Monthly Archives: April 2014

Escapees

When we’re dry camped, move days are easier. You don’t have hoses and power cords to deal with. Preparing to leave Lake Pleasant was really easy since we didn’t drop the trailer. In the morning, Donna walked to the pool and swam laps. She showered at the resort before walking back. While she was out, I tidied up the trailer and loaded the scooter.

Donna already had most of the interior packing done before leaving for the pool. When she returned at 10:40 AM she only had a few things left to do. We had the slides in, jacks up and engine running for an 11:00 AM departure. We drove west about 20 miles on the Carefree Highway to its end at the junction with US60. We turned north on US60 and drove about 10 miles to the town of Wickenburg.

I used to make this drive at least once a month when we lived in Mesa. My job included technical support for the Volkswagen dealers in Las Vegas and this was the route I traveled to Las Vegas. We planned to stop at the grocery store in Wickenburg for a few supplies. We came through the outskirts of town and it was mostly the same as I remembered it. Before we reached the old downtown area, where the grocery store is, there was a roundabout. This was new to me. The roundabout is the junction of US60 and US93. I turned out of the roundabout on US93, then I realized this was a bypass of the town.

A few miles up the road, there was another roundabout. I circled around there and returned to town. Finding parking for our rig downtown wasn’t easy. The Basha’s grocery store lot didn’t have room. We drove around the block and pulled up parallel to the curb over several diagonal parking spaces. We weren’t legally parked, but I thought we would be okay if we didn’t stay too long. We were next to a small park and noticed a sign for public restrooms. Donna and I decided a quick comfort stop was in order.

When we entered the building, I realized it was the City Hall and police station. I went into the police station and told the officer at the counter that I had parked my motorhome along the curb, but would only be there for a few minutes. He gave me the okey-doke and we walked over to the grocery store.

Donna bought mostly produce, but we also had a few heavy items. We stocked up on drinking water, beer and wine. We took the grocery cart across the street, past the police station to our coach. I quickly unloaded the cart and wheeled it back to the Basha’s store. While I was doing that, Donna made turkey-avocado wraps for lunch.

We got back on US93 north and drove another 10 miles or so to the junction of AZ89. We turned right there and drove another five miles to the North Ranch Escapees RV Park. The Escapees are an RV organization that offers many services to its members. They operate 19 RV parks across the country. Eight of the RV parks are what they call Rainbow Parks. Rainbow Parks allow non-members to stay and offer discounted rates to members. The remaining 11parks are called SKP Co-ops. You must be a member of Escapees to stay in an SKP Co-op.

We arrived at the park at 12:40PM. They close the office for lunch from noon to 1PM, so we had twenty minutes to kill. We walked into the RV park to look around. I saw an Alpine Coach! We haven’t run across too many of these on our travels, I think we’ve only seen one other and that was at Usery Park. We walked down to take a look and met the owner, Dave. Dave is from Portland, Oregon and has owned his 2005 Alpine Coach 40 FDTS since new. Actually, it had about 6,000 miles on it when he bought it. Western RV was using it as a show coach for various RV shows around the country. Dave bought it on his birthday at the Portland RV show. Dave is very enthusiastic about Alpine Coaches. He told us there were three more here in the park.

When we checked in, I joined the Escapees. We paid for three nights here. As a member, the rate for three nights with full hook-ups and tax was $60. Add that to $44 we paid for four nights at Lake Pleasant Harbor and another $22 for generator fuel and that comes to a the total of $126. That’s $18 per day for the last 7 days. Not bad.

We had to drop the trailer at our site before I backed the coach in. It took a bit of maneuvering to get things where I wanted them. While I was backing the trailer into place, the coach was blocking the road. A fire engine approached with lights flashing. Before I could move, he swung into our site and went around behind me. Quick thinking and a good move by the driver of the fire engine. Apparently someone had a medical emergency down the street from our site.

It was cloudy outside as we set up. The wind picked up and it was cool – about 75 degrees. Once we were set up, Donna wanted us to take a get-acquainted ride around the park on the scooter. Before I could unload the scooter, rain drops were falling. It wasn’t much of a shower. We waited a few minutes, then I unloaded the scooter.

