The Fires

There have been some bad fires in Arizona, four that are being reported on in the news, and when I went outside the other morning, the sky was dark with smoke. I went to the office to talk to them about it - I wondered if we were in any danger if the fires kept moving.  They weren't worried, but were watching it. They said they'd let us know if there was a chance of the fire getting too close to us.  Wow, I took one of my usual short walks with Katie and I could see a difference in my breathing when we got back, and it was a short walk. We stayed inside the rest of the day, except for short potty breaks for Katie a few times.

The last few days haven't been as bad - I know the smoke is there, but it's not as thick.  I guess it depends on how the winds are blowing.  Today is windy, and I can see more smoke in the skies.  I'm glad I'll be leaving on Wednesday.

This was the sky in the East yesterday evening. The smoke was swirling, very unusual looking.

This morning a big rig came in towing a large trailer.  Look at the size of this duo, and the neat graphics on the enclosed trailer.

I asked her if they had a helicopter inside and she laughed.  They have a Jeep in there and a golf cart, and a bunch of other stuff, but no "bird."  I think her husband flew helicopters in Vietnam.  Cool cargo trailer.

I ordered some of The Solution and also a spray bottle of Amaze, which is for getting bugs, black streaks, etc., off autos and RVs.  I ordered it on the 7th, and I've been waiting for it since then. I finally checked my AMEX account on-line, and there have been no charges. Then I checked on their website and I don't see anything about a pending order for me.  I must not have completed the on-line order form. Rats!

I'm afraid to order it now, I'm leaving in five days.  I guess I'll order it again when I know I'll be somewhere for a couple of weeks again.

I think this time of year I drive more and get more bugs and road dirt on the rig.  Now that The Palms is so clean and shiny I want to keep her that way!  Once the season for the LTVAs (Long Term Visitor Areas) starts again in September, I'll get an LTVA Permit and drive less.

 Smokey sunset on Wednesday

 Thursday's Sunset. Can you see the smoke?

Laters.  (Anyone else read the books?)  From Me and Katie, have a great Friday!  :)

One more week...

Just want you to know Katie and I are doing fine.  We have one more week here at Distant Drums RV Resort; we leave next Wednesday morning. Things have been pretty quiet around here, it's been hot in the afternoons, but the mornings and evenings are perfect. With the A/C on in the afternoon when we need it, the temps in The Palms are perfect, too.

I folded up my chairs and laid them on the patio the other day because of the wind.  When I put them back up, this little stick critter was stuck inside the chair.  Isn't he cool looking?

Walking Stick

I don't think I posted about the night last week when a noise woke me up, just as Katie was jumping down from the overhead bed onto the couch.  In the middle of the night!  She jumped off the couch and went into the kitchen where she vomited on the little throw rug.  WHAT A GOOD GIRL!  Thank you for not vomiting in my bed. :)  I got up and cleaned it up and put her little bed on the couch and got out the little down blanket that we used to put on the couch for her to snuggle in. I covered her bed with it, which makes a nice little nest, with the rest of the blanket on the couch.

Katie's bed is under the blanket.  At night, I cover her up with the extra.

I used to put her bed and blanket on the dinette bench seat during the day, then move them over to the couch at night.  Then it got cold and I put her bed on the dinette seat all the time, put the blanket away, and Katie slept with me in the overhead bunk.  Of course, I had no way to know she missed that blanket.  When I got it out the other night, she acted like she found an old friend.  I'm going to have to keep it out all the time, she really likes it.

Afternoon nap on her favorite blankie, totally zonked with her tongue peeking out.

Since I got that blanket out for her, she's hardly gotten off it.  I had forgotten how much she loved it and layed on it all the time.

So Katie is sleeping on the couch at night now - as long as it's warm enough.  When it gets cold at night, I'll bring her up into my bed again.

 Katie is making a friend.

Katie is really getting socialized, as far as small dogs, but some of these little guys are playful, and Katie doesn't want or know how to play with them.  It seems to scare her.  She's really friendly with people now, though. She will walk right up to someone, even walks up to them sitting in their chairs in front of their rigs if they look friendly. People seem to love her.

When I took down the bird seed feeder for the finches, they kept coming to the window.  Some of them even tried out the hummer food.

Hummmmm - this doesn't look right.

But I'll try it!

 I'm not sure they get anything - their beaks are so short.

That's it for now - from me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

The Fix

WELCOME to our two new followers:

JudynEd Rice, who are showing no information.  JudynEd, if you guys have an RV blog, let me know!  NOTE:  Judy left a comment - and she does have a brand new RV blog: Woo Hoo! What a Ride!. Check it out. :)

Sam Livingston, who loves to eat and hike, and lives in Gig Harbor, WA with a sweet dog by the name Bonnie.  Sam, I don't see a blog listed for you, either; if you have one let me know.

Thanks to you both for following along with me and Katie on our full-timing adventures - we're happy to have you aboard.

Remember when I was coming out of the gas station on my very first trip (north to my daughter's house in Vacaville) and I scraped the drivers side of  The Palms on that pole in the gas station as I was turning?  I ordered a new cargo door and decals from Forest River and my son fixed and cleaned up the fiberglass damage, and re-installed the new door and decals.

