Steve's RV Travelogue

The Real PB Winner

2012-12-01T06:32:00.001-07:00

Nobody will believe me. I am the Arizona guy on tape in that convenience store in Maine who won the Powerball! After some hard thought, I feel I must step forward to prove it and belay all skeptics…

A 24 hour Cycle of Happenings

2012-11-30T09:38:00.001-07:00

It all began with our routine Happy Hour a day ago. The sun was setting with its normal orange-yellow glow. It was the normal give and take of jokes, banter, insignificantly important notes, political cracks, and above all, laughter. We all hit the sack that night in our respective beds to be ready for a day of touring.

Happy Hour at my place.

In the middle of the night they struck. They hit Bill and Linda’s trailer. They tore apart their seed block. Bill woke to squealing, snorts and a melee of motion. Bill stumbled outside and tossed rocks at them. They ran off, then returned a few minutes later.

Steve and Anne-Marie’s trailer was bumped, the gravel around their patio was disturbed. Their seed block, kept 40 feet from my trailer, was hit too.

My patio was visited. Muddy snarble marks were evident on the chairs. The bark and decorations beneath the Palo Verde tree were scattered. The aluminum patio table was moved to another location.

Others in the park heard them too.

Javelinas!

Steve’s infrared – motion sensitive - wild life camera caught them.

Traveling in small family packs, they seldom do any real damage. They are a smelly, dirty bunch, by our standards. Hard of hearing and seeing. They rely on there sense of smell for everything. And boy can they smell! They can detect left over cracked corn, from feeding the quail and doves, from hundreds of feet away.

They can smell the seed in the bird feeders too. That draws them in even if they can’t reach them. They root around beneath them hoping to find something tasty.

All agreed, no more seed blocks. At least for a while.

The next morning, seven of us piled into Steve and Anne-Marie’s van for a trip to the Sonoita area. Sonoita is the Napa Valley of Arizona. Award winning wines are made there.

The main office building of Kentucky Camp.

On the way, we visited an old “ghost town” in the process of restoration. Actually, Kentucky Camp was not a town at all. It was an ambitious gold mining camp. It was a different attempt at mining than anywhere else in Arizona. They were to use water canon to denude the terrain of soil to expose bedrock and gold.

The business end of hydraulic mining

Luckily for our generation, it all fell apart when the head engineer experienced a suspicious death from the third floor balcony of the Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson. At the same time the head investor experienced a tough divorce, which depleted his money reserves.

The buildings and property were bought up by a rancher. They eventually became abandoned in the 60’s. The BLM now owns the land here and in the area. Volunteers have lovingly restored two of the five buildings. The others are in the process of looking as good as new again.

Our goal today was the visit of the ghost town and a visit to a winery for a tasting. But before we visited the winery, we stopped for lunch.

Lunch turned out to be an event by itself. Our waitress was a 30 year resident of Sonoita and a self made comedienne. She had us laughing. She did a great job of picking on Lloyd and Maria. A couple of her jokes couldn’t be repeated in front of church going people!

Our visit to Dos Cabezas Wine works involved eleven different wines. A fee of $15.00 was extracted from us first. That covered the wine costs and a souvenir goblet.

Dos Cabezas has had their wines featured at the White House. One of them was used to toast Sandra Day O’Conner to the Supreme Court bench.

It was getting late in the day. We had to get back for Pizza Night at the park. We made it in time. Only Bill and Linda attended the pizza party. The rest of us headed for home for various reasons. An hour later, we were back at my place for Happy Hour.

A full 24 hour cycle of Happenings!

A Holiday Week in Tucson

2012-11-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

It’s been another busy holiday week. From an on-line order for larger hiking shorts to a house inspection to Thanksgiving dinner at a neat aunt and uncle’s house.

The house inspection went well. The inspector I hired was very thorough. The only findings he had were three small things. I signed off on all of them and accepted the house as is. It’s one more step complete in the process.

Jim and Lila hosted another fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. In addition to myself and their friends and neighbors, their grand daughter and her fiancé joined us. He is currently stationed at nearby Ft. Huachuca. Thanks Lila for an awesome meal!

A fallen Saguaro on the trail

Another great fall day in Tucson brought four of us on a hike in Tucson Mountain Park. I got lost on the first leg of the hike when I took a wrong turn. The trail I was looking for was obscured by all the new growth. I refused to believe I was going in the wrong direction until we came to the end of a box canyon with no where else to go but back. It added over a mile to the day.

Cactus Wren’s nest.

We -I- were beat when we got back to our houses on wheels. A brief power nap and we were ready for happy hour!

A Hike with an Old Friend

2012-11-19T09:09:00.001-07:00

I bumped into an old friend of mine, Dave. Dave was the hiking coordinator for the RV park before me. He, like me, had differences with the park’s owner. Dave moved to the RV park next door. This year will be Dave’s last Winter of 14 in Tucson. We thought about doing a spontaneous hike this morning, for old time’s sake.