We took a ride around the park and saw two of the Alpine Coaches Dave told us about. I didn’t see the third one.

When we returned, I tuned the Dish Network satellite in and found the Detroit Red Wings playoff game against the Boston Bruins. It was a tough game with great goal tending on both sides. In the end, Detroit prevailed 1-0. They play in Boston again tomorrow. The park has an Easter lunch scheduled at the club house, but I think I’ll stay home and watch the Formula One race and The Red Wings hockey game.

Last night Donna whipped up Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs. I’ve really come to like the boneless chicken thighs. The Asian glaze was spicy and very tasty.

Asian glazed chicken thighs

Although our present site is only about 50 miles away from Lake Pleasant, the elevation of 2,900 feet is higher here. The temperature here should be a little cooler.

Today, Donna will bike around the park. I want to take the scooter into the little town of Congress and poke around.

No Accessories

I started the day yesterday with a hearty breakfast. Donna made an omelette for me in her Pampered Chef microwave egg cooker. The omelette consisted of two eggs, grilled asparagus, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan cheese. She served it with fresh tomato wedges. Add a cup of coffee and my day was off to a great start.

Breakfast is served

Donna worked for awhile after breakfast while I wrote my post. Then we went down to the marina. We rented a two-seat kayak and paddled through the coves near our boondocking spot. We had fun on the water, but when you rent by the hour you have to be mindful of the time. This is distracting to me. I see a Sea Eagle kayak in our future.

Donna in front of the kayak on Lake Pleasant

We had lunch at the picnic table and our chipmunk friend joined us again. I know I shouldn’t feed wild animals, but he was so cute, I couldn’t help it. I gave him some of the whole wheat tortilla wrap I had for lunch.

The afternoon heated up. The temperature was in the low 90s. We went down to the pool. Donna took a dip in the pool, then we used the shower facilities. When we returned, I wanted to turn on the air conditioners. Before I did that, I checked the oil level on our Onan 7.5-kilowatt diesel generator. Our generator is mounted on rails at the front of the coach. To access the generator, the hydraulically actuated rails slide the front panel and generator out.

Generator access (file photo)

To operate the generator slide, the ignition switch must be in the accessory position to power the HWH hydraulic pump. After I checked the oil, I pushed the button to pull the generator slide back in. Nothing happened. The control panel for the HWH hydraulic pump wasn’t powered up. I went back outside and looked to see if any wire connectors pulled loose when the generator was moved out. I didn’t see anything out of place.

I came back inside and tried the blower fan. It didn’t have power either. This meant the problem was in the accessory circuit from the ignition switch, not the HWH control panel. I tried switching the key from off to the accessory position a few times. Nothing changed. I thought about it for a minute and realized I should hear a relay click when I go to the accessory position.

I pulled the kick panel off in front of the co-pilot seat. Western RV did us a big favor when they built Alpine Coaches. They labeled the wiring, relays, fuses and solenoids. With the panel off, I could see the large silver solenoid marked “Accessory Solenoid.” Sometimes solenoids can stick and don’t create the electrical contact they should. I gave the solenoid a tap with a screwdriver handle and turned the key again. Bingo! The panel lit up and I pulled the generator slide in.

Accessory solenoid at the bottom center

The park is filling up with campers here for the Easter weekend. Even our dry camping spot on the bluff has new arrivals. By evening, we had five new trailers pull in. I think today is a good day for us to move on.

Last night we claimed the picnic table and grilled teriyaki pork kabobs for dinner.

Kabobs on the grill

Teriyaki pork kabob with brown rice

One of our neighbors came over and chatted with us for awhile at the picnic table. I almost missed getting a shot of the sunset over the lake. We won’t see this view again until next year.

Sunset over the lake

We’re heading out this morning. I think we’ll stop and pick up a few groceries in Wickenburg, then continue on towards Congress and the Escapees RV Park.

Scorpion Bay

Yesterday, Donna started her day with what turned out to be about a 6-mile hike. She followed the dirt road down from the bluff to the water. The road wrapped around to the boat launch behind the point of the bluff where we are dry camped. She saw a dirt road leading up from the water on the other side of the boat launch ramp and decided to bushwack her way across a rocky slope to get to it.

