Racin', Smuggling and The Ranch, as in John Wayne RV Ranch

I have said before, time is flying by!  One of the first things we did when we got settled in at the KOFA KO-OP was to order a couple of items.  The battery in my Fujitusu laptop has reached it's end of life.  I really like this computer, but this will be the second time I have replaced the battery in the two years that I have owned it.  I found the best price for my battery at Intelligent Batteries a company located in Canada.  Another item we ordered is another inverter that will allow us to make better use of our batteries.  We have been using the 600 watt inverter for the entertainment center to run everything we use when on battery power.  The problem with it is that it is quite a ways from the batteries, and the wiring is too light, so there is excessive voltage and current loss when we load it up with our computers, lights, in addition to the TV, DVD player, and Directv receiver.  The new Xantrex 1000 watt Pro Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter is located close to the batteries so there will virtually no line loss. 

 Here is the inverter installed.  This compartment is getting pretty crowded!  I know that some will say I shouldnt put the inverter, and the solar charge controller in the same compartment as a battery, but this is the starter battery, and the compartment is pretty large, and open, so I dont expect that what little gases the starter battery puts off will be a problem.  I have yet to run the wires to connect it to the 120 volt system.

 On Friday February 10th, we went the Cocopah Speedway to some good racin'.   The weather was great and with a great track and lots of cars, there was lots of action.  There were even five cars from Iowa, including one from our home town of Panora.  I cant believe I didnt know him.  Our hometown is not that big.  We were not disappointed with the racing, but some of the competitors were disappointed how there night turned out.  This car is owned by an Iowan who let some friends take it to Arizona.  Tough phone call back to the owner after this.

Here is some of the damage he did to the wall.  He broke off about four feet of the end of the wall.

Here is some more of the damage he did to the wall.

Also, the car owner maybe calling The Subway for more sponsorship.  :)  Ali, if you see Alice, you can show her this pic, so she can see where her money went.  :)

The Saturday night racing was equally good, but the weather was much colder, and the wind was right in our face, and it was dusty as well, but a bad night at the races is better that the best night of watching reality shows on TV!

 On Monday we hoped that at least one of our purchases would arrive, a hopefully we would have both of them before we left on Wednesday.  Nothing in the mail on Monday.

Tuesday was Valentine's Day.  We didnt do much special, and instead of fighting traffic on the road, and in the restaurants, we stayed home, and made a delicious dinner of steak, lobster tail with lemon and melted butter, deviled eggs, asparagus, and our favorite adult beverage.  Better than any meal we would expect to get even in a good restaurant!

After dinner I checked the tracking number on the laptop battery, and saw that is was "delivered" to the RV Park about 5:30PM.  The park office closes at 4:30, so it was delivered to the office managers rv, and I will get it in the morning before we leave.  I wished the inverter had arrived as well, but we will have to make plans to come back here when it arrives to pick it up.  I tried contacting UPS, and have them leave it in their distribution center in Yuma, but they were not allowed to do that!  Some customer service!

The next order of business was to find a place to move to on Wednesday that wasnt too far away.  While staying at the Cocopah Casino before moving to the KOFA KO-OP one day we found a flyer on our motorhome windshield advertising for three free nights of camping at an RV park just west of Yuma in California.  The only catch was that you had to listen to a presentation trying to sell you a membership in a camping club. So the decision was made to go to Pilot Knob RV Park just west of Winterhaven, CA.

So on Wednesday we picked up the laptop battery at the office, and verified with them that they would hold the inverter that would be delivered late on Wednesday for us to pick on Thursday.  It was a short drive into California, and the RV park, but at the exit just before the park there is a California Inspection Station.  The guy was nice, and asked us if we had animals or plants to which I answered "no".  Then he asked if we had any fruits or vegetables, and I told him we had a grapefruit.  At that point he asked if he could come into the motorhome and check.  Of course we allowed him in, and he confiscated our grapefruit, but didnt say anything out the lemon sitting next to it.  I should have known you cant bring smuggle citrus into California.  I am glad we got the grapefruit for free while we were in Quartzsite.  He then gave us an "inspection document" that he said would be good for our travels in California.

