The SOLAR installation

Here are the two Kyocera DK135 solar panels that were installed on Wednesday:

We slept in the covered work area, with two other rigs that had their people in them overnight.  I didn't meet the owners of the rig next to me, they were very quiet and kept to themselves.  I met the other couple, though,  Nancy and John Wayne; they said Ron is a friend, along with his family, and they have been coming here for years. They have been full-timing for more than 20 years, and are on their third rig.

I enjoyed talking to them both, and we had a couple of good conversations.  Here's Nancy feeding Katie a treat. 

Katie with Taz and Stitch and Nancy

Here's Ron, the owner of the shop, he was great to work with.  He's been working on RVs for 30 years, and installing solar for 20 years.

Ron fabricates all the wires, hoses, and connections himself. All his installs are done the same, if someone calls and needs information on what he did, he can always talk them through a repair or warranty on the phone. He's had people call from other countries, and was able to talk them though the fix.

In case you need a good shop for anything at all relating to RVs, I would highly recommend:

Ron Wicklund, Owner
D & R Family R.V.
6344 W. Orangewood #7
Glendale, AZ 85301
623-842-1265    drfamrv@q.com

Ron has a new employee, Arron, who did most of the work on The Palms.  He's been a mechanic for a while, but is new to solar, and he seemed intent on getting everything right.  Ron checked from time to time, made corrections and suggestions, and the final job was perfect. And here's Arron working on the wall panels:

The little black gizmo is the remote, I push the button and the solar is switched on.  The batteries are 91% charged, it was night when I took this, but I hadn't used much.

This is the Inverter and another new generator switch, and 

the in-house water filter I didn't know I had.

Ron got some filters and put one in for me.

Geez, Mom, the house is a mess!

Ron also asked me about how I am going to fill my new batteries.  I didn't realize that because the 6 volt batteries are taller, the other shop took out the sliding tray the old batteries were sitting on, and now I can't fill the cells without removing the batteries.  He took off the cell covers and put on a new cover that's part of a fill kit.  I just have to insert the end of a little hose, put the other end into the gallon jug of distilled water, and pump the little balloon thingie on the hose until it won't pump any more.  All the cells will be full.  I'm really glad he had the fill kit, I sure don't want to be taking out the batteries myself to refill them.

Ron solved some issues I didn't even know I had, but he saw and fixed them for me. I like shops that notice things other than what you specifically came in for.  I'd rather have them taken care of now than have to stop later somewhere else that wasn't recommended. 

At 4:00 all the work was done and paid for, and I asked Ron where would be a good place to do some boondocking that night to test out my systems. He checked with John Wayne and Nancy because they are boondockers, and they suggested a good place to go. Ron came back to the rig and wrote down directions for me, and we headed toward Buckeye Hills Recreational Area -  we blogged about that yesterday.

So, yesterday morning we left Buckeye Hills and headed for Yuma, AZ, looking for some sun:

A little sun in the distance.

Sun coming through, but it didn't get much better than this all day.

Last night we stayed at Paradise Casino in Yuma.  They offer one night free parking in their dirt lot next to the regular parking lot.  There were a lot of RVs here, but the area is so large the RVs each had a lot of space. It's a nice setup for an overnight and very quiet.  I went to their restaurant and ordered the Thanksgiving dinner and an extra salad for around $12.  Quite a deal for a fresh turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

 This church is right up the hill from where we are parked.

There was a beautiful sunset last night. One of the sunsets that have all kinds of colors, red, pink, yellow, gold, it kept changing until the sun was gone.

Today we are heading toward Quartzsite.  I want to see what it looks like and find a free space to park for two weeks to see how the solar does.  Yesterday I did have to run the generator, but today I have had my computer, TV and printer on since I woke up, just using the solar.   There were 4.4 amps coming in at 9:00 am, and now it's 11:00 am and we have10.1 amps coming in.

I'm unsure about the coffee maker and microwave. Yesterday I couldn't use them with the solar, but maybe it was the cloud cover.  Or maybe I'll need to fire up the generator when I use those, which is okay because they get minimal use during the day.  I'm hoping to meet up with other RVers in Quartzsite who have similar set-ups, and maybe they can answer some of my questions.  I could call Ron, of course, but that would be too easy.  :)

On to Quartzsite!  From Me and Katie, have a great Black Friday, everyone!  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

WELCOME to our new Followers!

