Monthly Archives: April 2018

Dynamite Town

We talk a lot about being flexible in this lifestyle. One thing we’ve learned by being flexible is that we can find something of interest no matter where we are at the time. Here in Benson, things seem really quiet and not so exciting. So, we looked for things to see and do.

Donna went for a 5-mile hike Thursday morning. There’s a water tank on a bluff to the west of the SKP Saguaro RV Park. Donna found a trail that led up the bluff.

Water tank at the southwest corner of the rv park

Once up on the bluff, she had a great view of the area and took some photos.

Trail on the bluff

View of the SKP Saguaro park and the San Pedro River Valley to the east

She saw a large coyote and a snake on her hike along with a variety of desert plants.

Large ocotillo plant

Pencil cholla cactus

View to the southwest – Apache Peak and Karchner Cavern State Park

On Friday, we rode the Spyder into town and had a look around. We had a treat at the Old Benson Ice Cream Stop. The town of Benson was founded in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad came through Arizona. Benson was a shipping point for the booming mining towns to the south – such as Tombstone and Bisbee.

There was some agriculture and also cattle ranches. The San Pedro River provided water. In the mid to late 1800s, the Chiricahua Apaches in the area engaged in warfare. Their most well-known leaders were Geronimo and Cochise. In 1885-1886, the American and Mexican militaries rounded up the Chiricahua and they were relocated to Florida.

Before the town was established, there was stage depot about a mile north of Benson where the Butterfield Stage Line stopped. The depot was guarded by eight soldiers. It was used as a stopover between Dragoon Pass to the east and Tucson to the west.

A smelter was built in Benson to convert silver and copper from the surrounding mines to bullion. Eventually, the overland wagons delivering the ore were replaced by a number of rail lines to the mining towns to the south. Benson became a hub city with more train traffic than Tucson!

I learned much of this history from a paper given to us at the SKP park. While were looking around in town, we wanted to stop at the Benson Museum. It closed at 2pm on Friday and we were too late, so we found the Arena Bar. It’s located on a nearly 10-acre lot on the northeast side of town and is home to a rodeo arena and several buildings. We stopped in for a cold one and found it to be a friendly place. They hold several events there. An interesting note – their liquor license allows customers to take their drinks anywhere on the property.

Arena Bar

On Saturday morning, we went back to the Benson Museum. We learned a little more history of the area including another driver of the local economy – Apache Powder Company – now called Apache Nitrogen Products, Inc.

Apache Powder Company began producing explosives – dynamite and nitroglycerin – in 1922. We were told at the museum that at one time, Apache Powder Company was the second largest producer of dynamite in the country. The explosives were mainly used by the mining industry.

Apache Powder Company display

The museum entry costs $5/person – $4 for seniors. It had a lot of items that were common from the late 1800s to about 1960. It might not have been the most exciting way to spend the day, but we enjoyed learning a little history of the area.

On Saturday evening, Donna grilled lemon-herb marinated boneless chicken thighs on the Weber Q and served it with black beans and grilled summer squash, peppers and onions. The summer squash came from a community vegetable garden here in the RV park.

Grilled lemon-herb marinated chicken and sides

This morning Donna hiked up the bluff again, returning on a different trail. Meanwhile I watched the Formula One race from Bahrain. It was an entertaining race, but it was marred by a pit lane accident involving Kimi Raikonnen and left one his pit crew with a possible leg fracture.

Later we watched the Moto GP race from Argentina. It was absolutely the craziest motorcycle race I’ve ever watched. The craziness started before the start of the race with a penalty given to 23 of the 24 riders, allowing Jack Miller to have a headstart from his pole position – he was the only one without a penalty. Marc Marquez rode like a mad man – he was fastest but he caused two crashes and was penalized twice in the race. The next Moto GP race is in Austin, Texas in two weeks. We’ll be there to see the best motorcycle racers in the world on the most sophisticated and powerful road racing motorcycles built.

This afternoon, I have to load up the trailer – we have the Weber Q out and last night I took out the Traeger wood pellet fired smoker grill to cook up Memphis style babyback ribs – a favorite. We’ll pull out tomorrow and head south through Tombstone to Desert Oasis Campground near Bisbee – a relocation of about 60 miles.

