Gone to Congress--Arizona, That Is

We had a good time in Mexico, but it is good to be back in the USA.  We had a good week with family, did some snorkeling and spent time in the pool and lots of time just relaxing.  The airport security lines were pretty long, but since we booked MVP Gold tickets, we were all able to use the expedited line.  At check in, every checked bag was searched manually!

We arrived early to LAX and took a limo back to Anaheim, where we threw stuff in the pickup and headed East towards Arizona.  But first, we had to stop to pick up a new iPhone 4 for Neil, since his iPhone 3GS died in Mexico.  He was just past the upgrade date, so he splurged on a iPhone 4 32GB version at an AT&T store in Anaheim.  We drove that evening to La Quinta, near Palm Springs and overnighted.  Neil was able to log on to the free internet and synch his new phone to the laptop and successfully brought everything from the old phone over--including his Scotland the Brave ringtone.  It is nice when technology actually works as intended.

Today (Sunday) we drove from La Quinta to Quartzite where we met our Juneau neighbors Jim and Judy and looked at their new pickup camper.  It is a Tiger made by ProVan, and is on a Chevy 3500 chassis.  It is 4WD and has the high road clearance that they wanted.  A big step up from their VW Westfalia camper.  We didn't stay long there, but did see the waning hours of the Quartzite RV Show in the big tent.  WOW!  One could spend a lot of time and money there, but we only bought two LED lights for the Fiver and then headed to Desert Gold RV Park in Brenda to pick up the Fiver and head east to Congress, Arizona.  It is near Wickenburg, and is where the Escapees RV Club is having their RV Boot Camp.  We got here just in time to get checked in and set up before dark.  The sessions start tomorrow afternoon, and we are looking forward to learning more from the RV experts.

We hope to post more frequent blogs with photos and lessons learned once we settle in here.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Alive and Well in Cabo Azul, Mexico

A long time between posts, but we have good reasons for it.  First off, Pamela and Neil, and his brother Bruce and his wife Sandi, and niece Noreen Hagadorn are here at the Cabo Azul Resort near San Jose del Cabo, Mexico for a week.  Since we were not sure of internet access, we did not bring our computer, but did find out that they have a free internet cafe which is nice.



Cabo Azul Resort



We are half way through our week, and are having a wonderful time.  Weather is either good or great (depending on cloud cover), and the resort is has three pools with three different temperatures so you can enjoy the pools at your leisure. 

On Wednesday, four of us (Pamela stayed behind for a Spa Day) went snorkeling at a beach between here and Cabo San Lucas and had a good time in the cool water feeding fish corn chips.  It was pretty cold, and since it was a partly cloudy day, we did not stay long.  We then drove into Cabo San Lucas for lunch and some looking around.  We then came home and picked up Pamela for a dinner out at Morgan's Cellar in San Jose del Cabo.  It was a great day!

Our Snorkeling Beach from the Water

We head back to LAX on Saturday and when we get to Anaheim are planning on immediately driving to Palm Springs area so we can move our Fiver from Brenda Arizona to the Escapees Boot Camp near Congress, Arizona.  You may need a detailed Arizona map to find these places, or boot up Google Maps to find them.

The only challenges this week are some electronic gremlins that have impacted both Neil and Pamela.  First, Pamelas beloved Kindle book reader has a screen problem that requires replacement, and much worse (to Neil anyway) is that Neil's iPhone has died.  It will not turn on or reset, so we are not sure of what is going on with it.  Pamela has ordered a new Kindle to be delivered to friends in Brenda Arizona where the Fiver is located, and Neil will visit an Apple Store and maybe an AT&T store in Palm Springs.  Who knows, maybe Neil will HAVE TO GET and iPhone 4!

We are having a great time here in Mexico, and are looking forward to the next leg of our RV adventures as well.  There are a number of people we want to see in Arizona, and lots of new places to visit as well.

We hope that this finds you all healty and happy--thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Two Drives in Desert

Tuesday was another sunny and nice day, so we decided to take a drive up to Wickenberg and Congress, Arizona.  It was a moderate drive up highway 60 across some wide open spaces.  We stopped and did some shopping at the Safeway and auto store in Wickenberg and then drove up to the Escapees RV park at North Ranch.  We got into the Escapees RV Bootcamp there in early February so wanted to check it out before we go there.  We got a tip on a place to eat and stopped at Nichols in Congress, Arizona.  We had a good late lunch there with fifties music and good food and service.  Then it was back to the RV park for a quiet night of TV.

