LAST STRAW

My skepticism regarding Coast to Coast Carports, aka Desert Steel Buildings, and their ability to honor appointments for delivery, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few weeks.  The latest cancellation came yesterday afternoon, when the rep from Coast to Coast called and said that their construction crew wouldn't be here tomorrow as scheduled.   Same old story about labor and/or equipment problems.  When I heard the latest excuse, I told the gal "that was unacceptable, I was cancelling the building, and wanted my deposit back".  Of course, there was the expected plea for me to not rescind the order, and to once again reschedule the delivery date.  

One of the problems of starting from scratch with a new building contractor, is I'll be pushing the building construction even farther down the road, with a higher cost attached.  Coast to Coast had the best price when I did the cost comparisons several months ago.    Not to mention the appox. $700 I've already invested with Coast to Coast, that they say is refundable, but I have my doubts.  My gut reaction was what I told the gal on the phone, "you've had your chance, and you haven't delivered".  However, during the apologies from the other end of the phone, I quickly tried to look at the big picture, and came up with a possible lemonade out of lemons scenario.  I told the rep, that I would give them until Monday or Tuesday to come up with a firm delivery date, and there needed to be a significant discount off the agreed upon price, or the cancellation would be written in stone!  We'll see what the response is, but I'm pretty sure that my concrete footings will not have a building on them for at least several more weeks. 

A new working water line in the front yard as of yesterday.

LOWERING FUEL COST

While traveling in a big RV, it's not always  practical to search for the lowest fuel prices in a particular area.   Yea, you can find the local retailers that sell fuel at the lowest price with Internet sites like Gas Buddy, but when you're unfamiliar with an area, the last thing you want to do is go exploring for that Circle K, or other gas station that might save you a couple of cents a gallon.  Often, those places are next to impossible to access with almost 60 feet of motor home and towed vehicle.

For years, long before the merger of Pilot and Flying J, we often used Flying J for a variety of reasons.  Their locations are convenient, mostly next to major highways.  Not all, but most have dedicated RV fuel islands, with access to propane, water, and a dump station.   When we were pulling a 35' merchandise trailer during our drag racing days, with an overall length of 73', convenience and access was even more important than it is today.  With the Flying J RV rewards card, available through the Family Motor Coach Ass'n, we received, and still do, a 3 cents a gallon discount off the cash diesel price.  That discount isn't exactly huge, but when you combine all of the other ingredients, stopping at Flying J's has always made pretty good sense for us.

Since the merger of Pilot and Flying J, the gradual changes are starting to appear, and one of those changes was brought to my attention just a few days ago.  While visiting with our friends Len & Ellie Meachum in Quartzsite, Len mentioned that Pilot now has their own, fairly new RV credit card.   When combined with Good Sam membership, the Pilot credit card gives a bigger discount than the old 3 cents a gallon rewards card.   With normal membersip, using the new Pilot credit card gives you a 6 cents a gallon discount off the cash diesel price, and 4 cents a gallon off the cash gas price.  Eligibility for this credit card is limited to Good Sam members, and a few other rules apply, like the card must be linked to a bank account for full monthly payment (no carry over balances), and you must have an email address.   If you're a Good Sam life member, the discounts increase to 8 cents a gallon for diesel, and 6 cents a gallon off the cash gas price.

I'll say right up front, I'm not a big fan of the Good Sam Club.  I guess the RV park discounts are worth something, but they seem to be relentless in trying to sell you everything from insurance to identity protection.  The volume of advertising mail that they send to their members is the biggest reason I've not been a member for a number of years.  Just before we took off for Alaska, I accepted a free one year membership, with the stipulation that I not receive all of their junk mail.  So far, they've honored that request.

When Len told me about the Pilot credit card, I looked into upgrading our Good Sam membership to life status.  It's not well advertised, but if you are a military veteran, $149 will get you a Good Sam Life membership, and the upgraded discounts from the Pilot credit card.  Based on our annual average fuel costs, when I crunched the numbers, the $149 investment for Good Sam life membership  should pay for itself in about a year.  From then on, the increased savings from life membership will be free and clear.  When you factor in no more annual Good Sam membership fees, this formula works even better.  I know, we're not talking about saving a huge amount of money, but every little bit helps.  When you combine all of the above with the opening of a new Pilot at exit 268 on I10, not too many miles from our house, it all kind of works for us.