Brown Mountain is the first mountain behind the RV park, about 5 miles away. Dave wanted to show me some of the things in an area that has no trails. He hiked the area extensively last year.

Dave at the dam.

We drove to a trail head near The Desert Museum on the West side of the mountain. From there we hiked a wash until we came to a dam. I had no idea there was such a structure here.

Green Desert

Again, I had to marvel at the large amount of vegetation in the desert this year. There are even grass fields where grass fields never were before.

Eventually we came to a saguaro Dave found. It is a strangely crestated type. It was worth the bushwhack of over two miles to see it.

We found another trail heading to the Eastern side of Brown Mountain. But before we reached the trail, I saw something on the ground that seemed out of place. I picked it up. It was the broken end of an ancient projectile point. Wow, what a find!

When we hit the foot of the mountain, Dave kicked it in high gear. I had everything I could do to keep up with him. At 74 years, he can kick my butt on the trails. I was puffing by the time we stopped, which wasn’t until we reached the top.

The views are always great up here. We walked the entire ridge of the mountain until we could see my truck and the path down. It was a nice midmorning – midafternoon visit with an old friend.

Note: You probably noticed the pics are in a different ratio than normal. I finally retired my old camera. It was getting a personality all of its own. Sometimes it wouldn’t want to take a photo. Sometimes the light wouldn’t be what it should on pics. Focus was off more often than it used to be. In short it was getting old and crotchety. I can relate!

I am now using a new toy, a Cannon SX500. I’m still going through the learning curve, but so far, so good!

Another Chapter

2012-11-18T09:15:00.001-07:00

When I first began full time RVing, I said to many people I plan on a 2 to 5 year adventure to explore the American West. After that I’ll reanalyze things. I’m in my 6th year on the road. I have been thinking about a change for over a year now.

There are many pluses to full timing. There are many disadvantages too. To make a long story short, I have decided to get out of full time RVing.

Of all the areas I’ve visited, there is nothing better than the south end of Tucson for me. I love the Sonoran desert. The weather is enjoyable for most of the year. It is rural, yet close enough to a very diverse shopping area.

I asked a realtor to show me a house I investigated on Zillow.com. It was a perfect fit for me. A small, 1,000 sq/ft 2 bedroom, 2 bath, partially furnished home. It abuts Tucson Mountain Park. A trailhead is only a street away.

My realtor in front of the house I bought.

It will be the middle of December before it closes. My RV site is paid through January. Most likely, I’ll take all winter to transition back to stick and brick living. In between, I still plan on hiking and seeing the sights per usual.

Other news:

I finished with removing tar from my truck. Yesterday was an unusual day because it was overcast all day. I took advantage of the lack of sun and stuck to it until the truck was done. Now, one more boo boo to fix; the bent skirt fairing on the RV.

The hummers are back. I had the feeders out for almost a week before I got my first one. I also got a rare chance visit from a Vermilion Fly Catcher. It must have been on its migration.

I did manage to get a hike in with my neighbors Steve, Maria and Lloyd. It’s the first hike away from the walks I take out back. I’ve been just too busy. How is it a retired guy with no responsibilities can be so busy?!

I can’t forget the happy hours. They seem to float from RV to RV. A few gatherings have happened on my patio too. I think the beer has challenged my weight this year.

Oh, well!!

Winter Set Up

2012-11-09T09:30:00.001-07:00

I’ve been in Tucson for ten days now. I’ve been lazy with blog updates, but I’ve been ambitious with prepping my stuff for a long term stay. I plan on a stay through at least February. But as with all plans with me, they are always subject to change.

My Winter set up is completely different from my on-the-road set ups. For example, I never use my awning while on the road. My patio mat never comes out. I don’t even get my lounge chair out of the back of the pickup. My bike seldom comes off of its storage place on the ladder. And so on.

My Winter spot is also the place where I take the time and effort to fix those boo boos that happen while on the road. I’m in the middle of removing the tar from my truck that I happened into while in the Badlands of South Dakota.

I also have to fix the fairing damage from the blow out I had near Brice Canyon, Utah. Then there are the routine things, wash and check the condition of the RV roof. Caulk where required. Wash and check for voids in caulking. Caulk where required. Clean the rig and do the windows. Break out the bird feeders. In general, make the RV more of a home.

My Winter spot is also the time to reflect on the events of the Summer. Which of those would I like to experience again? Which can I pass?

Friends from last year and years before are trickling in. Steve and Ann Marie came in this week. Maria and Mark have been in the park all Summer long. Bill and Linda were here but had a situation arise and will be back by Thanksgiving. Rick and Jeanne are back. Lloyd came in yesterday. Others will be coming in the days ahead. It’s good to see these folks again.

Hiking is a different story. I’m sorry to say the park’s owner and I couldn’t come to an agreement over reimbursement of my time and expenses this year. I won’t be doing the hikes for the park.