Cathie, who has been traveling with her husband, Al, in their fiver since July.  His mom, Martha (almost 92) is in a lot of the posts I read, she was she traveling with Al's brother and SIL, what a cutie she is!  Theirs is a new blog, check it out!

Lauren Miller, who is showing no information at all, but I love her Avatar, the rose.  In my rose garden in San Diego, I had that beautiful variety.  I don't know the name of it, but it was beautiful.

Jenny Johnson, who also has no information listed.  Sometimes people don't put their blog names down, or don't have one yet.  If you or Lauren have or start blogs, let me know so I can check them out.

Sheila, who has been showing dogs since 1979.  According to her profile, "My Alaskan Malamute, 'Miles', was the dog 'Indiana' in the 'Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'."  That must have been pretty exciting to be a part of!  Sheila said she loves her motor home and hopes to some day be a full-timer.

First night boondocking

Short blog today - I had solar panels and a catalytic heater and some other things installed yesterday, and Katie and I had our first real boondocking experience last night.  We went to Buckeye Hills Recreational Area.

Beautiful sunset along the way

We got there about dusk, and it was dark when I found somewhere to park.  Not having been in one of those kinds of areas before, I wasn't exactly sure how it's done, where to park, etc.  There were no signs, except this one on the way in:

There wasn't a sign of life, no animals, birds, people or RVs.  We drove two miles down some washboard roads, past the police target range, into the desert, and finally saw what looked like camp sites.

The Palms parked at the end of the site driveway

I parked The Palms and walked to the end of the driveway to see what was up there, I wanted to make sure it wasn't a road and that there weren't any big rocks in the way.  All was clear, so I drove in, turned around so we were facing the road, and we were there.  I was a little apprehensive, since I had no idea where we really were, and it was so "out in the middle of nowhere."   

I was looking forward to waking up in the morning to see where we were.  Here's the area in the morning - sorry the photos are so dark, but it was cloudy and the sun was just peeking out:

 View out the kitchen window - the sun is just rising, but it's cloudy.

 View from the truck cab. 

The Palms at Buckeye Hills Recreation Center.

This is about 7:00 am, still kind of dark.

I decided to pack up and leave and head toward the sun.  No point in having solar panels if there's no sun, but that's seems to be a difficult task today.  This whole area, Highway 8 headed toward Yuma, seems to be under cloud cover for today. Sunshine is expected tomorrow, I think.

This is the area as we are driving out

We don't have any Thanksgiving plans this year, just a turkey frozen dinner that I'm looking forward to.  I won't be with my family, but I called everyone this morning, and I'll be thinking about them.   I want to find a place we can hang out for a few days, or longer, to test out our new equipment.  

This year I am thankful for my two wonderful kids and their spouses, Tom and Trish - and - Kristy and Matt, and all my grandchildren - Kennedy, Drew, Gavin, Lauren and Graydin. There just couldn't be a better bunch of kids.  

I'm thankful that I have good health, without which I couldn't be living this life of full-timing and enjoying it so much.

And I am thankful that this Thanksgiving I have The Palms to take me to new, beautiful, exciting places in complete comfort, and Katie to keep me company on the way.  I couldn't ask for much more, but I do, in fact, have a lot more.

From Me and Katie, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  :)

New TV

WELCOME to our new followers:

Sandy (and her husband Jerry).  I don't see a blog for Sandy, but according to her profile, they bought a 2006 Sunseeker 2200 motor home in July of 2011. "We love it and enjoy going camping at the beach not far from our home in Ventura Ca. We are both retired and next summer hope to travel for a month or so at a time. We have an adorable little 5 lb. deer chihuahua named Lucy. She is a great little traveler."  Wow, almost my story, except the Jerry part.  I love my 2006 Sunseeker 2200, too, and I'm glad you feel the same.  Welcome!

... and Dean.  Dean has a photo, but I can't bring up a profile, so it doesn't look like he has a blog, either. Thanks for following along with Me and Katie on our travels, Dean.  Welcome aboard!
NOTE: I had a comment from Dean with the link to his blog, Dean and Val's Adventures.  You've got to check it out!  His current post from Sunday has photos and an explanation of how they receive their water at their house, they receive "flood irrigation."  I've never heard of that, but it's kind of cool.  And I think they have a GOAT named Buster!  The previous post has photos of their fold down, hard sided travel trailer. Thanks for your comment, Dean.

It rained last night.  This morning is cooler and cloudy.

