Three NASCAR Races Since Last Update, What a Way to Measure Time!

Sunday was pretty much as bust.  I sat around most of the day waiting to see if the weather in Florida would cooperate so I could watch the Daytona 500, but that was not to be.  Then next step was to call Phoenix International Raceway to see if we could come in on Sunday afternoon and wait in the staging area till the campground opened on Monday morning.  The answer was yes, but we would have to pay the $60.00 per week charge, even is it was just for Sunday night, then pay another $60.00 for the week leading up to the race.  That was a non-starter for us.

So Monday morning we checked out of John Wayne RV Ranch and headed toward the race track.  Ann left earlier in the car with her laptop, the MiFi, and her cell phone so she could participate in a work call before I got there in the motorhome, and got set up.

Check in was easy.  The lady that checked us in was the same lady that checked us in last year.  Her husband has an RV blog  that I follow.  The next step was to find a suitable spot.  A lot of the terrain in the unreserved camping area is not level, but because we got their on Monday we had no trouble finding a decent spot.  Here is a look out our side window looking south toward the Estrella Mountains.

In the last update I talked about installing the 1000 watt Pro-Watt inverter.  I havent yet got it hard wired, so in the mean time, I just applied the proper adapters to our 50 amp power cord, and plugged it into the inverter.

It will work as long as we shut off the on board battery charger, and not try to use the air conditioners, or the microwave.

The next step was to get the tv antenna up, aimed, and programmed so we could tune into the Daytona 500 on FOX.  In just a few minutes we were in business.  I dint think the race was all that good.  I actually liked the two car draft of the last few years, compared to the "pack" racing that NASCAR spent so much time and trouble on before the race.  Too many crashed with "pack" racing.  I heard that of the 122 cars and trucks that participated in the racing that week, 99 some of them had some damage caused by a wreck, and I am not counting the jet dryer truck that Juan Pablo Montoya ran into. :)
  That is not racing, that is a demolition derby!

After the race was over we went looking for tickets for the Phoenix race.  Last year we bought tickets from a ticket broker who had set up a tent just north of the race track.

We went back there and he was there again, with the same information that he gave me last year when I stopped in on Monday;  I have some tickets now, but I will have some better ones on Wednesday evening, so we headed back to the motorhome at the track.

Before we left to look for tickets, a couple young guys who worked for the track were going from camper to camper warning everyone of the high wind warning for the afternoon and evening.  We had seen the warning on tv, so we didnt have the awning out or anything that could blow away.  On the way back to the motorhome, and huge dust storm blew up and cut down visibility quite a bit for a few minutes.  Here is a few pics we got of the dust blowing.

Fortunately, the dust cloud didnt last long, but the wind kept up most of the night, but was not as bad as it was last year when we were in Quartzsite, and ended up pulling the slides in and turning the motorhome into the wind about 10:30 one night.

Tuesday was so slow that in the afternoon I went for a ride on my bicycle to check what was happening in the area. Here is a pic of the empty grandstand.

The scoring tower in the middle of the infield.

The Speed Cantina where they have bands and booze all week long.

Then there are the rows of beer recycling collection stations.

And the reserved camping area started filling up.

While even on Wednesday the unreserved area still had plenty of room.

Then there was this guy just to the south of us who must have been very bored as he was first raking his camping area, then sweeping it.

Actually, he was clearing an area for some friends that showed up later and pitched a tent.

After Ann finished her workday we went back to the ticket seller and purchased some good seats for both Saturday and Sunday.  He was quite the story teller and told us of some his experiences as a ticket broker.  Besides race tickets he also brokers tickets for the Major League Baseball Spring Training Games in Scottsdale Arizona.  One interesting tidbit he told us was that instead of using his personal car driving around town buying and selling tickets, he rents a car to save the wear and tear on his own car. 

Then it was back to the track by way of the Golden Corral Buffet to try out there new chocolate fountain.  Just as we were about to pull into the campground parking we caught up with one of the trucks for the support series for the weekend.  Got to see some NAPA know how up close.

Thursday was the day of Ann's big bike ride.  She had been planning on  a good bike ride with her new bike, and researched some bike trails in the area.  So we loaded the bike up on the car rack and set off for 91st Street and the bike trail.  It was very close to the University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals play football.

Here is Ann in her full bicycle regalia, and ready to ride.

And a shot down the bike trail.

Her plan was to ride the bike trail that ran along the Grand Canal that travels several miles south east from where she got on the trail, and when she got tired, she would call me with her location, and I would pick her up.

