Sunday ; Mostly sunny, mild.
This morning we went shopping to Yuma Swap Meet Los Perros, the "Mexican" flea market at the old "dog track". I bought some hardware items I needed, Joanne bought some cosmetics, and together we bought some produce. That place is a "zoo", so much less civilized than Arizona MarketPlace, the "gringo" flea market. Its lack of "civility" is a large part of its appeal. HA HA HA !
This afternoon I did more work on the trailer's roof repair. My work was interrupted by a visit from Carol Mae, who wanted to show me the compilation of pictures framed by the Humane Society of the dogs and cats adopted in 2014 whose adoption fees were sponsored by our Escapees group. How nice ! A little late, but still very nice.
This evening we attended the weekly ice cream social. Afterwards we chatted with a couple who are new full time RV'ers, and who are about to make their first visit to Los Algodones, Mexico.
Monday ; Sunny and mild. Joanne cooked Beef Provencal in the Sun Oven today.
I spent the morning visiting and chatting with friends and neighbours, mostly in the context of planning our hosting of a table at the upcoming Renters' Appreciation Dinner.
This afternoon I watered all my plants and gardens. I did some refurbishment project work in the truck camper and the fifth wheel trailer. Our friends / neighbours Bill and Liz and their little dog Riley have arrived from their home on Vancouver Island. Liz asked if we could / would "resurrect" the daily pack walks. Riley was very eager to resume the daily pack walks. HA HA HA ! Okay ! Bo and Riley were very excited when they saw each other in the dog park this afternoon after an absence of nine months or so. HA HA HA ! Welcome back, Riley. You too, Bill and Liz.
Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I continued working on the trailer's roof leak. I applied a large rubber membrane patch over the leak area which was already resealed with rubber roof cement. Two solutions to one problem !
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular weekly shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. It was a big day for me ! I facilitated the adoption of a senior dog. Congratulations and good luck, Bijou. After the Humane Society we headed to The Foothills for some shopping at Al's RV Service & Supply and The 99¢
Only Store. After shopping we did some used car browsing.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning we loaded up the five pieces of the truck camper's dinette seating ... two large pieces, one medium sized piece, two small pieces ... and headed off to a reupholstering business that we have used before. Their price to reupholster the five pieces was more than we would have liked, but not really more than we had expected. We selected the material we want, paid a deposit, and ... the job will probably be finished in about two weeks.
We browsed for used cars. We washed the truck at a self-service car wash. And after we left the car wash and everything dried, I could see ... YUCK ... what a poor job I had done ! I will have to hand wash the truck to get it clean. We had lunch at Wienerschnitzel. WOO-HOO ... chili cheeseburgers and chili cheese fries. I refilled with diesel at Fry's. Oh my goodness ! $1.79 per gallon for diesel ! ! ! I think that's the lowest price we've seen for diesel in the United States in twelve years of travelling. While I refilled the truck with diesel Joanne went into Fry's to buy a few advertised grocery specials. Final stop before returning home was Walgreens for a few more advertised grocery specials.
Yes, yes ... it's true that the U.S. / Canada exchange rate is approaching $1.50, but ... our diesel fuel / travel costs and grocery costs are so low that the pain of the exchange rate is mitigated.
Back at home we visited briefly with Bill and Lynne, chatting about their trip to Los Algodones, Mexico today with other friends of theirs who have ... < ahem > ... "reservations" ... about visiting Mexico. All things considered, the trip went well. Bill and Lynne are enthusiastic visitors of Mexico, so their enthusiasm and encouragement allowed their other friends to push their boundaries and overcome their ... < ahem > ... "concerns".
We attended the weekly Wednesday potluck, which continues to be poorly attended.
Thursday ; Sunny and warm.
This morning I visited and chatted with friends and neighbours ... again. I set up the Sun Oven and cooked eggs and potatoes ... for potato salad tomorrow.
This afternoon Joanne went shopping by herself. I did maintenance chores, both routine daily / weekly chores and larger annual maintenance and cleaning chores on the trailer. While up on the trailer roof I found more sun damage that will require repair / resealing. At 5 PM I took Bo on the daily pack walk. The current "pack" is Bo and his buddy Riley. Afterwards I went bicycling at sunset. I love desert sunsets.
Friday ; Sunny and warm. Windy. I broiled chicken in the Sun Oven today.
This morning I went downtown to have a meeting with a Yuma City Public Works Manager about the upcoming annual road cleanup event I am organizing at Kofa Ko-op. After the meeting I went shopping for "guy stuff" at Arizona MarketPlace.
Back at home, after lunch and a nap, I worked on cleaning and reassembling / reinstalling the trailer's ceiling vents. Tough and dangerous job ! Too windy to work on the roof today ! I modified and installed a new trim ring for the Fantastic Fan in the ceiling of the truck camper. We took Bo on the daily pack walk. I went bicycling at sunset.
Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Daytime temperatures are consistently reaching into the 70's. I think "winter" in Yuma is over !
Today I did a landscaping job that I have been procrastinating doing for four years. Better late than never, I suppose. HA HA HA ! I also continued working on the roof of the trailer again. I think I have figured out what to do, and how. Maybe ! HA HA HA !
We went on our daily pack walk, as usual. I went bicycling at sunset, as usual.
I prepared invitations for Bo's upcoming twelfth birthday party. I barbecued a lamb chop for supper. This evening we watched a movie ; Cadillac Records. I spent the late evening trying ... < ARGH > ... to send an e-card to Joanne's niece for her seventeenth birthday tomorrow.
DSK
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
January 3 to 9, 2016
Sunday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning we turned the Welcome Committee chores ... and golf cart ... over to the couple who will be the Welcome Committee for the next week. We're glad to be done with that. Until our next stint in a month or so. In the two weeks that we were the Welcome Committee we welcomed twenty-nine new arrivals and one new leaseholder / lot owner. It was a lot of work !
I did some minor maintenance chores. I did "Bo-gility" with Bo. He's still pretty agile for an older dog. I mounted the Cummins High Mileage Club "300,000" grill badge on the front of the truck. It arrived in the mail today. I spent the latter part of the afternoon sorting and purging my clothing, both in the trailer and in the camper. I'm not finished yet.
At 6 PM we attended the weekly ice cream social. Big crowd tonight, a bit more than a hundred people ! Afterwards we chatted with Bill and Lynne for a couple of hours, then we returned to our trailer where I cooked Manitoba / Lake Winnipeg Pickerel for supper. MMMMM ! We were hoping to watch the premiere episode of season six of Downton Abbey, but we were unable to receive PBS tonight. So ... we watched an old movie, Steel Magnolias. We've previously seen Steel Magnolias as a stage play.
Monday ; HMPH ! An entire day of rain !
We did some difficult annual cleaning jobs in the trailer today. I wasted a lot of time waiting for Tracfone's Technical Support, both on the phone and on "online chat".
I failed to contact them via either method. At 6 PM we went shopping. More time wasted ! Time wasting problems with coupon and gift card processing at Wal-Mart !
By the time we finished shopping at Fry's, it was after 8 PM and we didn't feel like preparing supper at home. We bought some Church's chicken and Rally's burgers to take home for supper.
Not a particularly good day !
Tuesday ; HMPH ! ! ! A second day of rain ! Pretty rare for Yuma !
This morning I puttered around with chores and minor maintenance. I took my bicycle to the park's air compressor station and adjusted the tires' air pressure. I repaired a dinette chair. I brushed Bo's teeth, a weekly chore. Joanne did cleaning in the truck camper.
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. I walked six dogs in two hours, despite the cold rain and wind.
After we returned home I got up on the trailer's roof to see if I could identify the cause of a leak into a kitchen cupboard. I mounted a new thermometer outside. Last summer's storm broke our previous exterior thermometer. Joanne did laundry. After supper ( Gnocchi from Trader Joe's ) I summarized our 2015 medical expenses for income tax purposes.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I puttered around with minor maintenance chores, then did both an obedience session and an agility ( Bo-gility ) session with Bo. Well done, Bo, good dog.
This afternoon I removed the sacrificial anode from the truck camper's water heater and flushed all the mineral deposit "scale" out of the water heater with a special tool, then cleaned, Teflon taped, and reinstalled the sacrificial anode. Another annual maintenance chore done !
Late in the afternoon we went to run shopping errands before going out for dinner. Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Harbor Freight ( WOO-HOO ), and lastly, Smart & Final. We went to Copper Miner Kitchen for their Wednesday evening all you can eat spaghetti dinner. It was very good ! And as a surprise bonus ... it was free ! And I didn't even have to throw a hissy fit to get a free dinner ! HA HA HA !
The waitress took our order and the orders from two nearby tables at the same time. The other two tables received their salads and / or soups, and were already getting their main courses when the flustered waitress came over to our table to tell us that she or the kitchen had lost our order. HA HA HA ! I thought that was somewhat amusing. She apologized profusely, asked us again what we wanted, then advised us that there would be no charge. What good customer service a generous gesture like that is, following a screw up !
Thursday ; Mostly cloudy and cool.
This morning we watched the very entertaining and amusing process of three Mexican men removing the large shed from our next door neighbour's yard. They attempted to remove it intact. They failed. Larry, Curly, and Moe could not have done it any better. HA HA HA !
Joanne went out around noon today with Lynne. They spent the entire day thrift store and grocery shopping. I spent the day puttering around with maintenance chores.
I started, but did not complete, repairing a roof leak on the trailer.
Friday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I set up the Sun Oven. Joanne prepared a chicken and rice recipe that is a favourite of mine. I put it into the Sun Oven just before noon and we headed out to The Foothills for a day of shopping errands.
First we looked at some used cars. We are considering purchasing a cheap used car for here in Yuma. Our purchase of a minivan in B.C. a year and a half ago has worked out well, so ... maybe we'll do something similar here. Our primary shopping objective for today was Al's RV Service & Supply. Today was their monthly 15% off sale day, the first since we've arrived in Yuma. I had quite a lengthy list of minor maintenance and repair items to buy, both for Elsie ( the truck camper ) and Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ). Joanne went to The 99¢ Only Store while I shopped at Al's. Afterwards we went to Burger King for a late lunch.
After lunch we shopped for quite awhile, and I purchased quite a lot of clothing, at Goodwill. There was better selection of men's clothing in my sizes in The Foothills store than in the main Yuma store. Joanne bought an electric blanket for our bed. On our way home we made our final shopping stop at Wally's World. WOO-HOO ... guy stuff ! Shopping at Wally's World is even more fun than shopping at Harbor Freight. HA HA HA !
When we returned home, around 4:30 PM the Sun Oven had just become shaded behind the trailer. Supper was cooked to perfection !
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
WTF ? ? ? < blink blink > How could it be that we lost over $23,000 this week in the stock market ? ? ? ! ! ! ! !
Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. Before she left she prepared a meal for me to cook in the Sun Oven. I set up the Sun Oven and ... did as instructed. HA HA HA ! I worked on repairing the leak at the top rear edge of the trailer's roof. I tried, but failed, to apply a long strip of rubber roof repair membrane. SO ... I applied a thick coat of rubber roof cement, and will apply another tomorrow or the next day. I worked on my inventory of clothing in the truck camper. I want enough of everything in the camper that there is no need to "pack clothing" when we want to travel.
My big job for today was to work on removing the truck camper's dinette seating. We want to have it reupholstered. Removing the dinette seating ... which "folds" into a bed ... was very difficult. And required much more disassembly than could have been imagined. DARN ! Sometimes ( most times ? ) working on an RV renovation / refurbishment project is like that ! Joanne returned home while I was in the midst of this project, so she helped me with the most difficult parts. I have all the components of the dinette seating removed for reupholstery, but now I also have a whole lot more repair / reassembly work than anticipated.