I have been out for a few local walks. The immediate changes in the dessert and on the trails from rains and subsequent flooding are dramatic. There was an enormous amount of rain during the desert Summer monsoons this year. Vegetation growth is abundant. Washes have been eroded, scoured by the floods from the desert drainage.

A neat by product of eroded washes are the treasures they sometimes give up. I happened on a piece of pottery while riding my bike on a trail. The trail entered a wash where all traces of it vanished. I walked my bike, trying to find the trail out, when I came on a pot sherd. I’ve probably walked this area many times before. Now I find a piece of the past.

I’ll continue with my winter set up and my boo boo fixes. I figure the sooner I get them done, the sooner I can get out and play!

Hiking along the San Pedro

2012-10-26T10:14:00.001-07:00

The San Pedro is more than a river that runs from Mexico through Benson Arizona and beyond. It is a renown slim strip of green vegetation that attracts all kinds of migrating birds. It is one of only a few rivers in the US that flows South to North. It is the only river in the US that has no artificial means of water control, such as canals, or dams, or dikes, or levees.

Typical San Pedro Trail

I’ve done a bunch of hiking along the trails in and around the San Pedro. The ruins and bits of history that pop up on such walks tells of a much different time.

It was (and is) a smuggling corridor. The Clanton Ranch, of Okay Corral fame, sits along the banks. The Clantons built a large herd of rustled cattle. Many of the steers were brought up from Mexico. The Clantons weren’t the only ranchers doing this.

It was a major area for hunting. A few paleo native sites have been discovered. Clovis points have been found, two mammoth kill sites have been found, and an encampment has been found. Recently, an ancient community, including ball courts, has been discovered during an acquirement of an old ranch by the BLM.

The old train track and trestle.

Then there is the mining era when silver was processed along its banks. The ore was hauled here from the Tombstone mines, ten miles away. Most of the things found along the San Pedro come from this eleven year span of time. A railroad bed is still in place. The rails and ties are no longer there. Ruins of a depot can be seen near the ghost town of Fairbank.

Ruins of the Contention Mill. The town in the last gun fight, in the original and remake of the movie “3:10 to Yuma”, was Contention.

The biggest relics of the mining era are the many stamp mill ruins along a short 12 mile stretch. I counted eight stamp mill sites on my hikes. They pounded ore with huge drop hammers. Usually a brace of four hammers with three braces, each brace up hill from the other, – a dozen hammers total – made up a mill. Some of the mills, by the size of the ruins, I judged to be much larger. They ran 24/7. The noise must have been deafening. Each mill site had a supporting community around it.

A chance meeting on the trail.

Two bedroom communities were the largest town sites. Fairbank and Charleston. The remains of Charleston was used as a training town for the infantry in WWII. Visiting it is discouraged, because of the possibility of unexploded ordinance, although you can. The road between Sierra Vista and Tombstone is the Charleston Road. It runs next to the old town site.

Fairbank

Fairbank was habited into the 1960’s. Much of it is in the process of restoration. I last visited Fairbank four years ago. New roofs and supports have been placed on buildings that were almost a pile of rubble back then. The school house has been restored and includes a small gift shop and visitors center.

There are many other things to see on the San Pedro. I’ve been in this area over two weeks and still have things undiscovered to see. All of the places I’ve talked about were found by hiking along the river.

A Walk to Mexico

2012-10-20T09:41:00.001-07:00

I’ve been more active on the hiking trails since I’ve arrived in Southern Arizona. The Summer temps have cooled considerably. The altitude outside of the mountains is at 4,500 feet on average. It helps keep the temps moderate even at the border.

I drove to Coronado National Memorial for a hike I found on the Monument’s web site. It starts at the visitors’ center, climbs the Southern Huachuca's, and ends at the Southern terminus of the Arizona Trail, at the Mexican border.

The Coronado Memorial is one of the odder National Parks I’ve been to. It memorializes Coronado. (Why?) It isn’t located in a real spectacular area. I don’t think there is anything particular about the area that needs protecting. There are no nearby border crossings. Heck, Coronado didn’t even come through this area. He is believed to have come up the San Pedro River corridor.

There must be something political in the history of its founding.

Joe’s Canyon is the large vee.

The hike starts at the base of Joe’s Canyon. It follows the canyon to a set of switchbacks on the face of the mountain to the west. This is the woodsiest part of the hike. Only a smattering of partially burned mesquite trees provides any kind of shade.

Once a cliff face is reached, the trail follows the base of the cliff back to the canyon and up to a saddle – which defines the top of the canyon. This stretch of trail amounted to about a mile and a half, all up hill. Whew.

The view back down the canyon was neat. It was my first mountain top view in a long time. Vastness is the feeling I get. It’s a big world out there.

From here it was a leisurely walk of two miles through grassy hillsides and along a long ridge line. The only critters I came across where huge gaudy green and yellow grasshoppers.

One thing about hiking I’ve learned is to not get your hopes up about seeing wildlife. The animals can hear your footsteps. They either scatter before you get within eyesight, or they hunker down until you pass by.

Just sit still for a few minutes, and at the very least, birds and ground squirrels will become active again.

