Quartzsite, Arizona

Last March we came through Quartzsite and to say I was unimpressed would be an understatement.  The BLM land assigned to short term camping was close to I-10 so you could hear the big trucks all day and all night.  Pay twenty-five cents per gallon for water, I remember when I was a kid when I wanted bought gas for my mini-bike that is what I paid per gallon for gas.  To fill my camper which holds fifty gallons of water would cost me $12.50 and I'm still not sure what it costs to empty my black and gray water tanks.  The town did not impress me much either.

This year we stopped at the short term camping area six miles south of town while checking in with the host he tells me that two weeks ago there were about 15 thousand people camping here!  Now it is down to a hundred or so.  Most of these were here for the camper show but there is also the flea market and rocks, lots of rocks for sale.

We found a good spot parking with the door facing southwest which turned out to be the direction of the prevailing winds so after I put my blue tarp skirting up we had a wind free spot to sit and enjoy the sunshine.  Nobody camping within a hundred yards of us but you can see where there must have been a lot of campers only a short time ago.  Something else I noticed is how clean the area is, kudos to all these campers for their clean up job when they departed.

The first couple days we spent in the flea market area walking all the booths.  Some prices seemed to be consistent with everyone else or is that another way of saying fixed?  Other items just seemed to be a bit expensive for a flea market.  This is not to say that you couldn't find a barging but it pays to shop around and if you are really in the market for a particular item take notes and try to remember  where the best buy is at.

Down the street from the short term area we noticed a small sign that simply said "music" and a arrow.  We followed the signs for a mile or two to Reds place where he converted his garage to a place where a few people from the RV park could play there guitars.  The musicians at times were joined by their wives some could sing very good others were a bit off key but much better than I could do for sure.  Music ranged from gospel to old time westerns.   At the intermission time they put out coffee, water, cookies and homemade cake and a donation can at the end of the table.  One of the musicians came up to us at the intermission and asked what us kids were doing there, he was right, we were the youngest ones in the room.  Today there were at least 80 people there and he told us some days there was standing room only inside, the garage doors were opened and people were outside in lawn chairs. 

We plan on spending a few more days here, the day time temperatures are hitting the low 70's but east of Phoenix temps are only in the mid 60's.

Tomorrow we will go to the Desert Inn just north of Parker.

February 4th was Solar Power install day.  I'm not going to go into all the technical aspects of how big of a solar panel should be installed because basically it is buy as large as you can afford!  One point to keep in mind is that you need a 12v panel and a lot of larger panels are 24 or even 48 volt panels.  I'm not saying they CAN NOT be used but a 12 volt panel is much easier to hookup to my RV which is already designed to run on 12 volt.

So how did I install my panel? 

First step is to decide where to mount your panel.  For the size panel that I purchased I really only had one spot on my roof to install it.  I elected to use the "Z" mounting bracket over the adjustable bracket so my panel will lay flat with only a inch or so air space under the panel.  At some point when I have the ability to modify this a bit I will add a inch or two to the rear mount to give it a slight angle, not to provide a better sun angle but to first when it rains it will help keep the glass clean and not pool up and leave mud spots.

When screwing the panels down waterproofing is a two step process.   First using a ball of mastic sealer under the mounting bracket wherever a screw will penetrate the roof membrane.  Using the mastic sealer  will drawn into and around the screw.  Then using some Dicor caulk over the screw.  Using Dicor calk designed for rubber roofs will preserve your rubber roofing guarantee.  Do not use silicone!

 

Step two is how to get the wiring into the RV.  It is best to do this without drilling any holes by directing them down the refrigerator cooling shaft or another way is to drop them alongside a vent pipe but not only do I think the refrigerator shaft is not only a better path but in my case more convenient.  Under my refrigerator is a perfect mounting location for the solar controller and next to that is my power panel.

The rain cover to the refrigerator shaft is held on by four screws.  Once removed you should have some screening to keep bees and other varmints from making their home inside the shaft.  I made a hole in this screen just big enough to drop two 10 gauge wires down and under the refrigerator.