In the evening I worked on completing our IRS 8840 forms, an annual task required by the U.S. Government. Too bad so many / most Canadian Snowbirds don't know that ! Or they know but don't comply !
As usual, our sun cooked meal was spectacular ! A new recipe. A keeper !
DSK
This morning we turned the Welcome Committee chores ... and golf cart ... over to the couple who will be the Welcome Committee for the next week. We're glad to be done with that. Until our next stint in a month or so. In the two weeks that we were the Welcome Committee we welcomed twenty-nine new arrivals and one new leaseholder / lot owner. It was a lot of work !
I did some minor maintenance chores. I did "Bo-gility" with Bo. He's still pretty agile for an older dog. I mounted the Cummins High Mileage Club "300,000" grill badge on the front of the truck. It arrived in the mail today. I spent the latter part of the afternoon sorting and purging my clothing, both in the trailer and in the camper. I'm not finished yet.
At 6 PM we attended the weekly ice cream social. Big crowd tonight, a bit more than a hundred people ! Afterwards we chatted with Bill and Lynne for a couple of hours, then we returned to our trailer where I cooked Manitoba / Lake Winnipeg Pickerel for supper. MMMMM ! We were hoping to watch the premiere episode of season six of Downton Abbey, but we were unable to receive PBS tonight. So ... we watched an old movie, Steel Magnolias. We've previously seen Steel Magnolias as a stage play.
Monday ; HMPH ! An entire day of rain !
We did some difficult annual cleaning jobs in the trailer today. I wasted a lot of time waiting for Tracfone's Technical Support, both on the phone and on "online chat".
I failed to contact them via either method. At 6 PM we went shopping. More time wasted ! Time wasting problems with coupon and gift card processing at Wal-Mart !
By the time we finished shopping at Fry's, it was after 8 PM and we didn't feel like preparing supper at home. We bought some Church's chicken and Rally's burgers to take home for supper.
Not a particularly good day !
Tuesday ; HMPH ! ! ! A second day of rain ! Pretty rare for Yuma !
This morning I puttered around with chores and minor maintenance. I took my bicycle to the park's air compressor station and adjusted the tires' air pressure. I repaired a dinette chair. I brushed Bo's teeth, a weekly chore. Joanne did cleaning in the truck camper.
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift of dog walking and cat cuddling. I walked six dogs in two hours, despite the cold rain and wind.
After we returned home I got up on the trailer's roof to see if I could identify the cause of a leak into a kitchen cupboard. I mounted a new thermometer outside. Last summer's storm broke our previous exterior thermometer. Joanne did laundry. After supper ( Gnocchi from Trader Joe's ) I summarized our 2015 medical expenses for income tax purposes.
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I puttered around with minor maintenance chores, then did both an obedience session and an agility ( Bo-gility ) session with Bo. Well done, Bo, good dog.
This afternoon I removed the sacrificial anode from the truck camper's water heater and flushed all the mineral deposit "scale" out of the water heater with a special tool, then cleaned, Teflon taped, and reinstalled the sacrificial anode. Another annual maintenance chore done !
Late in the afternoon we went to run shopping errands before going out for dinner. Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Harbor Freight ( WOO-HOO ), and lastly, Smart & Final. We went to Copper Miner Kitchen for their Wednesday evening all you can eat spaghetti dinner. It was very good ! And as a surprise bonus ... it was free ! And I didn't even have to throw a hissy fit to get a free dinner ! HA HA HA !
The waitress took our order and the orders from two nearby tables at the same time. The other two tables received their salads and / or soups, and were already getting their main courses when the flustered waitress came over to our table to tell us that she or the kitchen had lost our order. HA HA HA ! I thought that was somewhat amusing. She apologized profusely, asked us again what we wanted, then advised us that there would be no charge. What good customer service a generous gesture like that is, following a screw up !
Thursday ; Mostly cloudy and cool.
This morning we watched the very entertaining and amusing process of three Mexican men removing the large shed from our next door neighbour's yard. They attempted to remove it intact. They failed. Larry, Curly, and Moe could not have done it any better. HA HA HA !
Joanne went out around noon today with Lynne. They spent the entire day thrift store and grocery shopping. I spent the day puttering around with maintenance chores.
I started, but did not complete, repairing a roof leak on the trailer.
Friday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I set up the Sun Oven. Joanne prepared a chicken and rice recipe that is a favourite of mine. I put it into the Sun Oven just before noon and we headed out to The Foothills for a day of shopping errands.
First we looked at some used cars. We are considering purchasing a cheap used car for here in Yuma. Our purchase of a minivan in B.C. a year and a half ago has worked out well, so ... maybe we'll do something similar here. Our primary shopping objective for today was Al's RV Service & Supply. Today was their monthly 15% off sale day, the first since we've arrived in Yuma. I had quite a lengthy list of minor maintenance and repair items to buy, both for Elsie ( the truck camper ) and Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ). Joanne went to The 99¢ Only Store while I shopped at Al's. Afterwards we went to Burger King for a late lunch.
After lunch we shopped for quite awhile, and I purchased quite a lot of clothing, at Goodwill. There was better selection of men's clothing in my sizes in The Foothills store than in the main Yuma store. Joanne bought an electric blanket for our bed. On our way home we made our final shopping stop at Wally's World. WOO-HOO ... guy stuff ! Shopping at Wally's World is even more fun than shopping at Harbor Freight. HA HA HA !
When we returned home, around 4:30 PM the Sun Oven had just become shaded behind the trailer. Supper was cooked to perfection !
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
WTF ? ? ? < blink blink > How could it be that we lost over $23,000 this week in the stock market ? ? ? ! ! ! ! !
Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. Before she left she prepared a meal for me to cook in the Sun Oven. I set up the Sun Oven and ... did as instructed. HA HA HA ! I worked on repairing the leak at the top rear edge of the trailer's roof. I tried, but failed, to apply a long strip of rubber roof repair membrane. SO ... I applied a thick coat of rubber roof cement, and will apply another tomorrow or the next day. I worked on my inventory of clothing in the truck camper. I want enough of everything in the camper that there is no need to "pack clothing" when we want to travel.
My big job for today was to work on removing the truck camper's dinette seating. We want to have it reupholstered. Removing the dinette seating ... which "folds" into a bed ... was very difficult. And required much more disassembly than could have been imagined. DARN ! Sometimes ( most times ? ) working on an RV renovation / refurbishment project is like that ! Joanne returned home while I was in the midst of this project, so she helped me with the most difficult parts. I have all the components of the dinette seating removed for reupholstery, but now I also have a whole lot more repair / reassembly work than anticipated.
In the evening I worked on completing our IRS 8840 forms, an annual task required by the U.S. Government. Too bad so many / most Canadian Snowbirds don't know that ! Or they know but don't comply !
As usual, our sun cooked meal was spectacular ! A new recipe. A keeper !
DSK
Sunday, January 3, 2016
December 27, 2015 to January 2, 2016
Sunday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning I set up the Sun Oven for the first time this winter season. Joanne prepared a beef pot roast in a slow cooker marinade and we had our first sun cooked meal of the season. It was very good !
I took an empty propane tank to be refilled. I repaired a leak under the kitchen sink. The brutal desert heat of the summer dries out plumbing seals and gaskets. I did some routine annual maintenance on Lanoire ( the truck ). I did some routine annual maintenance on Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ). I cleaned and polished shoes.
We did our daily "Welcome Committee" visits ; two arrivals today. We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social, then one of today's arrivals came over to visit with us and Bo in our Arizona room. Their dog died only six weeks ago, and the woman needed a "dog fix".
We had our wonderful sun cooked supper while watching Downton Abbey. Oh, boy ... the new and final season begins next Sunday. I posted last week's journal to my blog. How nice it is to have good Wi-Fi again.
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Laszlo and DeeOGee the Pit Bull came over for a visit. This afternoon Carol Mae and Osita the foster puppy came over for a visit.
I realized the other day that I have not yet paid our 2015 Yuma County tax bill. BECAUSE ... I have not yet received a 2015 Yuma County tax bill. We must have left home ( on Sept. 18 ) just before it was to arrive in our mail. I phoned Yuma County this morning and found out how much we owe, and we'll have to go downtown and pay it before the end of the year.
We both worked on annual cleaning chores inside the trailer today. I cleaned and polished another pair of shoes. We did our daily Welcome Committee visits ; two today.
At 5 PM ... two hours late ... Benjamin's RV Wash crew showed up. They had been having some equipment problems during the day that delayed them. And their equipment problems continued. They washed and waxed Harvey the trailer, and then Lanoire the truck. By then it was 6 PM, a few minutes until darkness, and they were not able to wash Elsie the truck camper. They will return tomorrow morning to do the truck camper. I was not completely satisfied with their work. They rushed, and their equipment problems continued. I had to have them redo the rear of the trailer because they had done it poorly. And they broke two plastic pieces on the trailer, partially due to the plastic pieces being made brittle by the brutal summer heat, but also because of their rushing and carelessness. Yes, yes ... it is hard to find good help !
After supper we went grocery shopping at Albertsons.
Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.
Yesterday the Benjamin's RV Wash crew was two hours late. Today they were six hours late ! Isn't it fun doing business with Mexicans ? ! ? < gritting teeth >
I got up early. To accommodate the expected 8 AM arrival of the Benjamin's RV Wash crew. < fume > When I finally got tired of waiting ... around 10 AM ... we went out to run some errands. I dropped Joanne off at the "99¢ Only Store" then drove downtown to pay our 2015 property tax bill at the Yuma County offices. After paying the tax bill
I returned to the "99¢ Only Store", picked up Joanne, and we went off in search of a recycling business. The one we usually use is temporarily inaccessible due to a bridge repair. We went from recycle business to recycle business, each one referring us to the next. One took only cardboard, one took only plastic, some of them don't deal with consumers, only commercial recycling ... and so on !
Back at home we had lunch, then the RV wash crew finally showed up to wash the truck camper. < sigh > That made us a little late for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift at the Humane Society. I spent two hours walking dogs and Joanne cuddled cats. As soon as we got home we went to do our daily Welcome Committee visits ; one new arrival ... from Ontario, Canada. We chatted with them until dark.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Sunny, chilly in the morning and evening, mild in the afternoon.
This morning we headed off to Mexico for dentist appointments. I had a rescheduled periodontal examination by my periodontist who had to leave unexpectedly while I was having my teeth cleaned two weeks ago. On that same day Joanne had cancelled her dental cleaning and examination because of her cold. Today after having her teeth cleaned she told the dentist about a problem she was experiencing with a back molar tooth. An x-ray revealed a crack in the tooth. The dentist was able to do the filling repair today. While Joanne was having her tooth repaired I walked across town to the veterinary pharmacy to buy some medications for our friend and neighbour Jeanine back home in B.C. She wanted me to buy for her four tubes of one medication, and six little bottles of another. < sigh > I bought one tube of the first and none of the second.
I back ordered the rest, with expected arrival date of February 1. I hate going to Los Algodones in January and February due to long line-ups to cross the border back into the U.S.
We returned to Yuma as soon as Joanne was finished at the dentist. We stopped at Lowe's where I needed to pick up a special ordered item. I had received a phone call yesterday advising me that it was in. < sigh > I got a surly, disinterested, Hispanic young man at Customer Service who could not get beyond his computer telling him that my special order item was not yet in. Then I got a young Hispanic female supervisor who simply echoed him. < sigh > Finally ... when I got the store manager involved, miraculously my special order item was found ! ! ! Yes, yes ... it certainly is hard to find good help, especially around the holidays !
