Archive for March, 2017

Prescott National Forest

Monday, March 20th, 2017
Nice temperatured here.

Nice temperatured here.

For the last 5 days I have camped in the Prescott National Forest, five miles southwest of the city of Prescott. The campgrounds is at 6000′ of elevation, providing much cooler temperatures than the blazing heat in Yuma. It has been mid 70’s each day – just about perfect!

You can't have beautiful sunsets every day in Arizona. Sometimes they are just normal.

You can’t have beautiful sunsets every day in Arizona. Sometimes they are just normal.

The limit for camping here is 7 days. I will be moving on tomorrow, but the reason to move is not entirely based on coming up on the stay limit, it is mainly because a cold front is coming and bringing with it temperatures in the 50’s during the day and close to freezing at night.

I rode into Prescott twice since I’ve been here. One time was to Walmart and one time was to check out a free dump at the waste treatment plant. It is nice to have the convenience of a large city close by for supplies but the traffic and congestion was not pleasant to drive in. I’m not sure why the traffic was so bad but I hope my move tomorrow will be easier as I travel through town.

Other than short walks each day, I have hung out near camp most of the time, enjoying the weather, and healing a hole in my mouth where I had a tooth extracted. Even though I haven’t done anything exciting in the last few days, I wanted to post to cronicle this spot for future reference.

I have been testing my batteries with information I accumulated from the meter I got from Richard. I have kept track of amps, volts, and state of charge when fully charged, and then again after using them in the evening and overnight. By comparing battery capacity and use overnight, and analyzing percentages and voltages in the morning, it is apparent I have lost about 20% of my batteries life.

Richard and I have discussed several causes that contribute to early battery failure. Lead acid batteries don’t like to go long time-periods without being fully charged. They also don’t like to be mixed with different types and sizes. I’m afraid I’m guilty of both those infractions. But even the abuse of batteries doesn’t explain why batteries that Donna, Richard, and I, all bought at Costco, have failed early.

The good news is that Richard told me the dealer where he bought his lithium batteries is looking at importing batteries from a new supplier. That should lower the cost.

Blue Angels

Monday, March 13th, 2017
Richard and Dianna

Richard and Dianna

An early heat wave has come to the southwest. After weeks of wet and cold, the temperature turned from 60’s to upper 90’s in the span of a few days. Richard and Dianna gave up and moved over to the RV park on the Army Base where they can plug in. Richard says it will be cheaper than running his generator to power the AC for six hours a day. I have to be here for another day for a dentist appointment then I’m planning to head for higher ground.

I’m surprised how many RVs there are still here at the LTVA. I drove through the main section on my way back from town today and only a very few have left. Even the ones still here are not running air conditioners – most had their doors open when I drove by.
I guess the people still here don’t have any other options. When you pay for the season, it is hard to justify leaving here early to pay somewhere else. Richard found a statistic that the average temperature for this time of year is 78 degrees. That would be about perfect.

Last weekend Richard and Dianna took me with them to the air show in El Centro. We planned our arrival so that we could catch the Blue Angels perform and limit the time we were in the brutal heat and searing sun. It worked out good. It took a long time to get on the base but we were in a cool car so the traffic was tolerable. We even watched a Mig and an F86 put on a mock dogfight as we waited for parking. When we finally parked and walked to the flight line, the Blue Angels were just taxying out to take off. We found a parking lot outside the base and watched the show in the shade of a tree.

The Blue Angels didn’t disappoint. Every since I was a kid I have always enjoyed watching the Navy Blue Angels and Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration, and I try to attend their shows whenever I can. After an exciting performance we went on into the flight line to look at all the planes on display. We figured it would give the parking lot time to clear out a little. Even after spending an hour looking at the planes, the traffic getting out was stop and go for another hour.

On the way home we stopped to eat at my favorite restaurant – Cracker Barrel. It was a fun day! Thanks R&D for taking me along!

New Post

Friday, March 3rd, 2017

It has been one month since Mom passed away. I often think of her and wonder how her passing will affect my future. She was the tie that bound all of us in the family to come together in the suburbs of Phoenix from time to time. Family was Mom’s greatest legacy, and I hope we all remember to carry on her memory by keeping in touch with one another.

So often when children and grandchildren scatter across the country and become busy with there own lives, it becomes increasingly hard to get together as a group and enjoy the memories and affection we have as a family. I know that my plans take me on a new path that I was reluctant to commit to when Mom’s health was such an issue. The gift I received from her will allow me more freedom to travel this summer, and I know she would have wanted me to do that.

Imperial Dam LTVA

Imperial Dam LTVA

I’m still staying at the Imperial Dam LTVA with Richard and Dianna. We have been working on several projects while parked here and found time to do some amazing fun things as well. We installed a new lithium battery system in R & D’s trailer and worked on some air leaks in his truck. Installing the battery system was a lot of fun beside a lot of work. Lithium ion batteries are expensive but way better, way better technology for the future of off-grid RV living. He hasn’t had to run his generator at all since switching to the new batteries, and his solar panels have supplied all the charging the system needs. The price for lithium ion batteries is coming down all the time and maybe by next year I can make the switch.

I have purchased a few things for Minnie: New rubber on the front, new inverter, and a few small household items for the inside. It has also been time to change oil on Honda, Minnie, and Minnie’s generator. You can never anticipate everything that will need repair when on a trip but I hope I can stay ahead of any major breakdown.

Ghost Town

Ghost Town

Yesterday, we all went to visit Castle Dome Mining and Ghost Town. It was a fun day walking through the restored buildings, seeing how the old miners and their families lived, and learning about the history of the town and its people. It cost $10 per person but well worth the price for a fun filled day.

I have a dentist appointment next week in Los Algodones to take care of a problem tooth. Then on the following weekend we are all planning on driving to El Centro for the air show. The Blue Angels train in El Centro and always have their first show of the year there. Richard and I have always been into aviation all our lives and we really enjoy the displays of planes and aerobatics.

By then it will be well into March and probably time to think about moving north. R & D have their summer planned to be back up on the Rim in the Coconino National Forest, volunteering at the ranger station. I will migrate with the weather, trying to guess what Mother Nature will do before I get there. I have been fooled by her before.