Step three is to mount my solar controller.  I selected a 30 amp controller which is large enough to add another panel or two in the future and also provides me a digital readout telling me the State of Charge, Battery voltage and the PV Current.  To hook up the controller you mount the positive wire to the back of the panel marked solar and the negative to the negative.  The other connection is to connect the positive wire from the controller to the positive connection on the fuse panel and the negative to the negative.  You can also lead this directly to the battery but doing it this way not only saves quite a bit of wire but you also do not need a catastrophe fuse because there should already be installed.

 

 

 

 

Step four and the last step is to secure the wires from the PV panel to the roof of the RV.  Use wire clamps  to screw down about every three feet using mastic sealer under the clamp when screwing it down to the roof and then using some more Dicor caulk to cover the screw.   Re-install the cap on top of the refrigerator.

DONE!

At the time of this writing my PV panel has been installed for one week now and has been working perfectly.  I still need to start my generator to use the coffee maker not much for much else.

A problem with a flat mount is that if you park in the shade there will not be much power produced from your solar collector.  Eventually I would like to have a second panel that I can deploy in such a circumstance or to provide more power when needed.  To accomplish this I will use some 10 gauge wire from the solar side of the controller to a convenient location outside and install a 20 amp rated female plug.  The solar panel will use a heavy duty 10 gauge extension cord hard wired on the solar panel side and another 20 amp rated male plug.  All that has to be done now is to deploy the panel to a sunny location and plug it in, well that is after I purchase that second panel that is.

Into the City

Leaving the Silverado Ranch we planned on driving up to Tucson and then up to Phoenix to visit a couple relatives and to possibly purchase a solar panel for our travel trailer.  The easy route would be to take 80 up to the interstate and into Tucson but we did that route last year and was not very interesting.  This year we will first take 92 to the Coronado National Monument.  I would have liked to check out a few of the hiking trails but one of the stops in Phoenix will be the REI store for new hiking boots,  Next trip for sure.  From there through the town of Sierra Vista to highway 82 south to Nogales.   If the day was warmer another interesting town would have been Patagonia.  Nogales didn't interest me at all, probably some good history there but it looked like just another big city.  We drove on up to the Desert Diamond Casino just south of Tucson for the night.  No, I'm not a gambler but we ate at their buffet last year and it was good!  They did not disappoint us this year either.

The next day we drove up to Phoenix, only a couple hour drive and we had a lot to do there.  We had the normal grocery stops at Costco when we can find one you have to be careful what you buy but some things like breakfast cereal, Costco brand diet coke (I cannot tell the difference between that and the name brand stuff) for only $5.00 a case too!  Another stable from Costco is their pizza it is huge and it taste great for only $10.

One of my main objectives is to check into a solar panel for the travel trailer.  First place to check is a place called RV Solar Electric he has a nice kit for a reasonable price and talking to him he is very knowledgeable but I wanted to check out another company too.  Sun Electronics turned out to be internet only and you go to a warehouse to pickup or have it shipped.  I never was able to talk face to face with anyone from this company but they did have a great deal on a 230 watt 12 volt solar panel but I liked dealing with Doug at RV Solar Electric much better.  He did not have a storefront either but I was able to personally meet the guy and look at his product at his mini storage cubical.  What I ended up with was buying everything but the panel from Doug.  Total cost was about $50.00 less than the kit and 90 watts more.

I also really wanted to see my Aunt and cousin while in Phoenix so now that all our other running around was completed plans were set to first take my Aunt out to lunch and then visit my cousin.  The next morning we had time to relax before heading out into city traffic to first see my Aunt Loretta.  Aunt Loretta lives in an assisted living apartment building, she decided not to go out to eat so we enjoyed lunch with her in the dining area.  Cherri and I both had the chili dog, very good.  Later that afternoon my cousin and after a couple hours of visiting they took us out to Dillons BBQ, another excellent meal and a nice visit with family that I don't have much opportunity to visit with.

The next morning it was time to get out of the city!  Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a city boy,  I can enjoy what it has to offer for only so long then it's time to leave.  We are heading back out to the Hot Well dunes which only a couple hours east of Phoenix and I can't think of a better place to install my new solar panel and then enjoy a dip in the hot tub.