FIXING A SCREW UP

Not too long after we moved from Lake Havasu to the outskirts of Tucson, I began an ongoing series of improvement projects to our new rural property.   One of the first things I did, well before the garage was built, and new concrete was laid, was the trenching, and placement of several new water & irrigation lines.  It wasn't until about a month ago, that I decided to hook up one of those water lines to the main service near the left front corner of the house.  That's when things went downhill fast!

In just a matter of a few minutes, I noticed water bubbling out of the ground near the right front corner of the house, in the area where I had recently planted a tree.   Fortunately, I had anticipated the possible need to shut off this new water line, and had installed a shut off valve.  What I didn't foresee, was the need to use this valve so quickly.  It was obvious, the new water line was broken somewhere near the new tree, and probably well back under the concrete.   It's a good thing that no telepathy professionals were close by, because their ears would have been scorched with the bad words echoing through my thoughts.

My first reaction was to leave the water turned off, and push the fix off until another day.  Well, that day was yesterday, as this lingering problem had been a weight on my shoulders for over a month.  The fix started with hand digging the new tree up, trying to not damage any of the root system.  Once that was accomplished, I used the backhoe to carefully dig out this small area that is bordered by the house, and by concrete.  Once I had a hole that was 2-3 feet deep, I jumped in and began hand tunneling under the concrete toward where I thought the water was coming from.  Let me point out that this is not a job that you want to tackle with the idea that you might not get dirty.

I first exposed the electrical conduit to the garage, then after digging back about 4 feet under part of the concrete driveway, I found the water line at a point where it made a 90 degree turn.   This is where I discovered that all of this work to fix a leaking water line was totally my fault from the very beginning.

When I was originally laying and connecting all of the pieces to this water line, it seems that I neglected to glue the pvc pipe on the right, to the 90 degree elbow.  My first thought was "way to go stupid"!!  Had I double checked all of the connections, this manual labor would have been preventable.  The silver lining was that the fix was as simple as cleaning the two pieces, priming & gluing them together.

When I retested the water line under pressure, everything looked good, and I began to refill the hole, doing everything in reverse.  Eventually, by late afternoon, I had the tree replanted, and the landscape materials were back on the ground. 

Now that my yesterday's labor is done without having to tear up any concrete, and the problem is fixed, the only bad remnant is the aching muscles.  I guess I shouldn't complain, and be glad that as an official O.F. (old fart), I'm still able to do just about everything that I did when I was a Y.S. (young stud).   Despite the sore body, there's noticeably less weight on my shoulders this morning, and I have a working water faucet next to the garage!

ANOTHER DELAY

The link between patience and virtue has long been considered an admirable trait.  After my morning phone call to Coast to Coast Carports in Arkansas yesterday, well, lets just say that I'm no longer a candidate for the virtuous man of the year award!

This seemingly never ending process to build a simple metal shade cover for the motor home, has become an experience in frustration, on many different levels.  It all started on October 2nd, when I had finished my research for a metal building contractor, I selected  Coast to Coast, and made a deposit for an 18'x45', half sided, RV shade cover.  Their sales literature states that delivery and installation typically takes 4-6 weeks after the deposit is made.  That would have put construction around the middle of November.  When I ran into the problem with the county, it took an additional month and a half to get the building permit, which was obtained on December 3rd.  It was at that point, Coast to Coast told me for the first time, their timeline for delivery was 6-8 weeks after they got a copy of the clients building permit.  That disclosure pretty much shot down any possibility of delivery by the end of the year.  Since we were going to be gone most of January, I had worked out a tentative delivery date of Sunday, Jan 26th. 

When we got home on the 25th, after cutting our stay in Quartzsite short, I listened to a phone message that said the delivery had been postponed until Tuesday, the 28th.  When I called yesterday, I was told that today's delivery had again been put off until this Saturday, February 1st.  Something to do with the construction crews vehicle becoming disabled, and a new crew was being dispatched out of Gallup, N.M. to try and catch up with the backlog of orders. 

Not being in a very patient state of mind, I tried to politely tell the Coast to Coast representative that this was their "last shot" at keeping my business, and if it didn't happen this weekend, I was canceling the order, and they would be stuck with the already cut steel.   Even though I was assured several times that my 10% deposit was refundable, I'm pretty sure that a cancellation would effectively be a forfeiture of that deposit.  I guess that's where the patience aspect once again comes into play.  When is enough - enough?  I think we've just about reached the end of the road, and I guess I'll just have to be patient, at least until this weekend.

YARD ART

 This wagon wheel had my name on it, making the trip home from Quartzsite in the basement of the motor home.