I have a niece and her husband who live fairly close by, so I went to their house to wait for Ann's call.  My nieces mom(one of my sisters) was baby sitting for my nieces daughter(her grand daughter) and we had a nice visit, and I got to meet the baby for the first time.

After what I thought was past time for Ann to call, I tried calling her but no answer.  Shortly after that Ann did call and told where she was, and asked me how to get back to the motorhome!  I expected to head south east to pick her up, but because the bike trail didnt work out, so she just took streets and headed back to the campground.  I looked at a map and gave her directions.  All in all, she had ridden 26 miles!  Wow, Awesome!!!  Look out RAGBRAII!

Friday was the first day of action on the track.  All three series practiced. The Nationwide, and Sprint Cup series cars had two practices.  It is not the most exciting day at the race track, but just hearing the sound of race engines is music to my ears.  On the way up the stairs to the grandstand I took a picture of the Speed Stage, the place Speed network does live broadcasts from during the week.

By time I got back to the mororhome after a day at the track, and had something to eat.  I climbed on top of the motorhome to get some pics just before the sun went down.  You can see the place is filing up nicely.

Our next door neighbors were quite the group.  They brought almost everything they set up in the white trailer on the left.  They showed up Friday and while I was gone put up the three tents, the three easy ups, and all the rest including the huge camp stove powered by 2 20 lb propane tanks.  Quite the set up!

The sun was about to go down, and the fun was about to pick up.

We decided that we should go out and about and see what kind of fun things were going on in the campground.  We first ran across this young man who paid $30.00 to get a Dale Jr. haircut.

If you notice the pic is a little out of focus.  It is my testimony under oath that I didnt have the camera on the right setting, and it had nothing to do with the guys who were giving away free shots of tequilla that we had visited earlier. :)

We also found some very patriotic fans, and also some Jeff Gordon, and Jimmy Johnson fans.

Then we followed the sound of music a few blocks and found some fun karaoke singers and fans.  Here are some pink haired girls having a fun time.  It is probably a good thing you cant read the words to the song that are being projected on the side of the camper, as the song was a bit adult in nature.  :)

Ann put in a song, and after a few other singers ahead of her, she did her usual fine rendition of Reba McAnitre's version of Take it Back.  It was appreciated by all.  :)

By that time it was time to call it a night, get some rest and be ready for the Nationwide race on Saturday.

We laid pretty low on Saturday morning.  the Nationwide race wasnt till later in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time just to relax.  After some discussion about our current scanners, Ann decided that she would buy a new scanner for me, and she could have the one I have been using.

So when we got to the track we went to the Track Scan trailer, purchased the new scanner and had the older one programmed for the frequencies the teams use to communicate between the crew chief in the pits, the driver on the track and the "spotter" who stand on top of the grandstand to get a good view of the action on the track, and provide information the the driver.

The race wasnt all that bad, but since the track was widened last year, there is a lot more room to pass, so the racing isnt near as exciting as it was the year before, but a bad day at the races is better that the best day at work!

After the race we went to the on site Basha's grocery store to pick up a few things, and while in the store we saw a sign that said the Robby Gordon, one of the Sprint cup drivers would be signing autographs at 5:00 PM.  Since it was about 45 minutes after 5:00, we figured he may have already finished, but when we left the store he was still signing autographs and handing out samples of his own brand of energy drink called Speed.
He was nice enough to sign my race bag, and I was able to thank him personally for putting on the Double Duty Tour in 2003 when he ran both the Indy 500, and the Coke 600 in Charlotte North Carolina in the same day.  We flew to Charlotte, North Carolina on Saturday and attended a get together at Robby's shop in the evening, and on Sunday morning we boarded a Hooter's Airline plane and flew to Indianapolis, Indiana to watch the Indy 500.  As soon as the race was over it was an escorted bus trip back to the airport, and then the return flight to Charlotte, and then another bus trip to the track.  Thanks again, Robby!

After the race we just took it easy and didnt participate in any of the campground festivities, so we would ready for the race on Sunday.  Evidently, others did have that concern, as the music, fireworks, and general noise lasted well after midnight.

On Sunday we headed to the track an hour or so before the race started, to get Ann's scanner reprogrammed again, and visit some of the booths at the track.  Once inside we saw Miss Sprint Cup, who was kind enough to pose for a picture with me.  BTW, this was the highlight of the day, as the race was boring.  It seems who ever got out on the track up front after a caution was able to pretty much drive away from the rest of the field.