Since yesterday afternoon I've seen four police cars with red and blue lights blinking, pulling cars into this parking lot and giving them tickets.  I think the street in front of the casino, long and straight, must be a good place to risk speeding.

I also saw a man jump up on the running board of a large, nice looking rig, and pound it's windows and door.  He really beat up that truck, then jumped down and continued on into the casino.

I've seen two couples fighting, one couple on Saturday and another this morning, yelling, calling names and throwing accusations at volumes I could hear even from quite a distance.  The first man was throwing things at the woman - like pebbles.  I had my camera out just in case, but he jumped on his bike and pedaled away.  Interesting what you see when you live in a parking lot. :)

Those things didn't feel scary and I didn't feel threatened.  I was far enough away to be well out of their issues, but kept a watchful eye; just in case someone needed help I would have called 911. Speaking of keeping a watchful eye, sometimes I feel like the nosy old neighbor, you know the type?  Always spying on her neighbors.  But when I hear something or a movement catches the corner of my eye, I look out the window. Whether it's a bird, animal or people.  I'm not really being nosy, it's life.  Well, here's the new "eye in the sky" in our neighborhood:

I'd better keep an eye on that dog!

I copied this from Trish's Facebook page (my daughter-in-law), Gavin will be 7 years old in December:

Gavin:   Mom, where do babies come from?

Me:      long pause....
Gavin:   Mom!!!
Me:      Do you remember where Graydin came from?
Gavin:   Your tummy, but how do they get there?
Me:      Well...mommys and daddys make babies. How do you think babies are made?
Gavin:   God makes them?
Me:      (sigh of relief) Yes!!! God gave us the ability to make babies.
Gavin:   So, if it wasn't for you and daddy I would not be here?
Me:      That's right. Mom and dad decided we wanted you and we made you. Does that make sense?
Gavin:  Yeah... Mom are the sun and moon the same?
Me:      Oh yes, let's move on to universe questions!!! I like those questions. :)

Don't you just love it?

Trish and Tom are celebrating their anniversary at Lake Tahoe, where they were married.  Happy Anniversary!

Beautiful November 2002 Wedding

I walked over to the Casino this morning for breakfast.  The buffet doesn't have a breakfast during the week, so I went into the Willows Restaurant.  It was delicious, and I brought half the eggs and sausage back for breakfast tomorrow.

Little guy walking along outside the restaurant:

Out for a Sunday morning walk.

Saturday afternoon my TV went out. I don't know if its the TV or the converter, but I decided to check today for a new TV at Costco or Best Buy, a recent model that doesn't need a converter.  I'm kind of tired of the old TV with the converter attached with rubber bands and raffia! I Velcro'd it to the bottom of the TV, but it never stays put, and just hangs there looking kind of messy.  So, since I'm already spending a fortune this month I think I'll finally get the TV, too.  I knew I'd have to get a new TV one of these days.

LATER:

Wow, this new TV is GREAT!  I got it at Walmart, it's a Sanyo 18.5" HDTV LDC.  I carried it to The Palms in the parking lot, and changed it out with the old one.  I was surprised how easy it was to take the old one down and install the new one.  The only problem was I couldn't reach some deeply set screws to take off a plastic part that's used with the stand.  Since I am hanging it, I had to take that part out.  My screwdrivers have bits that fit into the screwdriver, making that fitted part wider, and it wouldn't fit down into the hole where the screws were.  I did this in the parking lot, in case it didn't fit I wanted to be able to return it, so I went back in and bought two Phillips screw drivers, less than $1 each.  Then the rest was easy.

It is such a cleaner install, the old TV with the converter had more wires and plugs, I ended up with a lot of connections that I didn't need.  The picture is like the difference between black and white TV and color TV.  I've never had an HDTV, and at first it looked like it was 3D.  Really nice.  So we're back in business.

I also got a new kitchen faucet double swivel spray.  I've been wanting once since I moved in, but I didn't think it would fit. When I saw it at Walmart, I bought it just in case, and when I unscrewed the end of the faucet, the new one screwed right on.  Now I can easily spray the sink from corner to corner.

New faucet sprayer head

So, two new fixes today, easily installed, to make life better.

I took Katie to Petco to have her nails clipped, we usually go to Petsmart for that, but when I saw the Petco, we walked over.  The woman in the dog salon said they can't clip her nails unless they have a file on Katie from previous visits, or we have to bring in proof of a current Rabies shot.  To cut her nails?  I have all her current medical info in The Palms, but didn't feel like walking over to get it and walking back, so we just left.