Quartzsite, AZ is not only a haven for RV'ers in January, but just about anyone looking for the strange and unusual.  Yea, the flea markets have lots of stuff from China, and there's the run of the mill items that you can find just about everywhere.  However, if you take the time to check out all of the vendor areas, sooner or later, you might just find that hard to find item that you've been seeking.  Sometimes, I think the hunt is much more fun than the find!

There were several vendors in Quartzsite, specializing in antique items like hand pumps, gas pumps, wagon wheels, ore carts, and a variety of other things that are no longer used.  Seeing an old gas pump, similar to what I used on a daily basis, while working as a teenager at my Grandfathers Shell gas station, brought back some memories.  Maybe, that's why I like some of that old stuff, it takes me back to a time when cars & girls were much more important than things like school & homework. 

The only yard art making its' way home from the "Q" this year, was the wooden wagon wheel.  The item pictured below, was given to me by my son Marc.  It belonged to his great grandfather, and he thought it had something to do with saddles.  Hey Nancy, you're the horse person, do you have any idea what it's use was around 100 years ago?   It had some sort of seat on the end where the branding iron is, but what was left, fell off during the move to our front yard.  Items like this make perfect yard art, and I suspect a few more old things will find their way into our yard art garden, in the middle of the circular driveway.

What is it?

 

It's early, so I haven't heard from the metal building company this morning, but I'm pretty sure that I'll be the one to call them.  Finalizing the delivery and installation of this carport on steroids, has so far, been almost as frustrating as dealing with the county bureaucrats.

QUARTZSITE, AZ TO TUCSON, AZ

A spectacular sunrise greeted us yesterday, as we got ready to hit the road from our desert parking spot south of Quartzsite.  When we were ready to go, we said goodbye to our pal Nancy, who had been with us for the past 3 weeks.  This trip had been kind of a whirlwind, starting with the RV rally in Indio, a week in Yuma, and ending with several days of flea marketing in Quartzsite.

The drive home on I10 was about 240 miles, getting us home in the early afternoon.  Since it was a weekend, with relatively light traffic, I decided to change the scenery a little, and drove through Phoenix, instead of taking the usual bypass of Hwy 85 & I8.  The last time I did that, I got caught up in a traffic jam near downtown Phoenix due to construction, but it was clear sailing this time. 

When we listened to multiple phone messages at home, one was from the metal building contractor, and surprise, surprise, they won't be here today.  The voice message said that they had rescheduled for this Tuesday, but that couldn't be confirmed until they called again tomorrow.  So, we left Quartzsite a day or two early, in order to get home for "TODAYS" delivery, which isn't going to happen.  They have our cell phone numbers, and knew we were away from the house, but rather than calling on one of those numbers, instead, left a message on the home phone.  I don't think I would want to be on the other end of the phone line when this conversation about delayed delivery takes place tomorrow! 

A hot air balloon rises over Quartzsite, as we drove into town yesterday, on a cloudy morning.

LAST DAY IN QUARTZSITE

 A two car accident on Hwy 95, south of Quartzsite

From where we have the motor home parked, off Hwy 95 south of Quartzsite, it's a little over 4 miles into town.  In years past, the morning traffic would often be backed up for a mile or more, but until yesterday, we haven't dealt with any traffic jams.  About half way into town, I noticed the brake lights coming on ahead of us, and when we crept forward, the flashing lights, and the damaged cars explained what was going on.  

On that same subject, there was a noticeable absence of vendors in a couple of the flea markets, with less people wandering around.  That trend seems to reflect a sign of the times, and about the only place we didn't notice a lack of bargain hunters, was in the big tent.  It was still pretty crowded the other day when we wandered through, playing human bumper cars with our shoulders and elbows.

 Not too many folks at this flea market on the west end of town.

We spent several hours wandering through the last 2 flea markets, before heading back to the motor homes for a lunch break, and so that Nancy could let out her two pups.  After lunch, we went back into town to check out the last community of pop ups, surrounding the Quartzsite Improvement Association building.  We quickly found out that the theme of this market of fleas was almost exclusively rocks, minerals, and jewelry.  What???   No tools, no junk, no piles of stuff to look through for that elusive treasure, hiding beneath a pile of someone else's cast offs!  I quickly decided that I would find another place to occupy my time, while the girls ohhhed & awwwed over all of the polished rocks, and jewelry.

 

Unfortunately for the proprietor, most folks were following the signs advice.