As soon as the race was over we went back to the motorhome, and finished preparing to leave as we wanted to get back to Yuma Sunday evening, so Ann could be set up for work on Monday morning.  It was pretty easy to get out of the track, and we headed west of Highway 85, which then turned south toward Gila Bend.  Although, there is still a lot of construction in the Gila Bend area, we were able to navigate through it and found the Shell station that I had heard had a free dump station and water.  Sure enough they did so we dumped our tanks and filled the fresh water tank.  The cement slab next to the dump was slanted away from the dump so I used the jacks to raise up the drivers side of the motorhome so we would be sure to get the tanks empty.  After finishing that chore, we went into the adjacent Subway and ordered sandwiches and drinks to go, and continued on to Yuma.

About an hour after it got dark, a pickup passed us with a mattress and box springs tied down in the back, but the tie down job didnt look all the secure.  Another 5 ot 10 miles up the road I could see a pickup off the road on the right hand shoulder.  Doing the right thing by slowing some and moving to the passing lane shouldnt be a problem, right?  Well, just as we got into the passing lane a huge blob appeared in the headlights.  Instinctively, I swerved to the left to miss the blob, I presume it was the mattress, and or the box spring.  Anyway, I missed it but there was a palo verde tree growing off the left shoulder that hung out over the shoulder, and I scraped it a bit, but no damage to the motorhome!  Whew! A close call!

The rest of the trip to Yuma was uneventful and we arrived at the Cocopah Casino early enough to get set up, and go to the casino to run a few bucks through the machines to earn enough points to stay for another day.  We already had enough points to stay 5 extra days.  In the last post I believe I talked about how things work here.  First 3 nights for $5.00, then 200 points on the players card for each additional day, but on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday they give seniors 250 bonus points if the "earn" 5 points on those days.  I have learned that if you just want to "earn" points the best machines are the penny machines, and only bet from 25 to 50 cents at a time.  You usually dont win a lot, but in about 15 minutes you usually have enough points to get the 250 point bonus.

Monday was a leisurely day.  I tilted the solar panels to get maximum power from the sun.  So far the best I have been able to get from our 30 amp solar system is a net 22 amps.  I dont think that is too bad, as we are usually using about 4 amps, so add that to the 22 the Trace TM500 is showing and I am satisfied.

Monday was also another day to go to the casino to "earn' some more points.  This was a good day! I earned my bonus points and came out up $40.00!  Just like getting paid to stay at a campground!  Another job completed on Monday was to have our mail forwarded to General Deliver at the Somerton, Az. post office.  A week or so before I had ordered our new license plate stickers.  The current ones expire at the end of March, and I wanted to be sure and have the new ones on before that.

Tuesday was the first full day of  Nick Russell's Gypsy Journal Rally at the Yuma fairgrounds.  We had attended the rally the last two years, but didnt stay on site the last year, as the Harrier Jump jets from the Marine Corps Airbase, which is right across the street from the fairgrounds simply make too much noise on landing and take off for Ann to be able to work.  Nick usually has some good seminars, and it is always nice to have a chance to visit with other RVers.  Also, we wanted to get some name badges for a couple of groups we belong to.  The RV Forum and The Escapees.  Two ladies who make such badges were at the rally.  They call themselves the Two Crazy Ladies, but they make good badges!

 I attended seminars on Tips and Tricks of RVing, Solar Charging, Gypsy Journal FAQs. The Tips and Tricks seminar was interesting, and I learned a couple of things.   The Solar Charging Seminar had some useful information on solar systems.  Since we have had ours now for a couple of years, I have a pretty good understanding of how things work, so more than learning new things, the presenter basically confirmed what I already thought to be true.The Gypsy Journal FAQs was about how Nick and his wife Terry got into RVing and some of there adventures, and mis-adventures.

After the Gypsy Journal FAQS Seminar I came back to the motorhome and got Ann so she could go to a seminar on  RV Driving For Women Only, while I went to a Seminar on Understanding, Monitoring & Protecting RV Electrical Systems.  Although, the Driving Seminar was pretty basic, Ann found it useful.  I had been to the Electrical Systems Seminar other years, every time I go I get a clearer picture of how these systems work and how important they are.

On Wednesday it was back for more of the Gypsy Journal Rally.  I went to seminars on The VA Medical System, Computer Q&A, and Improving Cell Phone & Cellular Broadband Signal.  The VA Medical Seminar was just a rehash of last year, but different people having the same problems as last year.  One take away from the seminar is that you have to really understand the system in order for you to make it work for you.  Computer Q&A was pretty basic, as there are lots of people who need lot of help in the basic understanding of how computers work, and what they can and cant do.  The Cell Phone Seminar was pretty boring, as I have looked into the topic a lot before we bought and put together our own system.  The presenter was a really smart guy, but wasnt quite up to snuff of the product line he was selling.

