals in it. This afternoon I loaded more software to the new laptop, completing that part of the “migration” process from my old laptop to my new one. All that’s left now is to complete the calendar migration.

I paid our new Bank of America MasterCard bill for the first time. When we visited the Bank of America branch in Tulare, California a month ago, on our drive down here, to resolve some problems we were persuaded to accept a new Bank of America cash back MasterCard. Works well for us ! We pay for almost everything with the credit card, pay the monthly balance in full each month, and earn “cash back” of one percent on everything, two percent on groceries, and three percent on fuel purchases. That’s significant !

I updated and analyzed our investment status. WHAT ? ! ? We lost about $37,000 this month ? ! ? What the ****, Trump ? Remember your 2012 Tweet about “any time the stock market loses 1000 points in two days … the president should immediately resign” ? ! ? Fortunately … much of our investments is “guaranteed” in the form of annuities, making me look more brilliant each day ! HA HA HA !

After supper we watched the 1984 remake of A Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. We thought it was considerably better than the original ( 1951 ) version with Alistair Sim.

Monday ; Christmas Eve

Sunny and warm, temperature 73ºF / 23ºC, a really lovely Christmas Eve.

Today I sadly remember the death of my father, many years ago on Christmas Eve.

Late this morning we went out for a ride to Bard, California, to have date shakes for lunch. MMMMM ! First date shake outing in almost two years. And … < sniffle > … first date shake outing without Bo. I miss Bo’s passion / enthusiasm for date shakes. Ozzie had some date shake today, and … he enjoyed it, but … he wasn’t “nutso” like Bo was. HA HA HA ! Joanne bought a pound of Medjool dates and we had some of them as appetizers tonight, stuffed with Cheese Whiz and peanut butter. The peanut butter stuffed dates were much better than the Cheese Whiz stuffed ones.

This afternoon I went to change a burned out bulb in the truck’s taillight. When I removed the taillight assembly, I discovered that the bulb had burned out because the printed circuit board was corroded. I was able to find a replacement online at O’Reilly’s and … very shortly after ordering it to be available for pickup at a local store, I received a phone call from the store advising me that it was in stock and available immediately. HMPH … how convenient ! I will be able to pick it up on Wednesday, on our way back from Mexico.

Late this afternoon we went to the Humane Society to work a shift as volunteers. We had volunteered to help out with the late afternoon requirements for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Joanne went to the cat wing to clean litter boxes, and feed and water the cats, while I went to replenish water for all the dogs in all four kennel buildings. When I was finished doing that I joined Joanne in the cat wing and helped there. When the cats were all done we went back to the dog kennels and I took some of the dogs out for a brief walk while Joanne “cuddled” Chalupa the Chihuahua.

Chalupa is an old dog, shivering from cold and fear. I gave Joanne a blanket to tuck around Chalupa. That helped a bit, but I think what helped the most was Joanne’s “cuddling”. Chalupa was recently relinquished to the Humane Society by her elderly male owner who was unsuccessful in his efforts to find her a new home. He feels unable to care for her any longer, overwhelmed by caring for his sick old wife. Poor old man. Poor old dog. And poor old sick wife, I guess.

We returned home to have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tourtière, French Canadian meat pie. MMMMM ! Well done, thank you, my dear.

< fume > A Christmas gift that I ordered online arrived at our park while we weren’t home. BUT … since the shipper did not use the correct / complete address, omitting our lot number, it wasn’t able to be delivered. I am NOT pleased !

Tuesday ; Christmas

Sunny in the morning, becoming cloudy in the afternoon, windy all day.

We slept late, then got a slow start to the day. We had our traditional Christmas morning waffle brunch. Thank you for the wonderful strawberry jam, Sharon. We took Ozzie for our regular noon time long walk. Finally, we went into the Arizona room and opened our gifts. This year, we changed how we exchange gifts. We “downsized”, and had only one gift for each other. Without Bo to open gifts, there seemed to be little point in wrapping many small, “non-surprise” gifts.

After opening gifts, Joanne went inside to get started on our turkey dinner and I phoned my sister for our annual Christmas phone chat. I chatted with Sharon for an hour, then went to take a brief nap while Joanne phoned her sister. After napping I reconciled our Bank of America MasterCard billing for December, then … Joanne and I went for a walk in our RV park’s dog park.

The purpose of which was … < sniffle > … to scatter Bo’s ashes. We walked slowly around the perimeter of the dog park and … I slowly sprinkled out the contents of the bag of Bo’s ashes. The wind helped. So … now Bo’s ashes … and perhaps his spirit … certainly our memory of him … will remain forever in the dog park which he loved so much. Despite his death being almost fifteen months ago … and to our surprise … we both shed a few tears of sadness. Goodbye, Bo !

Once again we “worked” a late afternoon shift at the Humane Society, starting at 5 PM. Joanne went to the cat wing. I went to the dog kennels. After watering all of the dog kennels in four buildings I joined Joanne in the cat wing. I helped her clean the litter boxes in the kitten rooms. We were finished, and there was no more work to be done, by 6:15 PM.

We returned home to have a great Christmas turkey dinner. Thank you, my dear. We finished our Christmas Day by having a movie date, watching Despicable Me 2. HA HA HA HA HA !

Wednesday ; Boxing Day ( Canada ) ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Sunny and cool.

This morning at 11 AM we left home headed for a doctor’s appointment in Los Algodones at noon. We arrived in Mexico at 11:35 AM, about ten minutes quicker than usual. We went to Medina Medical Specialties where Joanne had an appointment to see Dra. Gutierrez, a dermatologist, for a consultation on … my Christmas gift to her 
( Joanne ). It’s my pleasure to treat her to three treatments of sclerotherapy to eliminate little purple spider veins in her legs. After a consultation with Dra. Gutierrez the doctor performed the first of three treatments of sclerotherapy. Second treatment will be in three weeks and last treatment in six weeks. She used a small needle to inject some kind of saline and glucose solution into the little purple spider veins on Joanne’s legs. As she injected each little purple spider vein … it disappeared < blink blink >. Like some kind of a magic trick ! Each injection was slightly painful. And by evening each spider vein had reappeared as a bruise … as the doctor said would happen.