This morning, we'll be saying adios to Nancy, and heading east toward the old homestead.  It's been a busy three weeks, and we've enjoyed visiting with all of our friends.  But, it's time to get home, and catch up with all of those things that have been put off while we've been playing.  Tomorrow, by the end of the day, and with a little bit of luck,  we'll have a metal house for the motor home.  

MORE FRIENDS & SOME FLEAS

Yesterday's spectacular sunrise.

Our friends, Bob and Diana Rush, drove down from Lake Havasu yesterday morning, arriving at our desert camp site a little before noon.  We hadn't seen Bob & Diana since May of last year at their summer home in Enterprise, OR, on our trip north toward Canada, and Alaska.  We sat outside in the warm sunshine, visiting with our long time buddies, before heading into town in search of some more treasures.

The Tyson Wells flea market was our destination, and even though we had previously spent a couple of hours checking out all of the vendors, it should be no surprise that I found some new fleas.  Nancy had an interest in an old wooden wagon wheel, and missed the vendor who had two of them during our previous walk through.  When I showed her where the two wheels were, we both decided we wanted one, and I started the negotiating process with the owner.   He was asking $125 each, and even though I tried to get them both for $190, the lowest he would go was $200.  Sold!  The wheels were pretty heavy, but we managed to get them into the back of Nancy's Jeep, with one soon heading for CA, and the other destined to be placed somewhere at the Last Chance Ranch.

When we returned to the motor homes, our late lunch was smoked, pulled pork sandwiches, and some of Patty's delicious coleslaw.  Topping off the menu was Diana's fresh baked cherry pie, my favorite!  Nope, I didn't BBQ the steaks for a second day, as we were all stuffed from our late lunch.  We always enjoy our visits with Bob & Diana, and look forward to our next "get together".

Today is our last here in Quartzsite, with tomorrow dedicated to the trip home.  Then, on Sunday, our metal building is due to arrive, and be put up.  That will indeed be a milestone, after jumping through a bunch of county mandated hoops.

Nancy, Bob, Patty, and Diana.

FINDING FLEAS

Now that we have a must get home date (day after tomorrow), yesterday morning started off with a little bit of urgency.  Knowing that we would have a hard time walking through all of the flea markets in just a couple of days, we knocked out two of the bigger ones by early afternoon. 

Tyson Wells, and Rice Ranch are both located on the south side of the freeway (I10), and we can cross those two off our list.  Finding that perfect treasure, or the latest and greatest gadget, seems to be getting a little more difficult.  I found a few things, but by the end of our several hours of walking past hundreds of vendors, my bag was actually quite small.  We had some pretty darn good BBQ chicken & ribs for lunch outside the south end of the big tent, then drove back to the motor homes parked out in the desert.

We had an expected visit from some friends, who drove down from where their motor home is parked on the Colorado River near Parker.  Len & Ellie Meachum, and Doug Dufek are friends that we first met when we worked the NHRA drag race circuit back in 2002, and 2003.  Len, Ellie, and Doug were also contractors for the same company that we worked for, and in addition to those racing years, we've worked other events with them, such as the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas, and the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale.  Len & Ellie just finished a 7 month gig, working a gate at the oilfields in Texas, and Doug just finished working the recent Barrett-Jackson event.  It was great to see our friends, and to catch up on all of their recent experiences and adventures. 

By the time our second campfire had died down, we called it a day, and are looking forward to seeing Bob & Diana Rush, who are driving down later today from their winter home in Lake Havasu.  We last saw them when we parked at their summer home in Enterprise, OR, on our way north to Alaska.

YUMA, AZ TO QUARTZSITE, AZ

 These two big cannons guard the entrance to the U.S. Army Proving Grounds, north of Yuma.

The area surrounding Yuma is all agricultural land, compliments of the water from the Colorado River.  Driving north on Hwy 95, it doesn't take long to transition from those carefully cultivated fields of lettuce, to the stark reality of the southern Arizona Desert. 

About halfway along the 80 miles from Yuma to Quartzsite, the Border Patrol has a check station, that we pass through every year.  It's been in the same location for almost forever, and I would imagine that the dogs alert the officers to a lot more drug contraband, than the number of illegal aliens that are caught in these checkpoints.  With the high number of RV's on Hwy 95 during this time of year, most are just waved through, as we were.

We arrived at MM 99, and turned off on La Paz Valley Rd. where the BLM entrance, and registration area is located.  Filling out a simple form with no fee, allows you to park on BLM land for up to 14 days.  It's about 4 miles into town, and I thought that I might try and find a spot closer in, but, we've been staying in this area for years, and this is going to be the spot for at least one more year.