I found the end of the trail at a fence dividing Mexico from the US. Not a special fence. Just your run of the mill barbed wire job with with a string of wire missing. Behind it was the marker for the border.

The view of Mexico was of vast vacant land. An unknown mountain range in the distant. Not a single man made object could be seen. Just a lot of vacantness. It was beautiful.

I now have bragging rights for hiking to the end of the Southernmost Trail in this part of the US. The round trip measured 8 1/2 miles on my GPS. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as sore or tired as I was on a shorter hike only a week ago.

I had chicken on the barbie with asparagus, peas and a baked potato. The sunset was stunning. I watched it change from yellow, to orange, then to red before daylight finally faded. The beer tasted especially good this evening.

A New Slitherer

2012-10-17T09:39:00.001-07:00

I was checking out an abandoned house out in the boonies when I heard this crazy noise. It sounded like a mad wasp in a paper bag. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

I looked down and scanned the area for the source. There it was, slithering along the adobe wall and foundation of the house. A bizarrely handsome rattler at that! I’ve never seen one of these before.

My shaky hand could only get a sort of in focus shot of him. Only about 15 inches long and not much more than as big around as my thumb. His buzz hinted of something much larger.

He was the color of a pair of gray cotton sweat pants with jet black jagged banding. Very striking! heh… heh…

I looked him up when I got home. He is a Banded Rock Rattler. In another month he will be in hibernation with all the other cold blooded crawly things.

Sierra Vista Area

2012-10-14T08:52:00.001-07:00

I’ve been in the Sierra Vista, AZ, area for several days now. It is almost as far south in Arizona as you can get. Yet it is a much cooler climate than what I experienced in Phoenix. It must be the altitude. Maybe it is just a little farther into the fall season. Maybe a little of each. Who knows? It is perfect here.

I spent a little time exploring the old mining ghost town of Millville. I even found a walking stick on the trail. Somebody propped it against a trail marker with a post-it note “FREE” on it. I never get tired of exploring these old towns.

Millville was one of several towns in an eight mile stretch on the San Pedro River. Their sole existence was to pulverize the silver ore coming from Tombstone, 9 miles away. All but one of these towns folded after ten years. The earthquake of 1876 flooded the Tombstone mines. Tombstone now had enough water of their own to process ore on site. These towns weren’t needed any more.

I met Wandrin Lloyd for lunch this week. He is staying in nearby Benson. We will both be wintering in the same RV park in Tucson again this year. I’m looking forward to seeing the familiar faces that return each year.

My bicycle needed new rubber. $117.00 for two bicycle tires and tubes? Sheesh. They even gave me a $20.00 discount on Kevlar tires.

This vendor cut geodes people bought from him

A small gem and mineral show caught my attention yesterday. I checked it out at the local college. I had a great time. The vendors are much more animated and willing to deal than what my experiences are at the huge Tucson show.

Some gold prospectors were able to almost convince me to join their club and try my hand a prospecting. I came close to signing up with them. I assured them that I was just passing through, on my way to Tucson. They gave an enthusiastic recommendation for one of the Tucson clubs. I just may look into it this year.

You know, I just may extend my stay in this area for another week, or two. There’s just too much to do and see.

Scouting and a Flat

2012-10-07T13:07:00.001-07:00

I made two attempts to scout a trail for group hiking this winter. My first was foiled by a blow out on one of my hiking shoes. I slipped on a small rock and tore the entire side of it out. I really liked these shoes too. So much so that I hopped in the truck and drove to the local outdoor store, I bought them at last year, for another pair.

They no longer carry them! I wasn’t interested in others. I’ve tried other shoes. My goofy flat feet are particular about what goes on them. I found a similar pair, but not the same, at a big box store.

Two days later I made another, successful attempt. It’s been over a month since the last time I hiked any distance and I could feel it. The fresh, cool air felt good. Birds were flitting about. I could hear the curved bill thrasher’s whip-whip. I was really enjoying the familiar Sonoran desert scenery. I like it here.

The hike was five miles out and back. It ended up at more than a seven mile hike when I made a wrong turn at a trail intersection. But, this is why I like to scout these trails out before I take a group on them.

My goal was a seasonal waterfall in the Rincon Mountains. When I got there it was dried up. I didn’t expect that. I made this hike four years ago, later in the season, when winter water runoff provided the falls.

I enjoyed the shade and a rather aggressive ground squirrel looking for food. I tossed him a pecan from my trail mix. He ran to bury it, then ran back looking for another. I could tell he was fed regularly by hikers. He was at my feet, almost attempting to jump on my lap. I gave him a peanut and walked away.

It was time to turn back. My right foot cramped up on me while I was sitting. It took almost a mile of limping before the cramp went away.

I rested in the shade outside of my trailer. I was sore, but feeling good. Tucson is nice.

Passing through Tucson

2012-10-03T07:22:00.001-07:00

After a hot but quiet stay in the Phoenix area, I’ve moved to the Tucson area. I’m on the far east side of town. It,s an RV park, Cactus Country, I stayed in my first year on the road.