After Joanne’s sclerotherapy treatment we went to see a new ( to me ) periodontist. I wanted a consultation with her on the new pinhole gum rejuvenation technique, an alternative to traditional gum surgery, and a technique this periodontist has recently been trained for. I had a consultation and periodontal examination and x-rays. BUT … I did not like the dentist, nor her approach. As is an ongoing problem with many dentists in Mexico, her approach included a lot of … < ahem > … “would you like fries with that” upselling. Joanne is of the opinion that many dentists in Canada are guilty of the same.

We went for lunch to a new restaurant. It was okay. Nothing more than that. Not worth returning to. We went to Tere’s Beauty & Barber Shop. Joanne got a haircut. I got a pedicure. From there we went shopping for medications ; one for Joanne and one for our neighbour / friend Jeanine back home in BC. We bought a teensy little bottle of Mexican wine for New Year’s Eve. We shopped for an item I want for our Arizona home, but … I was unsuccessful in negotiating the item to the price I want to pay, so … no purchase. I bought a pound of jumbo shrimp from Puerto Peñasco ( aka Rocky Point ), a fishing village a bit south of here, on the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez / Gulf of California. Fourteen shrimp to the pound … for nine bucks !

The line up to cross back into the United States was seventy-five minutes long. Once again … totally unnecessary, and caused by “games playing” by Customs & Border Patrol. We spent our time in line chatting with the woman behind us, visiting Los Algodones for the first time, and visiting Mexico for the first time in forty-five years. A “deplorable” in the line-up wanted to know what I thought of our Canadian prime minister. When I expressed my ( favourable ) opinion, he was indignant and disgusted with me. HA HA HA … well … at least he knew our prime minister’s last name. HA HA HA HA HA !

On the way back home we stopped at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and picked up the truck taillight printed circuit board that I ordered.

Thursday ; HAPPY 15^th BIRTHDAY TO EMMA

Sunny and mild.

This morning I sold one of the items I have advertised for sale in the White Sheet. Of course, it was the least expensive item I have for sale. So … now the ad is almost paid for. HA HA HA !

In the afternoon Joanne went shopping in The Foothills. She tried to convince me to accompany her, but … she failed. HA HA HA ! 
I replaced the burned out taillight bulb … and taillight circuit board … on the truck. I did backup procedures on both my new and old laptops, then … stored the old laptop. It’s now the “emergency backup” computer.

I took Ozzie for his two long walks today by myself. Joanne is not supposed to walk much following her sclerotherapy treatments.

Friday ; Sunny and cool.

Note 1 to self ; don’t plant any more cacti. Note 2 to self ; don’t water cacti previously planted ! Note 3 to self ; sell lot before cacti become overgrown again ! HA HA HA !

This afternoon we ( mostly ) removed an overgrown Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear Cactus in one of our flower beds. The base and roots are still in the ground. I will need the truck to pull the rest out ! We cut the cacti down, arm by arm, using a large bow saw, then loaded it all into the back of Obie, drove to the dumpster, and tossed everything into the dumpster. Not easy !

Seven years ago I planted one little Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear paddle. Today when I cut it down, it was more like … a tree ! AND … to show how resilient these damn things are … one of the “arms” had fallen over onto the ground and … < sputter > … the paddles touching the ground sent roots down into the sand !

They should warn Canadians when they buy property down here ! “Oh, sure … cactus gardening seems like a good idea, but … about seven years down the road … you’ll regret it !”

HA HA HA !

Saturday ; Sunny, cold, windy.

This afternoon I removed and discarded our first ( of three ) Ocotillo Cactus. < sigh > I remember how thrilled I was when we bought it and planted it seven years ago. BUT … it was a nursery plant from Texas. And never did well here in Arizona, a different desert climate than Texas. And actually … this was our second Ocotillo. The first one was dead before we even planted it, and the nursery replaced it a month or so after we bought and planted it. The one I pulled out and discarded today always seemed … on the verge of death, particularly compared to the other two Ocotillos we subsequently planted, both native Arizona cacti.

To remove the Ocotillo today, I wrapped a thick rope around its base, tied the other end of the rope to Obie’s trailer hitch … and used the car to pull the large cactus out of the ground. HEY … just like pulling a stump out of the ground, the way it’s done in Saskatchewan, like Ozzie’s original “daddy” Gord taught me. HA HA HA ! Then I used the same method to pull out the remaining “stump” and roots of the Cow’s Tongue Prickly Pear that I cut down yesterday.

Joanne went shopping by herself this afternoon. I did Christmas “undecorating”. I worked on computer file migration, converting files from previous software to my new software. I also began working on year end file completion / summarization. And I purchased a new insurance policy for the trailer, to get the liability insurance coverage that was lacking.

DSK

December 16 to 22, 2018

Sunday ; Mostly sunny and mild. I made ( liquid ) smoked Rainbow Trout in the Sun Oven today.

Joanne went shopping by herself this afternoon. I finished a repair on the side wall of the trailer. And I started work on solving a series of squeaks underneath the trailer, in the suspension system, that are not only slightly irritating to us, but also inspire our next door neighbour to complain. It requires the removal of each of the trailer’s four wheels, and cleaning and lubricating behind each wheel where it comes into contact with the brake drum. Desert dust trapped between each wheel and brake drum causes “squeaking” as we move around inside the trailer. Today I removed, cleaned, lubricated, and reinstalled one wheel. I hope to do one each day until finished. It’s tough work for an old man to jack up a 12,000 pound trailer and essentially “change a tire”.

While walking Ozzie late this afternoon we were invited to visit by our friend Linda whom we haven’t seen since she and her husband David visited us at our Canadian home in September, 2017, shortly before my cardiac bypass surgery. In the evening I worked on my new laptop, paying bills, entering my weekly journal to my blog, updating investment records, etc.

Monday ; Sunny and mild.

This morning I ordered a new Internet service for our lot. I am fed up using the Kofa Ko-op communal Wi-Fi service. I am too old, too crabby, and … too affluent to have to put up with crappy Wi-Fi ! We took both vehicles and drove to Somerton, a small town a bit south of here, near the Mexican border. Somerton is as much Mexican as it is American. I left Obie the SUV at Yepez Motors for some servicing, then we drove back to Yuma, and went to about half a dozen auto body shops to get estimates on repairing the damage I did to the truck on my last trailer towing job, on November 1. I decided that the damage isn’t worth repairing, considering that most of the auto body shops seem to operate on the principle that ANY repair is worth at least four figures !

We walked Ozzie before lunch, then while I was eating lunch … I developed a fat lip ! HUH ? Something must have bit / stung me on my lower lip while we were walking Ozzie. The inside of my lower lip puffed up, and there was a little red mark in the middle of the puffiness. It puffed up so huge that it impaired my speech for awhile. The fat lip persisted until bedtime.