The Internet connection with our Sprint data card is not very good, but with a little patience, I can load a few pictures, it just takes awhile.  I talked to our metal building company yesterday, and we are finally on their schedule for delivery and installation.  They're going to arrive at the house this Sunday, to put up the RV shade cover that seems like forever since I started the building permit process several months ago.  We'll be cutting our stay here in Quartzsite short by a day or two, leaving this Saturday for home. 

A roaring campfire sort of completes the Quartzsite experience.

 

Yesterday, we did manage to get into town, checking out the big tent, and all of the vendors inside.  Incredibly, I didn't find one single thing, other than a bunch of literature, that I simply couldn't live without.  That may be a first!  Today, we'll be checking out several of the flea markets around town, and I'm sure there's something out there with my name on it. 

THAT SMALL WORLD THING - AGAIN!

Our parking spot at Western Sands RV Park in Yuma for the past week, next to the Assistant Managers.

First, I'm about as bad as it gets, when it comes to remembering names.  With that out of the way, I was outside the motor home yesterday morning, when a nice woman introduced herself as the neighbor next door in the fifth wheel, and also as the assistant manager of the RV park.  She said that she was hoping to talk with us before we left, but didn't want to disturb us by knocking on the door.

Because of the Alaska plates, which are often conversation starters, she had some questions about the 49th state. When I told her that we had lived in Skagway, it quickly became one of those small world moments.    She and her husband had accepted summer, seasonal employment in Alaska, and I bet you can figure out where this is going.  Yep, the town they were headed for was indeed Skagway, but the small world syndrome didn't end there.  When I asked where they were going to work, the answer was "for the Corrington's".  I told her "you're not going to believe this, but we also worked for the Corrington family", and absolutely loved our summers in what I still consider one of the most beautiful places on earth! 

With her husband involved in the conversation, along with Patty and Nancy, we answered a lot of their questions, and told them that we had visited with Dennis, Nancy, and Sherry Corrington in Skagway, just a few months ago.  I think we reinforced their perception of the Corrington's as not only really nice people, but also as wonderful employers.   Because of their required arrival time in late April, they were unsure about driving up the Alaska highway that early, so they had booked passage on the Alaska Ferry, from Bellingham, WA., to Skagway.  When the lengthy conversation ended, our new acquaintances had a much better understanding of what they were getting into, and we enjoyed sharing some of our knowledge with them, about Skagway, the Alaska Highway, the Corrington's, and a bunch of other stuff. 

Yes, it is sometimes a very  small world, and you just never know when the planet is going to be reduced in size, to just you, and someone else!

LIFE GOES ON

Yesterday was all about the football conference championship games.  I accomplished nothing all day, not even venturing outside the motor home, not even once!  I didn't really care who won the first game, only being curious who would match up with "my team" in the Superbowl.  When Denver came away from the first game with a victory over New Englend, I thought OK, this will be a good opponent for "my team".

I'm not as much of a football fan as I used to be, but "my team" has always been the S.F. 49ers.  Back when Joe Montana was their quarterback, throwing touchdown passes to Jerry Rice, the 49ers were on my radar every Sunday.  When the dust had settled yesterday, "my team", had lost a squeaker to the Seahawks, and Superbowl Sunday in two weeks won't be quite the same.  Just because Seattle beat "my team", I think I'll be rooting for the Denver Broncos to kick their butt at the Superbowl.

Today is our last here in Yuma, as we head north tomorrow for Quartzsite.  It's only about 80 miles, so we won't be in a big hurry to get going in the morning.

THE MONKEY CAT

Just when we were pretty sure that our Snoopy Cat had found every nook and cranny in the motor home,  she surprised us a couple of days ago, when we found her on top of one of the slide outs.  When the slides are in, there is a few inches between the top of the slide, and the ceiling.  From the top of the drivers seat, our monkey cat made the jump up to where she is looking down at me in the first picture.   After a few minutes of exploring the entire top of the slide, she jumped back down.  I guess she figured that it wasn't too exciting up there.  Now, a small pillow stuffed above the drivers seat keeps that new territory off limits.  Hopefully, I'll remember to remove the pillow before putting that slide out next time.

Not much was accomplished yesterday, except that I got up on top of Nancy's motor home, and repaired an area where some tape had come loose in the area of where the front cap attaches to the fiberglass roof.  While the girls went to the grocery store, I took care of a few small chores, and later, we all went to Golden Corral for a late lunch, early dinner.