30 days in Phoenix, 26 of them were triple digit heat. It is the main reason I stayed inside most of the time. I did get out to see the Heard Museum. A fabulous place showing native American culture.

I also got out to experience a teddy bear factory. It was a combination factory and retail store. You actually follow a teddy bear being made. All the stations for pattern cutting, sewing and stuffing. A bear can be made in 20 minutes.

I chose this spot in Tucson to experience a few hikes near Saguaro East. They might be good candidates for hiking late this winter.

I’ll be here a week, then head on to Sierra Vista.

Resort Living

2012-09-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

One of the reasons I wanted to stay in an upscale RV resort was just for the experience of doing it. This resort has just about everything imaginable. Of course there is the swimming pool. A huge Olympic sized pool with nearby changing rooms and showers.

There are activities galore. There are eight separate buildings in the core of the complex. One of them is the admin building. The others include a diner, library, computer center, mail room, a ceramics shop, woodshop, lapidary, health spa, music, sewing, crafts, and a complete building for billiards.

Then the outside activities on the property include tennis, shuffle board, basket ball, bocce, and horse shoes. An area is under construction where two pickle ball courts will be ready next month. A nearby golf course offers snowbird memberships and discounted green fees.

Most of the sites are occupied by park model homes. There are a lot of for sale signs on them. When I arrived, one of the hand outs I was given was a listing of the homes for sale. There were well over a hundred on the list. I think this is typical of all these such parks.

A typical 4 sale park model unit.

I don’t think anyone should buy into a park like this with the intent that it is an investment. Turn over is just to high. Over a hundred in this park and there are hundreds of parks like this in Arizona.

There is also the feeling of sameness. Everywhere you look, there are neatly aligned park model homes closely situated next to each other. Every one is a little different, yet they look the same.

There is a 5th wheel embedded in this structure.

There are few people here this time of year. It almost has the feeling of a ghost town right now. I have one neighbor in residence across the street from me. There is a lady who rides her bike every morning that passes by. These are literally the only living beings I’ve seen daily since being here.

Well, I wanted to experience resort living, now I can move on.

House Keeping with Help

2012-09-22T14:05:00.001-07:00

I had a little fun playing with my video camera this morning. I haven’t used it in a while. It took a little of a relearning curve. This video is a short four minute look at one of the morning routines: cleaning the bird cage.

I learned a long time ago not to leave the trailer without doing this job. Marta looks forward to this. Routines are important to animals. The one time I didn’t do this, Marta was out of sorts – and ornery as hell – for the rest of the day!

She loves to eat other foods beside seed. Her favorites are peas, raw carrots, spaghetti, popcorn, apples, celery, oranges, Wassa crackers, and oatmeal cookie crumbs. She won’t eat bananas or broccoli. Even Marta won’t touch broccoli…

What a Start to the Day

2012-09-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

I was on the steps of the RV yesterday morning, having a cup of coffee. I was enjoying the cooler temp of the morning. The sun was beginning to rise. I saw a bright white cloud begin to form.

It began to grow from nothing. At first I thought it was the effect of the sun shining on ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. It continued to grow in a linear fashion. I began to realize it wasn’t a natural phenomenon. I also knew it was way too large and growing too fast to be a contrail from a plane.

I found this video of it on YouTube. It was filmed by a group of scouts out camping.

Missile Trail

It wasn’t until later in the day when the news reported it as a missile trail. A target missile was launched from Gallup, NM. An interceptor missile was launched from White Sands, NM. That’s all the info I got from the news on it!

Is this the result of the target being hit? It was never explained.

It was quite a spectacular display to start the day, for sure.

A Bit of a Pause

2012-09-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

Every month, at the last day of the month, or the first day of the next month, I add up my receipts for expenses. I knew it was going to be high this month. I didn’t really stay at any cheap places except for the Elks Lodge in St. George, Utah. I drove a lot of miles, from Minnesota to where I now am in Sun City, Arizona. I also had a maintenance routine done to the truck.

I didn’t expect the bills to add up to be a record month on the road! I had over $1,000.00 in fuel expenses alone. Over $800.00 in site rentals, and the $588.00 for maintenance. Food was okay. Entertainment was okay too.

This forced me to adjust my traveling strategy slightly. I’ve decided to stay for an entire month in one spot. I’m at the Paradise Resort in Sun City. I’m taking advantage of off season rates and close proximity to shopping.

There are a lot of activities close by. But, the heat here this time of year (hovering near 100 degrees) will not allow me to explore them as I would like. As the month flies by, I’m sure there will be days cool enough to venture out. But, for the most part, I’m a domestic goddess for a while.

Stay tuned…

Living Ghost Towns

2012-09-01T18:51:00.001-07:00

I visited three ghost towns over the last two days. Two of them are still living. It is always interesting to me to see these old towns.