After a very late lunch and a brief nap, I removed, lubricated, and replaced another wheel on the trailer. Two done, two more to do. Joanne helped me with that job, then I helped her clean the trailer’s windows. Joanne did laundry and … 

I did some body work on the truck. Cost me nothing, results are satisfactory !

After a month of cell phone drama, my new cell phone arrived this afternoon. 

I received an e-mail telling me it had been delivered. I rushed to the clubhouse to get the new cell phone out of our mailbox and … AAARRRGGGHHH ! ! ! The mail box lobby was closed until tomorrow morning because the floor had just been washed and waxed ! It’s like a ****ing conspiracy to keep me from having cell phone service ! ! !

After an amazing supper of Caesar salad, barbecued steak, baked potatoes, and sauteed Oyster mushrooms in Crema CentroAmericana, I manually “migrated” January’s calendar from my old laptop to my new laptop. < sigh > Two months done, eleven more months to do !

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I retrieved our new cell phone from our mailbox, activated it and … < sigh > … finally have cell phone service … four weeks after entering the US ! Good grief ! We loaded all of our recyclables into the truck and took it to the local recycling depot. On the way back home we stopped at Peanut Patch and bought some freshly made peanut butter.

This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly session of dog walking and cat cuddling. WHEW … I’m tired after walking big dogs for two hours.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm … a really lovely day.

This morning a young Hispanic ( read that as “Mexican” ) fellow showed up to install my new Internet service provider’s equipment. He was personable and efficient. He got the cables installed, and modem / router set up quickly and efficiently. Well done, Ramon, thank you. I now have my own Wi-Fi, with my own personal, private bandwidth, and no longer have to share the communal Wi-Fi of the park.

This afternoon I continued working on removing the trailer’s wheels, lubricating the backs of the wheels and the brake drums, and reinstalling the wheels. Since 

I had to pull the trailer’s slides in for the installation of the Internet cabling, 

I figured I might as well take advantage of the retracted slides and get both of the wheels on the driver’s side of the trailer done today. With a lot of help from Joanne, I accomplished that, but … we were both very tired tonight as a result of working that hard under the brutal desert afternoon sun. It seems as if the squeaking underneath the trailer is now eliminated. Hallelujah !

I received a telephone call from Yepez Motors in Somerton to discuss repairs to Obie the SUV. Imagine how dismayed I was when they advised me that … 

< sputter > … the front driveshaft is missing / removed, rendering our all wheel drive SUV a rear wheel drive only ! I surely would like to get my hands around the throat of the low brow asshole who sold me this car two years ago !

Late in the afternoon / early in the evening I began working on the installation of the new bedroom cellular shade / blind. I removed the valance off the bedroom window, then fabricated and installed mounting brackets on the new blind. I hope to complete the installation tomorrow.

After a late supper we spent the rest of the evening watching the three hour season finale of Survivor.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm, another lovely day. Joanne cooked a chicken chili recipe in the Sun Oven today.

This morning I mounted the bedroom blind. Again and again ! My mounting bracket ideas / designs required plans B … and C. Joanne went shopping by herself. In the afternoon the roofing contractor returned to apply the second and final coat on the trailer roof. He did good work, for a reasonable price. While he worked on the trailer roof I replaced the coaxial cable from the satellite dish on top of the Arizona room to the satellite receiver box on my desk inside the trailer, a distance of about seventy-five feet.

After supper we ran some errands. I returned a couple of items to Lowe’s, and bought one item. We went to Fry’s for a turkey. HMPH ! Sold out ! We went to Smart & Final for a turkey. HMPH ! Sold out ! I returned an item to Best Buy. Back at home I posted an ad in the White Sheet, the local classified advertising paper. I responded to the Humane Society’s e-mail request for volunteers to “work” on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And I continued to work on manual “migration” of my calendar from the old laptop to the new one.

Friday ; Cloudy and cool.

This morning Joanne went grocery shopping by herself. Objective ; buy a turkey ! HA HA HA ! After much searching she bought one at Food City. Not cheap ! Not the size desired ! But … we’ll have a turkey for Christmas ! HA HA HA … thank you, my dear. This afternoon we drove to Somerton and picked up Obie the SUV at Yepez Automotive. WHEW … hefty repair bill ! That car is such a piece of 

junk ! But … Joanne likes it ! So … < sigh > … we keep it ! At supper time she decided she wanted to go out for dinner to Eat Asian Super Buffet. MMMMM … our favourite “Chinese” restaurant. Great meal ! Especially the sushi selections !

Saturday ; Sunny and warm, a bit windy.

This morning I did some patching of redundant screw holes in the ceiling of the bedroom slide out, then reinstalled the bedroom window valance over the “new” cellular blind. The blind looks good and functions well. Then I repaired the Arizona room’s rear door. After replacing some stripped screws in the hinge 

I took an electric grinder to the bottom of the door to improve the “fit” in the frame. Hey … if I’m going to live here on “Redneck Row” … I might as well solve problems the redneck way. HA HA HA !

After lunch and a nap we went to the storage yard and worked on the camper. Joanne replenished and restocked. I “exercised” our little generator. And put away laundered clothing. Back at home, after barbecuing chicken for supper, 

I updated Obie’s maintenance records, and continued “migrating” my calendar from the old laptop to the new. Only a few more months to go until I have entered a year’s worth of calendar schedule. That should cover all “one time” and recurrent events.

DSK

December 9 to 15, 2018

Sunday ; Sunny and warm. How lovely !

This afternoon we went to a theater performance by Yuma Community Theater. Usually I am fairly satisfied with Yuma Community Theater’s plays, and the value for money paid. But today … well … not quite so much. Today’s play was A Charlie Brown Christmas, with an all child cast. And while the play was fairly well done … paying forty ( American ) dollars ( for a pair of tickets ) to see a group of children perform a forty-five minute, one act play, didn’t seem to be money particularly well spent. Oh, well … it was supposed to evoke Christmas spirit in the audience members, and I suppose it did that.