Next entry will be to show you how I installed the solar panel.

 

Silverado Ranch

The Silverado Ranch is 40 acres located about nine miles west of Douglas, AZ owned by Belle Starr utilizing the property as a campground/boondocking site.  All she asks is if you stay you either help out with some of the ranch chores or make a donation for your stay.  She has a few sites with 20 amp service, water and electric.  Lots of dreams for the site and even lots of potential but Miss Starr (not the original Belle Starr) is 85 years old, confined to a wheel chair with MS and very little money to make the necessary improvements.

We stopped here last year for a couple days, Cherri groomed one of her dogs and I setup her wifi and fixed a couple garden hoses. This year when we arrived she greeted us on her motorized wheel chair and even remembered us telling me she has computer problems right away.

After setting in I went up to the house and took a look at Miss Belle's computer. Apparently she just had it replaced after in "crashed". Not sure what happened then but whoever she took it to gave her a new "old" Dell computer just installing her old drive as a second hard drive. No virus protection was installed and loaded with so called performance software that not only slows down your computer but is loaded with spyware. After a couple hours I had installed Avast software which is excellent virus protection and they have a free version which I have been using on all my computers for about seven years now. I highly recommend it. Junk software removed, virus protection enabled and also some anti spyware called Super Anti Spyware both anti spyware and virus set to scan we will see how bad it is in the morning.

The next morning I was pleasantly surprised to find out that except for quite a bit spyeware it did not have any viruses so after a little more cleanup we spent the rest of the day relaxing in the Arizona Sun.

My other accomplishment here was installing a FM antenna on the trailer. The installed antenna is just an internal antenna which is only good if you are in town. I picked up a new antenna some time ago so I was happy to finally get it installed.

A few pictures of the Silverado Ranch... 

Cochise Stronghold

We spent a couple days at Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains.  Cochise had complied with the U.S. Army until 1860 when a young Lieutenant handled an incident poorly causing Cochise and the Chircahua Clan of Apache Indians to flee into this area using the natural layout of the land as a hideout until 1872.

Cochise died June 8, 1874 buried somewhere in the Dragoon Mountains.  The only white man to witness his burial was the only white man Cochise trusted, blood brother and Indian Agent, Thomas J. Jeffords.

 

 

 

The second day here we hiked the Cochise trail back to the pass.  A very nice hike only six miles round trip with the first three mostly uphill but never strenuous.  

 

 

A couple pictures of our hike you can almost imagine how easy it would be for the Apache to hide in these mountains.

 Yup, still a little snow along the trail.

Next blog will be about the Silverado Ranch...

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Wings over Willcox

Leaving the Hot Well Dunes was difficult we became accustom to soaking in the tubs but the Wings Over Willcox festival looked interesting.  Now anyone that knows me will probably be shaking their head and saying, Ron is a birder?  No, I'm not really but I am interested in all kinds of wildlife so I am going to not only learn about Sandhill Cranes but about the wildlife in general located here in Arizona.

So we leave here with a request from our hosts to stop at the Bowie Post Office and see when they will be having their music festival.  We arrived just after noon only to find the Post Office is closed for lunch.  We didn't have time to wait so just called Bud and told him that we couldn't get that information for him.

Willcox was only another 20 miles or so se we arrived with time to spare before our first seminar so we stopped at the Tourist Information Center and picked up some literature.   They sponsor several free seminars and we attended most of them and they also have several tours which we felt that they were all a bit expensive so we passed on those.  One in particular tour for hire was the Walking Tour of Willcox.  The cost was $15 per person!  You would think they would want to promote the downtown area, what a perfect opportunity to take the out of town people like us through the downtown area.  Take them into the stores and explain the history.  How many people would see something they like and either purchase on the spot or come back?  Another thought would to just post some information outside the store so us tourist could walk and read the history.

