All Caught Up

It's 8.30pm on Fri and the wifi has just kicked in, so I'll try to get everything done this evening. Haven't done anything today except loll around, read, sleep, etc. Will leave here about 11am tomorrow, and may not have wifi until I get to Chuck's late on Monday. Will be there until early on the 21st.

TTFN

7 Oct Thu catchup

I'm in Carefree Manor RV Resort, Apache Junction AZ, for two nights (Sat. am will be off to the reunion). Had a haircut at 9am at Margie's favorite place -- the cutter did a good job, really nice for a change after fuzzy cue balls the last two times.

Funny things noticed in the last few days--

Street names in and around Yuma are odd -- Ave 3E, Ave 8-1/2 E

Saw a billboard for the Tier Drop RV Park (near Yuma). Don't know whether they're doing a clever topographical play on words, or just can't spell.

Closer to Apache Junction, I saw the Superstition Funeral Home. Now I know that's in reference to the mountain range, but how appropriate is that name!

There was a big storm that came through the Phoenix area a day or so ago, including three tornados, so there was lots of damage. The wifi service here at the park is down, as are their phones. Hope the wifi gets going before I leave.

Took an hour to putter in an antique mall, to avoid getting to the park too early. Amazing what people think is valuable. And the books! There was one booth of all books, very obviously from a dealer, some really good stuff, properly priced, etc. But the books in the rest of the booths were mostly junk.

I did pick up four soup spoons, silver, from a basket of jumbled silverware. Managed to get the same pattern, even. My two vermeil spoons are wearing away and starting to taste funny, so I've now tossed them (it's real gold plating so I should probably sell them to a gold place, but for two spoons it's not worth it).

Misc. RIPs

Kage Baker, fantasy writer

Louise Cooper, fantasy writer

Donald M. Grant, publisher

Thomas Dietz, sf writer

David Eddings, fantasy writer

Jennifer Rardin, fantasy writer

Edwin Newman, journalist, writer on language

Oh yeah. I just found out that Keith Richards is short! I mean, he's max 5'9". I always had the idea that he was taller, but I saw a pic of him standing next to Johnny Depp and KR was shorter! I was appalled!

Okay, I'm over it.

5 Oct Tue catchup

Nothing to do all day but loll around. That storm we had last night left us with windy but much cooler air -- didn't even turn on the a/c today. Nice.

Decided to turn the rig around so I could get the sewer hose connected. The power box is one side of the site and the water and sewer is on the other side. So if I nose in (like i did at first), the power cord on the driver side goes straight to the box and the water on the offside goes straight to the spigot, but the sewer outlet is on the driver side so the hose would go under the rig, making it hard to drain it.

I turned the rig and backed in so now the water line goes under the rig, as does the power line, but the sewer line is straight. I did a dump/flush. And now I've packed up everything but the power cord.

My appointment at the dentist is at 8:50am tomorrow morning. I should be back here by 10am, unhook the power, stow the cord, and be on the road by 10:30. I've got about 250 miles to go to get to Casa Grande/Arizona City to Margie & Bob's. So I should get there in the early evening.

That's assuming the faint gasoline smell doesn't portend anything dire. I may have to stop in Yuma to have somebody look under the hood and see whether there's any dripping going on, like the fuel line. Or the fuel filter fell over against the manifold and the heat burned a hole in it (I had that happen once).

About 30 minutes ago (9pm) I heard a bang/crash out on the road. Looked out and saw two cars in a tangle. Two women and a girl child got out of one, and a young man got out of the other. No injuries. His car hit the rear of theirs but couldn't tell why. I was heading out to see if help was needed but the rv park security arrived quickly. Then cops, tow trucks, etc etc. The border is open until 10pm so traffic is edging around.

I really need a haircut -- the hair is fine until it suddenly isn't and becomes a bushy mess. I'll try to get it trimmed somewhere tomorrow.

TTFN

4 Oct Monday catchup

Naturally, things didn't go as smoothly as they could have at the dentist's. But it wasn't her fault. Really. It's a long story.

Finally got back to the rig about 2.30, not having had any lunch. So I grabbed the fastest thing I could find (cheerios) and ate that, then wolfed down an egg and some potato chips.

And it's now almost 4pm and we just had a sudden rainstorm, fast and furious. Hope it's not raining on Wed. because I'm walking back and forth over the border.