 

 

 

First Time in Benson

We took it easy on Easter Sunday. Donna wasn’t feeling well in the morning and had to cancel her kayak trip on the Salt River with her friends Audrey and Julia. In the afternoon, I spatchcocked a whole chicken (I wrote about spatchcock here), rubbed it with Sweet Rub O’Mine and cooked it on the Traeger. Donna served it with whipped sweet potato and asparagus.

Spatchcock chicken plate

On Monday morning, I played pickleball. Donna still wasn’t feeling 100% so she passed on pickleball but she did go out for an easy 18-mile bike ride. I got a start on organizing the trailer. I went to Harbor Freight and picked up a package of bungee cords and a couple of tie-downs. While I was at it, I picked up cat food at Petco. We had happy hour at Lucky Lou’s and said our goodbyes until next time to our friends there.

We had a last round of pickleball on Tuesday morning – Donna had a good time playing with the 3.0-3.5 group. Hopefully she can get enough pickleball court time over the summer and fall to stay at that level of play. Afterwards, I got serious about packing the trailer and preparing to hit the road. I now have four bicycles to store in the trailer. Donna bought a hybrid type knock-around bike to use in the park or to make a quick run to the store. She got it from a guy in the park for just $25 and it’s in great shape!

I still had a few things to put away Wednesday morning. Our friend Raymond stopped by to say goodbye and wish us safe travels. Raymond and his wife Louise gave us a big bag of grapefruits fresh from their neighbor’s tree. The grapefruits are sweet and very tasty.

I knew I was going to have an issue with the left rear jack before we left. When we set up, the jack pad sunk into the gravel. It was over a little sink hole – maybe water had leaked there before. I had to extend the jack nearly to the limit while we were there to stabilize the coach. When I put the slides in and raised the jacks to the store position, the left rear jack was stuck. Gravel had filled in the hole and the foot of the jack was buried.

I started the engine so the air suspension would raise the coach. I figured this would pull the jack free. I had a “Jacks Down” alarm screaming at me, but I couldn’t think of a better solution for the stuck jack. After a few minutes though, the engine shut itself off! I checked the jack and it was free and moving to the store position. I checked the engine control module for trouble codes and didn’t find any stored codes. I restarted the engine and all was good. I’m thinking there may be an automatic shut down after a jacks down warning stays on for a certain amount of time.

It took a little bit of jockeying around in the street to get the trailer hooked up, but we got it done without any issues. We pulled out of the site at 10:30am. We took the Loop 202 south and followed the San Tan Freeway to I-10. The interstate narrows to just two lanes between Maricopa and Casa Grande. This causes traffic to quickly build especially when a tractor-trailer rig decides to overtake another tractor-trailer but can only go marginally faster. The cars stack up behind the tractor-trailer and everyone follows too closely – it can be a little hairy.

We stopped at exit 208 in Eloy and topped up the tank with diesel at the Pilot Travel Center. Donna bought Subway sandwiches there, then we drove across the overpass to Blue Beacon to get the coach washed. We ate lunch while we waited in line for the wash. Sitting in Mesa, the coach got dirty. There’s always some dust in the air and when it rains, dirt spatters up from the gravel site and coats the lower sides of the coach.

This Blue Beacon had the narrowest entry of any I’ve seen. It said it was 10’6″ wide, but I doubt it. Once we entered the wash bay I had to pass through a sprayer that was shaped like an inverted “U” – the uprights on the sides were barely wider than the coach and I smacked the right mirror. Grrr. No real damage done – just a small scrape.

We arrived at the SKP Saguaro Co-op park in Benson around 3pm. Since this was a first-time visit to this park for us, we qualified for a super discount. Our full hook-up rate is $50 for one week, plus electricity at 11 cents per kilowatt. Can’t beat that!

This park requires all arrivals to be escorted to the site and directed by a park employee. Our site is quite wide and we planned to drop the trailer and back the coach in. When I backed the trailer into the right side of the site, we saw that it was deep enough to leave the trailer connected. I pulled the Spyder out of the trailer and backed the coach and trailer into the left side of the site. Nice!