Ok, so I'm off my soapbox.  As I stated we attended a few Seminars.  On Friday we went to Sandhill Cranes 101 and it was very informative but the speaker needed to learn his topic and not read it to us, and he is a middle school teacher, poor kids.  Next was titled "Ambush on the Jaguar Trail" the speaker was excellent and his presentation composed from trail cameras was outstanding.  Just before this we met up with a couple people that we met at the Hot Well Dunes.  I wanted to go to one more seminar but we had time to go out for dinner first.  We went to the Rail Road Dinning Car for some BBQ, good choice it was excellent.  My last seminar was on Photography, I really need to invest in a better camera one of these days and really learn the fine details of it.

On Saturday we went to three seminars the first one on Snakes, then Bats and finally Lizards.  All the speakers were very informative and excellent speakers.   We had time to do the walking tour of Willcox using the free ligature that we picked up at the Tourist Information Building between the first and second seminar.

One of the stops on the walking tour was the old jail house.  With a little renovation this would be a fantastic stop on the walking tour.

 

 

 

 

By the end of the third seminar we had time to stop at the local grocery store and pick up a few supplies before it was getting dark so we just parked in a truck parking lot next to the Holliday Inn.  It was empty when we went to bed and only one truck when we woke up so I wonder why he felt it necessary to park right next to us and leave his engine running all night.  At least the end of the trailer was near the back of the trailer so the engine noise was not right next to us.

Klondyke Road and Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness

Leaving the Hot Well Dunes to escape the arrival of what could be a lot of ATV's left us with a question, where are we going to go for the weekend?  We definitely want to go back and spend some more time at the hot tubs, but where to go?  We stopped at the Safford BLM office to get some ideas.  The lady at the desk was very helpful but little less then accurate.

We purchased a couple BLM land maps and decided on driving out the Klondyke Road to the Aravipa Canyon and camping there for the weekend.  It was now 4pm and 50 miles away or hour and half to two hours with the camper.  Klondyke Road is supposed to be a good dirt road but it is 33 miles of dirt.

We drove north on highway 70 to just north of Pima to Klondyke Road.  It was a "good" dirt road but slow at times due to the chatter bumps.  I was surprised to see dozens of ranches and power poles all the way back to Klondyke.  Just before 6pm we arrived at the town of Klondyke which consisted of a small general store which was closed, a pay phone without the phone, a BLM office and a campground. 

It was getting dark so we decided to stay at the "Fourmile Campground".  This is a National Forest Service campground.  No hookups, no water at all right now except for in the bathrooms, small probably only a dozen sites but they did have flush toilets.   Only one other camper here tonight and as we went to bed we could tell it was going to be a cold night but the stars were bright and beautiful.

The next morning we woke up to 10 degrees and our water frozen up so I went to the bathrooms to get water for our morning coffee.  After coffee I figured out that the water was only frozen at the water inlet.  A little pipe insulation would fix this but for now I started up the generator and the hair dryer quickly thawed the hose.

Daytime temperatures were in the comfortable 60's and I decided to just disconnect the trailer and do a day trip to Turkey Creek or the end of the road to the Aravaipa Canyon.  This as it turned out was a good decision because this is where the lady at the BLM did not give very good information.  She knew we were pulling a travel trailer and she told us there were seven stream crossings once past Klondyke but we should find a campsite at Turkey Creek.  Well the stream crossings could be done with any two wheel drive high clearance vehicle but I do not thing pulling a travel trailer would have worked out so well and once back at Turkey Creek the turnaround spot was Turkey Creek.  No way a travel trailer could go down that road.  Thinking that we crossed that stream more than seven times I counted on the way back, eleven crossings.

So what about this valley?  Aravaipa comes from the Papago, which means "little wells."  The trail ( Aravaipa creek) is about 10-12 miles from the east to the west entrances.  There are not trails, designated campsites or signs.  You follow the creek through the canyon with several other canyons to explore if you desire.

 

 

I took a picture of this chapel and learned the story a few days later. This use to be a house of prostitution  but when her sons were sent off to WW I she promised if they both returned she would change her ways and convert the house to a house of god.

 

 

The end of the road at Turkey Creek.  Hard to see here but I took this picture from the window of my truck sitting in the creek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one of the stream crossings we saw quite a few deer, one posed for me.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the stream crossings.

 

 

 

 

 

I am going to have to add this to my bucket list and come back and hike this.  To reduce the impact on the area the BLM requires permits to enter the canyon allowing only 50 per day.  30 from the West entrance and 20 from the East.  You can only spend three days in the canyon which I think is a bit restrictive knowing if you wanted to explore all the side canyons you will need a lot more than three days.

Back at the Fourmile campground we had another cold night and frozen pipes in the morning.  Sure hope this cold spell ends soon.  By the end of the day we made it back to Hot Well Dunes where the temperatures were back into the upper 60's and the hot tub temperatures were still 104 degrees!

The next week was spent at the Hot Wells as I wrote about in my previous entry so I won't write about it again but the following weekend we went to Willcox, AZ for the "Birds over Willcox" festival.

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Is 105 degrees hot enough for ya?

We arrived in Arizona on January 6th it was warmer than Texas but not by much.  We went to the town of Safford first because I know of a couple spots to boondock or otherwise known as free camping on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land which for those that do not know belongs to the citizens of the USA.  Anyways, this spot just outside of Safford is supposed to be a spot where lots of snowbirds go to in the winter but last year in March there were only 4-5 other RV's and this year I only saw one.  Not sure how hot a spot this is but I had planned on only one night here and then go check out the Hot Well Dunes and soak in a hot tub.

Monday morning we pack up and head down Haskell Road another 25 miles to Hot Well Dunes.  The Hot Wells is located on BLM land but there is a charge to camp here but it is only $3.00 per vehicle per day.  The hot tubs, two of them use to be artesian wells which kept the pools at a steady 104-105 degrees 24 hours a day but several years ago they quit flowing so now the water is pumped out of the ground powered by an solar array.   When the sun shines you have hot water.   This means every night the pumps quit but the tubs are designed to completely drain.  Basically there is a trickle drain at the bottom of the tub and an overflow drain at the top.  The overflow drain goes into a secondary pond which is designed for campers to do the sponge bath.  Somebody put some thought into this design.

We stayed here until Friday morning this week because the down side to this spot is that it is HEAVLY used on the weekends by ATV's, 4x4 trucks, Dune buggies, Motorcycles so it is not the place to be unless you like noise, dust and parties.  So we headed to Klondike which is a small village North of Safford then we returned Sunday evening and spent another week in sometimes cool but always hot tubs.

We also became friends with the hosts there at the Hot Wells as well as a couple other sun seekers from the north so I'm sure we will be heading back that way again.

Next blog I will have to write a little about our weekend in Klondike, AZ.

 This picture shows the first hot tub and the solar collector that keeps the water flowing.

This picture shows the second hot tub that use to be shaded with several trees but died so they had to be cut down.

Leaving Texas behind us

Wow Texas seems like it was such a long time ago.  We are moving slowly most days not traveling more than 40-50 miles.  Leaving Round Rock, TX we have gone from Llano to Winter to Abilene to Big Springs and finally El Paso, TX.  Each very interesting spots so I will write a little bit about each one.

Llano, Tx is a small community and like so many small towns the courthouse is really the focal point of the town but go much more than a block or two in any direction and you see a mixture of older homes with a few newer ones built among them.  They have a small RV park just out of town that we spent the night in.  Nothing special being built right next to the golf course so I can imagine that it is heavily used by snowbirds.

Winter, TX was not our planned stop, it was supposed to be Coleman but my information was outdated and they no longer allowed overnight camping.  We drove through their downtown area and decided that we were not missing anything so we move on to Winter which was only 20 or so miles away.  Winter had a very nice RV park right downtown and we had it to ourselves but being New Years eve just about everything was closed, still a nice walk downtown.

Abilene, TX is a rather large city in Texas and where my nephew David is currently attending college.  Here we did not stay in the city but at a park just north of town called SeeBee Park.  Here they have three designated camping spots which we did not use disregarding their rules but I figure if they want you to use those sites they need to clean them up a bit.  So we setup on the hill overlooking the dried up pond and it was also in the sun so it provided a little bit of solar heat for us.

Big Springs, TX this is a larger community and the home of June's place, a lady that allows people to camp in her side yard.  June's hospitality was awesome making us feel right at home.  We were waiting for our mail and we were also waiting for a winter snow storm to pass so we spent three nights there.  The second night she invited us over for a chili dinner which not only the food was fantastic but the company.  Our mail finally arrived on our third day but we waited until the next morning to head out.

El Paso, TX.  This was a Walmart camping night so the days travel was as eventful as the night but the next morning we stopped at Costco to pickup a couple supplies.  Being a bit early the store wasn't open yet but the Costco gas station was so I took my little generator gas can over to top it off.  At the pump next to me I started a conversation with the gentleman pumping gas and he asked me if that all I was doing is filling up that gas can and before I could say yes he removed the nozzle from his truck and filled up my gas can.  I only regret that I did not get his name.  About an hour later we stopped at another gas station to fill up our propane tanks.  While I was at the register a gentleman was looking for some distilled water rather desperately and disappointed when the clerk told him that they did not carry any.  He told the clerk that he needs some because he has two batteries that were almost dry.  I told him to come out with me that I carry some distilled water with me and gave him two liters of distilled water and his batteries took every drop.  He offered to pay me but I told him about the gentleman that filled my gas can earlier.  So now it is his turn, we shook hands and we crossed drove on down the road.

Holidays in Texas

Holidays in Texas

It was warm if not a little on the hot side which was great but it only lasted a couple days unfortunately.  Our first night we had plans on going with my sister and her family to the Texas University clock tower to take some pictures.  My sister Janet, after raising her family of six wonderful children decided to go back to school and we have the honor to watch her graduate tomorrow but tonight it is a photo opp of my sister and her family in front of the clock.  Notice in the picture that they light up the clock tower with the graduation year.

The next day was the actual graduation, wish I had a picture but the lighting was so poor that all the pictures came out as a blur.  Very proud of my sister!

 

Mid weak Cherri, my mother and I all went to San Antonio to visit my Uncle Art (moms older brother) for a  day visit then spending the night at the local KOA before heading to Padre Island for a couple days.  Too bad the weather didn't cooperate, not terrible but foggy, windy and a bit cool.

The following Monday we went back to the Round Rock area but first stopping at my other sisters house in Hutto, TX. for a visit and dinner at the Downtown Hall of Fame which is a neighborhood bar and grill that has a lot of atmosphere and the food was not bad either.

Christmas was low keyed at my sister Janet's along with her family, my mother and other sister from Hutto.  It was a really nice day only to be repeated that Friday with a Christmas dinner at my sisters Linda's in Hutto.

The Christmas holiday ended on the 30th when we packed up and hooked up our travel trailer and headed west.  We ended up spending double the time that we planned on at my sister Janet's.  Their hospitality was very much appreciated.  It is great having such fantastic family.

 Note:  I had planned on inserting a couple pictures but for some reason the software is not allowing me to do that right now, maybe I can update a little later.

Texas?

While traveling home from Alaska we talked about heading south after the Christmas holidays so soon after we returned home I started preparing the Shasta travel trailer to put it up for sale.  First cleaning out and then removing a few items like the four Trojan batteries, the inverter, wireless network, generator to mention a few things.  OK, let's not forget the fact that I need to find a new travel trailer.

Preparing the trailer took a lot longer than I anticipated but I finally finished and moved it over to a friend's house that is on a main road but after almost two weeks and no calls I tried another friend that has a business on a main highway this was a little bit better and received a couple calls and even thought I had it sold to one of them.

One day I was over at my mother's house and she told that she was planning on going down to my sister's house for Christmas but she was planning on leaving around the first of December so she could attend her graduation from Texas University.   So the offer came around that we could travel together down to Texas.  This also put the pressure on to be ready in time.

We found the our new (used) travel trailer the first part of November still holding out and hoping that we can sell our trailer but that never came to be so we bit the bullet and bought our new trailer finally picking it up right after Thanksgiving.

Skipping ahead to the first of December ready... set... and wait forgot to renew some medications so finally on the 5th of December we hit the road.