This felt like a busy day and I'm tired.  Now I'm going to relax and watch my new TV.

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

Bird watching Sunday

WELCOME to our two newest followers, Judy and Mike!  I don't see any information for you, or blogs listed, but if either of you has a blog, let me know so I can check it out.  Thanks for following along with me and Katie on our travels.  Welcome aboard! : )

Last night I'm sitting here with my shades drawn, and I hear a BIG RIG slowly going past me, then backing up between me and the Airstream trailer up in front of me.  It was a huge cab with a looong refrigerated trailer.  You know what that means, he needs to keep his generator going all night to keep things cold.

He kept moving the rig, lining up in front of me, then pulling out like he was trying to turn down one of the parking lanes.  Poor guy, he was a small Asian man, and he kept jumping out of his cab and running around to see what his clearance was.  The woman in the Airstream came out and tried to direct him, then she went back into her trailer.  Some security men came out in a golf cart, they talked and left.  I finally went out to see what was going on, and he said he couldn't negotiate the turn, his rig was full and very heavy, and he couldn't drive over the concrete ends that hold trees, etc., for fear of puncturing his tires.  I offered to leave my place so he'd have a longer slot to get into, and he said that would work.

So I went  back to The Palms and got ready to move her somewhere else in the parking lot, and he came running over and said he decided he'd just back out and go somewhere else.  It was after 9:00 and dark, of course, and he looked really tired.  I know the feeling, and felt really bad for him.

He backed out into the street, then had a heck of a time actually getting the trailer and cab out onto the street.  The street was completely blocked, with traffic backed up going both ways, until he was out.  Remember, this was Saturday night a little after 9:00 in front of a Casino.  He must have been so stressed.

His maneuvers reminded me of when I was trying to get to Bryce Canyon and ended up at the airport with the closed gate.  It took me LOTS of forward, turn, back..., forward, turn, back, over and over again to get turned around on that narrow road.  And that's what this driver went through.  Poor guy, he finally got out onto the street and went on his way.  It would have been better to back into my spot, get some sleep, and figure out how to leave in the daylight in the morning, but it was his decision to leave.  I hope he found a good place to sleep last night.

Big rig backing out to the street last night.

I'm getting addicted to bird watching.  It's so easy to sit here at the dinette with an audio book playing on my little iHome speakers, playing computer games and checking from time to time out the window.  There always seems to be something going on.

 The 15-Dove Tree

The doves are sitting quietly in their tree, grooming themselves or dozing or looking around, then another bird flies in.  I wondered what the dynamics of that happening are.  He flew in a few times, but never stayed long.  The doves seemed to notice.

Hey, what's he doing here?

Then a little hummer flew in - actually a bunch of times. He always landed on the top branch of the bare tree, and the doves didn't seem to pay him any attention.  He always stayed a minute and then flew off.  Then another bigger hummer came along and sat next to him.  Then they both flew away.

When the doves leave the tree, they all fly away at the same time, scattering to different bushes in the lot next door.  And then they come back by ones and twos.

There are also some kind of quails in the same area, but they seem to be under a large bush nearby.  They were hard to get good photos of, because they were behind the iron fence picking at the dirt when they came out, then when they flew across the road from me, they moved too fast.  They sure are pretty!

And the final bird shots - even black birds are fun to watch. Two of them flew onto the iron fence right outside my window.  I don't usually bother with black birds because there are so many of them and they aren't really pretty, but these guys made me laugh:

Curmudgeon Bird

Black Tuxedo Bird

I hope I'm not totally boring some of you with my bird shots, but this is the place I'm putting the best ones.  Who knows, maybe I'll make a bird book for my grandchildren.  I need to know where I put the photos.  (Any photos I put in the blog are stored in a separate folder, organized by months and further organized by campgrounds, etc.)  Someday I'd like to make up a little book for them titled,

 "Grammy's Excellent Adventures...  

with Katie in Their House on Wheels." 

Or something like that.  Include little stories and photos of interesting places and lots of photos of Katie.  Some day...

I had the window and screen open by my dinette seat for a while, to get quick shots of the birds, and three flies came in.  Later, I went after them with a little tablet that works well as a fly swatter.  (I need to get a fly swatter!)  Poor Katie, every time I try to kill a flying insect, she freaks out.  I wonder if someone hit her with something similar in her previous life.  She never goes into the cab of the truck, but here she is, hiding from her mean mom who is killing flies:

Mom, you're scaring me!  :(

Here are tonight's sunset shot.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Sunday evening, everyone!  :)

Casino Arizona - Talking Stick Resort

We are here at Casino Arizona in Scottsdale, AZ, staying in the Casino parking lot for a few days.  Casino Arizona has two locations, the other one is about six miles up Highway 101, and I think Talking Stick Resort is at that location. I think this location is only a casino, and this is the one where they offer free RV parking overnight.