We had a very late lunch at Subway then returned home. We did our daily Welcome Committee visit ... a couple that we know from B.C. arrived today ... then quickly got ready for the regular Wednesday late afternoon "light duty" potluck. Didn't we just have lunch three hours ago ? ! ? Joanne's contribution to potluck was a dessert recipe that she got from our friend Lynne a month or so ago in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. It was a big hit at today's potluck.
New Year's Eve ; Sunny but chilly.
Joanne now has her third cold in as many months ! ! ! Maybe the flu ! < sigh > My third cold is just ending. Wish me luck ! ! !
I puttered around with some minor maintenance chores. I trimmed my beard. I did some cactus gardening. When I began cactus gardening four years ago I assumed that cactus gardens were low / no maintenance. I was wrong ! Especially if they're left unattended for eight months. We did our daily "Welcome" visits. One new arrival and one new leaseholder / lot owner.
For supper I barbecued the last of our B.C. Sockeye Salmon. Joanne prepared a risotto with Crema CentroAmericana. After supper we went to the clubhouse for Kofa Ko-op's New York New Year's Eve party. That means ... at 10 PM local time everybody celebrates the arrival of New Year in New York, then leaves to go home to bed ! Isn't it fun to live with old folks ? ! ?
Joanne was feeling quite ill and left a few minutes after 10 PM. I stayed for another hour.
New Year's Day ; Happy New Year / Bonne Heureuse Année / Prospero Año Nuevo
WELL ! ! ! Wasn't that a boring and depressing New Year's Eve party ? ! ? HMPH !
Today was sunny and mild.
Joanne went Wal-Martin' this morning. By herself, mercifully ! I worked on trailer repairs. I took my bicycle to be serviced by a neighbour.
We were quite busy this afternoon welcoming new arrivals. Five of them ! Including our friends Bill and Lynne and their Pomeranian Windsor.
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Joanne "undecorated". I did some minor truck maintenance. We trimmed Bo's nails. Then we headed out to do some thrift store shopping. We bought nothing at Salvation Army. I bought some clothing at Goodwill. On the way home we stopped for a late, all you can eat / ETYS buffet lunch at KFC.
This afternoon I completed the repairs to the Arizona room made necessary by the violent storm here last summer. I installed a new turbine vent on the roof of the shed. And I replaced three of the Arizona room's acoustic ceiling tiles and the bats of fiberglass insulation above them in the ceiling. Both jobs ... easier said than done !
In the evening I worked on reconciling month end and year end financial statements, and analyzing our financial performance for 2015. Not bad ! Not good ! Better than the overall performance of the stock market indexes, so ... better than "average", I guess. We’re not getting any richer, but we’re doing okay !
DSK
This morning I set up the Sun Oven for the first time this winter season. Joanne prepared a beef pot roast in a slow cooker marinade and we had our first sun cooked meal of the season. It was very good !
I took an empty propane tank to be refilled. I repaired a leak under the kitchen sink. The brutal desert heat of the summer dries out plumbing seals and gaskets. I did some routine annual maintenance on Lanoire ( the truck ). I did some routine annual maintenance on Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ). I cleaned and polished shoes.
We did our daily "Welcome Committee" visits ; two arrivals today. We attended the regular Sunday evening ice cream social, then one of today's arrivals came over to visit with us and Bo in our Arizona room. Their dog died only six weeks ago, and the woman needed a "dog fix".
We had our wonderful sun cooked supper while watching Downton Abbey. Oh, boy ... the new and final season begins next Sunday. I posted last week's journal to my blog. How nice it is to have good Wi-Fi again.
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Laszlo and DeeOGee the Pit Bull came over for a visit. This afternoon Carol Mae and Osita the foster puppy came over for a visit.
I realized the other day that I have not yet paid our 2015 Yuma County tax bill. BECAUSE ... I have not yet received a 2015 Yuma County tax bill. We must have left home ( on Sept. 18 ) just before it was to arrive in our mail. I phoned Yuma County this morning and found out how much we owe, and we'll have to go downtown and pay it before the end of the year.
We both worked on annual cleaning chores inside the trailer today. I cleaned and polished another pair of shoes. We did our daily Welcome Committee visits ; two today.
At 5 PM ... two hours late ... Benjamin's RV Wash crew showed up. They had been having some equipment problems during the day that delayed them. And their equipment problems continued. They washed and waxed Harvey the trailer, and then Lanoire the truck. By then it was 6 PM, a few minutes until darkness, and they were not able to wash Elsie the truck camper. They will return tomorrow morning to do the truck camper. I was not completely satisfied with their work. They rushed, and their equipment problems continued. I had to have them redo the rear of the trailer because they had done it poorly. And they broke two plastic pieces on the trailer, partially due to the plastic pieces being made brittle by the brutal summer heat, but also because of their rushing and carelessness. Yes, yes ... it is hard to find good help !
After supper we went grocery shopping at Albertsons.
Tuesday ; Sunny and mild.
Yesterday the Benjamin's RV Wash crew was two hours late. Today they were six hours late ! Isn't it fun doing business with Mexicans ? ! ? < gritting teeth >
I got up early. To accommodate the expected 8 AM arrival of the Benjamin's RV Wash crew. < fume > When I finally got tired of waiting ... around 10 AM ... we went out to run some errands. I dropped Joanne off at the "99¢ Only Store" then drove downtown to pay our 2015 property tax bill at the Yuma County offices. After paying the tax bill
I returned to the "99¢ Only Store", picked up Joanne, and we went off in search of a recycling business. The one we usually use is temporarily inaccessible due to a bridge repair. We went from recycle business to recycle business, each one referring us to the next. One took only cardboard, one took only plastic, some of them don't deal with consumers, only commercial recycling ... and so on !
Back at home we had lunch, then the RV wash crew finally showed up to wash the truck camper. < sigh > That made us a little late for our regular Tuesday afternoon shift at the Humane Society. I spent two hours walking dogs and Joanne cuddled cats. As soon as we got home we went to do our daily Welcome Committee visits ; one new arrival ... from Ontario, Canada. We chatted with them until dark.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Sunny, chilly in the morning and evening, mild in the afternoon.
This morning we headed off to Mexico for dentist appointments. I had a rescheduled periodontal examination by my periodontist who had to leave unexpectedly while I was having my teeth cleaned two weeks ago. On that same day Joanne had cancelled her dental cleaning and examination because of her cold. Today after having her teeth cleaned she told the dentist about a problem she was experiencing with a back molar tooth. An x-ray revealed a crack in the tooth. The dentist was able to do the filling repair today. While Joanne was having her tooth repaired I walked across town to the veterinary pharmacy to buy some medications for our friend and neighbour Jeanine back home in B.C. She wanted me to buy for her four tubes of one medication, and six little bottles of another. < sigh > I bought one tube of the first and none of the second.
I back ordered the rest, with expected arrival date of February 1. I hate going to Los Algodones in January and February due to long line-ups to cross the border back into the U.S.
We returned to Yuma as soon as Joanne was finished at the dentist. We stopped at Lowe's where I needed to pick up a special ordered item. I had received a phone call yesterday advising me that it was in. < sigh > I got a surly, disinterested, Hispanic young man at Customer Service who could not get beyond his computer telling him that my special order item was not yet in. Then I got a young Hispanic female supervisor who simply echoed him. < sigh > Finally ... when I got the store manager involved, miraculously my special order item was found ! ! ! Yes, yes ... it certainly is hard to find good help, especially around the holidays !
We had a very late lunch at Subway then returned home. We did our daily Welcome Committee visit ... a couple that we know from B.C. arrived today ... then quickly got ready for the regular Wednesday late afternoon "light duty" potluck. Didn't we just have lunch three hours ago ? ! ? Joanne's contribution to potluck was a dessert recipe that she got from our friend Lynne a month or so ago in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. It was a big hit at today's potluck.
New Year's Eve ; Sunny but chilly.
Joanne now has her third cold in as many months ! ! ! Maybe the flu ! < sigh > My third cold is just ending. Wish me luck ! ! !
I puttered around with some minor maintenance chores. I trimmed my beard. I did some cactus gardening. When I began cactus gardening four years ago I assumed that cactus gardens were low / no maintenance. I was wrong ! Especially if they're left unattended for eight months. We did our daily "Welcome" visits. One new arrival and one new leaseholder / lot owner.
For supper I barbecued the last of our B.C. Sockeye Salmon. Joanne prepared a risotto with Crema CentroAmericana. After supper we went to the clubhouse for Kofa Ko-op's New York New Year's Eve party. That means ... at 10 PM local time everybody celebrates the arrival of New Year in New York, then leaves to go home to bed ! Isn't it fun to live with old folks ? ! ?
Joanne was feeling quite ill and left a few minutes after 10 PM. I stayed for another hour.
New Year's Day ; Happy New Year / Bonne Heureuse Année / Prospero Año Nuevo
WELL ! ! ! Wasn't that a boring and depressing New Year's Eve party ? ! ? HMPH !
Today was sunny and mild.
Joanne went Wal-Martin' this morning. By herself, mercifully ! I worked on trailer repairs. I took my bicycle to be serviced by a neighbour.
We were quite busy this afternoon welcoming new arrivals. Five of them ! Including our friends Bill and Lynne and their Pomeranian Windsor.
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Joanne "undecorated". I did some minor truck maintenance. We trimmed Bo's nails. Then we headed out to do some thrift store shopping. We bought nothing at Salvation Army. I bought some clothing at Goodwill. On the way home we stopped for a late, all you can eat / ETYS buffet lunch at KFC.
This afternoon I completed the repairs to the Arizona room made necessary by the violent storm here last summer. I installed a new turbine vent on the roof of the shed. And I replaced three of the Arizona room's acoustic ceiling tiles and the bats of fiberglass insulation above them in the ceiling. Both jobs ... easier said than done !
In the evening I worked on reconciling month end and year end financial statements, and analyzing our financial performance for 2015. Not bad ! Not good ! Better than the overall performance of the stock market indexes, so ... better than "average", I guess. We’re not getting any richer, but we’re doing okay !
DSK
Sunday, December 27, 2015
December 20 to 26, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and mild during the day, chilly in the evening. Today was our first day of a two week stint as Kofa Ko-op's "Welcome Committee".
This morning we went over to last week's "Welcome Committee" couple to pick up the Welcome Committee's golf cart and "Welcome" materials. After lunch our neighbours / friends Carol Mae and Larry came over to discuss their plans to visit Vancouver Island on their way to Alaska by ferry next summer. Mid-afternoon Joanne went to the office to get the list of today's "arrivals", so that we could visit them as the Welcome Committee.
Oh my goodness ! Eight arrivals today. Usually there are only one or two per day. We spent from 3:30 PM until 5:45 "welcoming", then rushed to be ready for the ice cream social at 6 PM where Joanne and I "hosted" the "new visitors' table".
We found out, from one of today's arrivals, that an old friend of ours, a resident of SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold, California, has died. The last time we visited her, about a year ago, she was recuperating from a stroke. We knew she probably would not live much longer. And ... she didn't want to live much longer. Nevertheless, it saddens me that she's gone. Rest in peace, Diane !
After the ice cream social we returned home to the over baked lasagna waiting in the oven ... < sigh >. But ... on the upside ... WOO-HOO ... Downton Abbey !