After the play we ran some shopping errands until it was time to go for dinner. Joanne wanted to have a bit of a celebratory dinner, to celebrate our arrival / return to Yuma. We went to Olive Garden. Good meal. Very good service ! After we returned home Joanne used my old laptop to buy some dog food online. We spent way too much time this afternoon at PetsMart trying to select an appropriate new dog food for Ozzie, since we were unable to find his “Canadian” product. But … we’re dinosaurs ! Taking the advice of the PetsMart store manager, Joanne found that it was available online at Chewy.com, shipped to our door for much less money than we pay for it in Penticton. HMPH … go figure !

Monday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico

Cloudy and cool.

This morning we left home at 11 AM heading for dental appointments in Mexico at noon. Through Yuma to Interstate 8, west on I-8 over the Colorado River into California, then a mile south on Algodones Road to the Andrade / Los Algodones border crossing. We parked, walked into Mexico, and arrived at our dentist’s office about 11:45 AM. My dental cleaning started forty minutes late, Joanne’s started seventy minutes late. My periodontist was “too busy” to conduct a periodontal examination, despite me having made an appointment, so a young “general” dentist conducted my post cleaning dental exam. In the ten years or so that we have been going to this clinic, there has been a slow but steady deterioration in customer service as a second generation of the Camacho family takes over. With about a hundred and fifty dentists in a six square block area of this town … maybe it’s time to move on to a different dentist ?

When we were finished at the dentist’s we went for a late lunch at our favourite restaurant in town, Tacos Molca. MMMMMM … best shredded goat meat taco ever ! After lunch we went to Tere’s Beauty & Barber Shop. I got a haircut and beard trim, Joanne got a pedicure. 

I was finished before Joanne, so I walked over to the veterinary pharmacy and bought some heartworm prevention medication for Ozzie. On the way back to the beauty salon I discovered a small new panaderia in town. WOO-HOO … mucho pan dulce por grande gringo !

Joanne shopped for a new backpack purse. Found one she liked. Vendor asked for U.S.$48. Joanne offered twenty bucks ! A few minutes of haggling, and … she bought it for twenty bucks. Well done, my dear. My mother would be proud of you. HA HA HA ! I bought some medication that our friend / neighbour Jeanine back home in Keremeos asked for.

The line-up to cross back into the U.S. was seventy minutes long. Just more games playing by the assholes at CBP ! It was a slow day in Los Algodones, not that many gringos to cross back into the U.S. I was amused by the thousands and thousands of feet of new razor wire now strung along the top of the “fence” around the border crossing. Got to keep the “homeland secure” from all them old white folks with fixed teeth trying to cross the border ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

On the way back home we stopped at Smart & Final to buy some advertised grocery items ( like “twelve packs” of soft drinks for three bucks ! ) and at O’Reilly’s to pick up a tailgate strut I ordered yesterday. We were back home at 7 PM.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I installed a new lift strut on the car’s tailgate and a new lift strut on the car’s liftgate ( tailgate window ). And chatted with the new neighbour from two doors down, a woman from Victoria, BC. This afternoon a crew from Sam’s Mobile RV Washing arrived, and washed the fifth wheel trailer, the car, the truck, and the camper. Two young Mexican guys, two hours, done ! A hundred bucks well spent ! Would have taken Joanne and me at least two days to do all that work !

As soon as the car was washed Joanne went shopping. I spent the rest of the afternoon on … < sigh > … the ongoing cell phone drama. My U.S. cell phone is still not reactivated. The new SIM card that was supposed to be sent on November 30 still has not arrived. Finally … after WAY too much time spent talking to way too many “HELP” agents … ( somewhat of an oxymoron there ! ) … I pitched a hissy fit, told them to cancel my account, and refund my money ! Which started a whole new chapter of drama !

I spent the evening shopping online for a new cell phone service. And spinning my wheels trying ( and failing ) to migrate my very old calendar function from my old laptop to my new laptop.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.

This morning I set up the Sun Oven to be used for the first time this winter season, and Joanne baked a Saskatoon coffee cake using frozen Saskatoons picked at home six months ago. I did some maintenance work on the trailer. After lunch we headed to the Humane Society of Yuma for our first dog walking / cat cuddling session in a year and a half. I have missed my volunteer work at HSOY, and have been looking forward to our return. Nevertheless … the lack of interest and absence of a “welcome back” by the new volunteer department staff was a bit disheartening and discouraging. The Humane Society of Yuma seems to have devolved into an organization comprised of staff that exist to serve themselves. Volunteers … and even potential adopters … seem to be of little interest to them. My dampened spirits were lifted when a regular volunteer from past years pulled into the parking lot as I was walking a dog. Penny jumped out of her truck and very enthusiastically welcomed me back. It took another volunteer to make me feel welcome and valued. I walked dogs for two hours while Joanne worked in the cat adoption wing.

In the evening we watched Survivor. And I continued to work on “migrating” from my old laptop to my new one.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm.

The roof repair contractor that I hired was here twice today to complete two of the three steps involved in cleaning, repairing, and recoating the trailer’s roof. In the morning he cleaned the roof. He returned a few hours later, after allowing the roof to dry completely, to repair damaged areas. His work looks good so far. I finally finished setting up the fifth wheel trailer on our lot. I installed the king pin bipod stabilizer, lowered the rear stabilizer jacks, chocked the wheels on both sides, and set up and connected the solar panels.

I continued setting up my new laptop. I loaded the software for the printer here in Yuma. The software for the printer in Keremeos would not load. Guess I’ll be buying a new printer next spring ! While 
I barbecued supper I watched a crop duster spray the orchards adjacent to our RV park. I am absolutely fascinated by watching a high powered aircraft work about fifteen feet above ground … in the dark ! It’s done at night because there is no wind to disperse the chemical being sprayed. Nevertheless … the air was pungent with the smell of the chemicals. 
I’ll probably end up with mesothelioma or something from indulging my fascination with watching the process of night time “crop dusting”.

Friday ; Cloudy, windy, cool.

My roofing contractor did not return until almost noon today. It was too cold in the morning for the application of the roofing recoat material. He completed the application of the first of two coats, but does not want to apply the second and final coat until a warm and sunny day. While he worked on the trailer roof I worked on a repair on the trailer’s side wall. A repair that I had done about thirteen or fourteen years ago, shortly after we bought the trailer, needed to be redone. I had used fiberglass reinforced tape to repair a couple of cracks in the gel coat. The sun “ate” the old repair over the last two summers. Today I did the repair again, this time using Eternabond tape.