Thursday was more of the same.  I attended seminars on Boondocking Tips Roundtable, and 10 Things Every RVer Needs.  I didnt learn a whole lot from the Boondocking Seminar as we have boondocked many days in the last two years, and have learned a lot of conserving water and electricity, which is the heart of boondocking.  Of the 10 things every Rver needs, we have 7 of them, and 2 of the other 3 pertained only to diesel engines.  I f we had a wand for cleaning the hot water heater we would have had them all. Here is a pic of Greg White explaining how the SilverLeaf software that monitors and displays several parameters for diesel engines.

 There were not any seminars in the afternoon that I was interested in, so instead Ann and I went to Somerton to pick up our mail, get a few groceries, and stop for lunch at the local Jack in the Box restaurant.  Our mail was in and the new license stickers were with it.  Good news!  The grocery store was interesting as was the Jack in the Box.  As with many places in Yuma and Somerton, for virtually everyone there, English is a second language.  I do admire their ability to switch back and forth from Spanish to English with such ease.

Later on Thursday it was back over to the casino to "earn" some more points.  I think I broke even on this trip, but I "earned" another day of free camping.

After Ann finished her work, we decided to get a new shade for the window on the drivers side that had been giving us fits for some time.  We fixed it once, but it was just wore out.  Ann's research showed that Home Depot had the type of window covering we wanted, so a quick trip there, and visiting with a young salesman who was very diligent we had him cut down a 72" wide blind to a 60" one, and we were on our way.  Removing the old one was no problem, and we had removed it once before and tried to fix it.  The new one required different brackets, but was not much a problem.  Once we got the new one up, the next issued was to shorten it to fit our window. After much thought we came up with a plan to shorten the blind.  Of course our original plan didnt work so well, but with one of Ann's huge sewing needles, she was able to overcome the problem of getting the string back through the support in the bottom of the blind.  Here is the finished product.

Friday I didnt do much, but Ann was her usual busy self with her work.  We did end up going to The Crossing in Yuma for dinner on Friday evening, but just stayed around the motorhome the rest of the day.

On Saturday there was sprint car racing over at the Cocopah Speedway which is right across the street from the casino.  So as soon as the NASCAR Nationwide race got over on TV from Las Vegas, we made a quick trip to twn for a couple errands, and get some Church's Chicken for dinner.  It is amazing to see how fast these cars go, and with the huge wings on the top of them, how well they stick to the ground.  The racing was fast and furious, and you really had to pay attention to know who was running where.  I had only heard of a couple of the drivers, so it wasnt quite as exciting as it might have been, but all in all a fun evening albeit we were covered in desert dust at the end of the night.

Sunday was more NASCAR, but a little better racing than the previous week in Phoenix.  While the race was on Ann decided to go on a 14 mile bike ride.  The weather was beautiful, about 80, sunshine, and not much breeze. About mile 11 of her ride her front tire went flat so she called to come and get her.  A quick inspection of the tire showed two thorns stuck in it.  Tough thorns her in Arizona, sharper than nails.  A quick call to the local bike shop and we found out that they closed in 8 minutes.  Looks like a project for Monday.  After a nice dinner of grilled Iowa chops and macaroni salad, another weekend was put in the books.

As most everyone knows the time switched at 2:00AM Sunday morning to Daylight Savings Time, most everywhere except Arizona, so there is now a two hour difference between Iowas and Arizona which makes Ann's life a little more complicated as she works on Iowa time, and she usually gets up an hour before her normal start work time of 8:00AM.  Today was the first day she got up at 5:00AM Arizona time for work, and in order to watch all of The Voice tonight she had to stay up till 11:00PM Iowa time, but I am sure she will adjust, or she will be very tired.  Speaking of which, it is about 11:40PM Arizona time, which is past my bedtime, so I am going to post this now, and perhaps proofread it tomorrow, and make and necessary corrections then.

So good night all, and I hope you readers get something out of these blogs.

Paul

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

Our Winter Travels Are Over Half Over

I cant believe how fast our time at Quartzsite went!  There seems to be a conundrum with blogging.  When you are having a good time, you are too busy to blog, and when there is nothing going on, you dont feel you have anything to blog about.

