A Couple of Slow Days.

You know, every day can't be an adventure.
The last couple of days have been kind of slow. The weather has been very cold for here.

Friday.

Friday we went to breakfast with Jo Ann, Dave, Doris, Jim, Carol and Wayne.
Carol and Wayne are from Ontario Canada and just got down here on Thursday.

Later in the day we went to Blythe with Jo Ann and  Dave in their truck to do some shopping.

Saturday.

Yesterday I did some stuff on Snoopy. I wanted to check the fluids in the front differential and the Transfer case. The front differential had oil  but I couldn't get the plug out of the transfer case.
I didn't have a Allen wrench large enough to fit the plug. I will have to see if I can find one.

The windshield washer is not working so  I checked  to see  if there was power at the  pump. There is power there so I guess I will have to buy a new pump.
When I bought the jeep I was  told that the fog lights weren't working so I removed them. The stock ones aren't very bright any way. I checked to see if  there was power at  the wires to the lights and there was. I will have to decide if I want to replace the lights and what kind of lights to use. I will probably use LED lights if I do replace them.

In the evening we went to Becky and Dennis' to teach them how to play "Rummy for Dummies". Eve and Bill were also there. I  think everyone enjoyed the game. We will see if they want to play again some time.

We don't have any plans for today but we will see what comes up.

Clifford's Gone and a New Year Card Game

Happy New Year!!

Clifford is Gone.

Yesterday the guy that bought Clifford brought us the rest of the money and we did the paperwork so now someone else can enjoy working on Clifford.

New Years Card Game.

We went over to Becky and Dennis's for a New Year gathering in the new party room.

Dick and Louise came in their new jeep. It looks pretty nice.

We all brought Pizza's and drinks.

There were 17 people and the room was full.

After dinner the old folks left and the rest of us played cards until about 10:00, then the party broke up.

I was in bed by 10:30 and Patti almost made it to midnight but gave it up around ten minutes to twelve. PARTY ON!!!! :o)

Okay. that was our new year's calibration.

The Wednesday Ride.

I was chosen as leader of this Wednesday's ride and decided to take the group to the Kofa Wildlife Refuge. Kofa stands for King of Arizona and is one of my favorite places in this area.

We met at the Arco station at the east end of town.

Once everyone who was going on the ride had arrived we headed out.
We got on I-10 and drove east 26 miles to the Vicksburg Road exit where we got off the interstate. Here we topped off the fuel tanks and aired down the tires.
While I was airing down, Patti put the "Col-de-sac Tours sign on Snoopy's door's.

Once everyone had filled the tanks, etc. we headed south on Vicksburg Road crossed into the Kofa and continued to the Pipeline road where we turned west. We drove west on the Pipeline road a couple miles to intersection 14. Here we turned south and drove across the flats, passing Craven Well.

We continued along the flats and eventually began climbing into the mountains.

 

 



 

Red Rock Pass is a fun ride; a little bumpy but not too challenging.

 

 

Eventually we got over the pass and headed  for Hoodoo Well.

 

 

We got to the  Hoodoo Hilton right at 12:00 just in time for lunch. Since the sun was warm we decided to dined alfresco.

 

 

 

After lunch we headed back along the Red Rock Pass trail to intersection 34 where we turned east. We drove for a few miles to Hovatter Ranch.

We drove in through the circular driveway flanked by Saguaro and  Ocotillo cactus.

 

  

We walked around the area for a while and climbed the hill to pay our respects at the Family grave site.

 

 

Here is the view from the grave site.

 

 

After a while we got back in the jeeps and drove east out of  the mountains.

 

I lived up to our motto "we get lost for you" and took a wrong turn. After a mile or two I realized my mistake so we turned around and backtracked to the main trail where we got on Hovatter Road, a wide graded road and followed it north to the pipeline road where we turned west and drove to Vicksburg Road. We turned north on Vicksburg Road and followed it to I-10. After airing up the tires we head for Quartzsite and stopped at Carl's Jr. for dinner.

 

As always it was a fun ride.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Laundry, House Work and a Weenie Roast.

Yesterdays blog.

In the last blog I mentioned that we were doing chores; laundry and house work today and I wouldn't publish a blog unless some thing interesting happened.

Some thing happened.

While Patti was at  the laundromat taking care of the laundry.
I was just getting ready to mop the floor in the RV when Dave and Denis showed up.
They said that they wanted to have a weenie roast in the afternoon.
"That sounds great! I replied. "What time?"
"How about we meet at Carl's at 3:00." Dave suggested.
"That should work".

I called Patti and told her what we are planning and she agreed and said that she would pick up hot dogs and buns on the way home. 

When she got back to the RV, we got what we would need together and by 3:00 we were at Carl's.
After a short BS session we were on our way to the weenie roast spot south of town.

It was a small group with Jo Ann, Dave, Sue, Denis, there friend Frank, Patti and I.

The weather was cold enough this time that the fire was welcome.

We cooked our dogs and shot the bull until well after dark. When all the wood was burned up we went home.

It was a fun time as always.

A trip to Mexico and Star Wars.

 

Mexico.

Yesterday around 9:00 am Cheryl and Dennis picked us up and off we went to Algodones, Mexico.
I don't like border towns but I got talked into going with a bribe to see the new Star Wars movie afterwards. We got to the border around 10:30 and parked in the big parking lot just outside Mexico.
We a walked across the border and went to the Algodones Optical Company so Cheryl could get her glasses repaired.
We sat around there for about half an hour.
Once the glasses were fixed we walked down the street.

Being harassed the whole way by hawkers.

We turned a corner and continued along a crowed sidewalk to a Pharmacy.

Here I bought some Omeprazole, very cheap.

After buying my meds we returned to the main street where we went to the "Old Town" Restaurant

Here we had lunch.

Cheryl had an avocado and shrimp salad.

Patti had Shrimp Fajita's.

Dennis had the combo #1

I had the combo #2

The food was very good and  the price was reasonable.

Star Wars.

After lunch we left Algodones and drove to Yuma where we stopped at the Harken Movie Theater to watch the new Star Wars  movie.
The movie was great! There were some surprises and some interesting new characters.
The movie ended with the story still to continue. Look for a sequel in a  couple of years.

Shopping.

After the movie we drove to the Foothill Walmart so Cheryl and Patti could do some shopping.
Dennis and I waited in the parking lot.

After leaving Walmart we drove to The 99cent Only Store so Cheryl could get a few things.
Patti,  Dennis and I waited in the car.

Home.

From the 99cent store we went to Dairy Queen.  Cheryl and Dennis both had Blizzards and Patti got a small cone; then we headed for home. We got back to Quartzsite around 6:45.
We tried to go to Silly Al's for pizza but couldn't find a parking spot. We drove over to the Grubstake to try for a fish dinner. Grubbs was over flowing with no tables available so we went to The Times Three and found it almost empty. That tells you a little about which are the more popular restaurants in Quartzsite. We each had a light dinner and headed for home.

Okay, that was our Mexican adventure.

Tuesday.

Today is house work and laundry day so that is the blog for Tuesday unless something exciting happens.

 

Do nothing Day and Some Work on Snoopy

On Saturday we did nothing of interest. It was very cold with high winds so we stayed indoors and read books etc.

On Sunday it was not as cold and the winds had died down so I decided to start installing the auxiliary brake system.
The goal was to get the actuator installed. I tried to do the job without removing the seat but after fighting it for a while I decided that the seat had to come out. Patti came out with her camera so you have some pictures.

Now I can get to things much  easier if easier is the correct word.

I had to position everything correctly. The toughest part was mounting the pulley for the cable connection to the brake peddle. The medal is so thin on these new jeeps that the self taping screws kept stripping out. I ended up using regular sheet metal screws and being very careful about not over tightening them. Eventually I got the pulley attached to the floor.

After getting the pulley in I had to find a spot to mount the power controller.  I found a spot high on the firewall and screwed it down.
The next thing was to mount the actuator. It takes up a lot of room so I mounted it behind the seat  and ran the cable around the seat against the side wall.

When I tried to put the seat back in I found that the actuator was in the way so I had to reposition it.
Eventually I got everything in the right place and decided to call it a day.
The next thing I will have to do is the wiring and plumb the vacuum line from the pump to the brake system. I mounted the pump about a week ago. I also have to mount the breakaway switch on the front bumper but that will have to wait until I mount the brackets for the tow bar and drill some big holes in the bumper. I need a drill press to do that. Dick has a drill press and said that I could use it to do it. I just need to buy a 5/8 drill bit and a metal cutting hole saw for  that job.

Okay, that's it for now.

Cheryl and Dennis are going to Algodones Mexico today and Patti talked me into going with them. I don't like border towns but I have a hard time turning Patti down when she really wants to do something.
Algodones is just across the border from Yuma. While we are there we plan to stop in Yuma to see  the new Star Wars movie. That is the real reason I am going.

Quiet Christmas

Christmas Day was very quiet.
The weather was cold and windy.
The only thing we did was go to B&D's to get some dishes we left there Christmas Eve.
The rest of the day we stayed indoors and just goofed off.
Christmas dinner was leftover ham and egg scramble and hash browns.

Okay, That's it for now.