Late in the afternoon I removed the trailer’s very dead “house” battery and we headed to Wal-Mart to buy a replacement battery. On the way we stopped at the Habitat For Humanity Re-Store and bought a cellular blind for the trailer’s bedroom window. At Wal-Mart I bought a new battery in the automotive department then joined Joanne in the store who was grocery shopping. When we were finished with our Wal-Martin’ we headed to Lowe’s to buy some mounting brackets for the cellular blind we had purchased at HFH Re-Store.

As we returned to our car in the Lowe’s parking lot we found Ozzie just finishing up eating two packages of luncheon meats ! HEY ! BAD DOG ! As we were leaving Wal-Mart Joanne wondered if she should put the perishable groceries in the fridge in the car. I said “don’t bother … we’ll just be in Lowe’s for a few minutes, and home soon thereafter”. We both neglected to account for Ozzie being alone in the car … with food ! HMPH ! Lesson learned ! I wonder how a very old dog with only six teeth can tear open packages like that ? ! ?

For supper I barbecued a large fillet piece of Coho Salmon caught by me in the Atnarko River near Bella Coola in September. In the evening 
I helped Joanne with a computer chore she has been dreading doing. 
I placed an online order for her Christmas gift to me. HA HA HA ! Merry Christmas, Daniel !

Saturday ; Mostly sunny and mild, a bit windy. Joanne cooked a chicken and rice recipe in the Sun Oven today.

We finally got around to doing our Christmas decorating today. Joanne cleaned the cellular blind that we bought at Habitat For Humanity 

Re-Store yesterday. I figured out how to mount it in the bedroom and what hardware to use to mount it. I mounted our Christmas projector light on our side yard brick fence, casting red and green dancing lights on the trailer, the car, the patio and Arizona room, and … some of our front yard cactus garden. HA HA HA … kewl ! I replenished toiletries in the camper. We arranged the trailer’s desk area to eliminate my old laptop and its peripherals, and get my new laptop ( and old printer ) into place.

DSK

December 2 to 8, 2018 ; Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ; Sunny and warm.

I spent the day getting Obie, our "winter beater" SUV functional after it has been sitting unused for nineteen months, including two Yuma summers ! Easier said than done ! Joanne spent the day continuing to clean the Arizona room and shed, then moving stuff from the camper into the shed, most of it to be moved into 

( Harvey ) the fifth wheel trailer when we bring it from the storage yard to our lot 52 on Tuesday.

I spent the evening processing photos from our trip to here, posting my weekly journal to my blog, and buying insurance for Obie.

The brand new auto cover that we installed over Obie nineteen months ago did not survive the nineteen months / two Yuma summers. It was just a pile of torn cloth lying on and around the car. AND ... that's also what became of the cloth shopping bags left in the car ; just piles of torn cloth ! I wonder what the temperature is inside the car when it's sunny and 120 degrees outside ? ! ?

Monday ; Sunny and warm.

This afternoon we drove ( in the truck and camper ) to the Department of Motor Vehicles ( DMV ) to renew the registration of Obie. They would not renew the registration today because …AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ... I had purchased the insurance policy to be effective tomorrow !

Our new next door neighbour Rita gave us a crocheted mouse filled with catnip as a gift for Emma. < blink blink > WOW ... Emma LOOOOOVES it !

Tuesday ; Cloudy, windy, mild.

We spent the morning preparing to move from the camper to the trailer. After lunch our neighbour / friend Richard moved our trailer from the storage yard to our lot 52 using his truck. Thank you very much, Richard. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting the trailer ready for occupancy. The trailer seems old and ... worn out.

In the evening my priority was to get online and "attach" the car insurance to the car registration, so that tomorrow we can return to the DMV and get the license plate sticker. When I tried to sign on to Wi-Fi ... AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ... the Kofa Ko-op network was "down", and remained non-functional for the rest of the evening. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH ! ! ! ! !

< taking deep breath >

Emma remembered the trailer and was pleased to be back “home”. This was her first home with us. Ozzie is very adaptable, so he thinks the trailer is just fine. He is obsessively licking one of his front feet. We can’t find what the problem is. Probably a piece of sharp desert grass or a cactus quill embedded into / under his skin. I guess it will just have to fester its way out, like a sliver. Poor Ozzie !

Wednesday ; Sunny, warm, windy.

This morning I was able to get online, and "attached" the car insurance to the car registration. Then we drove to the Department of Motor Vehicles and obtained the license plate sticker. OK ... car insurance and registration drama complete !

This afternoon Joanne took the car and went grocery shopping. I stayed home and made phone calls to get estimates and hire trades people to wash the fifth wheel trailer, the truck, the camper, and the car. And to recoat the trailer's rubber roof. I walked Ozzie. I put air in my bicycle's tires. WOO-HOO ... they didn't explode, which they often do after sitting in Yuma's brutally hot summer. And this year, they had been sitting in Yuma's brutally hot summer for two summers without use ! I expected they would explode when inflated. I got the satellite dish connected to the trailer.

In the evening we watched Survivor. And I bought Sunday matinee tickets to a live performance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" presented by Yuma Community Theater.

The car is running extremely rough. It has a full tank of gas that has been sitting ... like the bicycle’s tires ... through nineteen months / two summers.

Thursday ; Cloudy, cold, raining ... rather unusual for Yuma.

Today we ( mostly Joanne ) finished "moving" from the camper to the trailer. I did some minor preventive maintenance on the camper, then parked the truck and camper in one of our two spots in the storage yard. I repaired a leak under the trailer's kitchen sink. I cooked supper ; poached eggs in Crema Oaxaqueña on toasted English muffins. I spent the evening setting up my new laptop computer, purchased two weeks ago on Black Friday.

Friday ; Sunny and cool.

We had a couple of roof leaks overnight, one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom. This morning I climbed up on the roof of the trailer to inspect it. HOLY SHIT ! It's in pretty bad shape after two summers in Yuma's sun, with no maintenance.

Joanne went shopping by herself today. I made phone calls to contractors, and met with contractors, regarding trailer roof repairs and recoating. After talking to six contractors by phone, and meeting with four of them who came to give me estimates, I made a decision, and hired an older Mexican fellow who has been repairing and recoating roofs for twenty-nine years. So ... he should know what he's doing ! Although ... he's difficult to communicate with. He speaks little English.

In the evening I worked on my new computer. I have begun to load the software for the old programs that I still use ... like MS Money 2004. HEY ... if it ain't broke, don't fix it !

And ... the trailer roof is broke ! ! !

Saturday ; Sunny and mild.