The people are really nice here and made me feel very welcome.  I got here yesterday, and was told by a woman in the parking lot in a golf cart (an employee) that I didn't have to check in, just park in this lot and security would be by to check me in.

They were having some promotions - one was Ghostbusters. Inside the casino they were giving away free drinks, and also gifts when you earned enough points at the slots.

These are the brave Ghostbusters!

And this is the Ghostbuster Mobile.

No one ever came by, or at least they didn't knock on my door, so this afternoon I went to the security desk and checked in. I have a pass to stay here for four more days.  That's five days total.  Then if I still want to stay longer, I just have to go in and re-register for another few days.  What a deal if you are killing time like I am, waiting for my solar install appointment on Wednesday.

This was a huge blow-up figure.

The casino has a steak/prime rib restaurant,  fast food windows, and buffets.  I'll probably go over for breakfast or lunch one day, but so far I'm happy to stay in The Palms, because I'm pretty stocked up in the kitchen.

Katie has been doing well with the driving - she hasn't been sick for a long time.  Here she is last night with her chew toy for those of you who need your Katie fix!

Yesterday on the way here, I saw a Best Buy from the freeway in Phoenix and decided to try again to get a Sirius/XM radio for The Palms.  I've tried twice before, but the employees couldn't answer my questions, and the installation people weren't available to talk to me, so I was out of luck.  This time they were knowledgeable and willing to answer questions and explain the radio to me.

I ended up getting the XMp3i, which is the Portable XM Radio + Home Kit. It's not wired to The Palms, it's like an MP3 with an antenna and ear buds.  I can put it in it's cradle and plug in the cradle and then listen through ear buds OR plug it into the little iHome speakers I bought for my MP3, and it works great.  I have no problem, at least in this location, getting a good signal from the satellite. Their home speaker set-up was pretty expensive, and I got my iHome speakers really cheap at Walmart.  I'm really glad the iHome works so well.

XMp3i

If it's not plugged in, though, the battery only lasts about four hours, so that's limiting.  I bought the full package, which means I can get their stations through the radio, my android phone, or my computer.  I need the Internet active for the stations to work on the computer, of course, but I can listen to their radio stations while I surf the net or play games, anything I don't have to concentrate on.  I can take it with the ear buds on our walks, and the attached antenna should pick up the radio stations, and it will also play music and audio books like an MP3.  I have 30 days to decide if this is going to work for me, but so far I like it.

I was parked by the roadway coming into the parking lot last night, and it was still quiet during the night.  There were trees around me, and they were full of birds this morning.

These are the birds, they were entertaining to watch.

This afternoon I moved over to the far end of the lot, with a fence and field out my window.  This is actually a nice place to park. There’s a big leafless bush/tree near the fence that was full of doves when we first walked over here, and the view is really nice.

I was sitting here earlier today working on getting my Sirius radio up and running, and I was thinking about moving closer to Glendale this afternoon.  I checked on-line with all my bookmarked sites, books and lists and membership info, etc., and I just couldn’t find anything that seemed worth moving to that is close by.  I have to stay in this area because of the solar install on Wednesday, and I need to be there by 3:00 on Tuesday, so I might as well stay here. 

I've really been enjoying sunsets since I’ve been full-timing.  Tonight’s sunset started out kind of pink, and then turn a deep salmon red/orange, and in the time we walked back to The Palms, a lot of yellow was added.  We walked to the end of the parking lot to get some good shots because there are light poles everywhere and huge truck trailers parked at that end and they block the view, so we walked over the get a better picture of the sunset.  So pretty.

I don't remember a lot of pretty sunsets in San Diego, just beautiful rising moons, but maybe it's because of the way my condo was situated.  I had a clear view of the moon rising over the mountains, but the sun set behind other condos and houses up the street, and I didn't have a good view in that direction, anyway.

Here’s tonight’s sunset shots (they are exactly as shot with the "sunset" setting, I didn't manipulate them at all):

 Aren't these colors gorgeous?

From Me and Katie, have a great Saturday evening, everyone!  :)