Later I noticed this in the front corner of The Palms:

I didn't think much about it, but in the last few days, two different people told me I was going to have some water damage if I didn't get that trim piece back where it belongs.

Gary told me when he was waxing that area how to do it, but I needed a longer screw than the original one.  I planned to go to Walmart this week and added a package of different sizes and lengths of screws to my list.

He said to tap it with my rubber mallet from the center of the trim piece down to the edge, and tighten the screw a bit with each tapped area, as it goes in closer to the corner.  Hopefully when I got to the bottom of the corner, the piece would be flush where it belongs. 

THE FIX

Today Katie and I drove to Walmart, and I got some longer screws so I could  fix the gap.  It turned out pretty well.  I couldn't get it to sit flush, but it came in pretty close, so I put some clear silicone gel along the edge and in the small opening that was left.  It's supposed to be dry in three hours.  I checked it a couple of hours ago, and it was good.  It' water tight, and that should take care of it. :)

Pretty flowers along our walk in the RV Resort.

 Our gorgeous sky at sunset this evening.

From me and Katie, have a great Wednesday night, everyone!  :)

The Palms is clean and shiny

FYI, our new Follower from May 4, Harriet Mayeaux, has a brand new blog, Giddyup! Gumbo, which is the name of her future RV.  She plans to RV part time, during the Spring and Fall, hopefully starting this Fall. Good luck, Harriet, I'm looking forward to reading your posts as you prepare to purchase your rig and get on the road this fall!  :)

I have a bright and shiny RV again.   In the afternoon the sun was shining so brightly off her chrome, The Palms looked like she was smiling.

The last time The Palms was washed and waxed was June of 2011, so she was due, boy was she due!  I didn't realize how dirty she was until Gary was finished and I saw her again in all her super white glory.

Washing and waxing The Palms took him most of the day, he started right before 10 a.m. yesterday morning, and finished right before 4 p.m.  Six hours.  That's a long time, and he got everything that was dirty, streaked, caked with bugs, and also all the black areas that got over-spray from the wax job last year. Gary said that shouldn't have happened - you should never get wax on those black areas, but the black parts all over the rig had been sprayed. Around the windows and all the other openings on the sides, right below the front windshield, the black below the bumper, all over.  Last year they sprayed on the wax and buffed it out on the body, but there was a lot of over-spray and they didn't take care of it. 

Gary puts the wax on a cloth and rubs it in, then buffs it out with another cloth.  First the white areas, then the decals, which bleed their color on the cloth and will end up on the white if not done separately.  It's all man power.

 Cleaning bugs off.

A couple of interesting things Gary said that I thought I'd pass on.  Like most people, I thought I got a cheaper price than the big rigs because The Palms is only 24 feet.  Gary said it actually takes him longer to do Class C motor homes because they have a lot of chrome and they aren't a flat surface.  They have all the little places he has to fit into and get clean that aren't part of the one-piece, rectangular Class A's and buses that have long, clean lines.  I guess that makes sense.  He also said the siding on my rig is more porous than the clear coat on some of the big rigs, so waxing takes longer.

 See that sticker on the window, lower right? It's been there for a year.

I tried to get it off, and it flaked, but Gary got it off with a razor blade.

I love my kitchen. :)

 Katie was pretty good, considering Gary was outside all day,

but she didn't like him getting near the windows.

Ruff! Ruff!

 

Now The Palms is good for another year. Thanks, Gary, you did a great job!

The Palms with the big moon rising Sunday night.

Every time there's a full moon, I want to get a GREAT photo of The Palms with the full moon behind it.  Usually the moon looks really small or there are RVs in the photo that are distracting.  Some day I'm going to be in the desert or forest with no close neighbors, and the moon will be that big orange orb slowly rising behind The Palms, and I'll get the perfect photo.  When that happens, you'll all be the first to know!

That's it for me and Katie for today - have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

Another free Kindle e-book about RVing

Here's another free Kindle e-book about Rving - Winnebagos in particular, it looks like - available today through Amazon.com.

Dance of the Winnebagos (Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Series #1)

By: Ann Charles

I won't recommend many of these Kindle books, I know non-Kindle owners could care less, but when I see free e-books about RVing, I can't resist. I'm surprised when I see them, it's such a niche market.

I post about these freebies when I see the daily e-mail in the morning, and I order them right away.  I don't know how long they are free, maybe only for that day. I haven't read them when I post, so they might be a hit or a miss, but since they are free and most of us are frugal, they are worth a download if you're interested.

I'm not going to do any reviews, I'm usually in the middle of another book, and it might be a while before I read them.  I'll leave it up to you to decide if you want to download them.  Free e-books are a mixed bag.

My wash and wax guy is just starting on The Palms, so I'll either post later today or tomorrow and let you know how it went.  I'm excited about The Palms being clean and shiny again, but a little anxious about someone blasting water on her and walking on her roof.  He's been doing this for years and some of the really nice big rigs used his services, so I have to figure he knows what he's doing. He washed the Allegro Bus across from me and it looks really nice.  The owner was happy.

From Me and Katie, have a good Monday, everyone!  :)