I used to frequent the Golden Corral in Lake Havasu, mostly for breakfast, and it was always good, but not great.  All of our choices yesterday at this super buffet, were above good, bordering on really good.  As we all know, the tendency at buffet restaurants, is to over do it.  Despite the good food, I think we did pretty well with the urge to over indulge.  When we left, I know I wasn't hungry any longer, but at least I was still able to walk normally.

At the end of this day, we will know what two cities will be represented in this year's Superbowl.  My prediction is that the biggest football game of the year will pit the 49ers against the Broncos.  Guess where I'm going to be this afternoon?  GO 9ERS!!

MEXICO & A TALE OF SURVIVAL

 A view of the entrance to Los Algodones, Mexico, from the parking lot next to the border.

Yesterday was the day that we decided to make a trip across the border to Algodones, a small Mexican town, just a few miles west of Yuma.  Nancy didn't need anything, so Patty and I arrived at the Quechan Native American parking lot a little before 10am, and noticed that you now have to pay going into the huge parking area, instead of paying when you leave.  The cost has gone from $5 last year, to $6 this year.  Several years ago, you could park your car next to the road, and walk to the border, but the Indians must have friends in high places, because very large NO PARKING signs cannot be missed for approx. 1/2 mile leading away from the border.  We saw a few people walking, but most everyone pays to park in the paved parking lot.

 

The only items we needed to purchase were a couple of things from one of the pharmacies, so we were in, and out in a matter of just a few minutes.  As we started to walk back to what is usually a long line of people waiting to cross back into the U.S., I noticed that the walkway was eerily empty.  In the past, usually during the month of January, we have waited in this line for close to a couple of hours.  It was only about 10:30am, so perhaps the earlier than normal time for us to cross back, was part of the reason for no people waiting.  As we walked closer to the border entrance station, still no people, and I'm starting to think there's some other reason for the folks not to be there.

Where's the people?

 

The closer we got, still no line, what the heck is going on?  We walked right up to one of the 4 customs & immigration officers, and in a matter of seconds, we had passed through the U.S. side of the Andrade/Algodones border.  Whatever suspicions I had, they were unfounded, and I was happy to have gone through customs in a matter of minutes, that in the past had taken hours.

When we got back to the motor home, I decided that I was going into town to watch the movie Lone Survivor.  I'm not a movie critic, but I will say that it was a realistic, edge of the seat film, that tells a tale of not only survival, but of the special bond between our true American heroes.  When I hear political idiots criticising the movie as propaganda, or as racist, I can almost bet you, that not one of them has ever worn a military uniform.  Those really stupid people, who think that the ugliness of war has to meet some politically correct standard, are beyond idiots, they are pathetic!

This movie is based on a true story about 4 Navy Seals on a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan, and the lone survivor Marcus Lattrell is played in the movie by Mark Wahlberg.  I walked away feeling  proud to have worn the uniform, and I can assure you that warriors like Lattrell are not victims of a propaganda film, they are the most special of our military elite, and deserve praise from all of us, even the idiots!

SHOPPING, SHOPPING, SHOPPING

An early dinner at Cracker Barrel, after lots of shopping.

 

We made an attempt yesterday, to erase Nancy's bad service appointment experience the previous day at La Mesa RV, with lots of shopping.  Our first stop was a new business on the frontage road, not far from our RV park, that had a little bit of everything.  We all found some stuff, and hey, they had free popcorn, so what more could you ask for?  Next stop was the Yuma Marketplace.  Over the years, this combination of a flea market, and  semi permanent businesses, has been the source of lots of purchases that would otherwise have been difficult to find.  We've been coming to the Marketplace for years, and yep, there was a bunch of stuff that we simply couldn't live without.  The number of vendors has decreased over the years, but it's still a popular shopping destination, with a food court, and free musical entertainment.

From the flea market, we stopped at a local Sprint store, where they repaired Nancy's MiFi device that had stopped working.  The good news with that experience, was it got fixed, and there was no charge.  Hey, things are starting to look up!

We topped off the afternoon with an early dinner at the local Cracker Barrel, where I had my usual roast beef dinner that is always delicious.  When we got back to the RV park, there was a musical jam session about to take place in the activity room.  When we arrived, a few minutes after it started, there were no more seats, so after a couple of songs, we called it a day, and retired to the motor homes.

FIRST DAY IN YUMA

Our first full day in this southern Arizona snowbird destination was highlighted by Nancy's morning service appointment at La Mesa RV, the dealer where she purchased her motor home.  Patty and I drove the two Jeeps behind Nancy, so that she wouldn't have to hook, and unhook.  Based on what was on her list of things to be done, I figured she'd be hanging out for most of the day, keeping her two dogs with her in the Jeep.