Spacious site at SKP Saguaro Co-op in Benson

The park is fairly quiet with the exception of occasional trains blasting their horns as they approach the town. We can see a large water tank on top of a bluff to our west. Donna found a trail that leads to the tower and she’s hiking it this morning as I type this. It’ll be about a seven-mile round trip.

This morning, we made a decision to change up our plan. Although we’re paid up here through the 11th, we’ll pull out on Monday the 9th. We’ll head south on AZ80 about 50 miles to Desert Oasis Campground outside of Bisbee. I booked two nights there in a full hook-up pull through site for just $21/night with our Passport America discount. We want to spend a day exploring Bisbee, but we also want to be in Austin, Texas by the 19th. We’re allowing a full week to get to Austin so we can stop and smell the flowers along the way without having to push through long, high mileage days.

The weather forecast for the week ahead looks good. At our elevation of 3,600 feet, it’s cooler here than in Mesa, but we may have a 90-degree day or two ahead. It feels good to be on the move again.

Snowbirds Heading Home

Happy Easter! April first already – we’re a quarter of the way through 2018 and we’ve been in one location the entire time. That’s about to change. I played a lot of pickleball during the last week. I’m trying to play as much as I can before we move to parts unknown. I played two hours a day for six days in a row – and I’m feeling it!

It seemed like everyone had the same thought as the pickleball courts have been full most of the time. A few of the 2.5 level players moved up to play with the 3.0-3.5 group for the last 10 days or so. Donna was one of them. The crowd is quickly thinning out though. The majority of the snowbirds here at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort are from Canada.

The Canadians are going home in droves. They have to apportion their time spent in the USA. If they’re in the USA for more than 180 days in a calendar year, they may owe US taxes. Also, if they’re out of their home province for more than 6 months, they may lose their healthcare benefits. I’m guessing we won’t have the pickleball courts full tomorrow. I’ll play Monday and Tuesday, but I also have a number of chores to make us ready for the road.

On Friday evening, Donna and I went to Lucky Lou’s to visit with friends over happy hour. The weather was nice and we enjoyed a couple of cold ones on the patio.

The usual suspects at Lucky Lou’s

We’ll be pulling out of here on Wednesday, so we should have another chance to get together before we say, “See ya next year!”

While we were out, Donna had a pork tenderloin marinating in sesame chili oil with fresh ginger. When we got home, she grilled it on the Weber Q along with baby bok choy and served it with a baked sweet potato.

Grilled pork tenderloin, baby bok choy and sweet potato

Things are heating up here in Mesa, Arizona. The temperature reached 90 degrees yesterday. After six straight days of pickleball, I spent most of Saturday afternoon relaxing with my Kindle. I was feeling a little beat up – my right wrist and shoulder were sore.

Donna went to the pool to relax and read. While she was out, I jumped on the Spyder. I wanted to fill the gas tank and decided to make another pit stop. I picked up a Belgian ale – a bottle of Abt 12 from the Trappist monks at St. Bernardus Abbey in the west Flanders region of Belgium. It’s brewed in the quadruppel style – a nice balance of maltiness and bitterness with some spice flavor. It’s strong at 10% ABV, but not hot at all or excessively heavy.

Abt 12 ale

For dinner, Donna made scallops in a brown butter and lemon sauce with capers. She served it over whole wheat orzo with green beans on the side. We dined outside in the shade of our coach. We ran the air conditioners to cool the coach in the evening.

Scallops in brown butter lemon sauce

The forecast calls for another warm day today with a high of nearly 90 degrees. I plan to cook a chicken on the Traeger for dinner. Tomorrow I’ll clean the Traeger and load it in the trailer. Hopefully I can get most of the trailer things organized and battened down tomorrow. On Tuesday, I’ll put away the wheel covers and windshield cover, then set the tire pressures. Then we’ll be just about ready to go. On Wednesday morning, I’ll dump and flush the holding tanks, hook up the trailer and load the Spyder. We’ll be rolling down the road to Benson, Arizona before noon – I’m shooting for sometime between 10 and 11 am.