Wednesday Afternoon Was a Good Day for Four Wheeling in the Desert

On Wednesday, we took a different kind of ride in the desert with Pamela's cousin Gordon.  He borrowed a two person four wheeler and we went for a short ride on to BLM lands.  The weather was sunny and in the seventies, so it was a great ride.  It opened our eyes to the reason that so many people ride in the desert here.  We are not sure that it is for us, but it was a good day for a ride.

Neil and Pamela in Front of the Hugging Cacti

We drove over to the Black Beauty Mine, across some of the same landscape that General George Patton trained his tank troops before World War II.  There are a lot of roads and trails from the mining and exploration, as well as the four wheel riders.  We only saw one cacti in bloom, but it is still very early for spring in the desert.  

Cholla Cacti--Best Viewed from a Distance

Gordon took us up on a bluff where we had a good view of the desert around us and where he has seen bighorn sheep in the past.  We did not see any, but it was a great introduction to the desert here.  We had a great time, and even saw some of the Octotillo Cactus in bloom.

Another Desert View

Ocotillo Cactus in Bloom

Thursday will be our last day here for a while.  On Friday, we move the Fiver to the storage lot here in Desert Gold RV park, and drive to Anaheim before we head to Mexico for a week.  We may not have a blog during that time, since we will be in Mexico, but we shall see.

HagaFinn's On the Go!

Thanks for visiting and checking in to our Blogspot. 

Neil and Pamela

Another Warm and Wonderful Monday in Arizona

Today was a federal holiday, but that did not seem to make much difference to us here in Arizona.  Another sunny day with temperatures in the seventies, so it was actually warm by our standards.  We had a leisurely breakfast and decided to check out Quartzite one more time.

The booths, tents, flea markets and other venues were in full swing as we visited the south side of highway 10.  We were looking for some more LED lights to install in the Fiver, and also a couple of slide stabilizers to try out and see if they help with the slight swaying when we move around in the Fiver.  We also picked up a couple of patio chairs for those warm afternoons under the awning.

We got some of both, and came back to the Fiver for lunch.  We now have replaced more than half of the inside 12-volt lights with LED lights.  They really cut down on the power consumption (about 1/10th of the wattage for the same lumens/brightness).  The other major benefit is that they are cool to the touch and don't heat up the RV. The slide stabilizers seem to be a working well to keep the motion down.

We are here for several more days until we pack up on Friday and move the Fiver to a storage lot here in the park and make the drive west to Anaheim.  We barbecued some chicken for dinner, and had another wonderful sunset and night sky and nearly full moon.

We hope that you are doing well wherever you are.

Neil and Pamela

Arizona Warmth, Birthday Celebration and New Toys

This has been one of the longest times without a blog posting.  If I were Catholic, I would be confessing: "Father it has been five days since my last confession/posting."  I am sure that there are many good reasons, but in truth, we have just been relaxing and doing some visiting with family and new friends around the RV park and projects with the truck and Fiver.  Put it down to being retired, I guess.

We have been in to Quartzite which can best be described as the world's largest garage sale, and today we drove into Parker, Arizona to do some shopping and get a quick look at the Colorado River.  It was a wonderful warm and sunny day.

One of Hundreds of Swap Meet/Flea Market Locations near Quartzite

We have had a couple of projects that we have been working on the last few days.  The first was painting of the new leveling blocks that Neil made in Juneau and brought down with us.  They work great except that they were unpainted, and in Oregon and California we were putting them down into the rain puddles, and they just soaked up water like a sponge.  So Neil put several coats of bright yellow enamel on them--and of course it is now dry here in the desert.

The second project was the replacement of the GMC tailgate that had a dent in it from a minor hitch mistake last week.  It had another dent in it for some time, and this seemed like a good time and place to get a replacement and get it installed.  Neil ordered the tailgate on line and had it delivered to the the trailer park, and Gordon and Neil transferred all of the fittings over the to the new tailgate and it is as good as new.

Believe It Or Not, Neil Did a Lot of the Tailgate Work Himself

Yesterday was a milestone for us as we celebrated Neil's Big 6-Ohh birthday with a halibut and steak (beef and elk) barbecue here in the Fiver.  We had a great time and ended the evening by taking one of our two recliners over the the Kelly's park model trailer.  We decided that we did not need two and it opens up the living room area a lot to just have the one recliner.

Another thing that has been keeping Neil busy is his new birthday gift to himself--a Direct TV subscription and satellite dish for the RV.  It took some time on the phone with Direct TV customer service a second trip back to the RV Satellite dealer in Quartzite to get the right sized dish tripod.  After all of that, we got the dish setup and locked on to TV where ever we are traveling.  Neil installed two coax leads into the rear of the Fiver to connect the dish without having to run the cables through a rear window.