After she got checked in, I told her to call when everything was done, and we would come back, and drive the two Jeeps back to the RV park.  We left, drove downtown, stopping at Sprague's Gun Store, where we visited with Mike, who was our neighbor at the Grand Canyon for two summers.   We made a couple of other stops, then drove back toward our RV park.  Since it was just about lunch time, I decided to stop at La Mesa to check on Nancy, and to sample the free lunch that La Mesa serves each day.  As we were about to pull into La Mesa's driveway, Nancy called, and it was quickly obvious that things weren't going to well with her service appointment.  I won't get into the details, but the biggest problem was the fact that her extended warranty company refused to authorize work on her dryer, due to the diagnosis being a broken belt.   When I looked at her contract, and made a second call to the warranty company, the word "belts" are specifically excluded from coverage, and it was downhill from there.  If she chooses to elaborate, I'll let her fill in the specifics.  Adding suffering to misery, she's battling a nasty head & chest cold.

It's been my experience that service contracts are usually a love/hate relationship.  When they do cover something, it's total love, saving you bucks out of your pocket.  When they don't, it's anything but love, as you wonder if the investment was worth it.  The 7 year extended service plan that I purchased with the delivery of our new motor home, has paid off for us.  We have collected more in service payments than what we paid for the plan, so I guess that pencils out in the black.

Needless to say, we didn't partake in La Mesa's free lunch, hightailing it out of there around noon. 
The girls decided that they needed some girl stuff from Michael's, so they went into town while I caught up on some reading.  Today, the big market place (flea market) is open for it's Thurs - Sun run, and we'll be spending a few hours there later this morning. 

INDIO, CA TO YUMA, AZ

 Lots of agriculture in the Coachella Valley north of the Salton Sea.

 

With only about a 3 hour drive ahead of us, we weren't in any big hurry to leave the Indio Fairgrounds yesterday morning.  We said so long to Barb & Tom Westerfield, and Judy & Luke Rinehimer, the only members from our Golden Spike Chapter who hadn't already hit the road.  By the time I took care of the dump station duties, it was around 10am when we pulled out onto Hwy 111, with Nancy following behind.

Rather than take the 4 laned Hwy 86 expressway around the west side of the Salton Sea, I took the less traveled 2 laned Hwy 111 down the east side of this huge lake.  If you're interested in the history of this latest evolution of the largest lake in CA, click on the link above, and you'll discover some interesting facts about how in 1905, much of the entire flow of the Colorado River created what is now a 15 mile wide by 35 mile long lake. The story of how the Colorado River was diverted into the Salton Sink, has to go down as one of the biggest engineering disasters in modern history.

 A CA. State Park occupies 14 miles of the eastern lakefront, but that's about it, other than Hwy 111, and the Union Pacific Railroad.

The new Hwy 86 expressway bypasses the towns of Brawley, and El Centro, but I stayed on the old Hwy 86 through both towns, kind of like a stroll down memory lane.  I first started traveling this route to Yuma, back in 1981, when the Harley was the method of transportation, and the destination was the annual Yuma Prison Run. 
  

 And, more agriculture in the Imperial Valley, south of the Salton Sea.

 The entire Imperial Valley is below sea level, as indicated on the Spreckels Sugar processing plant.

When we crossed the Colorado River at Yuma on I8, we were back on Mountain Standard Time, and my watch was once again correct, as we lost an hour.  After a fuel stop at Love's, we continued E/B on I8 to Fortuna Rd., where the Western Sands RV Park was only a short distance from the exit.  After we got settled, our first dinner out in Yuma was at the Cracker Barrel.  The girls had the Tuesday special of trout, and I had the roast beef dinner.  If I had any criticism of Cracker Barrel, it would be only that I could eat a lot more.  I've always found the food to be good, reasonably priced, and the service is usually excellent.  We'll be here in Yuma for a week, and the agenda today is to follow Nancy to La Mesa RV, where she has a service appointment for her motor home this morning. 

LAST DAY IN INDIO

Parking spot for the last two nights.

With the RV rally finished, and most of the motor homes gone, yesterday was kind of a do nothing day.  We left the fairgrounds once to pick up a few groceries, but that was about it.  Some reading, and TV filled up the rest of the day.  

