January 13 to January 18, 2003

Monday January 13:

The  day started at 3AM.  We knew the cab would pick us up at 6AM for arrival at Logan Express shuttle for 6:45, to give is some margin for the 7AM bus which would get us there just the required 90 minutes ahead of our 9:20 AM flight.  There were many last minute details to take care of, and the time flew by.  I was outside when the cab arrived a half hour early, but he agreed the call was for 6AM, and he waited patiently as we finished the packing, including harnessing the kitties and "convincing" them to enter their carriers.  We loaded the bags in the cab, slipping and sliding on the ice, and I could tell already this would be a "bad back" day.  :-)  We made the bus terminal in time to catch the 6:30 bus, so already had an extra half hour margin in our schedule.  :-))  The drop off at the airline terminal went smoothly, but there were no carts available, so our backs got another workout relaying the bags from point to point to point so we could always  keep both piles in our sight at all times; eventually we worked the pile to the check in line.  The new 100% screened baggage check in was interesting, as a government TSB employee took swipes of each bag's handle and interior with a cloth patch, then put the patch into a machine before releasing the bag to the conveyor.  We asked what they were checking for, and the answer came back that they were "looking for particles that should not be there".  It was suggested that we not lock the bags, as the inspectors would cut the locks off if necessary to search the bags.  We compromised and secured the bags with a unique not widely available plastic "ty-rap" which could be cut easily, yet would secure the zippers and reveal that the bag had been opened.  After check in we had well over an hour to wait, so enjoyed a cup of "wake up" coffee and breakfast sandwiches we had packed from home.  America West ran true to form, and everything went pretty much on schedule.  This flight to Phoenix was expected to take 5 hours and 54 minutes, and it did.  The passage over the rockies revealed why we did not want to be driving there now....

Approaching Phoenix, we could see the effect water has on this dry land;  The brown tint of the farm land outside the city darkens with more recent irrigation, and contrasts sharply with the lush green fields now growing crops.

The kitties were better behaved than their owners, in that they did not complain even once about the length of this flight.  :-)  The scheduled 2.5 hour layover in Phoenix seemed long too, but was punctuated by two moves to find the correct departure gate for Yuma.  If America West has a weakness, it is their tendency to keep shuffling the gates that flights depart from, and not share the information well with their employees.  We got misdirected both in Boston and in Phoenix; fortunately it was more a welcome exercise during our long wait than an annoyance.  If connections were close, it could be tense though.  America West did meet their published schedules within acceptable margins on both directions of our trip.  In contrast to the totally AWFUL flight we took on ATA to pick up the RV in Dallas, America West is perfection.  :-)  The flight to Yuma on the turboprop Dash 8 was full;  the Army's Golden Knights precision parachute team was on board, travelling to Yuma Proving Ground for two months training in preparation for the air show season.  The chap across the aisle invited us to come on the Proving Ground to watch them, and said there were visitors' bleachers set up at the drop zone.  This sounds like a "Must Do"!  The wait for baggage was long in Yuma, as the limited ground crew prepared the flight for takeoff before bringing arrival baggage to the terminal.  The AMOUNT of baggage was unusual too, as the Golden Knights had everything they needed to support their training.  One of the baggage handlers apologized for the delay, and mentioned that the ground crew was all girls here.  I imagine this load built up a few muscles....  :-)  Our bags all arrived in fine shape with ty-raps in place, apparently unopened.  I followed one of the Golden Knights  out of the terminal, invisible under the pile of baggage loaded on his back and above his head.  No wonder these guys look so muscular....  We found a cab waiting outside, with passengers already inside.  I asked the driver to send another car, but when I told him where we were going, he said he could fit us in.  He had not counted on the two kitty carriers going in the passenger space, but when told they contained animals, he put one on the front seat beside him.  :-)  We arrived at the storage yard before dark, and proceeded to ready the RV for travel. We were happy to see that our long time travelling companion aloe plant had survived the seven weeks of storage in fine shape.  It had been placed in a dishpan of water with all but the plant covered with aluminum foil to minimize evaporation. There was water left in the bottom of the pan, and the plant looked fine; it even grew in the dimly lit interior of the fully curtained RV.  I did a quick hydrometer an voltage check on the batteries, and found them in good shape. After reconnecting them, the lights and water pump worked, and we were almost back to normal. The water in the tank did not LOOK bad, but we decide not to drink it anyway.  I poured the last remaining water from the bottle served on the Yuma plane into a dish for Purry, who was looking anxiously into the empty toilet....  :-))  The wind had torn the aluminum foil off all but one of the roof vents, but I climbed up to remove that which remained. I noticed as I removed the storage covers over the external openings in the RV, that the wind had left a LOT of dust in the exterior refrigerator compartment despite the furnace filter we had placed there to stop bugs from nesting in critical places. We started the generator and vacuumed the dust out before starting the fridge;  we do not need dust plugging the gas burner in there!  Next time we will use a plastic bag to completely block air circulation!  We stored the dusty front tire covers, got the engine started easily, and moved the RV out far enough in the parking space to get the bikes out the door easily and onto their carrying rack on the rear ladder.  It was about dark now, and we were quite anxious to complete our chores, so we could drive the short distance to Fry's market and buy some drinking water before retiring for the night.  Neither of us was especially eager to drive in our tired state, but between the two we had almost half a brain, and found a parking space even if I could not get straight in it after three tries;  we finally declared us to be straight enough...  :-))  I went in to get water, took a long drink, and joined Claire in bed.  WHEW!

