My Trails

The drive to Yuma was ordinary. I dumped waste tanks in Mesa, topped off with propane in Yuma, and filled my water tank at a rest area just over the border in CA. I wish I had a good story to tell about a misadventure of splatter comedy at the dump tank but everything came out fine. I was a little worried that something would leak and a hose break apart but it all held with just a little drippage at the tank.

Minnie only held 3.5 gallons of propane – a miniscule amount considering all the appliances using it – and I got a great price on the fill to boot. I have been conserving propane by turning the hot water tank off and not using much heat in the morning, but I may use more now that I know it doesn’t cost much.

I’m boondocking on Ogilby Road just outside Yuma, AZ. I will be here for a couple days and then head over to EL Central for the air show. I have already found a few problems I will have to deal with in the near future. After I dumped my tanks and hit the road south of Phoenix, I could smell a strong odor of sewer gas. It could be that I have a broken vent pipe or something. I don’t think I got any on my shoe. I also had a problem unloading my motorcycle. The spare tire is right in the way and I almost lost control while tipping the bike out from behind the tire.

No pictures today but tomorrow I may drive my motorcycle into town to do laundry. Nothing says photo opp like freshly laundered clothes!

First it’s a toaster, then I will have to have a coffee maker, and of course I need the coffee grinder to go with that, and don’t forget how nice it would be to have a blender / slicer. Wouldn’t a waffle maker be a good idea? There is no end to it! I thought I was trying to live the simple life, not the mainstream, gluttonous, consumer lifestyle. I am like the woman in the apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead who wants a bread maker! I have to stop!

I have always felt pride in my ability to adapt to any inconvenience of modern living but this motorhome has spoiled me. With just a few instances of conservation, I can now do almost anything I could in a house. It is a good feeling but it scares me a little bit too. I sometimes think I’ve bit off more than I can chew and I will wake up one morning and find I’m in over my head.

Every day there are groups of people that arrive here at the recreation area to adventure down the Salt River in inflatable rafts. It looks like fun, but I imagine it costs more than I want to spend.

Yesterday, as I was riding back from town , I came upon a large rattlesnake crossing the road only about 1/4 mile from where we are camped. I swung my motorcycle around to get a better look, and when I got close he became very agitated and coiled up in a protective stance. They deserve a lot of respect out here. I wish I would have taken a pic.

I’m planning on leaving tomorrow for a short trip. Mom has not been feeling well and I hesitate to go, but I will only be a day away. This will be the real test of the rig. I will not have the city for parts and supplies nor my brother to fix anything that breaks.

The nice thing about being retired and working on improvements for my Minnie is that I can always pretend the boss isn’t looking and go sit down. I like to have just enough projects to keep from getting bored but not enough that it seems like a job. With Richards help, I think I’m almost there.

Yesterday I noticed that my refrigerator was only cooling down to about 50 degrees. RV refrigerators are notorious for messing up after about 12 years of service and that’s where Minnie is now. Richard noticed that the flame at the burner looked like it was plugged – a common problem with this type unit – so we took it apart for inspection. The jet was not only plugged but damaged by someone in the past.

Richard called around to several RV parts dealers and found a new nozzle in Apache Junction. After we replaced the defective part the fridge began to cool like it should. I’m hoping I don’t have any more trouble with it.

Today we installed a solar panel on Minnie’s roof. Everything went smoothly and within a couple hours we had it mounted and wired into the system. I have lots of other small projects to do but nothing that can’t wait until after my nap.

So far so good. Just a short drive from Mesa, AZ, near the scenic Salt River, is a recreation area where several retired people park their RVs and soak up the winter sunshine. It is close enough to town that supplies and parts are a quick motorcycle ride away, and most importantly, it is the place where expert RV mechanic and technician, Richard Lafferty is parked.

I left Donna’s home mid morning, stopped at Walmart to stock my fridge with groceries, filled the Minnie with gas before it went up again, and arrived at Phon D Sutton just before noon. It is different driving this motorhome. I have to plan ahead in parking areas and watch for low hanging tree branches. It is kind of fun to drive, though.

Soon after I parked and set up camp, Richard started wiring my batteries and solar charging system. I had purchased two switches that would let us configure several scenarios for charging and using different batteries. I wanted to add my agm batteries to the batteries already in the coach but mixing different batteries can be tricky. Richard had drawn a schematic detailing the wiring and proceeded with the install.

Just thinking about the complexity of the project gave me a brain cramp so I’m sure glad he was there to make it happen.

I now have a charging system that allows me to charge either set of batteries or both, and switches to use different combinations of my batteries.

Last night was my first night sleeping in the Minnie. The bed was comfortable and I kept warm. This morning I tried out the stove by making a ham and egg omelet. Yum! Tonight I am going to try the shower. How exciting!

This is my new home. It is a 2002 Minnie Winnebago. Compared to my van it is a mansion. I now have the ability to sleep in a full size bed, take hot showers, bake a batch of cookies, and best of all, stand up inside and walk around. It has a generator to power an air conditioner and microwave, and a nifty little hot water tank for all those cleaning chores.

I learned to be quite comfortable while living in my van and It served me well as I traveled around the country. For a single person in constant motion, exploring and living for adventure, finding new places every day, It probably is one of the best modes of travel. With good gas mileage and the ability to reach back country places in forests and hidden roads, you can’t beat a van. But it was time to move to a bigger home.

While the ability to live the vagabond life is still important to me, I realize that a lot of my time will be spent parked in one place. A van dweller usually lives outside more than inside and this system works great as long as the weather is nice. The problem lies in the fact that there are places around this country where it may rain for several days in a row. That is when the interior of a van can get a little confining.

I hope to tell more of my new lifestyle in short and fascinating posts here. The travel will be slow and the traveler’s mind has always been a little slow, but I want to chronicle even the silly and ordinary so I will never forget.