Today we took the truck and camper to the storage yard, removed the camper off the truck, and installed the fifth wheel hitch into the bed of the truck. We returned to our lot 52, prepared the trailer for transport, hitched the truck to the trailer, and repositioned it slightly. < sigh > Much easier said than done ! The fifth wheel hitch head that I have here in Yuma is slightly different than the one I have in Keremeos, and the hitch here gave me difficulties today.

I spent the evening “migrating” from my old laptop to my new one. As I expected, it did not go smoothly. But … I am making progress, and this daily journal entry is the first one done on the new computer.

DSK

November 25 to December 1, 2018 ; Corning, California to Yuma, Arizona

Sunday ;  Rolling Hills Casino, Corning to Tachi Palace Casino, Lemoore, California

Sunny and mild.  How nice !

This morning we left the casino's RV parking lot ... thank you very much, Rolling Hills Casino ... at 10:30 AM and drove one exit back / north on Interstate 5 to a truck service area with many service stations and repair facilities, etc.  We refilled with diesel at a Mobil station.  We refilled one of the camper's propane tanks at a Love's station.  We drove to three different truck wash businesses, to get the truck and camper washed, but ... two of them were too expensive, and the third one had a line-up.  We were heading south on I-5 by noon.

We stopped at the Willows rest area to dump our waste holding tanks and refill our freshwater tank at their sani-dump station.  We passed just to the west of the Camp Fire area, and the burned out towns of Magalia and Paradise.  During the balance of our time on I-5 today we were regularly passed by firefighter vehicles returning south towards the Los Angeles area.  The Camp Fire was declared "contained" today, so maybe less firefighter help is needed ?  Or ... the firefighters are so fatigued they need a few days off to rest ?  We stopped at the Williams rest area and had a late lunch.

The weather was so nice, and I felt so good, that I was inspired to drive past today's planned destination and drive all the way to tomorrow's planned destination.  Two easy days of driving combined into one long day.  After passing through Sacramento in
mid-afternoon, the traffic heading south towards Los Angeles became heavier and heavier as the afternoon wore on.  Everybody was returning home after Thanksgiving at Gramma's.  By the time it became dark at 5 PM it was bumper to bumper, but travelling well at 70 MPH ( 112 km./hr. ) ... in the slow lane !  Around 6 PM we turned west on Hwy. 198 heading to a casino in the middle of nowhere between I-5 and Hwy. 99, the other main highway heading south in California.

We arrived at Tachi Palace Casino at 7:10 PM.  Despite being in the middle of nowhere, it is a huge casino, with a huge fuel bar adjacent, with long line-ups at each of the eight fuel pump islands, to buy cheap "rez" gas ( no taxes on it, I guess ).  We parked in their RV parking lot, and Joanne made supper.  After we had supper the lines at the fuel pumps had diminished, so we drove over and refilled the truck with diesel.  Second hundred dollar fill today !

We went into the casino to see if it was interesting enough to entice us to spend tomorrow here.  It wasn't !  Despite being huge, it didn't have all that much going for it.  Buffet restaurant was nice, but that wasn't enough to keep us here tomorrow.  There was a live band playing.  WAAAAAYYYYY too loud !  A Mexican cowboy band, not exactly our cup of tea.  There is a naval air station nearby, so the casino was filled with testosterone laden "Top Gun" types.  And Mexican cowboy types.  And lots and lots of local "Indigenous" people.  Not surprising, since this is an "Indian" casino, on reservation land.

We returned to the camper and did trip planning for the next few days.  Because of today, we are now one day ahead of schedule.  We'll probably spend an extra day in Palm Springs.

Monday ;  Tachi Palace Casino, Lemoore, to Barstow, California

Sunny and mild, chilly in the evening in the Mojave Desert.

This morning we left the casino's RV parking lot at 11 AM.  Thank you very much, Tachi Palace Casino.  Our plan was to drive a short distance east to Hwy. 99, then a short distance south to the city of Tulare, to buy groceries and have lunch at Vallarta, my favourite supermarket in all of North America !  Using our road map atlas we calculated the distance to be almost forty miles, on major highways.  When we plugged Vallarta's address into our GPS, it showed a distance of just over twenty miles, all of it on country back roads.  We decided to put our faith in the GPS, and follow its routing.  It was a very pleasant drive through farmland, giving us a view of local agriculture.

We first found Vallarta on its second day of business, about seven or eight years ago, when we pulled off Hwy. 99 into Tulare to find a fuel station so that we could refill with diesel.  It was the Mexican supermarket's Grand Opening weekend.  WOW !  We were so impressed that every time we drive south on Interstate 5 and / or California Hwy. 99, we stop there to buy groceries and have lunch.  First stop in the store is always the large panaderia.  Today I bought ten pieces of pan dulce ( Mexican pastries ) for breakfasts.  Well ... and maybe bedtime snacks as well.  HA HA HA !  While I picked out pan dulce Joanne was selecting a large piece of tres leches ( three milks ) cake.  We selected fresh produce ( key limes for Diet Cokes, avocado and cilantro for making guacamole, some Mandarinas / Satsumas ), then went to the fresh cheese counter, like a butcher or deli counter, with all the cheeses in a long display case, and a counter clerk who cuts or scoops it into containers, to your order.  MMMMM ... Joanne bought some Queso Fresco ( translates as "Fresh Cheese", a type of fresh cheese similar to Feta, but softer and moister ).  I was going to buy some fresh Crema Salvadoreña ( a type of sour cream, from El Salvador ), but ... the store had a special advertised price on Crema Oaxaqueña ( a type of sour cream from the Oaxaca region of Mexico ).  We had never had Crema Oaxaqueña before.  The cheese counter lady gave us a sample to try, scooped onto a tortilla chip.  WOO-HOO ... one container full please.  Joanne is eager to try it on the small, multi-coloured potatoes she bought at Trader Joe's.  At the fresh fish counter I was going to buy some ceviche ( like salsa / pico de gallo with diced shrimp or raw fish ) , but decided on ensalata de jaiba ( crab salad ).

We went up and down the store's aisles, stocking up on our favourite Mexican grocery products.  And then ... finished our shopping at the butcher counter, a display case, perhaps fifty feet long, filled with fresh cuts of meat, Mexican style.  We bought some fresh liver, smoked pork chops for Joanne, chicken legs and thighs "butterfly" sliced in half on a band saw, Mexican style, some carne asada por tacos ( seasoned diced beef in a salsa type marinade, intended to be cooked for tacos ) and some pollo al pastor
( seasoned diced chicken in a salsa type marinade ).