This trail ended after about a quarter of a mile at the water’s edge of a cove. She saw a small building at the end of a peninsula and figured she would set her sights on getting there to check it out, which meant more scrambling along the shore. She remembered seeing what she thought was a dirt road along the peninsula and looking up from the water’s edge, thought she saw what could be that road. More bushwacking took her up to what was not a dirt road, but a wide trail that she followed. It was a marked trail, well-used by hikers and horseback riders, which she later learned is called the Honeymoon Cove Trail. This trail meandered along the peninsula with sweeping vistas of the lake and the occasional informational placard. It looped around the peninsula and on the return trip, she noticed several large buildings up in the hills. She followed the trail toward the buildings and found its origin. It was the Maricopa County Outdoor Desert Center. A man and a woman were sitting on bench outside the building. When Donna approached, the woman asked, “Can I help you?”

She told Donna the center was open for use by reservation only. This is due to the fact that it’s mostly used for school field trips. Children are bussed from schools in the greater Phoenix area to learn about the desert they live in. The woman added that many children don’t even realize they live in a desert! Adults have to make a reservation to enter the center. This is for the protection of the children. It’s sad, but true. Donna was basically trespassing.

She had been out for about an hour and a half at that point. She called to tell me she had wandered farther than she expected and it would take another 30 minutes to return. She had tired legs and quite a story when she got back. She took a lot of photographs with her cell phone, but unfortunately, can’t get them to download because she doesn’t have a good cell signal.

We ate lunch outside at the covered picnic table. Our chipmunk friend didn’t join us this time. After lunch, I was feeling a little restless and suggested a scooter ride to look around the area outside of Pleasant Harbor.

As we were leaving, Donna suggested that we follow the road she hiked down to the edge of the water. As soon as I started down the road, I knew it wasn’t the best idea. This is a scooter made for pavement – not a motocross bike. We went down a steep, rocky hill to the lake. I stopped and took a picture, looking west to Scorpion Bay on the other side of the lake. If you look closely, you can see the marina just to the left of center in the photograph. As always, clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

Looking across the lake to Scorpion Bay

Getting back onto the road from the edge of the lake was challenging. We had to climb a steep hill which was a mixture of hard packed rocky surfaces and soft sand. The back wheel was spinning as we fishtailed our way up. We made it without incident, but I have to admit there were a few dicey moments on the way up.

We went out the gate, onto the road. I wanted to find a way to cross the dam and see the Lake Pleasant Regional Park on the other side. The dam isn’t accessible though. The road is closed and it’s fenced off. We took the long way around, riding down to the Carefree Highway, then headed west for a few miles before turning on to the road to the park.

There are wild burros in the area, but the only signs we saw of them were on the side of the road.

Watch for wild burros - this and a few droppings were the only sign we saw

Watch for wild burros – this and a few droppings were the only signs we saw

The road to the park winds along for five miles or so before you find the actual park entrance. Day use of the park costs six dollars for entry. We sweet talked our way in, telling the gate attendant we just wanted to take a ride through and see if it was suitable for a big rig motorhome. She gave us a 30-minute guest pass.

We pulled over to take in the view and shoot a photo or two on the way in to the Scorpion Bay Marina.

Looking south towards the dam from a high vista point

The park has a 10-lane boat ramp on the south side and a smaller four-lane ramp to the north. The marina sits below a bluff with a parking area. You have to climb down a stairway to access the marina. There’s a restaurant called Dillon’s there that we heard was good. There’s also a convenience store.

Scorpion Bay Marina

We didn’t walk down to the marina. We only had 30 minutes and wanted to check out the campgrounds. We looked around and took a few pictures.

Looking north from Scorpion Bay

Looking east from Scorpion Bay – you can see Pleasant Harbor Marina just left of center

We rode through the Desert Tortoise camp sites. I didn’t see any sites that were appealing for our 40-foot rig and trailer. The area is nice, but the sites are too small for us. Many of the sites weren’t level. We didn’t go out to the Roadrunner Campground. If there were big enough sites, this would be a great place to visit and hike around the area. We were told that most weekends are booked six months in advance though.