Our New Direct TV Satellite Looks Like This

Lessons Learned:

1. UPS and FedEx will deliver anywhere--even Brenda, Arizona
   
2. One persons trash is another person's treasure--as seen with all of the swap meets in Quartzite.
   
3. When shopping in Arizona and California, remember that the shopping carts are all outside--because it is DRY!
   
4. You cannot be too good looking, or too well equipped (a direct quote from Dilbert).  Here is what we have in the way of computer technology in the Fiver with us:  two laptops, one netbook, one iPod Touch, one wireless printer/scanner/copier, two iPhones, and a Verizon MiFi air card for 24/7 internet access if we want or need it.  Dilbert would be proud!

Want Some Lobster Traps?  How About Some Life Rings?
We Think that You Could Find Anything at a Quartzite Swap Meet

We will be making a few more day trips from here over the next week, and also have an invite out to dinner and for a ride in the desert that we are looking forward to.  We will be moving the Fiver to a storage lot here for the week we are in Mexico from January 23-30, and Gordon will be able to keep an eye on the place during that time.  We then come back and will visit some other places in Arizona in early February.

Sunset from the Fiver Last Night

Thanks for visiting, and please let us know how you are doing with an email or blog comment.  We love to hear from you.

Neil and Pamela

Settled In to Brenda, Arizona

Leaving Palm Springs and the Dustbowl

On Saturday, we made our way down the slope to the Coachella Valley where Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City and all the other cities of the area reside to hook up with Highway 10 East.

The MANY Wind Generators Were Working Hard on Saturday

Heading East towards Arizona

It was short (and slow) trip east on Highway 10 as we climbed up the Chiricaco Pass.  It was a pretty drive up to the pass where we stopped at a rest area before finishing the assent.  We did not stop at the George Patton Museum where he trained troops for combat.  We found out later that the museum is closed for renovations, so we will make that stop at another time.

The Chiriaco Summit Approaches

Once over the pass, we across the desert and over the Colorado River and into Arizona.  We drove past Quartzite and on to Highway 60 and on to Brenda, Arizona.  We had never heard of Brenda, Arizona before but we are looking forward to our long stay here to relax and get some sun and visit with friends.

The Chocolate Mountains

Our GPS Has Been a Great Help in Our Travels

We got to the Desert Gold RV Resort around 1600 and got help from Pamela's cousin Gordon Kelly in getting us un-hitched and plugged in.  Sunday was as relaxing day with Neil getting the bikes ready and organizing the "stuff" in the storage bays while Pamela worked on some computer projects.  We hooked up our ice maker and made frozen daiquiris and barbecued a nice pork tenderloin for dinner.

Tomorrow will be filled with such exciting things as doing laundry, cleaning the RV and maybe some bike rides around the area to see what there is to do.  We will take a day trip down to Quartzite later in the week and have an invite for a desert ATV ride with Pamela's cousin.

We noticed that the weather is turning cold again in Juneau, while it was in the low seventies here today.  We are enjoying Arizona so far!

Best Wishes,

Neil and Pamela 

A Relaxed Day in Desert Hot Springs

Today was one of those days where we got a slow start, and then flew by.  As usual, we took our time getting going and took care of some tasks inside and outside the RV.  Around noon, we got a call that our GMC truck was ready, so we took the loaner car down the hill to pick it up.  We were surprised to see all of the blowing sand in the valley.  It was a little windy up the hill, but fortunately we did not have blowing sand at our RV park.

Blowing Sand with Palm Springs in the Background

We picked up the GMC, which with a new oxygen sensor and eight new plugs is running better than it has for many months.  Good to have it done, and we highly recommend Jessup Chevy/GMC in the Palm Springs area.  They took care of the rental car for the day, and were able to get the work done in a reasonable amount of time.

After a few stops, we came back to the fiver to get ready to head east to Brenda, Arizona and the Desert Gold RV Park where Pamela's cousin Gordon Kelly is has a place all winter.  We will be there for nearly two weeks before we return to Anaheim on January 21 to get ready for a weeks trip to Mexico with family.

Tonight's Sunset - We Are Sure that the Blowing Sand Helped

Anyway, we have a 170 mile trip tomorrow to Brenda, Arizona.  We are looking forward to settling in to one place for a while and enjoying the warm sun.  Be safe,

Neil and Pamela

 

Palm Springs Air Museum and Truck Stuff

Planes and Babes--Gotta Love This!

Got your attention?  Wednesday we went to the Palm Springs Aviation Museum and really enjoyed the exhibits--and the planes, too.  It was our first time at the museum, and it was a beautiful and sunny day here.  We spent nearly two hours looking at the planes and talking with the very knowledgeable docents.