When we went to pay, my Bank of America card was declined, as it was last night when I tried to use it to purchase diesel fuel.  Joanne's Bank of America card had stopped working days ago.  UH-OH ... both our bank cards not working must spell trouble !

While Joanne put away the groceries in the camper, I took our five gallon water jug to a refill machine in the shopping mall and refilled it.  Then we returned into Vallarta to have lunch at their wonderful "La Cocina" ( The Kitchen ), their prepared Mexican "fast food" lunch restaurant inside the store.  Joanne had carnitas salsa verde con arroz y frijoles
( a pork in green salsa stew served with rice and refried beans ), and I had birria de cabra con arroz y frijoles ( a goat ribs stew served with rice and refried beans ).  We had dos aguas fresca ( two freshly made fruit punches ) to drink, mine was strawberry and banana, Joanne's was watermelon and mint leaves.  While eating lunch we noticed that we seemed to be the only two gringos ( white people ) in the store.  HA HA HA !  No problemo ... I can eat goat with the best of them !  HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

After lunch we drove to a nearby Bank of America where it took over an hour to get our card drama sorted out.  Joanne's card had been cancelled because it hadn't been used in a year and a half.  Mine was cancelled yesterday because of "suspicious activity".  Fair enough !  I applaud banks for having good security procedures.  A very helpful clerk ( a Hispanic woman by the name of Lourdes ) issued temporary new cards, and is having permanent cards sent to our Yuma address.  We activated our new cards in the ATM, withdrew cash, and were on our way shortly after 3 PM.

We drove south on Hwy. 99 to Bakersfield, then turned east on Hwy. 58 for the long uphill climb through the Tehachapi Pass to the town of Tehachapi at the summit ( over 4000 feet elevation ).  We arrived in Tehachapi at 5 PM as it became dark.  We refilled our freshwater tank at Love's then continued eastbound on Hwy. 58 ... descending down into the dark and cold Mojave Desert.

AHHHHH ... the Mojave Desert !  Feels like coming home !  We drove past the Edwards Air Force Base, past the town of Boron, all the way to the city of Barstow.  Home of Snoopy's older brother Spike.  HA HA HA !  We boondocked overnight at Flying J, after spending the last five nights boondocking at casinos.

Tuesday ;  Barstow to Palm Springs, California

Sunny and warm, temperature 72° F / 22° C.  Well !  Of course it's warm !  It's Palm Springs ! ! !

Before leaving Flying J this morning ( at 11 AM ) we refilled the truck with diesel and the camper with freshwater.  Thank you very much Flying J.  We drove a few miles north and east on Interstate 15, then turned south then east then south on Hwy. 247 to Yucca Valley where we turned west then south on Hwy. 62 to Palm Springs.  We prefer this lonely stretch of desolate two lane highway through the Mojave Desert to the more popular route south on Interstate 15 to Los Angeles then east on Interstate 10 to Palm Springs.  We stopped on the outskirts of Palm Springs at 2 PM to have lunch parked on the side of the road, within view of Guide Dogs of the Desert where we did our last WorkCamping job thirteen years ago.

Since we were still on the north side of Interstate 10, after lunch we drove into Desert Hot Springs before crossing the freeway into Palm Springs.  While I had a brief nap Joanne went thrift store browsing.  At 3:30 PM we drove from Desert Hot Springs across Interstate 10 into Palm Springs and to the Palm Springs Dog Park behind City Hall.  This was Bo's favourite dog park of the many dog parks that we visited in Canada, United States and Mexico.  Well ... Mexico doesn't really have dog parks.  Mexico is one big dog park.  But ... I digress !  We were planning to leave half of Bo's ashes sprinkled around the Palm Springs Dog Park.  But ... it was closed today.  It will be closed for a month or so for some maintenance.  Too bad !

We went thrift store shopping to Revivals, our favourite thrift store, and Angel View.
I bought a pair of pants at Revivals and a couple of shirts at Angel View.  And, of course, this being Palm Springs, the items I bought were all brand new, probably last year's styles donated by retailers.  At Revivals, Joanne found a dress on the "evening gown" rack that was made with some manner of glittery metallic thread.  The gown was very heavy, and it looked like the kind of thing that a celebrity ( like Madonna ! ) would wear to an awards event.  I suggested to Joanne that she buy it ( it was twenty
bucks ! ), but she felt that it was not really a mastectomy kind of garment.  HA HA HA !

We did some shopping at Wal-Mart, then drove to Spotlight 29 Casino, our home for the next few days, arriving about 8 PM.  We went into the casino to have dinner in their buffet restaurant.

Wednesday ;  Palm Springs

Sunny and warm.

This morning we left the Spotlight 29 Casino RV parking lot around 11 AM.  We drove a couple of miles to a nearby municipal sewage treatment plant and used their RV
sani-dump station to dump our waste holding tanks.  BUT ... there was no potable freshwater spigot so we drove to a nearby Love's station to refill our freshwater tank.

We drove to Desert Hot Springs and spent much of the day searching for park models available for monthly rental in RV & mobile home parks.  My first choice would be to rent a park model in Caliente Springs, an RV & mobile home community we have stayed at a few times over the last fourteen years.  We want to rent a park model home in / near Palm Springs next December ( a year from now ).  We would likely not be able to afford to rent in Palm Springs, so will probably rent something across the freeway in Desert Hot Springs.  Which actually has nicer "hot springs" than Palm Springs.

Late in the afternoon we crossed the freeway into Palm Springs and went to the "temporary substitute" Palm Springs Dog Park.  It was only for big dogs, so ... we walked a long distance around an adjacent large city park.  Ozzie enjoyed a long walk on lush grass.  He hasn't been getting enough long walks / exercise while we've been on the road.

As it turned dark at 5 PM we drove to "downtown" Palm Springs to have an early dinner at Sherman's Deli, our favourite place to eat in Palm Springs.  I found an excellent place to park, then we walked around downtown for awhile with Ozzie before putting him into the camper with Emma, and we went for an "early bird" dinner at 6 PM.

MMMMM !  Joanne had split pea soup and the meatloaf platter with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.  I had cold borscht ( with additional diced cucumber and a dollop of sour cream ) and the roasted beef brisket platter with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables.  Enough meat left over on both of our plates to feed us lunch tomorrow.  And maybe even the day after !  The excellent food was accompanied by superbly good service.  But ... that's par for the course at Sherman's.  As is a hefty bill.
< shrug >  You get what you pay for ... which can't be said for some ( many ? ) expensive restaurants.