Tuesday January 14:

This day is planned to be busy.  We have to unpack, buy groceries and supplies, get another set of RV keys made to give us two sets, as one set got forgotten at home, visit the Bureau of Land Management Office in Yuma to see if we can decipher the boundaries of the different free and varying fee areas on their land, and finally, get us out to Squaw Lake Campground and a full tank of fresh water!  This does not sound like much, but after a late morning's sleep, we arose and did some shopping at Fry's;  they have the BEST fresh vegetables we have found in Yuma.  We then proceed to the BLM office, finding it easily from the address on the poster in the airport.  We are not TOTALLY satisfied with the clarity of the information we get there, but we bought a map of the BLM areas around Yuma, and are assured the yellow areas on it are free areas.  To use the dump stations, you must buy a 14 day permit for $25 unless you pay for Squaw Lake Campground by the day, and use the dump station near there by unwritten rule....  HUH????  Oh well, now I'm beginning to understand .....    I also understand why I cannot find any of this information written anywhere......  :-)  We decide that the Quartzite map does not have enough information to justify the $4 cost, but I am told I cannot photograph it.  I am still trying to figure out the attitude of the BLM personnel; in contrast to the National Park Service, it does not seem totally friendly, and I do not yet understand why.....  We leave the office not totally satisfied we have all the information we want, but probably have all that is available.....  We decided to stop for lunch at the Mexican restaurant at the glass shop.  Stops at Sam's Club, and Walmart leave us pretty well supplied, and we decide that Home Depot will make our keys, after having had some made at Walmart with blanks so weak they bent on the first use and broke off IN THE LOCK shortly thereafter.  Home Depot cannot make the motorhome coach keys, but they send us to a locksmith who can.  It is an extra stop, but it's close by and the service is fast.  It is also a tiny bit cheaper.....  :-)  We find that our storage compartment key is so worn it causes concern that the new key might not work; I check that the blank fits, and inform the lady making them that it fits the right way, but does not fit the wrong way like the old one....she says that is because the old key is so worn...OHHH, and I've been cussing the lock designer for a rotten design since we've owned the RV...gimme TWO keys then!  :-))  We take a few moments to organize our new key ring, and then drive off toward Squaw Lake.  I am VERY tired now and am glad Claire is driving.  It is nice that the weather is warm;  warm enough to run the vehicle's air conditioner!  The drive through the Imperial Valley vegetable fields is always pleasant.  This time we find folks actually working in the fields.

 We are somewhat concerned that Squaw lake will be full, but we're pleasantly surprised to find plenty of spots.  We sign up for three days, then move immediately to the dump/water station where we run the water tank dry, then dump, and finally fill the water tank fully, and refill the hot water tank ready for use too!  It's nice to feel we can drink the water from the tap again....  We return to our space in the Campground, and after dark someone else moves in beside us.  We are all refugees from cold weather; one lady is from Cape Cod.  We retire before 8 PM, and sleep VERY well.  

Wednesday January 15:

This morning is a LATE arising!  It is after 8AM when we finally give in to Purry's incessant purring in our ears, and tumble out of bed.  The travel bags are still in need of unpacking, and there are chores I want to do soon too.  We have spare parts for the sewer hose, and bike rack, and I want to seal the water fill port too, before we end up with rot inside the RV.  First, unpack the bags.  As we work, the man next door appears with a cat not on a leash;  we speak with him about how the cat acts unleashed.  He says she is just like a dog....comes when called..  He is from southern California, and joins us for a cup of coffee while we discuss places to go there.  He tells of the time they waited 36 hours for a cat to return from a walk, and had just about decided to move on without her when she showed up.  His wife returns to his RV, and in a bit I see her looking under their RV;  he hurriedly excuses himself to help her retrieve one of their cats.  I guess cats will be cats.....  :-)  Ours will continue to walk outside ONLY on a leash.....  :-)  I reinstall  the CB radio, and rig an 8' 3" wire on the CB antenna coax shield to compensate for lack of a ground plane on the RV.  The coax shield is OPEN!  ??  I need to redo this installation, and probably buy a new antenna designed for no ground plane!!  I check the reflected power, and find it low with and without the ground wire.  The check in to the CB net is easy tonight...previously I was unheard by the net control without a relay.  The antenna just DOES NOT WORK as installed on this non-conductive fiberglass RV body!  We went for a 2.5 mile walk along the Senator Wash reservoir dam.  It is pleasant to rediscover the beautiful contrasts between brown land, blue sky and watered green vegetation.