As mentioned before, one of the daily happenings in Q is our daily 10:00 AM two mile walk.  the number of people varies from day to day, but usually there it at least a half dozen.

Here is a pic of some of the walkers mentally preparing for the grueling walk.  Usually after about a half mile of walking the group splits up into smaller groups, each going at their own pace.

Another favorite daily routine is the 4:00PM Happy Hour, and campfire.  Here is a pic of one of our campfires.  I thought it was an interesting pic.

Speaking of Happy Hour, one day the theme for Happy Hour was Hawaiian Luau, here is Ann with our friends Dave and Marilyn in costume.

Most Happy Hours are followed by gorgeous sunsets, such as this one.

At Quartzsite you are likely to see a wide variety of RVs, but this one was parked close to us.  It is home made, and the guy wants a half million dollars for it, despite the fact it doesnt have a bathroom or a shower!

Here is a link for more information about it.  Deco Liner and Jay Leno's Garage.  An internet search for "Deco Liner" will provide a lot more information.  One of the guys in our group has an I-Phone app, and did this to the Deco Liner. Poor Decoliner!

Here is a video by the same guy, Mike, showing a close call for Ann and Liza.

But as I used to tell my kids when they were growing up, "Enough Silliness!"

On Wednesday after morning coffee, Ann and I headed back to Algodonnes, Mexico to check on her glasses, and see if I could get mine like I needed them.  The trip was uneventful and productive.  After the lack of information on Ann's glasses(no one would return calls), and the misinformation( your glasses will be ready in two weeks), dealing in person was the thing to do.  Her glasses fit, and the prescription was ok, and NOW they would sent out to have the anti-glare put on, and promised that they would be done on Friday, February 3.  My glasses needed new lenses made, as I didnt understand that when you add bifocals to regular prescription glasses the correction is compounded, which is why they wouldnt focus that the proper distance.  The optician was slightly annoyed at my ignorance, but went ahead and had new lenses made.  I could have waited a few hours to get them, but since we had to come back to get Ann's glasses the following week, we decided to just wait and get mine then too.

Thursday evening we went out to dinner with our friends Dave and Marilyn to the Quartzsite Yacht Club for dinner and karaoake.  Dave and Marilyn wanted to hear Ann sing.  When you ask people at the club why they named it as they did, they will tell that when California falls into the ocean, western Arizona with be beach front property!


Here is photographic evidence we were there.

Since the line is so long to sing, Ann only got to sing one song in two hours, so there was no need to stay around to sing a second song.

Saturday was the RVFoum Pot Luck Dinner, and as per most pot lucks there is usually enough food for at least two meals per person.

The Spread.

The Line

Ann in her new prescription sun glasses waiting to get in line.

Chowing down

And Liza cleaning up.

Sunday was for routine chores, such as dumping our gray and black tanks, filling up the fresh water tank, and then refilling our 20 lb. propane cylinders that we use to run our Kozy World Propane Heater, and our Webber Q 200 gas grill.

On Sunday the crowd starting dwindling, and each night at Happy Hour there were a few less chairs every afternoon, and evening, but you can always take more pictures.

I like this silhouette of Gary in his baseball cap, and Joe in his Tom Mix hat.

Then there are the scenes of the sun still shining on the mountains in the east, after it has gone down for us.

The last few days we were in Q were pretty relaxed, but we didnt find time to take Bob Buchanan, and Lou Schneider out to dinner at Sweet Darlene's before we left town.  Bob is pretty much in charge of keeping track is who coming to the rally, and who arrives, as well as maintaining a webpage with directions and picture.  Lou is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to electricity and RVs.

On my last trip in to Quartzsite before heading down the road, I took a picture of the "welcome to Quartzsite" sign, and a picture of a few of the vendors in the area.  If there is one vendor in Quartzsite, there are a thousand!  Hopefully, they all do well!

On Friday we left Quartzsite and headed back to the Cocopah Casino for a few days, as our glasses were ready in Algodonnes.  We have stayed the casino each of the last two years, and in the first part of January when we came from Tucson.  The sign in was easy, and we were good to go for three nights for $5.00.  We were lucky to get the last available RV space as there was a boxing match Saturday night outside featuring George Foreman III.

Our trip to Algodonnes was again uneventful, but we did have a short wait because Ann's prescription sunglasses needed some adjustment.  This gave us an opportunity to get something to eat, and when we were finished, the glasses were done as well.  Then it was time to head back to the good ol' USA.  In the early afternoon the lines get long, and instead of waiting about an hour, we took the bicycle taxi back across.  For $5.00 per person you ride in this bicycle powered carriage, and you get to go to the head of the car line.  It only took us about ten minutes to get back across.  The best $10.00 we have spent in quite some time!