The park was not all that great; the office was not well organized as they said we should go to lot 233, but it was full, so we had to call them to tell them, so they said to go to lot 235, which we told them was vacant.  They wouldnt let us check out the sites in advance. Also, the park was a former trailer park, so the hook ups were not that convenient.  I am glad we had an extra long 50 amp cord.  Otherwise, it was not a bad site as it had a cement patio.  When we checked in we made an appointment for the sales meeting for Thursday.

On Thursday we had to reschedule our time as Ann had a work call at the scheduled time.  The whole meeting was a waste.  The presentation was below par, and we could not see how joining Western Horizons Resorts  would be any benefit to us.  The clincher was when the salesman said we could make this our "home" park.  No, thanks, and no thanks.  It wasnt a total loss as we had three nights of full hookups for free!  Here is a pic I took on Friday morning just after the sun came up.

During our stay at Pilot Knob Ann had been checking out bicycles on craigslist in Phoenix.  She found a really nice that was in her price range, so we decided that when we leave on Saturday, we would go to John Wayne RV Ranch south of Maricopa, Az, a place we had stayed a couple of times last year, and use that as a home base the following week so Ann could get her bike, and maybe I could get the new inverter installed, as the following week we plan to dry camp at the Phoenix International Raceway and take in the NASCAR races on Saturday and Sunday March 3 and 4.

On Saturday morning before leaving the Yuma area we filled up with food and fuel at Barney's Flying J.  As you can see, gas aint cheap here!

The trip up to John Wayne RV Ranch was uneventful, just the way we like it!  We just relaxed Saturday afternoon, and then enjoyed watching Kyle Busch drive the wheels off his car to win the NASCAR Bud Shootout!   What a race!

On Sunday we made a big loop around the Phoenix metro area as Ann had made an appointment to meet the lady who owned the bike she wanted to buy.  We both got to the parking lot at the same time.  Ann loved the bike and they made the deal.  Her new to her bike is a Specialized Brand, the same brand as her riding helmet.  Will make for a nice coordinated outfit when she rides on RAGBRAI next summer.  So far she has ridden her new bike about 30 miles, including to her hair appointment on Friday.

From there we went to Fry's Electronics to see if they had a 25' RJ-12 cable to hook the new inverter to our battery monitor panel for a remote off and on switch.  They had what we wanted, so we were in and out of there in short order.

 Then it is was down to Phoenix International Raceway to see if any ticket sellers were there yet.  We drove by where the ticket sellers were last year, and the spaces were empty, so we will wait a few days then try again.

Then to a bike shop so Ann could get some new pedals and a lock for her new bike.  They had the pedals she wanted, and they even installed them.  The new lock looks pretty hefty, and should do the job.

Then it was back to the RV park.  All in all it was a nice 120 mile drive.

As Sunday was my birthday, Ann took me to The Raceway Bar and Grill  which is between the RV park and Maricopa for a nice birthday dinner.  The places claim to fame is that last year when we were here, the guys from the TV show American Pickers were there and recorded an episode called Airstream Dream, which aired last June, but is available from Amazon.

Monday was a work holiday so first we went into Maricopa for some shopping.  While at the Dairy Queen getting our ice cream fix, I noticed this seemingly outdated sign on the bar next door.

Maricopa is no longer a small rural community, but has grown a lot in the last few years.  After we got done shopping, and came back to the RV park,  Ann went back into town to get a couple of things we didnt get on the first trip.

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, so for dinner we had scallops and crab meat sauteed  in butter and spices over linguini with a fresh garden salad with our favorite salad dressings.  Very delicious!  Way better than you would get in most restaurants!

The rest of the week has been pretty much dedicated to watching NASCAR racing on TV.  Practice and the Gatorade Duels on Thursday.  More practice, Camping World Truck qualifying, and race on Friday.  A pretty boring race except for the big wreck at the end.  Then on Saturday more practice, and the Nationwide Series race.  The race was a lot better than the truck race, but still ended up with a couple of big wrecks toward the end.  I hope tomorrow's Daytona 500 is a much better race, with a lot less wrecks, but I am not all that optimistic!

Let's go racing!  Till next time...

Paul