We left the restaurant around 7 PM and were back at Spotlight 29 Casino about an hour later.

Thursday ;  Palm Springs

Cloudy, very windy, heavy rain in the afternoon in downtown ... but we weren't there at that time.

We left Spotlight 29 Casino's RV parking lot this morning at 11 AM, and drove to the nearby Love's station to refill our freshwater tank.  Then we drove to Rancho Casa Blanca, a nearby RV & MH community to browse for park model rentals.  When we were finished there we drove to a nearby Wal-Mart so that I could exchange an item purchased in Oregon.  I was really pissed off that I was exchanging a clothing item, one size for another, and I was required to pay the California sales tax.  We had lunch while parked at Wal-Mart.  From there we drove to a mall where Joanne's favourite bathing suit store had relocated from Desert Hot Springs.  While she went shopping for a bathing suit I napped with Ozzie.  I think this is the only store where Joanne has purchased bathing suits in the last fourteen years.  She buys one or two per year here.  They have a great selection of mastectomy suits.  And the chlorine in the swimming pools she uses regularly, at both our summer home and our winter home, "eats" bathing suits.

Leaving the mall where the bathing suit store was located the wind was extremely strong.  And we could see as we headed towards downtown that heavy rain was falling there.  Ugly, dark clouds were trapped there by Mount San Jacinto.  We stopped at a Vons store to buy a loaf of bread, then headed downtown, arriving about 5 PM.  I found a good place to park, then we busied ourselves in the camper for an hour, waiting for Village Fest to begin.

The principal reason why we were here in Palm Springs for three days was to attend Village Fest on Thursday evening.  A ten block section of Palm Canyon Drive closes to vehicle traffic every Thursday from 6 PM to 10 PM and it becomes a "pop-up" pedestrian shopping mall, filled with arts and crafts and farmers' markets and food concessions and street musicians and specialty products of every sort and ... !  It is particularly interesting as Christmas approaches.  And tonight ... < sputter > ... it was cancelled !  Because this afternoon, when the "go / no go" decision had to be made, it was raining heavily downtown !

How disappointing !  We walked a couple of blocks back to where the truck and camper were parked.  We had taken Ozzie with us to Village Fest.  He wondered what was the point of walking a couple of blocks to crowded downtown, and then walking a couple of blocks back to where we were parked.  We drove to a restaurant Joanne wanted to try, but ... I couldn't find a parking spot in their parking lot that I could squeeze our truck and camper into.  < sigh >  We drove to a nearby fuel station, refilled with diesel, got onto Interstate 10, and headed east to Aqua Caliente Casino, our planned "home" for the night.  When we got there ... < sputter > .. they no longer allowed overnight parking of RV's.  Boy ... this night just kept getting better and better !

We continued driving east on I-10, back to Spotlight 29 Casino, for a third night of boondocking there.  Joanne prepared a simple but excellent supper.

Friday ;  Palm Springs, California to Yuma, Arizona

Sunny and warm, temperature in Yuma when we arrived at 3 PM / 4 PM was 74°F / 23ºC.

We left the RV parking lot of Spotlight 29 Casino at 11 AM.  Thank you very much Spotlight 29 Casino for three days of quiet, safe, overnight boondocking.
I certainly am glad that your Indian Band bought out its development partner Donald Trump after your casino was built.

We headed south on Hwy. 86, following the shoreline of the Salton Sea, then followed a series of back roads south and east until reaching Holtville where we stopped to have lunch.  MMMMM ... burritos from Holtville Taco Shop.  Best burritos in America OR Mexico !  "Burritos" is an oxymoron here, so to speak.  The "ito" suffix in Spanish makes the noun "little".  Therefore, a "burrito" as thick as your forearm, is not a burrito, but a burro !  In any case ... they were excellent !  I had a carne asada burrito.  Joanne had a Californian, which is a carne asada burrito that includes french fries inside of it.  HA HA HA !  You go, girl !

After lunch we headed east on Interstate 8 until crossing the Colorado River from California into Yuma, Arizona.  We arrived at our winter home, Kofa Ko-op RV Park shortly after 3 PM, not remembering until later that as soon as we crossed the Colorado River we passed from the Pacific time zone into the Mountain time zone, so it was actually an hour later.

Emma instantly remembered our lot 52, and was eager to go into "her" Arizona room.  We took Ozzie for a lap around the dog park.  He was as comfortable in the dog park as if he had been walking there his whole life.  AND ... he effortlessly scaled our back yard fence into and out of the dog park with the assistance of the mobile home steps we have on each side of the fence.  BUT ... < sniffle > ... being here for the first time without Bo makes us remember and miss him.

While I got the utilities hooked up to the camper Joanne did some weeding in our back yard.  The yard was in pretty clean shape.  The Arizona room was pretty dirty inside with desert dust.  Emma was disgusted !  HA HA HA !  While we worked we were greeted by neighbours and friends who noticed our return.

After it became dark and we went inside the camper I worked online.  My priority was to contact TracFone and resolve our TracFone reactivation drama.  Well ... ! ! !  Their solution was to send me ANOTHER new SIM card which will take a week to arrive here.  HMPH !  Ten days on the road without phone service, and now another week without phone service waiting for the arrival of another new SIM card !

HA HA HA HA HA !  Joanne just finished a sewing repair, using a new / never before used sewing kit in the camper that I picked up at an upscale hotel when I was travelling for work with Canada Post, so it’s ... at least twenty-eight years old !

Home to here was a bit more than 3200 km. / 2000 miles.

Saturday ;  Yuma, Arizona

Sunny and warm.  AHHHHH !

We were busy today with arrival chores.  Joanne spent much of today cleaning the Arizona room and getting it ready for occupancy ; outdoor furniture to the outdoors, indoor furniture uncovered and cleaned, etc.  We removed about two thirds of the vinyl walls.  I took my bicycle out of the shed and washed it.  I connected the satellite dish to the TV in the camper.  We took Ozzie for a couple of walks in the dog park.  He doesn't like it.  Too much prickly stuff for his tender feet.  Our final walk with him today was around the streets of the RV park.  He enjoyed that much more.  Many neighbours / friends came by to visit today.

OH !  And ... I almost forgot !  Joanne cleaned the remains of the dead roadrunner off our patio !

DSK