Knowing that we wouldnt be able to stay at the casino very long, we started looking for other places. I had hear about a couple of places not too far from Yuma.  One place is called Fortuna Pond , and the other was Mittry Lake, so we decided to take  a road to see if either or both of these places would work for us.  They were not too far from Yuma, so it didnt take to long.  Fortuna Pond looked like a nice quite place to stay, but seemed a little crowded.

Mittry Lake was much larger, but the camping spots we basically limited to very small areas around part of the lake.  They didnt seem to inviting to me.

I forgot to take the camera with us when we went to these spots, the first time, so went back later and got these pics, including a couple of fields of some unknown crop we saw along the way.

On the way back when I took these pics, I stopped at Wal*Mart for a couple of things; a percolator coffee pot, and a camp toaster you can use on the propane stovetop.

A couple of weeks ago we had purchased a new sauce pan, as the other one was scratched and old.  Evidently, it is not quite the same size as the previous one, because, I swear I put the same amount of pop corn in this pan, as I used to put in the other, but this was the result the first time I used the new pan!

On Tuesday we thought we had better start looking for a place to go in Wednesday, but were not too concerned as there are lots of places to stay down here in or near Yuma.

In the afternoon on Tuesday we heard a lot of pounding noise.  It sounded like someone was building a tin building with a hammer.  After an hour so so of hearing this, I set out to investigate, and found that two of our neighbors to the north were IMCA teams from Iowa.  Of course being a huge race fan, and remembering when the IMCA started back in 1979, it was really cool to see these guys.  the first team I talked to was from Garden City, Kansas, but one of the crew members was from Iowa, as well as the driver.  I was awesome to talk to someone in Yuma, Arizona who knew many of the old time racers from back in the midwest!  Here is there car.

The real surprise was when I saw the second car!  It's number was 3, and it was sponsored by Wetherell Manufacturing.  Back in the my hey day of going to stock car races in Alta, Iowa there was a number 3, sponsored by Wetherell Manufacturing!  In talking to the owner he is the son of the man who owned the number 3 car back in the 70s!  Small world!  Here is the number 3 car in the process of having the body panels repaired for this weekends racing here at the Cocopah Speedway.

One of the questions we have been asking ourselves since we have stayed here, is these people can afford to gamble enough to stay here much more than four days(first three days $5.00, then 200 points on players club card).  Well, on Monday we talked to a couple from North Dakota who gave us some good information. On Sunday, Monday and Thursday, if you play enough to earn five points and you are over 55, they will give you an additional 250 points, so over the course of a week a couple where both are over 55, they could earn 750 points each, so it is easier to see how these couples can stay longer.  Duly noted for future reference. Since I already missed Sunday, I went over on Monday, and got my 250 bonus points, and used 200 for another nights stay.  The lady at the counter actually gave us two days!  Thank you, very much!  We had also been told that if the husband registers the first time, then when there time is up, the wife can go register for another three days.  Sounded good, but when Ann went to register on Wednesday for another three days, the lady remembered her from the first time we checked in and would let her register in her name, so we had to find another place.  The place we chose was KOFA KO-OP Retreat, a place we had stayed before going to Quartzsite.  This time the place is full except for dry camping for $5.00 per day.  With our solar set up and plenty of water, we can easily dry camp for a minimum of ten days.  You can only stay a week at a time in dry camp, so come next Wednesday or sooner we will be moving.

One thing that has really worked out well on this trip is getting our mail sent to us, but this time I messed up and gave our local post office the wrong zip code of the town we wanted it sent to.  So for the last couple of days we have been checking with the post office in Somerton, where we wanted it to go, the main post office in Yuma, where the zip code on it is, and the RV park we are in, just in case the post office in Yuma recognized the zip+four on the mail.  Good news!  Today it arrived at the main post office in Yuma, and Ann picked it up while in town shopping.

As a side note, one of the things we have noticed here in Arizona we dont recall seeing a lot of in other places is people just leaving their grocery carts in the middle of the store parking lots.  I can see doing it in Iowa in the middle of winter, or if you have young children with you that need your attention, but for abled bodied adults on nice days, I see no reason not to put the carts in the cart corals!  Just a pet peeve of ours.

I dont really like to end the blog on a rant, but that is how it is today.

Till next time!

Paul