Oatman was my first stop. I visited this town three years ago, the last time I was in this area. It hasn’t changed a bit. Except, they sell alfalfa pellets to feed the donkeys rather than carrots. They’re supposed to be easier on their digestive tract.

I always thought the donkeys were brought into town from somebody’s ranch. After talking to a local, they actually live on BLM land. They come into town on their own every morning, looking for handouts. The retailers watch out for them and make sure they are treated and fed well.

The buildings are as well built on the inside as they are on the outside. I doubt if they could pass any type of safety, or sanitary code. There isn’t any sprinkler systems in the public buildings. Heck, a couple of them didn’t even have floors.

But, the flavor of the era they were built in is still there. They have a wild west shootout every day at noon. The place was busy.

There was a motorcycle club in town. I noticed they all had temporary Illinois paper license plates on them. I talked to one of the bikers. They are actually a European Club that ferried their bikes here and are touring America.

From Oatman, I visited the old Fort outside of Kingman, Fort Beale. It had a large history during its existence. It was a midway point on a trail blazed through the mountains.

It served as a base for the Army to protect settlers and miners from the Hualapai Indians. It became one of several home forts for the Camel Corps. Its final days served as an internment camp for the Indians before they were marched to a reservation in Colorado. Today, there is a monument at the gate placed by the Hualapai's commemorating their forefathers and the march they withstood.

Absolutely nothing exists anymore except for faint outlines of stone foundations. There are interpretive signs were the buildings once stood. You really have to stretch your imagination to perceive the place.

Today I drove 20 miles west to see the ghost town of Chloride. People still live there. Mostly retirees and starving artists. This year a copper mine reopened. There are rumors among the residents that another mine is planning to reopen soon. It’s big news around town.

Chloride was the first town in Mohave county. It was a typical mining town. Gold and Silver were mined through 1910. Then lead and copper became the predominant workings. All mining shut down during WWII.

The Post Office was established in 1872 and is in the same building today. It’s the oldest such Post Office in Arizona.

The locals at Digger Dave’s.

I stopped in at Digger Dave’s bar and grill. The owner flagged me in to see his place. He is a new owner. It has been open for only two weeks and he is proud of it. It seems to be the social hub for the residents. I even met a guy in his 70’s who was born here. He was playing Led Zeppelin as loud as the juke box would go.

Most of the houses around town are older mobile homes. They all seem to have some sort of junk theme in the yards. Not scattered stuff, but organized somehow. Some call it art.

The old train depot is still there, all shuttered up. There are no railroad tracks anymore. It’s very strange to see a railroad depot with no railroad tracks.

Jail

I scouted out the old jail. It’s a two cell room affair with the jailers office dividing the cells.

It was a neat visit. The locals made it all the more colorful. I was the only tourist in town. I really felt like I was on display. I could feel the eyes watching me and hear the whispers talking about me.

I had to go before I got too paranoid!

History and Rum

2012-08-29T16:39:00.001-07:00

I spent my first day in Kingman just chilling out. I haven’t had a lazy day in a while. I just hung out, reading, doing crosswords and watching a little TV. There is an all service garage next door to the RV park. I looked on line and found it is a favorite place for the locals to take their vehicles to. They had a lot of good reviews.

My truck just turned over 94,000 miles. It needs a routine maintenance done every 30,000 miles. Basically, just replace the fluids and filters. I booked the truck for the routine go over. I spent day two in Kingman once again just chilling out while the truck was in the garage. It’s a major outlay, but it has to be done. $244.00 in parts and fluids and $275.00 in labor and it is now behind me. I’m good for another 30,000 miles.

This morning I visited the Museum. It is located in the center of town on Route 66. The longest stretch of Route 66 still in use runs through Kingman.

Look at the size of Devine’s directors chair. It could sit two adults side by side.

Did you know Kingman is the home town of Andy Devine? You remember him. He was a character actor in hundreds of Westerns. I remember him when I was a kid as Jingles on the TV series “Wild Bill Hickok Rides Again”. His dad owned the Beal Hotel in town. Only a carcass of the building remains.

Workers were painting the steam engine outside of the museum.

The area is rich in mining history. A lot of the info displayed reflects that. There is also a lot in items related to the Hualapai Indians. A part of the experimental Camel Corps was stationed here too.

Inside the caboose is like an RV. Hot and cold running water, a dinette and bunks.

From the museum, I drove a few miles to see the Desert Diamond Distillery. That’s right, a libations distillery here in the desert. It started only two years ago.

I just missed tagging along on a tour when I arrived. I was the only guy in the visitor’s area. The owner’s mother works the gift shop and tasting room.

The business makes a vodka and four different types of rum. Two of the varieties have won awards. I was offered tastes of all of them. I quit such types of alcohol 20 years ago. The only time I’ll have a cocktail these days is around the holidays. Or a hot buttered rum after a cold round of golf on a winter’s day back in Washington.

I bought a twelve pack of Agave Rum in the airline bottle size. It’ll make for good gifting during holiday time.