We both thought that was enough for starters!  Claire prepared a delicious stir fry with the fresh vegetables we've just bought.  YUMMMY!   After dark we hear a donkey bray.  I went out to look, and saw no donkey.  A neighbor asked if I'd seen one, I said "No". He said someone might be pulling our leg, and it turned out HE had made one call himself in answer to one he'd heard.  I bet that is the one I heard....  He told me how he made boiled coffee in a cook pot instead of running the generator;  just put the water and coffee in the pot, bring to a rolling boil and turn off.  Let stand 5 minutes for grounds to settle.  It is bedtime before 8PM again.  We DO have lots of sleep to catch up, don't we? :-)

Thursday January 16:

I awake at 5 AM this morning, and decide to use the computer to catch up on our log.  The battery is at 75%, and the GPS needs local map data entered too.  I decided to try the recipe for boiled coffee, as the coffee in the thermos is cool enough to need heating anyway, which will dirty a pot.  The boiled coffee is quite good and the grounds settle to the bottom well; even if the color is a bit cloudy, there is no need to "chew" it.  :-).  By the time I got the log updated it was 9:45 AM, and time to get on with chores.  I did correlate the info on the Quartzite ham radio camp out with the map and GPS data, and it looks as if we can find it.  Tomorrow we will go;  we want another night here to relax and recover from the trip. The first task is to caulk the water fill port.  It turns out the sealant we have had for over a year is partially set, but we do get enough out to use, at the expense of breaking the caulking gun.  :-(  This job is not difficult, and finishes quickly.  Next I replace the hose clamps on the sewer hose with genuine flown from Massachusetts all stainless steel clamps.  The rusted old ones did not come off easily, but finally broke when forced with a big vice grips.  The new ones are on, but testing will await the next dump.  I next washed the windows all around to remove the windblown dust of storage.  Although we both felt a bit tired, we then repeated our 2.2 mile walk of yesterday, along the Senator Wash dam.  I played a bit with my Christmas present polarizing filter, taking pics of the water and clouds.

 I do believe the filter improves the sky and water appearance;  I also wonder how often I will have the energy to use it...  :-)  On the way back a helicopter flew low overhead, then circled low over flattened hilltop.  Claire's field glasses revealed that it was a Marine Corps rescue helicopter, evidently on a training mission.  It touched down and left some crew members off.  

Soon after we returned, a flock of blackbirds landed close; among them were two beautiful birds with golden heads and chests, and black back ends.  I was able to photograph a yellow headed blackbird through the clean windshield.  :-)  

The yellow headed and red winged blackbirds seem to flock together, as this picture shows vividly.  The blackbirds are the most prominent birds in Squaw Lake campground now.  I decide to try to semi-permanently fix the CB antenna counterpoise wire to the outside of the RV with tape, so we could drive with it until we can get a proper new antenna designed for ungrounded operation.  I wanted a soldered connection on the antenna shield braid, so strung an extension cord from the inverter to the roof for the soldering gun.  We took great care not to drop any solder on the rubber roof....  :-)  The wire is now taped to the side of the RV; handsome it ain't, but the CB might be very important out here in the desert if the cell phone does not work.  It would be best to have an antenna that could work well while driving.  The antenna as taped worked checking into the CB net, so it seems we have at least some success.  Now, will it stay taped at 60 mph?   Tomorrow will tell when we drive to Quartzite! We are both fatigued again this evening.  The kitties both get a walk near dusk, and dinner is cheese crackers and left overs.  This is food and it is easy!  My dishes tonight, and I manage to stay awake long enough to finish, but not long enough to hear the swap meet at the end of the CB net.....  it is bed before 8PM again.

Friday January 17:

Battery is at 68% at 5:30 this morning.  I seem to be over the sleep deprivation, if not the fatigue.  My back still bothers me, probably from lifting the heavy travel bags on the trip out here.  Today's plan is to shower and clear the campsite by noon, dumping and taking on water on the way out, then driving the 63 miles to Quartzite. Chirping blackbirds and their pitter patter of little feet on the roof awaken Claire early. They do put on a dazzling display of color in the light of the rising sun.