Nancy is parked a few hundred feet away, and unfortunately, she caught a cold toward the end of the rally, so she was kind of house bound yesterday as well.  We won't be in a big hurry this morning, but we'll be saying adios to Indio, and will be traveling approx. 150 miles S/E to Yuma, AZ.  It was about this time 2 years ago, that Nancy purchased her new Phaeton motor home from La Mesa RV in Yuma, and she has an appointment with them for some repair work.

 

We'll be in Yuma for a week, enjoying the predicted high 70 degree weather, and taking advantage of some of the snowbird activities that take place there every year.   I almost felt guilty yesterday, when I turned on one of the motor homes air conditioners.  The temperature peaked at just under 80, and I couldn't help but feel for the folks in the north and east, where winter still has it's icy grip on much of the country.   Southern CA, and AZ aren't the greatest places to spend the summers, but right now, the weather is just about perfect!

FMCA INDIO - IT'S OVER

Many of the coaches started moving out of the fairgrounds early yesterday morning, long before we even ventured outside.  The four day Family Motor Coach Association Western Area Rally here in Indio came to an end, while our Golden Spike Chapter took care of one of the last volunteer jobs, picking up trash around the fairgrounds.  Doing the cleanup, and heading up the ice cream social, gives us preferred parking near the vendors, and displays.

When we returned the 5 golf carts, it was time to move the motor home to a spot where there was a permanent electrical connection. During the rally, we had been hooked up to temporary electric, and that power was shut off while we were taking care of the cleanup.  Once I had the motor home moved, I quickly locked into the satellite, and watched the second half of the 49er - Panther game.  Go Niners!  One more win in Seattle next week, and we'll be in the Super Bowl for the second straight year.

After the game, we made a run to Wally World, then kicked back at the motor home for the rest of the day.  Tomorrow, we'll head for Yuma, where we have a 1 week reservation at a park on the east end of town.  

 

RALLY - DAY 4

During the course of any given year, we typically spend more time in our motor home, than we do at our sticks & bricks house.  Getting our new Snoopy cat acclimated to the RV has been important, simply because we spend so much time in it.  These past few days at the FMCA RV Rally here in Indio, CA have been interesting for us to watch this feline live up to her new name, as she has adjusted to her new surroundings.  

 This cabinet above the bed has been Snoopy's choice for daytime snoozes.

For whatever reason, this curious cat has decided for the past two mornings, that she needed to jump up to the top of the shower glass.  Patty captured this image yesterday morning.  If we leave a cabinet door open, or a drawer pulled out, the kitty is there in a heartbeat.  The words inquisitive, curious, or just plain nosy, don't begin to describe this cat's personality.  

 

 A climb to the top of the shoe rack was a "must do" the other morning.

I had the new electrical management system (EMS) by Progressive installed yesterday morning.  As I mentioned before, this takes the place of the Powermaster box that has failed twice.  The Powermaster (when working), protected against electrical surges, and boosted low power up to 10%.  The Progressive system doesn't boost power, but it does give better protection against low power below 105 volts, or high power above 131 volts, by shutting off the power to the coach.  It also shuts down the incoming power for things like open neutrals or grounds, and reverse polarity at the power source.  Based on our experiences over the years, some sort of electrical protection is money well spent.

 

We spent the last day of the rally doing the ice cream thing for the second day, and the girls bought some cooking stuff from one of the vendors.  I watched the Seahawks beat the Saints, and after happy hour was over, called it a day.  This morning, I'll take some of the guys over to pick up 5 golf carts, and then our group does cleanup around the fairgrounds for about an hour.  When that's finished, some of us will be moving the rigs over to a full hookup site, where we'll stay for an extra couple of days. 

RALLY - DAY 3

 Getting ready for the chapter picture.

The big activity for our Golden Spike Chapter yesterday, was a group picture, then the distribution of ice cream sandwiches to the rally participants.  By the time the one hour ice cream social was over, I think our group had passed out somewhere around 2,500 of the frozen sandwiches.  While that was taking place, Nancy and I loaded boxes, and boxes of ice cream on the golf cart, and took them around to the vendors, the volunteers, and several other places within the fairgrounds.

When Nancy agreed to take over the responsibility of coordinating the ice cream social, I don't think she knew about all of the other tasks that Bill Hall took care of.  She has quickly learned, and next year, the job should be a lot easier.

At noon today, we get to do the ice cream again, as the rally starts to wind down.  Tomorrow, the place will start to clear out, as everyone heads off to their next destination.  We're staying here at the fairgrounds an extra couple of nights, before traveling south east to Yuma, where we'll be parked for a week.