When we returned, I dropped Donna off at the pool. She had her bathing suit on under her shirt and shorts. I came back to our motorhome and picked up our toiletry bags, towels and clean clothes. We showered down at the resort. While I was enjoying a hot shower, a thought occurred to me. I was wondering why our house battery bank goes down so quickly when we use the inverter. I have to run the generator twice a day to recharge the battery bank.

The hot shower had me thinking, what if the hot water heater is running off of the inverter? It didn’t make sense to me to have it wired that way, but what if? When we came home, I checked the hot water. Sure enough, it was heated by 120V AC power off of the inverter. Heating elements can draw a lot of current. I tripped the breaker for the hot water heater so it wouldn’t be drawing from the inverter. It didn’t make sense to me to wire it this way. I checked the wiring schematic to see if something was wrong, but the schematic shows it is wired correctly with a feed from the inverter.

From now on, when we dry camp, I’ll trip the circuit breaker for the water heater. If we need hot water, we can turn on the propane switch and have hot water in about ten minutes.

Donna fixed blackened tilapia Baja fish tacos for dinner. She said it’s a simple recipe. I said it was delicious!

Blackened tilapia fish tacos

Today, we’ll rent a kayak and continue to explore.

Another Pleasant Day

Donna was busy yesterday. She spent most of the day working on a PowerPoint presentation for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) conference in Scottsdale at the end of May. Donna will be speaking there. She took a break around 11:30am and went for a walk. She walked about a mile to the RV Resort and swam laps in the pool, then used the shower facility there. When she finished her shower, she called me on the cell phone and I rode the scooter down to pick her up.

Donna made chicken-guacamole wraps for lunch. We had lunch at the covered picnic table near our site. A chipmunk came out to see what’s for lunch. He was unafraid and inquisitive. He sprawled out on the concrete near our table, just waiting for us to offer him something. I eventually caved and threw him an apple slice. He picked it up quickly and ran off into the brush to munch it down.

Lunch time visitor waiting patiently

After lunch, I rode down to the resort and used the shower. The bathrooms and showers are very clean and the water is hot with good pressure. After shaving, I enjoyed a long, hot shower. This is one of the things that’s cool about this place. We’re boondocking on top of a bluff with a great view and no neighbors to speak of – there’s a travel trailer on the bluff, but we’ve only seen the owner once on Monday night. We think he must be working in the area. We have a great view of the lake and marina. It’s quiet, but we’re only a few minutes away from amenities like the pool, showers and convenience store. And we only pay $11/day!

The afternoon was quite warm. The temperature was in the upper 80s and there was very little breeze. I fired up the generator around 3PM and turned on the air conditioners. At 5:30PM we rode down to the resort clubhouse for a potluck dinner. We don’t usually engage in that sort of thing, but we thought we’d check it out. Donna made a salad with leftover jerk chicken and mango salsa. When we arrived, people were already seated and eating. There were only five other couples. They were all older people who live here full time. We heard some scuttlebutt and history of the place. I had things a little mixed up in yesterday’s post. The Lake Pleasant Regional Park campground is on the other side of the lake. Pleasant Harbor is owned by the Maricopa Water District. We enjoyed the meal and conversation and left before sundown.

We walked down to the marina. Donna had been there before, but I hadn’t made the walk out on the boardwalk. We went to the restaurant and looked the menu over, then walked back.

View of our bluff from the marina

Back home, we made cocktails – I had a martini and Donna had a greyhound made with fresh squeezed grapefruit. She’s wishing now that she had taken more grapefruit from the Apache Wells RV Resort. The temperature had cooled and it was pleasant out, so we carried our drinks to the picnic table.

Happy hour at the picnic table

We sat and talked and watched the sunset. There were clouds in the eastern sky that made it colorful.

Clouds in the east at sunset

We watched two episodes of House of Cards before calling it a day.

Today, I want to try to meet up with Curtis from RVilliage.com. Curtis is the man behind this new site. This new website allows members to locate other like-minded members and arrange meets. When I checked Pleasant Harbor, I saw Curtis was here. I found a picture of his Prevost coach and saw it parked in the temporary area. We exchanged messages via RVilliage and he gave me his cell phone number. I’ll call him this morning and see when he might have some free time.

