Well shoot - I almost got a speeding ticket going 12 mph :(

Katie and I are back in New Mexico for the summer!

We had planned to spend the summer boon-docking on BLM and Forest lands with Jeanne and Riley, but that got knocked off the rails.  We were doing fine, enjoying ourselves and the great free 14-day sites in Cottonwood, Sedona and Camp Verde, AZ, with plans to head north in a few weeks.  (Jeanne is a great planner and found some great spots.)  Our original plan was to travel around Arizona looking for a place for me to buy for a home-base.  But after looking at some places, I decided I wasn't ready yet.

Then we were joined by a few other people... I didn't really know them very well and got a weird vibe.  I wasn't comfortable camping with the group and decided to head back to New Mexico. When I told Jeanne, she said she might meet up with other friends traveling the northwest, a trip she has been wanting to take. She would rather do that than re-do New Mexico, and the timing was perfect.  So we headed off in different directions, but we'll meet up again, hopefully before the end of the year.  :)

About the almost speeding ticket:  I'm at Riverside Campground at Caballo Lake State Park minding my own business and obeying all the rules.  (I thought... !)  This afternoon I left my campsite to dump the tanks at the upper campground area.  When I was driving back into Riverside, a Park Ranger followed me.  It's a short drive down a paved road.  Normally speed limits in campgrounds are 10 or 15 mph, and that's what I usually do whether it's posted or not.  There's no speed posted here, so I usually go around 12 to 13 mph, right in the middle.  There are two speed bumps with a "5 mph" sign right there and I always slow to 5 mph when I drive over them.  You kind of have to slow to 5 mph - especially in an RV.

I didn't think anything about the Ranger truck following me, hardly noticed him.  Until I drove into my campsite and he followed and blocked me from driving out.  Not that I was driving out - I parked, got out, plugged in to the electric pole, and he was still there.  I couldn't see him through his dark window glass, but figured he was doing something not not pertaining to me.

Then he got out and walked over to me with a smile.  He was really nice, but apparently he was following me because I was speeding.  I asked him what the speed limit is and he said 5 mph.

I asked, In the whole park???   Yup, in the whole park.  I said, usually it's 10 or 15 mph, and I thought the 5 mph signs were warnings to people that there were speed bumps right there, and he said no, the signs were there because children could be crossing the roads and it applies to any roads inside the campground.  So of course, I apologized and thanked him for the information.  I felt like an idiot.  Then he said he was going to give me a citation for speeding, but since I was staying in the park, he'd let it go.  His original intent wasn't to warn me, he was going to ticket me.  I would have been so upset if I had gotten a speeding ticket. And even more upset at myself because I guess I would have deserved it. 

Maybe it was more obvious than I realized - maybe I missed previous signs and just noticed the ones at the speed bumps.  (I'm going to have to check the other NM State Parks as I enter to be sure what the speed limits are, because I haven't been driving 5 miles per hours in the other ones.  Just in case they are all the same.)

My next door neighbor came over after the Ranger left and I told him what happened.  He said, "Well I guess I'd better slow down, too, and everyone else here!  No one is going 5 mph, even on the dirt road in front of our campsites.  The loop is a one-way two lane road, and we have neighbors who go the wrong way, they'd better watch it, too!"

So beware - the rules are being enforced to the letter in this park and THE SPEED LIMIT IS 5 MPH.

The Ranger couldn't have been nicer, but it's a bit unsettling that he was planning to ticket me.  Wow, that was close!

Here are some photos taken in the park and at Elephant Butte Lake SP in the last few days.  The Rio Grande is really up and it's just beautiful:

Someone has been doing a lot of work here at Riverside Campground - it's much cleaner than in previous years, bushes and trees have been trimmed, there aren't tons of squirrel holes and mounds, etc.  Really nice.  

And some critters:

Bullock's Oriole

Gambel's Quail

Roadrunner

Robin

Squirrel - lots of these running around

There's one bird I saw yesterday, and previous years while camping here, that's bright red.  I see him flying from tree to tree, always when I don't have a camera with me.  I am bringing my camera with me all the time again, I WANT a photo of that bird.  He's beautiful, and if nothing else, I want a good close look at him.  A lot of times I only see what a bird really looks like when I get the photos up on my laptop. If they are too far to see clearly, I use the zoom lens and get a "close up" look that way.  

The weather has been great here - we've had some sun, some wind, some rain, some thunder and lightning, pretty much everything.  That makes it interesting, and it hasn't started heating up too much yet.  

That's it for now - I have some photos from the time Jeanne and I spent in Arizona - Sedona/Cottonwood/Camp Verde.  It's a beautiful area, for sure, and I'll post some of them next time.

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

Steel wool can spontaneously combust - here's the reason

Remember when I posted that I was filling possible critter entrance holes in the cab of the truck?



I had no idea how they were getting in.



I was using fine steel wool, which was working just great fitting into any small spaces.  Then it started smoking and seemed to spontaneously start on fire.  Scared the heck out of me!  I thought at first it was a live wire that the steel wool touched.

This is what I wrote on March 16, 2016:  "Oh, yeah, and I've caught six mice.  Some in The Palms, some in the engine.   I've pretty much spread snap and glue traps across the inside of the engine and in front of and under my driver's seat.  They get in through the engine into the driver's foot well, but I can't find the hole they are using.  I got some fine steel wool and stuffed it into areas that looked like they might be openings, but the steel wool caught fire and I threw it outside quickly.  Luckily nothing ignited except for the steel wool.   I don't see any exposed wires up there, so I don't know what caused it to ignite.  Spontaneous combustion?   Scared the heck out of me, though, and I won't be doing that again."



Shortly after that post I received an e-mail from Andy Baird with the answer to why my fine (#0000) steel wool started on fire. This is what he said:

"Barbara--steel wool can spontaneously combust, especially if it gets even slightly damp. The finer it is (e.g. #0000), the more likely this is to occur.

http://fretsnet.ning.com/forum/topics/spontaneous-steel-wool-combustion

The reason: rusting, which is oxidation, gives off heat, like any oxidation reaction. Normally you don't have to worry about this--your RV frame isn't going to catch fire, because the amount of heat generated is small compared to the mass of metal. But rusting occurs at the surface of a piece of steel or iron, and thanks to its fine filaments, steel wool has a huge amount of surface area in a small volume. Heat can build up as it rusts, and you've seen the result. Please warn your readers to use copper "mouse mesh," not steel wool."

I clicked on the above link which he also provided and promptly put my #0000 Fine steel wool outside, ready to take to the dumpster.  I didn't want it in The Palms.  But I do have some #3 Coarse steel wool which I'm keeping.

Thanks, Andy!

I meant to post this right after I got that e-mail from Andy, and started a post that turned into a draft, and I forgot about it. I just found it, and wanted to be sure to pass along this info.  So, if you have that super fine steel wool around somewhere, be advised that it can be dangerous and can actually start a fire.  Handle and store it with care.

My plans for the summer have changed and I'm working on some photos now that I'll post soon.

In the meantime, have a wonderful day, everyone! 

Happy Easter and the Lamb Cake!

The Easter cake above is one my Mom used to bake on Easter.  Now my daughter, Kristy bakes one for her family on Easter.  This year my granddaughter, Lauren, baked it and iced half the lamb's wool, and arranged the flowers below it and the Easter eggs on the table.   Isn't it a darling cake?  Yummy, too.  A wonderful Easter tradition that is being carried on. 

Below is Lauren.  She has long blond hair and won't let Kristy do anything with it, unless it's pulling it back for gymnastics.  The other night Lauren and her friend Emma had a "Girls night in...nails, hair and scary stories to finish off the night." with their moms. If I had a mom who could "do" my hair this beautifully, I'd be as happy as a clam!  In fact, Kristy taught me how to French Braid my hair.  Isn't Lauren beautiful? 

Here is Kristy's hair-do, I bet Lauren was the "hair-doer."  Very intricately done, Lauren, good job!

 Love the nail color, girls!  (Notice the hulu skirt - they both had them on.  Very fancy.)

And the spooky ending to the evening.

I love this idea, a nice way to spend the evening with the kids and friends, fun and easy.  Making memories, for sure!

From me and Katie, whether you are a believer or not, have a wonderful Easter Sunday, everyone!

Some critter photos...

Katie and I are still hanging around the Cottonwood/Sedona area with Jeanne and her dog Riley.  

The weather has been so good here.  Warm days, cool nights and mornings.   We're definitely enjoying this area.

 Jeanne kept seeing this Roadrunner and would text me, but I wasn't facing in the right direction to see him coming.  Finally the other day he appeared right outside my dinette window and I was able to get a bunch of photos of him.  He was pecking around on the ground when I snapped the first shot, and he must have heard it.  He looked up at my window, craned his neck, looked right at me, and then walked on to the other side of The Palms and headed away from us.  I love the first three shots:

Here's Katie hiding her chew toy.  She always hides them very carefully after checking out a few spots, walks away, comes back and checks to see if they are still there, then picks them back up and jumps over to her blanket to chew them up.  I love watching her trying to find a hiding place.  She never leaves them hidden, so it must be something in her DNA telling her to hide them. 

This is the spot she chose this time, under one of her blankets.

Then she pushes the blanket with her nose for a while to cover the chew toy.

The funny thing is, she NEVER gets the toy covered.  I can still always see it.  Poor Katie...

Now she's picked it up again.

Back to the corner of the couch where she eats all her treats and chew toys.

Katie gets one chew toy a day.  We have a couple of different kinds, and she always finishes them.  I wish she would make them last a few days.  Her BIG treat of the day.  Mostly her treats are good for her, her joint meds, which she thinks are treats, frozen green beans and baby carrots.  She loves those, too.

Not a whole lot going on - I seldom take out my camera any more, but I have a few things to post in the coming days.  I'm starting to bring the camera on walks again.

Oh, yeah, and I've caught six mice.  Some in The Palms, some in the engine.   I've pretty much spread snap and glue traps across the inside of the engine and in front of and under my driver's seat.  They get in through the engine into the driver's foot well, but I can't find the hole they are using.  I got some fine steel wool and stuffed it into areas that looked like they might be openings, but the steel wool caught fire and I threw it outside quickly.  Luckily nothing ignited except for the steel wool.   I don't see any exposed wires up there, so I don't know what caused it to ignite.  Spontaneous combustion?   Scared the heck out of me, though, and I won't be doing that again. 

One mouse did get into the cabin and left a bunch of calling cards, so the next night I had a runway of traps set out after Katie was in bed.  Along the couch, along the rug/couch floor area, on the dinette seats, etc.  He made quite a racket that night running all over the place, but I didn't catch him in the cabin.  In the morning he was dead in a trap under the driver's seat, and I haven't heard anything since.  I think I've gotten them, and we just moved again, so hopefully I've left them all behind.  We'll see...  Nothing gets your heart started like waking up to the patter of little feet in the middle of the night.  One of the blessings of sleeping over the cab. 

It's SUPER THIRD WEDNESDAY again - my favorite day of the month.  $$$  From me and Katie, have a great day, everyone!   :)

I'm back - with a dozen updates for you. :)

It's been a while since I've posted - we've been busy!  My plan was to get past medical stuff, family and friend visits and lots of driving and post again when Katie and I were back in the deserts of Arizona, and here we are!

I haven't been taking my camera out much, but here's what we've been up to, in a nutshell:

1.  Enjoying Quartzsite, visiting with friends, attending the 2nd annual Bloggerfest, checking out the Big Tent and all the surrounding vendors.  Had another birthday on the 13th.  Really Good Times.  Here's a beautiful January sunset at Quartzsite.  I think it looks like a watercolor:

 

2.  A visit to San Diego for medical/dental stuff.  Had my teeth cleaned and then had a colonoscopy the next day.  Results were great and all is well.  No photos - yes, you're welcome.

3.  While in San Diego, I picked up my mail at my mail service and got the lug nuts for my wheel cover that had been lost.  I was able to put the wheel cover back on and now all four wheels are again shiny and looking good. 

4.  Had a nice visit and dinner with Tom and Trish and my San Diego grand kids that evening.  Did a bit of catching up with them and enjoyed a wonderful fish dinner at Fish House Vera Cruz.

5.  Up at 3:30 am and on the road by 4 the next morning.  We missed all the traffic through San Diego and Los Angeles on my way to Merced where I visited with my good friend and ex-husband, Pete.  I haven't been to the house since I left lots of years ago.  Seeing Pete and the house brought back many memories and we had a good visit.  We talk every week so we do keep up with each other, but it was nice to be able to sit down and have a meal together and have conversations in person.

6.  Headed north again to the Vacaville/Fairfield area to visit Kristy and Matt and my Northern California grand kids.  They were in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie sales, my granddaughter is a girl scout and Kristy is the troop leader, so they were going to Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc, to set up tables and sell the cookies.  Lauren is also into gymnastics and I was able to see a couple of practices - she is doing GREAT!  I went with Drew, my grandson, to be measured for his baseball uniform, and then on another day attended a practice.  Baseball was just getting started.  He hit a bunch of balls into the center field - it looks like he'll have another good year in baseball.  I stayed with them for nine days - going to bed early almost every night I was so tired. Kristy assured me this was an especially busy time for them, they don't usually have so many things going on, but I was glad to be able to participate in some of their activities while I was there.  We had a wonderful time together.  Kristy made us her Chicken Picatta (I've already gone out and gotten capers to make my own!) and Matt barbecued the best salmon I've ever had.  They fed me well.  :)

7.  Last Sunday, 2/14, Katie and I were again on the road at 4:00 am, driving in the dark and missing all the traffic.  (As Kristy and I say, the real drive doesn't start until the sun comes up.  I can get a lot of miles behind us before then.)  We were well past any traffic issues and had a long, but good, day of traveling back to Arizona.

8.  I was meeting up with Jeanne to spend the winter in Arizona, traveling, staying at BLM/Federal forest lands as much as possible, and checking out different towns and Park Model parks for a possible future home base for me and Katie.  Turns out the BLM where we were going to meet up now required a permit, so we changed our plans and decided to meet at a casino the next day.  I stopped driving around 6 pm in Kingman, AZ and spent the night at a Wal-Mart.  It was a long day of travel, but I was feeling good and just kept going until I was ready to stop.

9.  The next day we met Jeanne and Riley (her dog) at the casino parking lot and drove to a nice area where I'm getting back into the boon docking mode.  We've been catching up and doing a lot of walking.  Here's a photo out my window the other morning:

 10.  I ordered a Garmin vivofit 2 activity tracker on Amazon.com and with my Prime membership and it arrived in two days with free shipping.  I've been researching different fitness bands for a while now, and finally ordered one.  I looked at all the different brands and almost bought others, but I'm glad I ended up with the vivofit 2.  It shows me the time, date, steps walked, how many steps till my goal is reached, tracks my sleep, and other things, too.  I sync it with their on-line app ("connect") on my laptop and also on my phone.  I love these things!  My daughter told me about a phone app that I'm using to input my daily meals and it also syncs with the vivofit 2, so I can see how many calories I'm eating - and the walking I'm doing deducts the calories I'm using while I'm walking.  A total snapshot.  It's keeping me aware of what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising and I find I'm eating less/better and exercising more.

11.  My black and/or grey tank has been leaking (drip, drip, drip) and I was lucky to find a good mobile RV repair man who came out yesterday morning and replaced both tank valves and re-glued two pipes together and now all is well and I can use my plumbing again.   If you're in the Sedona/Cottonwood area in Arizona and need a good, reasonably priced mobile repair man, I'd recommended him.    Paul's RV (Mobile Repairs)  928-634-0423

12.  And that gets us to this morning.  The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the wind's NOT blowing.  Looks like a perfect day.

So, anyway, all is well.  We were so lucky on our travels to have excellent weather in each location we visited!  Katie and I are healthy and happy, The Palms is working in top form, the tanks are empty, the water tank is full, the fridge and cupboards are full and all is right in our world.   I've either been too busy to post or had nothing to post about - or just been just plain lazy.  ;)  I probably won't post often for a while, but we'll see.  Don't worry if you don't hear from me - I'll post now and then.  But I am still keeping up with your blogs, it's one of my daily "things to do."  

Katie says, "Hi!  Where've you been?  I missed you."  

From me and Katie - in sunny Arizona - have a great Wednesday, everyone!  :)

Photos of my latest RV mod–and a VERY BAD DAY

“YAAAAY, Brian’s here!"

I finally got my 12V outlet installed!  (Honestly, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.)



Brian wired the new outlet into the electrical panel.  I have room down the row where the fuses are, and he wired it into one of those and popped a new fuse in.

Here's his contact info in case you want to reach him - he pretty much does everything RV related:

Brian Boone – (406) 270-4820

gotsolarinstalled@gmail.com

He drilled a hole in the side of my upper cabinet on the right side by my bunk then ran the wires along the inside of the cupboards, drilled a hole into the closet wall and brought the wires down to the electrical panel.

There are a lot of things in that area.  I have three drawers that fit into those holes and the bottom left one is the panel.  Alongside and behind and below the drawers are my inverter, two switch boxes, a converter, whole house water filter, water pump, and tons of wiring.  (I checked behind the drawers as I was writing this yesterday, and guess what I found?  More about that bad news at the end of this post.)






Below is the cupboard by my bunk where the installation was done.  Unfortunately I didn’t get photos of the first outlet, but it was a regular 12V that went through a hole in the walls of that upper cupboard.  Brian used good sized wires so I can actually put a 200 or 400V inverter in the outlet and plug my crock pot into it (or other things).  Can’t imagine what else, but who knows?  The wires will be able to handle a larger load then the smaller wires installed with the original 12V that came with The Palms.



I talked to Brian later that week and he said he just ordered a bunch of new 12V outlets that included another outlet with a 1 amp and 2.1 amp for USB cords.  So I can use that plug to recharge my iPad or cell phone and it draws right from the battery without having the generator on, even if I turn the inverter off.  And it has a LED readout of the battery bank voltage, too.

I told Brian I wanted one!  So when his order came in, he was back to install it for me.



Here it is installed with my Sirius radio plugged in:



The photo below shows the charging plugs on each side with the battery readout in the middle:



When it’s dark, this is what it looks like:



I didn’t really take the above photo at night, but changed the camera settings to show the readouts.  I’ve NEVER had a 14.7 Voltage readout at night!

It’s fun to get little mods like this done.  When I had a sticks and bricks home and I started getting antsy for a new place, I’d move the furniture around or get something new for the house.  I’m finding with The Palms, as much as I’m wanting to nest again in a home base without wheels, just having something like this new outlet gives me so much pleasure, it takes the edge off a bit, you know?

I can’t think of another thing I want to add to The Palms.  For now we’re good!  Nice!

This was my VERY BAD DAY yesterday:

When I looked inside that cabinetry yesterday (where Brian had been working to wire the new 12V outlet), I noticed some water on the floor where some of the electronics and lots of wires are.  I immediately called Brian.  I can see his campsite from my kitchen window and his truck was there, so I had my fingers crossed that he was home and available.  He said he’d be here in 10 minutes, and when he looked inside and we tested the water pump, he said it was leaking and I needed a new one.  Mine is 10 years old and has been getting pretty loud when I turned it on, so I wasn't surprised.

It was 1:30 on New Year’s Eve and the stores in Quartzsite were still open, so I quickly packed up The Palms, grabbed some cash and a credit card for my pocket and I headed for K B Tools on W Kuehn.  The owner came over to help me, to make sure I bought the correct one, luckily they had them in stock right there on the shelf.  Whew!  Brian said he’d be over Sunday or Monday to install it.  I have fresh water in gallon jugs and Brian said to keep checking the towels he put around the water pump, and that if I needed to, I could use the water system in The Palms.  I think I have enough water to last me, though.

As I'm buying the new water pump, I realize the credit card I put in my pocket with $100 cash isn't there.  So I paid with the cash, figuring maybe I left the credit card on my dinette table.  I go back to the rig, look all over - no card.   I called CitiCard and there had been no charges, so they put a security hold on it for 5 days, and if I find it in the meantime, I'll call them to take the hold off.  If I don't find it, they will re-issue the card with another number.

I’m driving home and along the paved road through the campground I hear "clang, clink, clang."  I pulled over, checked the inside and all was fine.  I went outside and looked all around the rig, under it, everything looked fine.  Then I looked at the rear tire, and it's missing the tire cover.  Luckily it was just down the road so I went to get it.  But I'm still missing two of those little things that stick out, one plain one and the one that screws into the wheel.  (Anyone know where I can replace them?) 



So yesterday I had to replace the water pump, lost a credit card, and lost the wheel cover, luckily found it, but still need parts go get it back on. 

Looking at the positive side of all this, I was lucky Brian was immediately available, K B Tools was open and had the water pump, I found the tire cover, and when I was putting Katie to bed in the bunk last night, there was my credit card laying on the bunk.  I must have put it there when I was lowering the TV antenna, and it never did make it into my pocket with the cash.  All in all, I guess I had good luck each time after the bad.  It could have been a lot worse.

From me and Katie, have a great New Year’s Day, and a very happy, healthy, prosperous 2016!       (I love the emoticons on Open Live Writer, can you tell?)