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Joanne went out shopping by herself again. I spent the day working on maintenance chores.
Somewhat surprisingly, there were no arrivals today. So ... no "Welcome Committee" work for us today.
At 6 PM we headed for PetsMart. With Bo ! He LOOOOOVES Christmas shopping. HA HA HA ! We bought a bag of dog food and Bo's Christmas gifts. On the way back home we stopped at Albertsons to buy some fried chicken and side dishes for supper.
Astoundingly ... I have another cold ! ! ! ! ! Third in three months ! ! ! < sigh >
Tuesday ; Cloudy and mild.
We spent the morning doing routine chores. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our weekly shift of cat cuddling and dog walking. Afterwards we did our Welcome Committee duties. One arrival today.
Joanne prepared fresh guacamole as an "amuse-bouche" for dinner. Then I cooked eggs in Crema CentroAmericana, and served them on toast. MMMMM ! I could not resist buying Crema CentroAmericana when I saw it in the grocery store recently.
I wondered how similar it would be to Crema Salvadoreña and/or Crema Mexicana.
Joanne had long phone chats today with our 94 year old Escapee friend Eilene who is back home in Oregon for the first winter in about three decades, and our neighbor / friend Jeanine back home at Riverside RV Resort near Keremeos, BC.
I am feeling really ill tonight ... with cold #3 !
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. I did chores. AFTER the very slow, late start that I get to each day when I'm suffering from a cold. I did obedience training with Bo. Very well done, Bo, good dog ! After lunch I spent much of the afternoon slowly wrapping Christmas gifts. Have I mentioned ... ? I HATE wrapping gifts !
Late in the afternoon we did our "Welcome Committee" duties, followed by the regular Wednesday potluck. After the potluck we had one more late arrival to visit, and spent quite awhile with them.
Christmas Eve ; Sunny and mild.
We visited with friends and neighbours today. We did our Welcome Committee duties.
I spent much of the afternoon working on my cactus gardens. OUCH ! Joanne made tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, as she always does for Christmas Eve dinner. In the evening we watched two movies ; Happy Feet and one of my all time favourites, Uncle Buck. HA HA HA !
Now ... for those of you who are prone to notice such things ... HA HA HA ... I cut and pasted that paragraph from last year's Christmas Day journal, and changed but one word. And it fit today as well as it did last year ! HA HA HA !
Joanne went to the clubhouse at 1 PM to make gravy for 120 people. You go, girl ! She did a great job. Especially since her gravy making partner bailed at the last minute due to illness and she had to do it by herself. I went to the clubhouse at 2:30 PM to prepare for my volunteer job as a server. And discovered that ... I was the "senior" server. I was serving Christmas dinner with four other people who had never done it before. So ...
I became the "supervisor".
And what a great job we all did ! ! ! Everybody involved, from early this morning, right up until the serving process, did an excellent job ! When we were finished serving 120 people, there were about a dozen servings remaining of turkey dark meat, turkey white meat, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, and ( Joanne's ) gravy. Just about the right amount for the invalid and ill who were unable to come to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner.
There were many, many side dishes and deserts contributed potluck style. Joanne and I hosted a "new arrivals" table because of our Welcome Committee responsibilities this week. Christmas dinner was excellent !
Afterwards Joanne and I took Bo for a long, slow walk all around the RV park, up and down each road, wishing friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas. We spent a quiet evening watching Christmas specials on TV. While drinking eggnog and eating fruit cake, of course. HA HA HA !
Boxing Day ( in Canada ) ; Chilly, very windy, sky obscured by blowing dust ... a desert storm !
This morning we prepared my family's traditional Christmas morning brunch ... delayed one day ... of Belgian waffles, served with a thick coating of strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. MMMMM ! Admittedly, an acquired taste. After 41 years of marriage, Joanne has not acquired the taste. HA HA HA ! She still eats her waffles with maple syrup. Bo prefers the jam and ice cream version. HA HA HA !
This afternoon we went shopping at the Goodwill Thrift Store. Everything was 50% off today. I bought a bunch of shorts and t-shirts, the clothing items I wear the most, and wear out the most. Joanne bought ( ANOTHER ) curling iron and ( ANOTHER ) blow dryer. < shrug > Apparently one can never have enough curling irons and blow dryers. HA HA HA ! I suppose she could say the same thing about my shorts and t-shirts.
Late this afternoon Joanne did laundry and we did our daily Welcome Committee visits. Three arrivals today, including one from Nova Scotia. They’re an awful long way from home ! BUT ... they are repeat visitors, coming here every year for many years.
A few minutes ago I took Bo out for a bathroom break in the dog park. As he climbed over our back yard fence, he confronted a Roadrunner standing at the bottom of our dog park steps. Bo gave chase. The Roadrunner quickly ran around behind my cactus gardens and jumped back over the fence into our next door neighbour's yard to escape Bo, who had barely begun to move by the time the Roadrunner cleared the fence. BEEP BEEP ! HA HA HA ! They’re so fast ! Bo came limping back around the gardens with a segment of Cholla Cactus embedded in his rear leg. OUCH ! Poor Bo !
I picked him up, carried him over the fence and into our shed where I pulled the Cholla segment off his leg using a pair of pliers. Fortunately he had not stepped on the Cholla segment. It just "jumped" onto his leg as he ran by it. No, no ... Cholla segments don't really "jump". It just seems that way because they detach and stick against anything that brushes against them, no matter how lightly.
Lanoire reached 300,000 km. today. What a great truck !
DSK
This morning we went over to last week's "Welcome Committee" couple to pick up the Welcome Committee's golf cart and "Welcome" materials. After lunch our neighbours / friends Carol Mae and Larry came over to discuss their plans to visit Vancouver Island on their way to Alaska by ferry next summer. Mid-afternoon Joanne went to the office to get the list of today's "arrivals", so that we could visit them as the Welcome Committee.
Oh my goodness ! Eight arrivals today. Usually there are only one or two per day. We spent from 3:30 PM until 5:45 "welcoming", then rushed to be ready for the ice cream social at 6 PM where Joanne and I "hosted" the "new visitors' table".
We found out, from one of today's arrivals, that an old friend of ours, a resident of SKP Park of the Sierras near Coarsegold, California, has died. The last time we visited her, about a year ago, she was recuperating from a stroke. We knew she probably would not live much longer. And ... she didn't want to live much longer. Nevertheless, it saddens me that she's gone. Rest in peace, Diane !
After the ice cream social we returned home to the over baked lasagna waiting in the oven ... < sigh >. But ... on the upside ... WOO-HOO ... Downton Abbey !
Monday ; Sunny and mild.
This morning Joanne went out shopping by herself again. I spent the day working on maintenance chores.
Somewhat surprisingly, there were no arrivals today. So ... no "Welcome Committee" work for us today.
At 6 PM we headed for PetsMart. With Bo ! He LOOOOOVES Christmas shopping. HA HA HA ! We bought a bag of dog food and Bo's Christmas gifts. On the way back home we stopped at Albertsons to buy some fried chicken and side dishes for supper.
Astoundingly ... I have another cold ! ! ! ! ! Third in three months ! ! ! < sigh >
Tuesday ; Cloudy and mild.
We spent the morning doing routine chores. This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our weekly shift of cat cuddling and dog walking. Afterwards we did our Welcome Committee duties. One arrival today.
Joanne prepared fresh guacamole as an "amuse-bouche" for dinner. Then I cooked eggs in Crema CentroAmericana, and served them on toast. MMMMM ! I could not resist buying Crema CentroAmericana when I saw it in the grocery store recently.
I wondered how similar it would be to Crema Salvadoreña and/or Crema Mexicana.
Joanne had long phone chats today with our 94 year old Escapee friend Eilene who is back home in Oregon for the first winter in about three decades, and our neighbor / friend Jeanine back home at Riverside RV Resort near Keremeos, BC.
I am feeling really ill tonight ... with cold #3 !
Wednesday ; Sunny and mild.
Joanne went out shopping by herself again today. I did chores. AFTER the very slow, late start that I get to each day when I'm suffering from a cold. I did obedience training with Bo. Very well done, Bo, good dog ! After lunch I spent much of the afternoon slowly wrapping Christmas gifts. Have I mentioned ... ? I HATE wrapping gifts !
Late in the afternoon we did our "Welcome Committee" duties, followed by the regular Wednesday potluck. After the potluck we had one more late arrival to visit, and spent quite awhile with them.
Christmas Eve ; Sunny and mild.
We visited with friends and neighbours today. We did our Welcome Committee duties.
I spent much of the afternoon working on my cactus gardens. OUCH ! Joanne made tourtière ( French Canadian meat pie ) for supper, as she always does for Christmas Eve dinner. In the evening we watched two movies ; Happy Feet and one of my all time favourites, Uncle Buck. HA HA HA !
Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad
Again this morning we broke with life long family tradition, and deferred our Christmas morning waffle breakfast until tomorrow morning. After a light breakfast we went into the Arizona room to open gifts. WOO-HOO ... Bo's twelfth Christmas of opening all the gifts ; his and ours. Bo LOOOOOVES opening gifts. HA HA HA ! By the end of opening gifts he seemed to be close to adrenaline overload !
Now ... for those of you who are prone to notice such things ... HA HA HA ... I cut and pasted that paragraph from last year's Christmas Day journal, and changed but one word. And it fit today as well as it did last year ! HA HA HA !
Joanne went to the clubhouse at 1 PM to make gravy for 120 people. You go, girl ! She did a great job. Especially since her gravy making partner bailed at the last minute due to illness and she had to do it by herself. I went to the clubhouse at 2:30 PM to prepare for my volunteer job as a server. And discovered that ... I was the "senior" server. I was serving Christmas dinner with four other people who had never done it before. So ...
I became the "supervisor".
And what a great job we all did ! ! ! Everybody involved, from early this morning, right up until the serving process, did an excellent job ! When we were finished serving 120 people, there were about a dozen servings remaining of turkey dark meat, turkey white meat, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, and ( Joanne's ) gravy. Just about the right amount for the invalid and ill who were unable to come to the clubhouse for Christmas dinner.
There were many, many side dishes and deserts contributed potluck style. Joanne and I hosted a "new arrivals" table because of our Welcome Committee responsibilities this week. Christmas dinner was excellent !
Afterwards Joanne and I took Bo for a long, slow walk all around the RV park, up and down each road, wishing friends and neighbours a Merry Christmas. We spent a quiet evening watching Christmas specials on TV. While drinking eggnog and eating fruit cake, of course. HA HA HA !
Boxing Day ( in Canada ) ; Chilly, very windy, sky obscured by blowing dust ... a desert storm !
This morning we prepared my family's traditional Christmas morning brunch ... delayed one day ... of Belgian waffles, served with a thick coating of strawberry jam and vanilla ice cream. MMMMM ! Admittedly, an acquired taste. After 41 years of marriage, Joanne has not acquired the taste. HA HA HA ! She still eats her waffles with maple syrup. Bo prefers the jam and ice cream version. HA HA HA !
This afternoon we went shopping at the Goodwill Thrift Store. Everything was 50% off today. I bought a bunch of shorts and t-shirts, the clothing items I wear the most, and wear out the most. Joanne bought ( ANOTHER ) curling iron and ( ANOTHER ) blow dryer. < shrug > Apparently one can never have enough curling irons and blow dryers. HA HA HA ! I suppose she could say the same thing about my shorts and t-shirts.
Late this afternoon Joanne did laundry and we did our daily Welcome Committee visits. Three arrivals today, including one from Nova Scotia. They’re an awful long way from home ! BUT ... they are repeat visitors, coming here every year for many years.
A few minutes ago I took Bo out for a bathroom break in the dog park. As he climbed over our back yard fence, he confronted a Roadrunner standing at the bottom of our dog park steps. Bo gave chase. The Roadrunner quickly ran around behind my cactus gardens and jumped back over the fence into our next door neighbour's yard to escape Bo, who had barely begun to move by the time the Roadrunner cleared the fence. BEEP BEEP ! HA HA HA ! They’re so fast ! Bo came limping back around the gardens with a segment of Cholla Cactus embedded in his rear leg. OUCH ! Poor Bo !
I picked him up, carried him over the fence and into our shed where I pulled the Cholla segment off his leg using a pair of pliers. Fortunately he had not stepped on the Cholla segment. It just "jumped" onto his leg as he ran by it. No, no ... Cholla segments don't really "jump". It just seems that way because they detach and stick against anything that brushes against them, no matter how lightly.
Lanoire reached 300,000 km. today. What a great truck !
DSK
Sunday, December 20, 2015
December 13 to 19, 2015
Sunday ; Sunny and warm. How nice !
We had a long, tiring, busy day of "return home" chores. Our yard is overrun with Goat's Head Cacti, a ground creeping vine type of plant with tiny buds, each with a couple of very sharp little quills, hence the name "Goat's Head". They are deadly to dogs' feet ! And the soles of our shoes. Joanne spent the entire day weeding them out of our yard. And she's only about half done ! I think our days of "no herbicide spraying" on our lot are over !
I lent my very sharp machete to a new neighbour who just bought the lot across the street. The cacti on their lot are so large that he had to trim them by whackin' 'em with my machete. HA HA HA ! At 5 PM we took Bo for a walk around the dog park. At 6 PM we went to the regular weekly ice cream social where we chatted with old friends Charles and Coralee.
Monday ; Sunny, chilly, windy.
Another long, tiring day of "return home" chores. Joanne finished weeding the yard late this afternoon after two full days of working on it. Her hands look like hell ! I appreciate her efforts. Well done, dear, thank you. I spent the day doing repairs. Our Arizona room roof sustained some damage during a violent summer storm.
Tuesday ; Sunny and chilly. I guess winter has arrived in Yuma.
We got a late start to our day again. My cold is almost over but I'm suffering from fatigue and low stamina. Part of the fatigue is because I'm not sleeping well. Because all night long Joanne is coughing and hoarking and snorting and making all those other ugly throat noises that she makes when she has a cold ... < sigh >. Yes, yes ... not only have I had two colds since we left home three months ago ... I've passed both of them on to Joanne.
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our first volunteer shift of this winter season. Our friend and neighbour Carol Mae came along. Joanne did "cat cuddling". Carol Mae and I did dog walking. At the end of our two hour "shift" we were tired.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Sunny and chilly, high temperature of 62º F.
This morning we headed for Los Algodones, Mexico, for dental appointments. BUT ... due to Joanne having a cold, I persuaded her to cancel her appointment today. SO ... while I went for a dental cleaning, she went for a pedicure. AND ... while I was having my teeth cleaned by a hygienist, my periodontist had to leave unexpectedly. HMPH ! SO ... my periodontal examination was postponed ! When my cleaning was completed
I rescheduled my periodontal examination and Joanne's cleaning and examination for two weeks from today.
After my dental cleaning and Joanne's pedicure were completed we went for lunch to our favourite little "restaurant" in Los Algodones. After lunch we returned to the border, eager to get some chores and errands done back in Yuma. This was our fourth time crossing from Mexico back into the United States in the last month and a half, and I have a suspicion. Our border crossings have been so fast and painless, with thinly veiled contempt by the Customs & Border Patrol agents, I suspect that they have been advised to "keep hands off" the Canadians returning to the U.S. from Mexican border / tourist towns.
Once back in Yuma we went to Pep Boys to return an item, to Lowe's to purchase an item, and finally, Albertsons to buy groceries. Once back home we took Bo for a walk around the dog park perimeter before it got dark outside. We spent the evening watching the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and cool. It was a long, tiring day of moving from Elsie the truck camper into Harvey the fifth wheel trailer.
This morning our neighbour / friend Carol Mae came over to show us her new "foster" puppy, a six week old ... who knows ? A cute little female, probably a Chihuahua / Terrier mix, black with a small white patch on her chest. A "tuxedo" ! Carol Mae will care for the puppy for at least a couple of weeks, until it's old enough to go back to the Humane Society and be put into the adoption kennels.
Joanne "moved" everything that needed to be removed from the truck camper into the Arizona room. I prepared the truck camper for storage. Right after lunch we drove to Kofa Ko-op's storage area and unloaded the camper off Lanoire the truck. I installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck and we hitched up to the fifth wheel trailer. On the way back to our lot we stopped at the park's air compressor and refilled the trailer's tires with air. We got backed into our lot, then I worked on outside chores while Joanne worked on inside chores, including "moving" from the Arizona room back into the trailer. I was not quite finished with outside set up chores when darkness fell. < sigh >
Harvey the fifth wheel trailer is showing his age ! Sitting unused in the brutal summer heat here is taking its toll !
Friday ; Sunny and cool. We spent most of the day running shopping errands.
First stop after heading out this morning was Peanut Patch, the local peanut farm and store to buy some freshly made peanut butter. Then over to Arizona MarketPlace where I needed to buy a few hardware items at Wally's World. We bumped into one of our old acquaintances from SKP BC Okanagan Chapter 33. Working ! I strenuously object to Canadians working illegally in the United States !
Next stop was Lowe's to return the 14" roof vent I recently purchased for our shed, and to special order the correct 12" size roof vent. We went to Rally's for lunch. As always at Rally's ... atrocious service, excellent food ! After lunch we shopped at the 99¢ Only Store, and finally ... < sigh > ... Wal-Mart.
Back at home we went to check on Carol Mae's foster puppy, then I connected and configured our satellite dish and receiver. It's a semi-annual chore I don't like doing, mostly because it usually doesn't go smoothly. Today was no exception !
For supper I barbecued marinated steaks with foil wrapped packets of potatoes, carrots and onions. MMMMM ... simple but good !
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
Joanne went out shopping by herself this morning. I began work on removing the Arizona room's snap-on vinyl walls. By lunch time I had removed the "end" wall panels and needed help to finish removing the long "side" wall panels.
By the time I was finished lunch Joanne had returned home. I napped briefly while Joanne began our Christmas decorating. She helped me remove the Arizona room's "side" wall panels, then we worked together to complete our Christmas decorating. We took Bo for a lap around the seven acre dog park, then went out for dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant with Laszlo and Gail, our friends from Kamloops, B.C.
Every year we receive one old fashioned "snail mail" Christmas card. It arrived today.
Thank you for the Christmas card, Julie.
DSK
We had a long, tiring, busy day of "return home" chores. Our yard is overrun with Goat's Head Cacti, a ground creeping vine type of plant with tiny buds, each with a couple of very sharp little quills, hence the name "Goat's Head". They are deadly to dogs' feet ! And the soles of our shoes. Joanne spent the entire day weeding them out of our yard. And she's only about half done ! I think our days of "no herbicide spraying" on our lot are over !
I lent my very sharp machete to a new neighbour who just bought the lot across the street. The cacti on their lot are so large that he had to trim them by whackin' 'em with my machete. HA HA HA ! At 5 PM we took Bo for a walk around the dog park. At 6 PM we went to the regular weekly ice cream social where we chatted with old friends Charles and Coralee.
Monday ; Sunny, chilly, windy.
Another long, tiring day of "return home" chores. Joanne finished weeding the yard late this afternoon after two full days of working on it. Her hands look like hell ! I appreciate her efforts. Well done, dear, thank you. I spent the day doing repairs. Our Arizona room roof sustained some damage during a violent summer storm.
Tuesday ; Sunny and chilly. I guess winter has arrived in Yuma.
We got a late start to our day again. My cold is almost over but I'm suffering from fatigue and low stamina. Part of the fatigue is because I'm not sleeping well. Because all night long Joanne is coughing and hoarking and snorting and making all those other ugly throat noises that she makes when she has a cold ... < sigh >. Yes, yes ... not only have I had two colds since we left home three months ago ... I've passed both of them on to Joanne.
This afternoon we went to the Humane Society for our first volunteer shift of this winter season. Our friend and neighbour Carol Mae came along. Joanne did "cat cuddling". Carol Mae and I did dog walking. At the end of our two hour "shift" we were tired.
Wednesday ; Los Algodones, Baja California, Mexico
Sunny and chilly, high temperature of 62º F.
This morning we headed for Los Algodones, Mexico, for dental appointments. BUT ... due to Joanne having a cold, I persuaded her to cancel her appointment today. SO ... while I went for a dental cleaning, she went for a pedicure. AND ... while I was having my teeth cleaned by a hygienist, my periodontist had to leave unexpectedly. HMPH ! SO ... my periodontal examination was postponed ! When my cleaning was completed
I rescheduled my periodontal examination and Joanne's cleaning and examination for two weeks from today.
After my dental cleaning and Joanne's pedicure were completed we went for lunch to our favourite little "restaurant" in Los Algodones. After lunch we returned to the border, eager to get some chores and errands done back in Yuma. This was our fourth time crossing from Mexico back into the United States in the last month and a half, and I have a suspicion. Our border crossings have been so fast and painless, with thinly veiled contempt by the Customs & Border Patrol agents, I suspect that they have been advised to "keep hands off" the Canadians returning to the U.S. from Mexican border / tourist towns.
Once back in Yuma we went to Pep Boys to return an item, to Lowe's to purchase an item, and finally, Albertsons to buy groceries. Once back home we took Bo for a walk around the dog park perimeter before it got dark outside. We spent the evening watching the three hour season finale of Survivor.
Thursday ; Sunny and cool. It was a long, tiring day of moving from Elsie the truck camper into Harvey the fifth wheel trailer.
This morning our neighbour / friend Carol Mae came over to show us her new "foster" puppy, a six week old ... who knows ? A cute little female, probably a Chihuahua / Terrier mix, black with a small white patch on her chest. A "tuxedo" ! Carol Mae will care for the puppy for at least a couple of weeks, until it's old enough to go back to the Humane Society and be put into the adoption kennels.
Joanne "moved" everything that needed to be removed from the truck camper into the Arizona room. I prepared the truck camper for storage. Right after lunch we drove to Kofa Ko-op's storage area and unloaded the camper off Lanoire the truck. I installed the fifth wheel hitch into the truck and we hitched up to the fifth wheel trailer. On the way back to our lot we stopped at the park's air compressor and refilled the trailer's tires with air. We got backed into our lot, then I worked on outside chores while Joanne worked on inside chores, including "moving" from the Arizona room back into the trailer. I was not quite finished with outside set up chores when darkness fell. < sigh >
Harvey the fifth wheel trailer is showing his age ! Sitting unused in the brutal summer heat here is taking its toll !
Friday ; Sunny and cool. We spent most of the day running shopping errands.
First stop after heading out this morning was Peanut Patch, the local peanut farm and store to buy some freshly made peanut butter. Then over to Arizona MarketPlace where I needed to buy a few hardware items at Wally's World. We bumped into one of our old acquaintances from SKP BC Okanagan Chapter 33. Working ! I strenuously object to Canadians working illegally in the United States !
Next stop was Lowe's to return the 14" roof vent I recently purchased for our shed, and to special order the correct 12" size roof vent. We went to Rally's for lunch. As always at Rally's ... atrocious service, excellent food ! After lunch we shopped at the 99¢ Only Store, and finally ... < sigh > ... Wal-Mart.
Back at home we went to check on Carol Mae's foster puppy, then I connected and configured our satellite dish and receiver. It's a semi-annual chore I don't like doing, mostly because it usually doesn't go smoothly. Today was no exception !
For supper I barbecued marinated steaks with foil wrapped packets of potatoes, carrots and onions. MMMMM ... simple but good !
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
Joanne went out shopping by herself this morning. I began work on removing the Arizona room's snap-on vinyl walls. By lunch time I had removed the "end" wall panels and needed help to finish removing the long "side" wall panels.
By the time I was finished lunch Joanne had returned home. I napped briefly while Joanne began our Christmas decorating. She helped me remove the Arizona room's "side" wall panels, then we worked together to complete our Christmas decorating. We took Bo for a lap around the seven acre dog park, then went out for dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant with Laszlo and Gail, our friends from Kamloops, B.C.
Every year we receive one old fashioned "snail mail" Christmas card. It arrived today.
Thank you for the Christmas card, Julie.
DSK
Sunday, December 13, 2015
December 6 to 12, 2015 ; San Antonio, Texas to Yuma, Arizona
Sunday ; San Antonio to Interstate 10 mile marker 310 rest area, Texas
Sunny and warm today. Cold tonight in the West Texas desert.
Today we formed very unfavourable opinions of Texas, particularly San Antonio ;
Last night when we arrived at the Wal-Mart in San Antonio the camper's battery was near dead. This morning it was dead. Wal-Mart did not have any deep cycle RV batteries. I'm going to try to survive without replacing the camper's battery until Tuesday in El Paso, when I can buy exactly the battery I want.
While I removed the battery from the camper this morning to attempt to revive it ... I was unsuccessful ... Joanne went into Wal-Mart to buy me some cold medication. She was in there for an hour ! And came out without it ! ! ! To make a very long story short ... the clerks in Wal-Mart in San Antonio are stupid ! AND ... the U.S. government, in its infinite wisdom, has made it impossible for a Canadian ( or any other non-U.S. citizen ) to buy certain cold medications ! ! !
Keeping your Homeland Secure ... one box of Advil Cold and Sinus at a time ! ! ! ! !
Before leaving San Antonio we refilled with diesel and freshwater. We drove north through San Antonio on Interstate 35 and Interstate 10, then headed west out of the city on Interstate 10. We had lunch in a rest area. Later in the afternoon I had a brief nap in another rest area. Finally, we stopped for the night, half an hour after nightfall, at another rest area.
Today was the first of what will probably be three boring days of driving across the scruffy desert of West Texas. And it's not made any easier by how miserable this cold is making me feel !
Monday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 310 rest area to Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas
Sunny and warm. Another boring day of driving across the endless scruffy desert of West Texas.
We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. We stopped in Fort Stockton to refill the camper's freshwater tank, refill with diesel, and buy a loaf of bread. What a scruffy desert town ! We stopped at a rest area to have lunch. We stopped again at a rest area to boondock overnight.
My cold symptoms have finally begun to lessen. I did not feel as miserable today as yesterday.
When I took Bo out for his bed time bathroom walk I met two young men from France. They were parked behind us, in an old camper van bearing Quebec license plates. They had spent the summer working in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and were now on their way to Baja California, Mexico. They wanted to chat, and ask questions about travel in Mexico. I spent about an hour and a half talking with them. When I returned into our camper, Joanne was very angry with me for spending that long outside without explaining to her where I was and why. Sorry !
Tuesday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas to Deming, New Mexico
Sunny and mild. The camper’s battery is “hanging in there”. So ... we did not stop in El Paso to buy a new battery for the camper as previously planned.
We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. In about half an hour we reached El Paso. I stopped at Flying J to refill with fresh water and dump our waste holding tanks. A few minutes after getting back onto the Interstate the traffic ground to halt. We were in a traffic gridlock that lasted over an hour and a half due to a multi-vehicle accident a few miles ahead.
Shortly after crossing from Texas into New Mexico we stopped to refill with diesel and have lunch. We continued westbound on Interstate 10 until we reached Deming where we checked into Dream Catcher SKP RV Park. I spent a couple of hours in the clubhouse working on my laptop getting caught up on online work including posting last week's entry to my blog.
Wednesday ; Deming, New Mexico to Hot Well Dunes, Arizona
Sunny and warm.
We left Dream Catcher SKP RV Park this morning and continued heading west on Interstate 10. We crossed from New Mexico into Arizona and stopped in Bowie to have lunch ... in a cemetery parking lot. We headed north from Bowie on a wide, good condition sand road for 19 miles across the desert to Hot Well Dunes BLM ( Bureau of Land Management OR Boomers with Lots of Money ) Recreation Site.
We were told about Hot Well Dunes' hot tubs by a man from Minnesota, in the hot tub at Kenwood RV Resort in La Feria, Texas a few weeks ago. Almost a hundred years ago, while searching / drilling for oil, an underground hot aquifer was struck instead of oil. Ever since there has been a "hot well" bringing hot water to the surface for hot tubs. The BLM has developed a small unserviced campsite here, with two concrete hot tubs, and solar powered pumps bringing hot water to the surface, to the hot tubs, all day long.
We found our way here, found the hot tubs, found a campsite that we liked, and settled in ... around 3 PM. We went to soak in a hot tub for the rest of the afternoon, chatting with a Canadian woman from Saskatchewan and an American man from California. We knew the afternoon soak was over as soon as the water stopped flowing into the hot tub. It meant that the sun had set low enough that the solar powered pumps were no longer working. No more hot water being brought up from deep underground. And the existing water in the tub began to cool rapidly. HA HA HA !
I set up our little barbecue on the ramada shaded picnic table on our site to barbecue beef ribs for supper. The only thing missing from our evening was the ability to watch Survivor. I didn't think it was likely that we could receive any "over the air" signals this far out in the desert, but ... I had nothing to lose. I raised the roof top antenna, started up our generator ( because the camper's battery is too close to dead to be able to power the inverter ) and set the TV to scan. WOW ... thirteen channels ! From Tucson, which is over a hundred miles away ! But ... I guess the TV signals travel far over flat desert. It took two scans, but I found a weak CBS signal. WOO-HOO ! Survivor !
We took Bo for a fun "hide and seek" obedience session in the sand dunes surrounding us. We stood outside and watched the gorgeous desert sunset. Joanne made a salad and baked potatoes in the camper oven. I barbecued beef ribs outside. Good supper ! We ate while watching Survivor.
Thursday ; Hot Well Dunes to Benson, Arizona
Sunny and warm. Welcome to Arizona !
We had a late start to our day. Before leaving the Hot Well Dunes BLM Recreation Site we went for a long soak in the hot tub. We left about noon. We drove 19 miles back to Interstate 10, then continued heading west. We left the Interstate and drove through Wilcox looking for a restaurant that we had read about, but we were unable to find it. We continued on to Benson where we stopped in the parking lot of Safeway and had a very late lunch.
After lunch we refilled our five gallon water jug at a refill machine outside the store, then went inside to do some grocery shopping. After grocery shopping we went driving through town looking for cheap / reasonably priced diesel fuel. Didn't find any. I'll refill tomorrow in Tucson. Found a propane refill business and stopped to refill an empty tank. Was served by a stubborn and ignorant old man who was unable to read the label on our propane tank specifying "horizontal fill" instructions. Apparently he didn't have his reading glasses. He was unwilling to accept my instructions and was determined to fill the tank incorrectly in a vertical position. I would not allow him to do that. We ended up in a profanity filled shouting match when he suggested that I "take your tank and return to Canada".
We checked into Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park. We selected a site in their unserviced area then took Bo for a walk in the desert surrounding the RV park. We refilled with freshwater and dumped our waste holding tanks then went to the clubhouse to get some work done online using Wi-Fi. We have our plans and map directions for tomorrow in Tucson.
Friday ; Benson to Tucson to Casa Grande, Arizona
Sunny and warm.
We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank again before leaving Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park around 11 AM this morning. We reached Tucson less than an hour later. First stop was to refill with diesel. Next stop was ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... TRADER JOE’ S ! ! ! Our annual Christmas shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. HA HA HA ! Over a hundred bucks worth of impulse purchased exotic / gourmet foods and snacks.
Across the street from Trader Joe’s was a BMO Harris Bank. HUH ? Is that the same as BMO ( Bank of Montreal ) in Canada ? Could I access my BMO accounts and services here ? I drove across the street and went inside to find out. Well ... yes ... no ... sort of ... not really ! < rolling eyes >
We drove across the street ... again ... to a mall where there was a Beyond Bread Bakery & Restaurant. We wanted to have lunch there after reading a favourable article. After finding a parking spot ... not that easy ... I noticed that I was parked near a luggage store whose name rang a bell with me. Recently I was online checking the lifetime warranty and repair services offered by Briggs & Riley Luggage. I have a Briggs & Riley travel wash kit that is well over thirty years old. It was in need of a minor repair.
I recognized the name of the luggage shop I was parked near as an authorized repair dealer for Briggs & Riley. I went inside, had a chat with the shop owner / manager, and he offered to have his repair man fix my wash kit within an hour, while we had lunch. WOW ! How excellent is that ? ! ?
We had a very nice lunch at the bakery restaurant. When we were done we returned to the luggage store, and my wash kit was repaired. WOW ! ! ! Great ! Thank you to Rainey’s Luggage in Tucson for the immediate and excellent repair service and to Briggs & Riley for the lifetime warranty !
The luggage shop owner / manager gave us directions to our next stop ; Target. We were looking for an advertised cell phone special. The Target store that we went to in Tucson did not have it. The young woman working the cell phone department was not very knowledgeable, and not very helpful. We’ll try Target in Yuma tomorrow, probably. The advertised special expires tomorrow.
We found our way back to Interstate 10 and were out of Tucson about 4:30 PM continuing west. An hour later we arrived at RoVer’s Roost SKP RV Park in Casa Grande. By the time we got parked and took Bo for a walk, it was dark.
I worked in the clubhouse on my computer for an hour or so, then Joanne joined me and we watched the finale of Amazing Race on the TV in the clubhouse. Afterwards we returned to the camper for a late, light supper. A few drops of rain fell ... rare event in Casa Grande ... while we were having supper.
Saturday ; Casa Grande to Yuma, Arizona
Cloudy and chilly in Casa Grande in the morning. Sunny and warm in Yuma in the afternoon. WELCOME HOME !
This morning we refilled with fresh water and left RoVer's Roost SKP RV Park about
11 AM. We returned to Interstate 8 and continued west. Around noon we stopped in Gila Bend to dump our waste holding tanks at Holt Shell. AND ... around 1 PM we stopped at ... < insert drum roll here > ... DATELAND ! FOR DATE SHAKES ! ! !
Bo was VERY pleased to have a date shake for lunch. HA HA HA ! So were we !
We arrived in The Foothills, on the eastern edge of Yuma around 3 PM. We refilled with diesel at Fry's and continued home to Kofa Ko-op, arriving about 3:30 PM. We got settled in our site, then friends began stopping by to say hello and chat. We visited with our friend Carol Mae, whom we haven't seen since spring 2014, until it was dark.
DSK
Sunny and warm today. Cold tonight in the West Texas desert.
Today we formed very unfavourable opinions of Texas, particularly San Antonio ;
- the store clerks are stupid !
- the drivers are rude and dangerously aggressive, especially the Hispanics and < ahem > "African Americans" ! Yes, yes, I know that sounds racist. I'm unrepentant. Don't waste your time sending me a "flame" comment.
- the highways are filthy, particularly with a lot of road kill.
- the rest areas are obnoxiously filthy ! Does no one in Texas know how to use a garbage can ? ! ?
Last night when we arrived at the Wal-Mart in San Antonio the camper's battery was near dead. This morning it was dead. Wal-Mart did not have any deep cycle RV batteries. I'm going to try to survive without replacing the camper's battery until Tuesday in El Paso, when I can buy exactly the battery I want.
While I removed the battery from the camper this morning to attempt to revive it ... I was unsuccessful ... Joanne went into Wal-Mart to buy me some cold medication. She was in there for an hour ! And came out without it ! ! ! To make a very long story short ... the clerks in Wal-Mart in San Antonio are stupid ! AND ... the U.S. government, in its infinite wisdom, has made it impossible for a Canadian ( or any other non-U.S. citizen ) to buy certain cold medications ! ! !
Keeping your Homeland Secure ... one box of Advil Cold and Sinus at a time ! ! ! ! !
Before leaving San Antonio we refilled with diesel and freshwater. We drove north through San Antonio on Interstate 35 and Interstate 10, then headed west out of the city on Interstate 10. We had lunch in a rest area. Later in the afternoon I had a brief nap in another rest area. Finally, we stopped for the night, half an hour after nightfall, at another rest area.
Today was the first of what will probably be three boring days of driving across the scruffy desert of West Texas. And it's not made any easier by how miserable this cold is making me feel !
Monday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 310 rest area to Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas
Sunny and warm. Another boring day of driving across the endless scruffy desert of West Texas.
We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. We stopped in Fort Stockton to refill the camper's freshwater tank, refill with diesel, and buy a loaf of bread. What a scruffy desert town ! We stopped at a rest area to have lunch. We stopped again at a rest area to boondock overnight.
My cold symptoms have finally begun to lessen. I did not feel as miserable today as yesterday.
When I took Bo out for his bed time bathroom walk I met two young men from France. They were parked behind us, in an old camper van bearing Quebec license plates. They had spent the summer working in Banff, Alberta, Canada, and were now on their way to Baja California, Mexico. They wanted to chat, and ask questions about travel in Mexico. I spent about an hour and a half talking with them. When I returned into our camper, Joanne was very angry with me for spending that long outside without explaining to her where I was and why. Sorry !
Tuesday ; Interstate 10 mile marker 45 rest area, Texas to Deming, New Mexico
Sunny and mild. The camper’s battery is “hanging in there”. So ... we did not stop in El Paso to buy a new battery for the camper as previously planned.
We left the rest area this morning and continued westbound on Interstate 10. In about half an hour we reached El Paso. I stopped at Flying J to refill with fresh water and dump our waste holding tanks. A few minutes after getting back onto the Interstate the traffic ground to halt. We were in a traffic gridlock that lasted over an hour and a half due to a multi-vehicle accident a few miles ahead.
Shortly after crossing from Texas into New Mexico we stopped to refill with diesel and have lunch. We continued westbound on Interstate 10 until we reached Deming where we checked into Dream Catcher SKP RV Park. I spent a couple of hours in the clubhouse working on my laptop getting caught up on online work including posting last week's entry to my blog.
Wednesday ; Deming, New Mexico to Hot Well Dunes, Arizona
Sunny and warm.
We left Dream Catcher SKP RV Park this morning and continued heading west on Interstate 10. We crossed from New Mexico into Arizona and stopped in Bowie to have lunch ... in a cemetery parking lot. We headed north from Bowie on a wide, good condition sand road for 19 miles across the desert to Hot Well Dunes BLM ( Bureau of Land Management OR Boomers with Lots of Money ) Recreation Site.
We were told about Hot Well Dunes' hot tubs by a man from Minnesota, in the hot tub at Kenwood RV Resort in La Feria, Texas a few weeks ago. Almost a hundred years ago, while searching / drilling for oil, an underground hot aquifer was struck instead of oil. Ever since there has been a "hot well" bringing hot water to the surface for hot tubs. The BLM has developed a small unserviced campsite here, with two concrete hot tubs, and solar powered pumps bringing hot water to the surface, to the hot tubs, all day long.
We found our way here, found the hot tubs, found a campsite that we liked, and settled in ... around 3 PM. We went to soak in a hot tub for the rest of the afternoon, chatting with a Canadian woman from Saskatchewan and an American man from California. We knew the afternoon soak was over as soon as the water stopped flowing into the hot tub. It meant that the sun had set low enough that the solar powered pumps were no longer working. No more hot water being brought up from deep underground. And the existing water in the tub began to cool rapidly. HA HA HA !
I set up our little barbecue on the ramada shaded picnic table on our site to barbecue beef ribs for supper. The only thing missing from our evening was the ability to watch Survivor. I didn't think it was likely that we could receive any "over the air" signals this far out in the desert, but ... I had nothing to lose. I raised the roof top antenna, started up our generator ( because the camper's battery is too close to dead to be able to power the inverter ) and set the TV to scan. WOW ... thirteen channels ! From Tucson, which is over a hundred miles away ! But ... I guess the TV signals travel far over flat desert. It took two scans, but I found a weak CBS signal. WOO-HOO ! Survivor !
We took Bo for a fun "hide and seek" obedience session in the sand dunes surrounding us. We stood outside and watched the gorgeous desert sunset. Joanne made a salad and baked potatoes in the camper oven. I barbecued beef ribs outside. Good supper ! We ate while watching Survivor.
Thursday ; Hot Well Dunes to Benson, Arizona
Sunny and warm. Welcome to Arizona !
We had a late start to our day. Before leaving the Hot Well Dunes BLM Recreation Site we went for a long soak in the hot tub. We left about noon. We drove 19 miles back to Interstate 10, then continued heading west. We left the Interstate and drove through Wilcox looking for a restaurant that we had read about, but we were unable to find it. We continued on to Benson where we stopped in the parking lot of Safeway and had a very late lunch.
After lunch we refilled our five gallon water jug at a refill machine outside the store, then went inside to do some grocery shopping. After grocery shopping we went driving through town looking for cheap / reasonably priced diesel fuel. Didn't find any. I'll refill tomorrow in Tucson. Found a propane refill business and stopped to refill an empty tank. Was served by a stubborn and ignorant old man who was unable to read the label on our propane tank specifying "horizontal fill" instructions. Apparently he didn't have his reading glasses. He was unwilling to accept my instructions and was determined to fill the tank incorrectly in a vertical position. I would not allow him to do that. We ended up in a profanity filled shouting match when he suggested that I "take your tank and return to Canada".
We checked into Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park. We selected a site in their unserviced area then took Bo for a walk in the desert surrounding the RV park. We refilled with freshwater and dumped our waste holding tanks then went to the clubhouse to get some work done online using Wi-Fi. We have our plans and map directions for tomorrow in Tucson.
Friday ; Benson to Tucson to Casa Grande, Arizona
Sunny and warm.
We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank again before leaving Saguaro Co-op SKP RV Park around 11 AM this morning. We reached Tucson less than an hour later. First stop was to refill with diesel. Next stop was ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ... TRADER JOE’ S ! ! ! Our annual Christmas shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. HA HA HA ! Over a hundred bucks worth of impulse purchased exotic / gourmet foods and snacks.
Across the street from Trader Joe’s was a BMO Harris Bank. HUH ? Is that the same as BMO ( Bank of Montreal ) in Canada ? Could I access my BMO accounts and services here ? I drove across the street and went inside to find out. Well ... yes ... no ... sort of ... not really ! < rolling eyes >
We drove across the street ... again ... to a mall where there was a Beyond Bread Bakery & Restaurant. We wanted to have lunch there after reading a favourable article. After finding a parking spot ... not that easy ... I noticed that I was parked near a luggage store whose name rang a bell with me. Recently I was online checking the lifetime warranty and repair services offered by Briggs & Riley Luggage. I have a Briggs & Riley travel wash kit that is well over thirty years old. It was in need of a minor repair.
I recognized the name of the luggage shop I was parked near as an authorized repair dealer for Briggs & Riley. I went inside, had a chat with the shop owner / manager, and he offered to have his repair man fix my wash kit within an hour, while we had lunch. WOW ! How excellent is that ? ! ?
We had a very nice lunch at the bakery restaurant. When we were done we returned to the luggage store, and my wash kit was repaired. WOW ! ! ! Great ! Thank you to Rainey’s Luggage in Tucson for the immediate and excellent repair service and to Briggs & Riley for the lifetime warranty !
The luggage shop owner / manager gave us directions to our next stop ; Target. We were looking for an advertised cell phone special. The Target store that we went to in Tucson did not have it. The young woman working the cell phone department was not very knowledgeable, and not very helpful. We’ll try Target in Yuma tomorrow, probably. The advertised special expires tomorrow.
We found our way back to Interstate 10 and were out of Tucson about 4:30 PM continuing west. An hour later we arrived at RoVer’s Roost SKP RV Park in Casa Grande. By the time we got parked and took Bo for a walk, it was dark.
I worked in the clubhouse on my computer for an hour or so, then Joanne joined me and we watched the finale of Amazing Race on the TV in the clubhouse. Afterwards we returned to the camper for a late, light supper. A few drops of rain fell ... rare event in Casa Grande ... while we were having supper.
Saturday ; Casa Grande to Yuma, Arizona
Cloudy and chilly in Casa Grande in the morning. Sunny and warm in Yuma in the afternoon. WELCOME HOME !
This morning we refilled with fresh water and left RoVer's Roost SKP RV Park about
11 AM. We returned to Interstate 8 and continued west. Around noon we stopped in Gila Bend to dump our waste holding tanks at Holt Shell. AND ... around 1 PM we stopped at ... < insert drum roll here > ... DATELAND ! FOR DATE SHAKES ! ! !
Bo was VERY pleased to have a date shake for lunch. HA HA HA ! So were we !
We arrived in The Foothills, on the eastern edge of Yuma around 3 PM. We refilled with diesel at Fry's and continued home to Kofa Ko-op, arriving about 3:30 PM. We got settled in our site, then friends began stopping by to say hello and chat. We visited with our friend Carol Mae, whom we haven't seen since spring 2014, until it was dark.
DSK
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
November 29 to December 5, 2015 ; La Feria to San Antonio, Texas
Sunday ; Cloudy and chilly. SO ... a lazy day ! Read and napped this afternoon. Went to the pool and hot tub late in the afternoon. Went to the ice cream social at supper time.
Monday ; McAllen, Alamo, and La Feria
Cloudy and cold with a bit of intermittent drizzle.
Late this morning we headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen, to SAS Shoes, to exchange the sandals I bought on Black Friday for a different size. Then we drove up and down N.10th St. checking out three barbecue restaurants. We chose Lone Star BBQ for lunch. It was very good, although not cheap.
Next was Wal-Mart in Alamo. After Wal-Martin', while I loaded our purchases into the truck, Joanne quickly shopped for an item at Dollar Tree, then we refilled with diesel at Murphy U.S.A. Fuel Bar. Back to La Feria where we refilled our five gallon water jug before returning "home" to Kenwood RV Resort. As usual, we spent the late part of the afternoon in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.
Tuesday ; Brownsville and Harlingen
Cloudy, chilly, drizzle ... again.
I began to feel ill this morning, and it worsened as the day progressed. As I type this at midnight, I'm fairly certain I have a cold ... again !
We got up earlier than usual so that we could leave at 9:45 AM with Bill and Lynne, in their car, to the Mexico border crossing at Brownsville, for a tour of the historic site of Fort Brown. There was nothing there, except for a National Park Ranger who met us there at 11 AM, beside the dual campuses of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas Southernmost College, on the banks of the Rio Grande River, at the southernmost point of the United States. The site of the fort is now an abandoned golf course. The park ranger met us there ( by pre-arrangement by Bill ) to give us a history lesson on Fort Brown, significant in the Texas - Mexico war of the mid 1800's. History lessons on old forts is not really my "cup of tea", especially when nothing remains except an abandoned golf course.
Afterwards we drove to the north side of Brownsville to Palo Alto National Park, another Texas-Mexico war site. This site, staffed by the ranger who met us at Fort Brown, has a Visitor Center with some interesting historical displays. We watched a video on the Texas-Mexico war, then had our picnic lunch on the outdoor patio. BRRRRR !
On the way back home we stopped in Harlingen to buy some dog food at PetsMart. Once back home I went to bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.
Wednesday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico ... and Weslaco, Texas
Cloudy and mild.
Left home at 11 AM, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Mexico. After crossing the border we walked through Nuevo Progreso to El Salon, the beauty salon where
I noticed men having pedicures on our previous two visits to Nuevo Progreso. I had my hair cut and my beard trimmed by Andres, then had a pedicure done by Lizeth. WOW ! ! ! It was GREAT ! ! ! First pedicure of my life. Won't be the last ! While that was going on Bill got a haircut. Joanne and Lynne went browsing.
We had lunch at Red Snapper. Good, but ... not as good as Arturro's. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town, browsing, and ... buying chocolate bars. HA HA HA ! Bill and Lynne bought Mexican chocolate and candy filled Christmas stockings for their grandchildren. Apparently ... Santa bought four ... count 'em, FOUR ... boxes of Nugs Crujientes chocolate bars for Joanne ! HA HA HA !
On the way back home we stopped at the farmer's market in Weslaco to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables. Once back home at Kenwood RV Resort we went to the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne until it was time for supper and Survivor.
Thursday ; La Feria, McAllen, and Hidalgo
Sunny ... finally ... and mild. Day three of my cold. Not feeling well !
I had a lazy morning and afternoon, doing some simple chores, reading and napping. Joanne was busy, doing laundry in the morning and giving Bo a bath in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon we drove into La Feria to buy some milk at the grocery store in town, and then we went to Family Dollar to check out an advertised special. Yes, yes,
I wanted it, so ... Santa will be bringing it to me for Christmas.
At suppertime we headed east on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen. First stop was H-E-B to buy some bolillos ( sandwich buns ). Then we went for dinner at Furr's Fresh Buffet, a large Texas based chain restaurant. It was very good. Not cheap. After supper we drove south to Hidalgo, a border crossing town at the "upper" / west end of the Rio Grande Valley, to attend their annual "Festival Of Lights". As we arrived in Hidalgo we saw a panaderia that was open late, so ... HA HA HA ... of course we stocked up on pan dulce.
For Joanne, Hidalgo's Festival Of Lights was the highlight of our month in the Rio Grande Valley. We watched a local high school's Grupo Folklorico perform Mexican folk dances and "Christmas ballet". Then we took a tram tour of the astounding Christmas light displays all around Hidalgo, estimated to be over three million Christmas lights ! It was great ! However ... by the time the tram tour ended at 9 PM, I was feeling very worn out and ill. We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort about 10 PM.
Friday ; Edinburg
Sunny and warm.
Today we prepared for departure tomorrow. I settled our electricity billing at the park office. We mounted Elsie the camper back onto Lanoire the truck. I made a series of phone calls to doctors back in British Columbia. None of those calls went well. Very frustrating.
Late in the afternoon we left Kenwood RV Resort, heading west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2, then north on Hwy. 281 to Edinburg. We stopped at H-E-B to buy some groceries, then bought some chicken for dinner across the street at Church's Chicken. Our plan was to have supper in the camper once we were in the parking lot of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus Performing Arts Complex where we were going to attend a Mariachi Orchestra Concert. Didn't make it ! ! ! How disappointing !
Before we reached the cross street leading to the University we encountered road closures due to a parade. We tried to found our way around the road closures / detours, but we just got entangled in traffic gridlock. In the dark. In an unfamiliar area. After half an hour or so we gave up. < sigh > We found our way back to the parking lot of H-E-B.
I raised the camper's TV antenna, plugged the TV into the inverter, and we ate our chicken dinners while watching Amazing Race.
We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort at 9 PM.
Saturday ; La Feria to San Antonio, Texas
Sunny and warm.
This morning we prepared for departure, said our "goodbyes" to Bill, Lynne, and Windsor, and departed Kenwood RV Resort at 11 AM. We headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to Edinburg, then north on Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C. We stopped for lunch at a highway rest area. Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C ended / merged with Interstate 37. We arrived at San Antonio a few minutes after dark and found our way to a
Wal-Mart where we boondocked overnight. After supper in the camper we went
Wal-Martin'. On a Saturday night. With the entire population of San Antonio out Christmas shopping. At this Wal-Mart ! < sigh >
DSK
Monday ; McAllen, Alamo, and La Feria
Cloudy and cold with a bit of intermittent drizzle.
Late this morning we headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen, to SAS Shoes, to exchange the sandals I bought on Black Friday for a different size. Then we drove up and down N.10th St. checking out three barbecue restaurants. We chose Lone Star BBQ for lunch. It was very good, although not cheap.
Next was Wal-Mart in Alamo. After Wal-Martin', while I loaded our purchases into the truck, Joanne quickly shopped for an item at Dollar Tree, then we refilled with diesel at Murphy U.S.A. Fuel Bar. Back to La Feria where we refilled our five gallon water jug before returning "home" to Kenwood RV Resort. As usual, we spent the late part of the afternoon in the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne.
Tuesday ; Brownsville and Harlingen
Cloudy, chilly, drizzle ... again.
I began to feel ill this morning, and it worsened as the day progressed. As I type this at midnight, I'm fairly certain I have a cold ... again !
We got up earlier than usual so that we could leave at 9:45 AM with Bill and Lynne, in their car, to the Mexico border crossing at Brownsville, for a tour of the historic site of Fort Brown. There was nothing there, except for a National Park Ranger who met us there at 11 AM, beside the dual campuses of University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas Southernmost College, on the banks of the Rio Grande River, at the southernmost point of the United States. The site of the fort is now an abandoned golf course. The park ranger met us there ( by pre-arrangement by Bill ) to give us a history lesson on Fort Brown, significant in the Texas - Mexico war of the mid 1800's. History lessons on old forts is not really my "cup of tea", especially when nothing remains except an abandoned golf course.
Afterwards we drove to the north side of Brownsville to Palo Alto National Park, another Texas-Mexico war site. This site, staffed by the ranger who met us at Fort Brown, has a Visitor Center with some interesting historical displays. We watched a video on the Texas-Mexico war, then had our picnic lunch on the outdoor patio. BRRRRR !
On the way back home we stopped in Harlingen to buy some dog food at PetsMart. Once back home I went to bed and slept for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening.
Wednesday ; Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas, Mexico ... and Weslaco, Texas
Cloudy and mild.
Left home at 11 AM, in our truck, with Bill and Lynne, for a day in Mexico. After crossing the border we walked through Nuevo Progreso to El Salon, the beauty salon where
I noticed men having pedicures on our previous two visits to Nuevo Progreso. I had my hair cut and my beard trimmed by Andres, then had a pedicure done by Lizeth. WOW ! ! ! It was GREAT ! ! ! First pedicure of my life. Won't be the last ! While that was going on Bill got a haircut. Joanne and Lynne went browsing.
We had lunch at Red Snapper. Good, but ... not as good as Arturro's. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around town, browsing, and ... buying chocolate bars. HA HA HA ! Bill and Lynne bought Mexican chocolate and candy filled Christmas stockings for their grandchildren. Apparently ... Santa bought four ... count 'em, FOUR ... boxes of Nugs Crujientes chocolate bars for Joanne ! HA HA HA !
On the way back home we stopped at the farmer's market in Weslaco to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables. Once back home at Kenwood RV Resort we went to the swimming pool and hot tub with Bill and Lynne until it was time for supper and Survivor.
Thursday ; La Feria, McAllen, and Hidalgo
Sunny ... finally ... and mild. Day three of my cold. Not feeling well !
I had a lazy morning and afternoon, doing some simple chores, reading and napping. Joanne was busy, doing laundry in the morning and giving Bo a bath in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon we drove into La Feria to buy some milk at the grocery store in town, and then we went to Family Dollar to check out an advertised special. Yes, yes,
I wanted it, so ... Santa will be bringing it to me for Christmas.
At suppertime we headed east on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to McAllen. First stop was H-E-B to buy some bolillos ( sandwich buns ). Then we went for dinner at Furr's Fresh Buffet, a large Texas based chain restaurant. It was very good. Not cheap. After supper we drove south to Hidalgo, a border crossing town at the "upper" / west end of the Rio Grande Valley, to attend their annual "Festival Of Lights". As we arrived in Hidalgo we saw a panaderia that was open late, so ... HA HA HA ... of course we stocked up on pan dulce.
For Joanne, Hidalgo's Festival Of Lights was the highlight of our month in the Rio Grande Valley. We watched a local high school's Grupo Folklorico perform Mexican folk dances and "Christmas ballet". Then we took a tram tour of the astounding Christmas light displays all around Hidalgo, estimated to be over three million Christmas lights ! It was great ! However ... by the time the tram tour ended at 9 PM, I was feeling very worn out and ill. We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort about 10 PM.
Friday ; Edinburg
Sunny and warm.
Today we prepared for departure tomorrow. I settled our electricity billing at the park office. We mounted Elsie the camper back onto Lanoire the truck. I made a series of phone calls to doctors back in British Columbia. None of those calls went well. Very frustrating.
Late in the afternoon we left Kenwood RV Resort, heading west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2, then north on Hwy. 281 to Edinburg. We stopped at H-E-B to buy some groceries, then bought some chicken for dinner across the street at Church's Chicken. Our plan was to have supper in the camper once we were in the parking lot of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus Performing Arts Complex where we were going to attend a Mariachi Orchestra Concert. Didn't make it ! ! ! How disappointing !
Before we reached the cross street leading to the University we encountered road closures due to a parade. We tried to found our way around the road closures / detours, but we just got entangled in traffic gridlock. In the dark. In an unfamiliar area. After half an hour or so we gave up. < sigh > We found our way back to the parking lot of H-E-B.
I raised the camper's TV antenna, plugged the TV into the inverter, and we ate our chicken dinners while watching Amazing Race.
We arrived back home at Kenwood RV Resort at 9 PM.
Saturday ; La Feria to San Antonio, Texas
Sunny and warm.
This morning we prepared for departure, said our "goodbyes" to Bill, Lynne, and Windsor, and departed Kenwood RV Resort at 11 AM. We headed west on Expressway 83 / Interstate 2 to Edinburg, then north on Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C. We stopped for lunch at a highway rest area. Hwy. 281 / Interstate 69C ended / merged with Interstate 37. We arrived at San Antonio a few minutes after dark and found our way to a
Wal-Mart where we boondocked overnight. After supper in the camper we went
Wal-Martin'. On a Saturday night. With the entire population of San Antonio out Christmas shopping. At this Wal-Mart ! < sigh >
DSK
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