The weather guessers are calling for another warm day, but we should have a breeze to mitigate it. Another pleasant day at the lake.

On the Carefree Highway

We’ve repositioned our home to a spot in the Arizona desert overlooking Lake Pleasant. Here’s how we got here.

On Sunday, Donna and I went to Lucky Lou’s in Mesa for lunch. It was their 10th anniversary celebration. They had live music, free brats and two dollar beers. We hung out for an hour or so, saying goodbye to our friends. After we returned home, I straightened out a few things in the trailer. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching NHRA drag racing on TV.

We were up early on Monday, but we weren’t in a hurry to leave. We enjoyed breakfast, then Donna went for swim at the pool. I rode the scooter to the post office to mail our tax return. While I was out, I also filled the scooter with gas and replenished my beer supply.

When I returned, I loaded the scooter in the trailer. While I was dumping and flushing our holding tanks, Donna was packing our things inside the coach. I wondered if we would have any trouble starting the big diesel Cummins ISL engine, since I had replaced the fuel filter. I’ve heard of a few people having issues getting the new filter to prime. I followed the instruction manual – I turned the ignition key to the “on” position and waited 30 seconds. I did this twice, then I started the engine. No issue at all, the lift pump primed the system while the key was in the “on” position.

After going over our checklist, we hitched up the trailer and rolled out of the park around 11:15am. The checklist was a good idea. I had no worries about something being left undone. Our route took us west on the Loop 202. Then we went north at the Loop 101 through Scottsdale. The 101 then loops west where we hit the I-17 north to the Carefree Highway.

I-17 exit to the Carefree Highway

We went west on the Carefree Highway to the Lake Pleasant Regional Park (LPRP). LPRP has a marina and several boat ramps at Pleasant Harbor on the southeast part of the lake. They also run an RV Resort with full hook-ups, temporary RV parking with electric hook-ups and dry camping (no marked sites or hook-ups). The dry camping is limited to 14 days in a 30-day period.

View of Lake Pleasant from our site

We opted to dry camp and check the area out. The fee for dry camping is six dollars per night. For an additional five bucks ($11.00 total) you can dry camp with access to the resort pool, showers and laundry. I think it’s a pretty good deal.

While we were setting up, a coyote sauntered by about 50 yards in front of our coach.

The view from Donna’s new office space

Marina below our site

After we got set up, we took the scooter out and reconnoitered the area. It’s a fairly large park, covering more than 11 square miles. We sitting at an elevation of about 1,700 feet above sea level. The prevailing wind comes from the west, across the lake. This makes it feel a lot cooler here than it was in Mesa. It’s 74 degrees at 9am this morning. The forecast calls for temperatures to reach the upper 80s to low 90s for the rest of the week.

Our boondocking site

After we checked the area out, we put on our swim suits and went to the pool.

Donna enjoying a book at the pool

The RV Resort looks to be nearly full with rigs in most of the sites. We didn’t see many people though. There was only one other couple at the pool.

There’s a covered concrete picnic table near our site with a beautiful view of the lake. I took our Weber Q grill there and set it on the table. We grilled sliced zucchini and bacon wrapped filet mignon. Donna made twice-baked potatoes with parmesan cheese. Well, that was the plan, but the broiler was taking too long to preheat, so we skipped browning the tops which is why the potato looks washed out in the photo. It was still good though!

Bacon wrapped filet, grilled zucchini and twice-baked potato

We enjoyed the view and sunset before we packed the grill and dinner plates back in the coach.

Sunset on the lake

Last night there was an eclipse of the moon. Although we didn’t have any clouds, I couldn’t stay awake past 10:30. At that time the moon was still full, so I missed it.

Moonrise over our coach

I almost forgot to mention; we have a good internet connection through free wifi at the marina! We’ve decided to stay here for a few days. I’ll ride down to the office and pay for three more nights. It’s not a bad place to be!

Carefree highway, let me slip away, slip away on you

Farewell to Mesa

Today is our last full day in Mesa, Arizona. Yesterday, I spent the morning preparing for travel. I cleaned and treated the tires on the right side of the coach with 303 Aerospace. I polished the alloy wheels with Nevr-Dull. I drained the 20 gallons or so of fresh water that’s been in our tank for a while and refilled it with 100 gallons of fresh water. I checked the tire pressure on the coach and trailer.