There are two different hangers, one for the Pacific War Theater and one for the European War Theater.  There was a good exhibit on the raid on Pearl Harbor narrated by Tom Brokaw.  They had an exhibit of the bombers lined up on the aircraft carrier Hornet for the Doolittle raid on Japan.

Nearly All of the Planes at the Museum Are Flyable!

Neil Especially Liked the "Nose Art" on Display

This PBY Catalina Is Familiar to Neil and Pamela in Alaska in Earlier Times

After the museum, we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (but did not have any cheesecake) and then took in the movie The Kings Speech with Colin Firth about the stuttering of King George the VI.  It was a great movie and we hope that it gets some Oscar nominations for Colin Firth.  It was a good end to a great day.

Thursday was a little bit of a downer, as we took the GMC into the dealer here in Palm Springs and it wound up costing us at least one day and more than a few dollars.  We brought it in because of a check engine light that came on during our drive down from Oregon.  Neil got a cable that allows him to plug in his iPhone to the on board diagnostic (OBD2) computer in the truck (really neat feature and information), and it said that the trouble code was an oxygen sensor.  The iPhone app allowed him to clear the code and it stayed off until we got to Southern California.  Since we had some days here in Palm Springs, and there is a GMC dealer with a good reputation, we decided to take it in first thing Thursday morning.  They were able to confirm that it was a bad oxygen sensor and did not have the part in stock, but got it ordered and received at the end of the day.

I also had them check a seized spark plug (#8--the hardest one to get to) that has been stuck for some time, and while they got it out it was stripped and they will have to put in a helicoil into that cylinder.  It means that they had to keep the truck overnight and we hope to get it back by late Friday.  They did give us a free Chevy Malibu loaner car for the day, so we were able to get around and see some more of the area.  We had another good BBQ of lamb tonight, along with some of our favorite TV programs.

Neil with One of the Bombers in the European Hanger

Our plans now are to leave here on Saturday and head to Brenda, Arizona to join Pamela's cousin Gordon at the Desert Gold RV Park near Quartzite.  Gordon and Sandi are going to show us the circus that is Quartzite, since they spend all winter there and just upgraded to a park model RV.  We haven't decided what we will do tomorrow (Friday) but that's one of the great things about being retired!

Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

PS:  We finally got our Christmas Newsletter finished, and it is available for download at the top of this blog home page on the right panel.  Let us know if you can download it OK.

The Desert At Last!

It was a very short road trip from Anaheim to here at Desert Hot Springs above Palm Springs and the other communities of the Coachella Valley.  It was only a 100 mile drive, but through Orange County, Riverside, and up over the pass and down into this valley.  The weather was great; sunny and in the 60's.  We got to Caliente Springs early in the afternoon and backed into our spot without incident.  Either we are getting better at it, or we got lucky.

We then drove down into the valley for lunch, some shopping, and a stop at Costco for gas and some more lamp steaks for the barbecue.  Tomorrow, we plan to take in the air museum and see the movie The Kings Speech in downtown Palm Springs.  We haven't decided what we will do after that, but there are lots of neat things to do in the valley, and the weather is supposed to be sunny and warm (for us, that is).

We hope that you are keeping warm,

Neil and Pamela

Last Two Days in Anaheim

You Always Knew Pamela Was a Wizard, Right?

Another storm has blown through the So Cal area, and we had a wet and windy day on Sunday with some visiting with family, some football and Neil's brother with niece Noreen, and a great chicken BBQ.  It was a pretty relaxed day, and we seem to be getting the hang of getting around down here:  freeway A to freeway B to freeway C to side street to destination.  The Garmin 1490 GPS unit that Neil got as a retirement gift has been very helpful--as long as you don't trust it too far.  Believe it or not, using the iPhone GPS and google map applications to double check routes.

Today the weather cleared and we spent the entire day running errands and some shopping.  We got a bit of a late start (as some of us retirees do) and went to a Jiffy Lube a few miles away for some needed truck service.  We had the oil changed, transmission fluid flushed and filled, replaced the air filter, and a fuel filter.  We dropped over $250 with everything, but it is good to know that everything is in tip top shape before dragging nearly six tons over the mountains.  We were able to get our prescriptions filled at Ralph's grocery store since they are affiliated with Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer where our scripts are in Alaska.

We are going to treat ourselves to dinner at PF Chang's near here tonight and then get the Fiver ready for a mid morning departure to Desert Hot Springs, where we will be for several days before we move on to the Brenda/Salome, Arizona area for a couple of weeks.

Hope you are doing well--we are!

Neil and Pamela