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Monday November 18:
This morning we planned to return early to the high ground to make some calls, but I decided to try first from the campsite, and got through on the second try. we do NOT have to move! I started waxing the decals; Mcguire's wax works easily and well. Still, this job wears on you after a while. :-) I got all the decals, the front end to make the bugs slide off easier :-)), and the plastic parts on the roof. I got started on the blue storage bay covers, but a lady who full times with her husband and two cats mercifully engaged me in conversation until it was too dark to do further work. Her story was interesting; they've been full time RVers for 7 years. Two years ago their pickup truck pulling their fifth wheel Alpenlite trailer caught fire near here, on Rt95 in Arizona; the whole rig was soon engulfed in flames. Their Siamese cat disappeared into the brush, and could not be found. They thought to look under the burning trailer, and there it was. The lady just crawled under the burning trailer and grabbed the cat, MOMENTS before the propane tank exploded.....she did not consider that an act of bravery, but said that in desperate times like that you just do not THINK....I'm sure she had some thoughts when the propane tank went up. She is happy she saved her cat, but as Claire commented later to Pookie; if YOU do something as dumb as that, don't expect ME to go after you.... :-) It does point out the fragility of our mobile existance; The Yuma Proving Ground fire department who responded to their smoke cloud could not find the cause of the fire, which apparently started in the back of the diesel pickup truck and spread to the trailer overhanging the bed. The wood and styrofoam construction of these beasts means fire spreads fast and is impossible to put out once it gets going. These folks lost all their worldly possessions in this fire but thankfully escaped unhurt and with their pets. They are now in an older Southwind motor home she describes as a "fixer upper" until they recover financially. Their insurance settled, but as usual in such cases they did not have enough coverage to come out whole. She is still working summers in an Oregon fish camp to assist in that recovery. We had left over chicken and gravy, squash (to ease the load bringing it home) and rice. It is Claire's night for dishes so I took Pookie and Purry for their walks. It is full moon, and I saw the large gray form of a bird as it turned away from it's glide in off the water, shoulder high, fast, and SILENTLY. I could not identify it in the dim light, but a few birds gave out warning croaks from nearby trees; I would speculate it was an owl. Pookie came close and rubbed my legs. I suggested we go home, and he followed willingly until we got out from under the trees, when he led me running at full speed until he was under the RV; he may not be the brightest bulb in the pack, but he recognizes a genuine threat when it comes near! Purry did not show the fear of being in the open moonlight, but he did not walk too long before asking at the steps to come back in. I found my bed immediately thereafter.
Tuesday November 19:
Battery is low this AM; 60%, but we enjoyed LOTS of TV last evening. Today we'll move to the campground early and PLUG IN for two days. We really do need to get these batteries FULLY charged and equalized before storage. The plan is to leave as soon as we are comfortably settled to do so, dump and fill water on the way out then proceed directly to the campground. We can continue our chores while the battery charges. The dump and fill went fast. I was looking for the water leak while we filled, and was amazed to see sunlight coming in around the fill hoses; they were not SEALED where they enter the RV; no wonder they leak when we fill. :-(( This may need to wait until January, but it can be fixed! We were fortunate to be filling when the sun was low on the eastern horizon and shining directly into the fill port. It sure did reveal the weakness; my boat background just ASSUMED that all external fittings would be sealed....one more time that ASS U ME does it's dirty work.... :-(( The drive back through the Imperial Valley is, as always, quite pretty;
This time the red foliage of a tree catches my eye; it contrasts nicely with the nearby green foliage and gray mountains of the background. We stop in Yuma on the way for a few things we need, then head for Gold Rock. The California fruit inspector questioned where we were coming from, and how long we had been there, and asked if we had any fresh fruits aboard. I said I thought we had some bananas. He then asked if we had any pets other than Purry sitting in the Navigator's chair on Claire's lap; when I said we have two cats, he waved us through. On the road to Gold Rock, we passed the federal Dunes Monument and Pichico Recreation areas; RVs were visible parked in the desert on these BLM lands. Also noticable were the flash flood warnings for the next 20 miles. This is FLAT land; I'm not sure I fully undestand the flood warnings, and hope we do not find out... Gold Rock Ranch is in the desert boonies alright, roads are all gravel, but the cellphone has 4 bars of digital signal. :-))
The lady on the desk is ultra hospitable, if a bit disorganized. She offers us the spot next to her right at the entrance until she finds we want to wash the roof; then she also suggests we might like some of the open spots further back, and her husband takes me in his golf cart. I choose a spot away from others and we try to check in; she has no forms at the desk, and they cannot accept credit cards as there are no phone lines here; YIKES, I'm glad cellphones work! We settle into the site and the man who showed me around comes with the forms filled out, and a receipt for cash. I complete our home address and Passport America number, and hand him the $20 bill for two nights. Then we proceed to set out chairs with rugs in front of the RV to block the wind, and set about changing the oil. An improvised aluminum foil funnel/tube with wide moldable top flap avoids the wind blown oil problem we had with the generator, and we are soon finished, with all the plastic bag drop cloths and oily waste disposed of; not one drop spilled either! We're learning how to deal with WIND that never stops. :-) The roof needs washing before we can apply UV protectant; I am a bit worried about splash onto an unoccupied trailer downwind of us, but we have the new long handled washing brush that runs water out through the bristles. I'm hoping this will reduce spray.
We decide to use the alternate cleaning solution, 20 mule team borax, as it is less offensive if it does not soak into the ground here. It cleans fine, and there is no blown splash, either when scrubbing with borax, or rinsing with the water flowing through the brush bristles. The water flows nicely through our roof gutters to the ground at the back of the RV, just in front of a 2 foot high rock wall that stops any splashing onto the downwind trailer. :-))) This job is completed much faster and easier than I expected, thanks to the brush; this is a tool worth the weight and space we devote to it!!! Dinner is pork and collards, deliciously tender; we planned not to leave any left overs, and I'm up to that task. :-) I'm not up to photographing the moon rising over the mountains; it's too dark when I notice it. Perhaps tomorrow night. TV works fine but all I want is my bed tonight.