I checked the lug nuts on the trailer. With my torque wrench set at 100 ft/lbs, a few of the nuts moved slightly. I don’t know what it is about trailer lug nuts that causes them to loosen, but I know checking them for proper torque periodically is necessary.

I cleaned the windows and installed new rubber inserts in the wiper blades. The inserts I bought didn’t match the old ones. I had to reset (that means bend) the metal blade to fit the new inserts. Next time I’ll need to replace the complete blade assembly.

Donna rode the scooter to WalMart and Staples. She was out for a couple of hours shopping and came home with the scooter fully loaded. She stocked up the refrigerator and also bought some office supplies. One of the things she bought at Staples was a Targus Lap Chill Mat for my laptop. My laptop has been running hot. It sits on our dining table. Lately, we’ve used coasters to prop it up and allow air to circulate underneath. The lap chill mat lifts it at an ergonomic angle and has a fan that plugs into the laptop USB port. Hopefully this will work better.

I made my last stop for the year at the Red, White and Brew and said my goodbyes to the crew there. It’s a great pub. I always meet interesting, friendly people there. The Offshore Tavern and Grill in San Diego is the only other place that compares in my opinion.

We’ve really enjoyed our time here. The boondocking at Phon D Sutton was a great find. We’ll go there again. We also want to return to Usery Regional Park again next year. The climate and scenery are hard to beat in the first quarter of the year. But now, it’s time to move on.

Palm trees in the neighborhood

Last night Donna and I sat outside and enjoyed the evening. We grilled an old favorite – jerk chicken with mango salsa. Later we sat with our neighbor across from us and had a nightcap. She is leaving tomorrow as well.

Grilled jerk chicken with mango salsa

Donna went out this morning for a farewell bike ride with her friend, Dara. When she returns, I’ll pack the trailer. I want to have everything in place so I’ll only need to load the scooter later. We’ll make a stop at Lucky Lou’s for lunch. It’s their 10th anniversary celebration and a few of our friends reserved tables. We’ll say our goodbyes until next year, then finish packing.

Tomorrow, Donna will do her usual job of organizing the interior of the coach while I dump the holding tanks and disconnect our sewer and power. I created a checklist to make sure we haven’t forgotten anything. We’ve been stationary for so long, we might forget part of our routine.

Checklist

I’m looking forward to kicking the tires and lighting the fires. Our route tomorrow will take us west on the Carefree Highway (AZ 74). We’ll make a stop at Lake Pleasant and have a look around. We may boondock overnight there, depending on what we find. Our next stop will be near Wickenburg, Arizona at the Escapees RV Park. I’m not sure if we’ll have good Internet access in the next few days. I’ll post again when I can.

Almost Ready

The day got away from me yesterday. After posting to the blog in the morning, I caught up on other blogs and forums I follow. I didn’t want to start any projects because I had to shower and head out to my chiropractor appointment before 11am.

I was finished with the adjustment and therapy session by noon. I stopped at Senor Taco for lunch, then came home. I picked up our mail, which was forwarded here from our South Dakota mail service. Getting our mail without junk mail every couple of weeks is nice. By the time I followed up on a few items, it was time for me to head out again.

There was a going away party at O’Neill’s Pub for Heidi. Heidi was one of the bartenders at the Red, White and Brew. I’ve known her for several years. She’s moving to Denver on Monday. We hoisted a few beers and told some stories. The party was gaining momentum when I left at 5pm.

Heidi (in pink) with her best friend Kelly.

We took over several tables.

Low clouds moved in last evening, making a spectacular sunset. Donna and I sat outside and enjoyed it.

Fiery sunset last evening

We had pizza delivered from Fat Boys and watched a movie. We watched an old favorite of mine, Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford. Donna hadn’t seen this one before.

Today, I’ll clean and polish the wheels on the right side of the coach. I’ll set the tire pressures and I also want to adjust the latches on the basement compartment doors. Tomorrow I’ll clean the windows and put the new wiper blade inserts in. We’re almost ready to hit the road again.