The plan goes well, Claire put dinner beans on to soak, and we are still a bit early at the dump station.  The new clamps seem to have stopped the sewer hose drips. :-)  I watched the water fill carefully, and just at the end as the tank filled we got some leakage into the RV.  :-(  More work to do on that one!  The drive to the location of the ham radio gathering at Quartzite was easy, if slow because we got behind a @#$%&% RV...  :-))  Seriously, most vehicles on the road WERE RV's, and the rest were trucks.   I guess there is not a lot of reason to be here unless you camp, or are associated with Yuma Proving Ground.  We thought we had biked to the main gate last Fall, but this one is definitely more prominent, with displays, though miles to the east.  

I had put a waypoint into the GPS at the location of the turn off the road to the gathering location, and though it was comforting to watch the miles count down, when we finally got there the road was well marked and the big herd of RV's parked in the desert sorta gave it away....  :-)  We signed in at the entrance to the BLM no fee area, and received a permit for 14 day's stay.   The antennas led us to the ham area even better than the GPS, and we were offered a choice of places to park.  This area is not marked with campsites; you just park where you wish, at least 15 feet from all others.  We did park 3 feet from an inverted V antenna anchored in the desert, but by invitation.  :-)  This just made it harder for someone to mistakenly drive over it.....   

We wondered who was organizing this event, but accepted that all would become clear in time.  Ours was the one of the few RV's in the group without some antenna evident, but that was the main reason we are here; to find out how others approach the antenna problem on an RV.  We want one that requires no setup after parking, and works well on the non-metal mounting structure we have.  I wander, looking at the antennas; most are set up outside on the ground, or are elevated when the vehicle parks, as they are too high to clear obstacles, but one looks like it would work while driving.  Wayne, it's owner, says he is looking to replace it with one that works better...oh, well.  Lots of folks like the screwdriver antennas, but they like to work against a good ground, and are expensive.  One guy explained how he finally got his screwdriver antenna to work by tilting it at a 45 degree angle off the back of his vehicle....  These are not always easy to get working, and you spend the money first.... no guarantees.  :-)   I walk 'til dusk, then head "home"....uhhh, which of these MANY RV's is mine?????  I follow the "road", but there are no "street" names or numbers...and in the deepening dusk all the boxes look alike.  Finally I recognize the antenna of my neighbor, and right next to him is a familiar motorhome.  :-)  We will take the GPS out NEXT time we walk, fer sure!    Dinner is delicious, and I eat too much...but what else is new?  After walking the cats, it is bedtime.

Saturday January 18:

Battery 78%;  Good thing too, as we have a good 4 bar digital cell signal and it's INTERNET time!  AOL Instant Messenger does not work, but I'm not sure if it is the new version that downloaded just before we left home, or this particular cell we are using.  Email works well, and all the necessary websites too.  I work on the computer until near noon, then we go for a walk.  I carefully enter a waypoint for our EXACT location into the GPS.  We WILL find our way home!  The walking is easy on the firm stony desert floor;  this is not a sand dune at all.  I'm not sure what it is like when it rains, but we see VERY few clouds, so no worry today.  We walk out beyond the main concentration of RV's, to the boundary of the 14 day area; signs warn that camping is prohibited on the desert beyond.  There are a few buildings visible in the outer area, and a "Private property" sign; evidently some of the land here is privately owned.  Dune buggies are evident; this gal stopped so I could take her picture, then ran out of sight into the bush.

 Her dad asked a bit later if we'd seen her ....  :-)  The GPS pointed the way home; it was not the way we instinctively thought it would be.  It saved us a lot of extra walking, at least.  Even 200 yards away from the RV it was obscured by others, but the GPS revealed all.  :-)  We noticed a group gathering around a fire pit, grabbed our chairs and joined in.  In due time the group host presented the program for the week, and announced the radio frequency for further announcements;  we do not have this radio available, so will watch the bulletin board on his RV.  :-)  Dinner is burritos with left over beans, YUMMY!  My dishes tonight, but I take time for some full moon pictures.

This is moonrise, but it's bright enough out here to worry about moon burn....  :-)  After dishes it is BEDTIME again;  I do wonder when we get to stay up after 8PM?

Plans:  This coming week will be mostly spent here in Quartzite with the hams;  by week's end, when we run out of water and fill up with garbage we will leave, probably for Joshua Tree National Park in California, but perhaps heading east to Phoenix if Claire can participate in a Taekwon-do seminar there.  There are no services at all in this free 14 day area, so the water/garbage problem must be solved by moving somewhere when the time comes.  We may come back here until January 31, then must move at least 25 miles away to camp free on BLM lands if we want that.  Do ENJOY, we are!