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.