Bluehost and Amazon

Yesterday I completed my task for the day before noon as I knew the day was going to heat up. I had the air conditioners running in the coach from noon until after dark. Today’s weather will be more of the same.

The task I set for myself yesterday was cleaning the wheels on the left side of the coach. First, I wiped the tire sidewalls and treated them with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Tire sidewall rubber degrades from exposure to ultra-violet (UV) light and to a lesser degree from exposure to ozone. Tire manufacturers use an inexpensive compound called carbon black to protect against UV degradation. By the way, that’s why tires are black. The carbon black eventually absorbs enough UV light to degrade and turn gray. That’s why old rubber looks gray. 303 Aerospace Protectant contains a powerful UV stabilizer and no solvents that can harm tires.

When we’re parked for more than a few days, I use tire covers to keep direct sunlight off our tires. Since we’ll be on the road again, I wanted extra protection on the sidewalls. I’ve mentioned it before – RVs rarely wear out their tires. They degrade from age. I’d like to get as much time as possible out of our tires before they degrade.

After I treated the sidewalls of the tires, I started cleaning the Accuride alloy wheels. After wiping the surface, I used Nevr-Dull wadding to clean and polish the wheels. Nevr-Dull wadding is a felt-like cotton material treated with a chemical that removes tarnish and dirt without scratching or harming metal surfaces. I like this product. There’s no messy liquid to deal with and it’s super easy to use. Tomorrow, when we have a little cooler weather, I’ll do the wheels on the right side of the coach. The way we’re parked right now, the right side of the coach is facing east and has full sun all morning.

Left wheels shiny and tires treated

After lunch, Donna took a few files and went to the Apache Wells RV Resort card room. She had the place to herself and was able to spread out and organize her work. While she was there, I rode the scooter over to WalMart to pick up a couple of things.

I bought an Omron electro-therapy device (these are generically called tens units). My chiropractor suggested I get one of these to relieve muscle tension while we’re on the road. It sends electrical pulses through pads that are attached to the skin near the affected area. The electrical pulses stimulate the muscle and provide relief from muscle spasm. I’ve used this therapy many times before, but only with a physical therapist. Nowadays, these devices are readily available and inexpensive. I thought it was worth a try.

Last night’s dinner was grilled hot Italian chicken sausage served with whole wheat spaghetti with a blender sauce made with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil, topped off with grated parmesan cheese. Donna sauteed sliced green peppers to serve on the side.

Hot Italian chicken sausage plate

Hopefully, we’ll finish our taxes and get that out of the way today. It’s been a struggle trying to get it right with all of the changes we went through last year between selling the house, me retiring and us becoming full-time RVers. Next year should be easier.

I’ve added a few items to the right sidebar of this page. First is the Bluehost link. People have asked me how my blog is set up. I use WordPress for the blog template and Bluehost for web hosting. Below that, is the Amazon link. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a few pennies if you use my link to buy from Amazon. You pay the same price as always, but I earn a small referral commission.The last new item is a map with the states we’ve been through since we hit the road full-time colored in blue.

Red Wings

Yesterday, while Donna went out for a bicycle ride, I puttered around and continued preparations to move on. No offense to my friends in the area, but when you’re a nomad, staying in one place this long becomes stale. I have one more appointment at the chiropractor tomorrow, then we’ll tie up loose ends over the weekend. We’ll roll out of here on Monday.

We’re thinking about making a stop near Wickenburg at the Escapees RV park. Then we’ll move on to Lake Mead and do some boondocking there. Our travel plans over the next two months are pretty loose. We need to be mindful of Donna’s business travel and be near major airports at certain times. Our current thought is to hit Las Vegas, then head east through Zion National Park and on to Denver. We’ll see how that pans out.

FedEx dropped off the coolant additive I ordered (I wrote about coolant testing and additives in this post). I used Fleetguard DCA4 supplemental coolant additive. I’ll test the coolant additive concentration again when we’re at our next stop.

Supplemental coolant additive

The temperature rose well into the 90s yesterday. I had both air conditioning units running by noon. Today, the forecast calls for a high of 98. Tomorrow will also be very warm before the temperatures drop back into the 80s over the weekend. We’ll have to take advantage of the pool while we can.