If all goes well, I'll be on the road by noon, heading for Casa Grande to spend the night at Margie & Bob's. They're the couple who was parked next to me at Springerville. They have hookups right at their place so it'll be a good stopover. Then I'll move on to an Escapees park for two nights and then up to Scottsdale for the h.s. reunion.

Don't know yet whether I'll be able to park overnight in the hotel lot. May just be very discreet -- it'll only be for Sat. night.

Casa Grande

Walked across the border this morning for my 8:50 appnt with the dentist -- she was late. But got done and walked back to the rv park about 10am. Pulled out about 10:30. Drove to the east side of Yuma, got gas and breakfast. With the engine warmed up and running, I opened the hood and stuck my head carefully down and in and around, looking for gasoline and checking smells.

Nothing. Hmmm.

Came on to Casa Grande where I'm spending the night in the yard at Margie & Bob's. That's the couple parked next to me in Springerville. They took me out to dinner at the Moose Lodge because they were all excited about the menu of chicken-fried steak.

Of course, now, I want you all to know that's just one of my all-time favorite things to eat, especially since it came with mashed potatoes covered in white gravy. And each person got a whole loaf of white bread. And chocolate cake w/frosting for dessert. Yes, indeedy, y'all.

Gah.

I may not eat again for days.

Tomorrow I'm getting my hair trimmed at 9am. Then I'll be moving on to an Escapees park in Apache Junction (I think) -- well, nearer Scottsdale, anyhow. Sat. is the reunion.

Slight cool-down

So I had the a/c on until about 9:30. I kept checking outside. There was a stiff wind blowing but it wasn't even close to being cool. Finally, it got cool enough to turn off the a/c and open the windows. The wind has died down, too. So I think I'll open the door, too, and get a nice cross-ventilation going.

Tucson was predicted to set a heat record today of over 100 and it sure felt like it. Later this week it's supposed to cool off to the high 80s, which will be a major relief to both Tucson and to Phoenix.

Am thinking about bed. It's been a long hot day.

7000 ft to 700 ft

Left Springerville Friday after Chuck aired up the tires and airbags. Went up 1000 ft to Alpine AZ and down the mountain to Safford and along I-10 to Benson. Stayed at the Escapees Co-op there. Pages of restrictions for owners (who are all white, of course, though this isn't mandatory).

Started off for Tucson (45 mi) about 8am and had breakfast at the Triple T Truckstop on the eastern edge of town about 9:30. Went over to Bookman's and trade in some books. One acquisition was a DVD entitled "Kung Fu Mahjong #2" with a lot of the same people who were in "Kung Fu Hustle," a really fun flick. Then up to the north end of town to the B&N Bookstore for a few new things.

One new book I got is an anthology edited by Charlaine Harris (Diana, pay attention now) entitled "Wolfsbane and Mistletoe." It's holiday stories with werewolves. Now, I'm now a big fan of werewolves, but just listen to the author list:

Donna Andrews, Keri Arthur, Patricia Briggs, Dana Cameron, Karen Chance, Alan Gordon, Simon R. Green, Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner, j.A. Konrath, Nancy Pickard, Kat Richardson, Dana Stabenow, Rob Thurman, and Carrie Vaughn.

Now you know why I bought it.

Then I trundled up the frontage road to the Picacho Plaza store to see my old Bowlin boss, Chuck Steinmetz. He's the one I worked for the grand total of two weeks before they yanked me out to go to Akela Flats. He was really pleased to see me. And so was Travis, another co-worker. Chuck and I went in the office and had a good time bitching about the Bowlin management. He's about burned out dealing with them and may be gone soon.

After that I went on to Casa Grande and ate an early dinner, then wound up at Augie's Quail Trail RV Park near Gila Bend (700 ft). Really hot. Ran the a/c until it started the temp climb. By this time it was 5pm and just beginning to cool off a degree or two. Better i should sweat than the rig overheat. So I turned off the a/c and opened the window. Now that I'm hooked up, the cabin a/c is on and beginning to make a dent in my personal hotness (heh).

As you can tell, I have wifi, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of tv here. No mention of cable in the rules brochrue. That's one of the reasons I'm being long-winded -- nothing to distract me.

Off to the border tomorrow. TTFN