I sure wish I got there 15 minutes earlier. I would have loved to see how the rum is made.

Slow Down Lad

2012-08-27T11:47:00.001-07:00

I said goodbye to the Elks Lodge park hosts, Jim and Dianne. They are in their early 60’s and have been full time RVing for 22 years. When they started, the average price for an RV site with full hookups was $7.00!

They have a parrot too. A Quaker. His name is Petie. Petie spends most of his day outside of the cage in the RV. He arranges, then rearranges plastic coat hangars into a nest. He’s a kick to watch. He’ll spend all day doing this. He talks too.

I’m now in Kingman, AZ. I’ll slow down my travels from here on. It’s time to do some exploring, though it will be really casual. The afternoon temps creep into the 90’s. It’s a nice heat, very tolerable. It’s the intense sun that sometime gives grief.

My first stop will be the visitors center, then I’ll take it from there.

A Move Farther South

2012-08-25T09:26:00.001-07:00

I so wanted to go out and find trilobites while in Delta. Mother Nature wouldn’t cooperate. It rained the final days while there. When it decides to rain in the desert, it doesn’t mess around. There was a lake that formed in the street next to my site. I thought of getting a pic long after it stopped raining.

I did visit the Trilobite U-Dig Office in town. For $20.00 I got a few samples of trilobites, four geodes, snowflake obsidian and a few pounds of tumbling material. I thought it was a great deal.

My new home is only a two day stop over. I’m at the St George, UT, Elks Lodge. I checked this place out the last time I was in the area. The lodge has a very unique RV park. It’s on the back end of the parking lot. There are a dozen electrical hookups. No water on the sites, but you can load up in front of the host’s site. The dump station is near the same area.

The back drop is beautiful. Red rock cliffs. One side of the lot over looks a golf course. The only visually distracting elements are the utility lines over the parking lot, and perhaps the black asphalt too.

The RV parking area is far enough from the main lodge that you don’t have to worry about noise when the bar closes.

The park host has a parrot. He was cleaning up dirt that eroded from the cliffs and spilled into the RV sites. It was a record deluge here over the last two days. I introduced him to Marta. She didn’t disappoint. She knows when she’s on display and lets it all hang out.

Touring around Delta

2012-08-22T12:35:00.001-07:00

My plans to go trilobite hunting were thwarted by the weatherman. It was predicted to be thunderstorms most of the day. That never happened. I talked to one of the locals about the weather here. He said I made a good choice. It can rain like crazy west of here. But, for some reason the rain hardly ever reaches the ground in Delta.

I instead put my tourist hat on. I made a note of the nearby areas that have some sort of interest. I hit most of them.

My first stop was to see the man in the rock. It’s a lava outcropping that is supposed to resemble Brigham Young. It is only an eleven mile trip south. Then a small hike of about an eighth of a mile to the top of a lava flow.

That eighth of a mile uphill had me huffing and puffing. It is amazing how quickly the stamina goes when you haven’t been exercising for only a short while.

I could see a profile from one side of the outcrop. The sun was directly in my face. I had to do some rock scrambling to get a picture of him while he blocked the sun.

The prehistoric Indians living in the region way back when also thought a lot about the rock. There are faded petroglyphs around the base. So faded that they didn't show up on a pic. One of them was recently enhanced by somebody. Even if the intentions were good, it’s still vandalism.

Another bunch of rock art was not far away. This panel was studied by archeologists. According to the interpretive sign, they determined it to be a document dividing water rights among tribes and clans. How can they figure that out?

From there I drove to old Fort Deseret. When I asked directions to it from locals, I got the impression there wasn’t much to see. I was surprised how much of it is still there. It was a 500 ft. by 500 ft. mud walled enclosure. It was built to protect travelers from Black Hawk Indians. It was the halfway point and overnight stop between Salt Lake City and Fillmore.

It is made entirely of mud and straw. It has bastions at two corners. The info I read is that 98 men built it in 18 days. It’s the most unique frontier fortification I’ve come across.

After the fort, I stopped by the Japanese Internment Camp outside of the little town of Topaz. I have visited several of these camps in the past. This one is by far the most devastated of all of them. There isn’t a single ruin of a structure still standing in this remote spot. Eagle Scouts have placed signs at locations and foundations identifying what was there. There is a parking spot with two interpretive signs and an American Flag.

Lumber around here at that time must have been a luxury. The structures were dismantled and the materials reused for other buildings in the area.

Topaz in 1942. It housed over 6,000 people.

All of these interment camps have been designated as National Landmarks. The federal government has set aside money to keep their memories alive. A half block on Main Street in downtown Delta has been cleared to make way for a museum of this camp.

On a personal note, I noticed my allergy symptoms have finally dissipated. Every time I go to the Midwest my allergies kick in. My nose and eyes get watery and itch. I sneeze my head off. The sneezes always come in threes. It’s good to be normal again.

Delta, UT

2012-08-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

I forgot to relate where I am. I traveled from Ft Bridger, WY, to Delta, UT. The mouse problem had me on a single minded track. It’s tough to multi task as you get older. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

The Salt Lake City area is under a massive effort to improve the roadways. It was a white knuckle trip through that area. Even as far south as Ogden, the freeway is an eight lane cramped affair. The semis passed by so closely, I thought I was going to lose a mirror. Merging traffic was a nightmare. Keep a wide margin when passing through this area, if you can.

The second structure built in Delta.

Delta is a small town in the great basin desert. It was founded in 1907 when the second dwelling was built. It still exists and is on display in the city park.

Curiosity brought me here.

Today I visited the museum. It was a very small museum – as museums go. Since the town has a fairly recent history, the displays were something I could relate to. I remember a lot of the things in it when I was a kid.

The area is rich in minerals and fossils. It’s a rock hounder’s paradise. The down side is, the mineral deposits are in such remote locations that ATV’s are the best way to visit them. I plan to try my luck at looking for trilobite fossils tomorrow. The quarry is only 52 miles away, 20 of it over gravel roads.

The temps are in the high 90’s. It is much more tolerable here than the Midwest. It’s the dry air…

I can’t tell you how nice it is to be mouse free!

Got ‘em!

2012-08-18T08:52:00.001-07:00

After I wrote yesterday’s blog entry, I thought about this mouse. It avoided all my traps so far. Then I remembered a few days ago when one of them was sprung and there was no mouse. Could it be it learned from that and is avoiding my traps? Maybe it holed up for a couple of days until it got hungry enough to venture out again. That’s probably why I haven’t seen a sign of him until now.

That thought put me in motion to head to the local ACE Hardware for another type of trap. To make a long tory short, last night I got ‘em. This morning I found one of the new traps sprung with him inside.

Now to clean things up again.

While I was at the hardware store I also bought a new line of defense. They had these sonic mouse repeller gadgets. I have always been skeptical of these. Those that use them swear by them. Then again, maybe they wouldn’t have had mice problems anyway.

Well, I’m game. I’ll plug one of these into the outlet the inverter is plugged into under the galley cabinets. The other I haven’t quite figured out where to put it yet. Maybe the cargo bay. But there isn’t anyplace to plug it in under there.

Right now I’m relishing my victory.

Am I being Out Moused?

2012-08-17T16:43:00.001-07:00

I was making coffee this morning when I noticed something out of place with the bag of hot dog buns I left on top of the stove last night. The plastic looked a little ragged.

When I picked it up, it was the unmistakable sign of a mouse! It chewed through the plastic and helped itself to the bread. I looked all around. There was no other signs of mouse. No droppings anywhere. There wasn’t even any crumbs on the stove where the bag was.

I did another complete search under the cabinets. Checked all the set traps. I looked everywhere. The only place I could see evidence of a mouse was under the powder room sink. It is possible I didn’t clean as well as I thought. Now I don’t know if this happened in the grocery store and I didn’t see it, or it happened sometime last night.

Complete paranoia! If it’s here, he won’t outsmart me. I took one of my peanut butter baited traps and baited it with bread. It is now under the powder room sink. I also put a crumb of bread near the spot of last nights possible raid. That is just to see if it comes back again, (if it is indeed in the trailer).

Now to wait.

The Beat Goes On

2012-08-16T07:30:00.001-07:00

That episode of cleaning the basement put me in a cleaning mode. I took an entire day getting the trailer spic and span. I thought of cleaning only the black streaks that form under the gutter outlets. That led to cleaning the side of the trailer. Then it was the end caps. after all how can you stop there? I did this with a bucket and rag. The general cleaning I did in Minneapolis took the dust off. This time I got it all.

I checked the batteries. It looks like one of them enjoys water these days. I refilled it with a pint. It drinks a pint every three months. Then I cleaned out the little compartment where I store the water hose. I did an adjustment to the hitch. I filled the entire day. When I was done, it rained!

I walked next door to see Fort Bridger. This is the third Wyoming fort I visited this year. It was Fort Steel, Fort Fetterman, now Fort Bridger. This fort was more of a trading post on the immigrant trails. From here the trail fanned out in several directions, forming the Mormon Trail, The California Trail and the Oregon Trail. The depression in the ground formed by the wagons is still visible.

Barracks

The fort was abandoned in 1890. The trading post remained for another 20 years. Like all the other forts, most of the buildings were sold off to locals. The remaining buildings were restored over a number of years beginning in the 1960’s. The first motor lodge west of the Mississippi, on the Lincoln Highway, was located here.

CO’s House

This is the better restored, most intact, of the three I visited. It took over three hours to see it all.

Even Jim Bridger’s trading post was rebuilt near its original site.

I learned from the camp hosts of other neat places in the area. A ghost town with restored charcoal kilns is nearby. A cemetery of victims of small pox, the oldest victim buried is 17 years old, is also nearby. The original wooden markers have been lovingly restored.

These will have to wait for another visit. Today is move day. I’ll spend at least a week in the next spot.