After my chiropractor appointment in the afternoon and a stop for a cold one at Red, White and Brew, I came home and watched the Detroit Red Wings versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. At the end of regulation play, the game was tied 3-3. This gave Detroit one point, which was exactly what they needed to clinch a playoff spot for the 23rd consecutive season.

After the game, Donna and I watched a couple of recorded episodes of Dexter and called it a night.

Today, I want to clean and polish the wheels on the left side of the coach. It’s shaded on that side in the morning. I’ll wait until we have cooler weather to do the right side.

Heating Up

Monday was just another day. I didn’t have much to write about yesterday, so I took a day off the blog. Most days Donna has work to do. She’s either writing, working on book promotions, doing magazine interviews or just taking care of business. I generally don’t have anything real pressing on my agenda. The only appointment on my calendar for Monday was a visit to the chiropractor for an adjustment and therapy.

Sometimes, balancing my carefree days with Donna’s work schedule can be challenging for one or both of us. If she has phone interviews, or is really working hard to hit a deadline, I find things to do outside the coach to give her space. That doesn’t sound too tough, right? It really isn’t, but it’s something to consider if you’re going to live in a confined space. The nice part is, we can be in places where being outside is nearly always an option. It’s great to be able to choose our climate!

The weather has gone from warm to very warm (it’s not hot in Arizona until the thermometer hits 110F). Monday was 89 degrees and yesterday was over 90. We ran the air conditioners both days. The forecast calls for highs near 100 by the end of the week. If we would have left Mesa on schedule, we would have gotten out before things heated up.

Yesterday, I started re-organizing the trailer. I needed to come up with a better way to hang our bicycles and figure out where my new mountain bike will go. I’ve been hanging our bikes with a nylon cord strung through the roof bows. This worked fine except the edge of the roof bow cut into the cord.

Cord strung through trailer roof bow

I went to the hardware store with a vague notion of what I wanted to do. Sometimes I’ll browse through the hardware section until I see something that fits my needs, without knowing precisely what I’m looking for. That was the case on this visit. I found shallow “U” shaped hangers that I attached to the roof bow with self-drilling screws. The cord shouldn’t chafe on the smooth surface and it should be more than strong enough. I installed two of the hangers where my road bike and Donna’s bike usually hang.

Hanger attached to trailer roof bow

Next, I needed to figure out where my mountain bike will fit. This presented more of a challenge than I thought it would. The mountain bike has a longer wheelbase. The long wheelbase coupled with big 29″ wheels and tires requires a lot of space.

Donna came out to the trailer and looked around. She gave me a few ideas on repositioning some of the bins. She’s the organizing expert after all. After I cleared a few things out and repositioned the bins, a few minutes with the measuring tape and I was set. With the front wheel removed, I can hang the mountain bike upright from two hanger points. If I turn the wide handlebar so it’s parallel with frame, it fits. I’ll take a picture when I get everything packed up this weekend.

After I had the trailer straightened out, I took a short snooze on the sofa. Then I showered and rode over to the Red, White and Brew to have a cold one with the guys. While I was there, I found some sad news on Facebook. My former colleague and friend, Sergio Bianchi, passed away suddenly on Sunday. I’m stunned by the news. RIP, Sergio, you’ll be greatly missed.

When I returned, I helped Donna prepare a Cornish hen. I used poultry shears to cut out the back bone. I removed the ribs with a small knife. This allowed me to butterfly the hen for grilling. Donna prepared it simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, while I started the grill. We grilled the hen using the brick method I wrote about in this post. As always, the brick grilling method worked like a charm. The hen was juicy and very good.

Cornish hen under a foil wrapped brick

Looking good

Donna served the hen with pan fried artichoke hearts, whole wheat couscous and Sriracha green beans. Another tasty and nutritious meal!

Tasty!

Today, I have another appointment at the chiropractor. Other than that, it’s another carefree day.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Monthly Archives: April 2014

Escapees

No Accessories

Scorpion Bay

Another Pleasant Day

On the Carefree Highway

Farewell to Mesa

Almost Ready

Bluehost and Amazon

Red Wings

Heating Up

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: