At Least it's Free

Well, we're waiting again, or still. The last part needed for our repair (everyone thought) was delivered Thursday. But the manager looked at it and said, no, that's not what we need. After several calls to the company that shipped the part by both me and the manager, he was finally able to email some photos to them and we learned that all the parts that have been sent this week are for a smaller brake assembly than we have!!!! By the time those two finally talked, it was too late to make a shipment that day. That means they--and we-- have to wait till Monday, meaning the parts will be shipped then and we are waiting till Tuesday for repairs.

You can probably imagine what was going through our heads at that time. We have been here since Sunday and it seems everyone, from Lippert to Shadow Trailers in California where Lippert ships parts to techs, shop supervisors and the shop manager have messed up at some point.

Today, we drove to Flagstaff to look around and have lunch. It is cooler in Flagstaff than here in Winslow. And tonight it has cooled down a little quicker than yesterday. The high Friday was 92, today I think it was 88. That is pretty hot when you don't have air conditioning.

The good news is, it is free to park here. I think we usually average about $30 a night when traveling. We will have 9 or 10 free nights. It is about as good as volunteering--at least financially.

Living in a Truck Stop

We have been parked and living in the Winslow, AZ, Flying J since Sunday. Most of the other people who sleep here are only in the lot for 10 hours or so--their required rest period after driving for up to 11 hours. One night, we thought we were limited in space because we had to keep one of our slides pulled in. Look at one of the truck cabs were 18-wheel drivers sleep and sometimes eat and watch TV.

We see drivers sitting in the drivers' seat looking at their phones. They are there all day to drive and during part of the rest period, as well. The truck stop offers a restaurant, showers, laundry facilities, game room and TV room.

Most of the drivers are male, but I have been surprised at how often we see women drivers as well. At least one looked like she was my age or older! Glad that's not my life.

Navigating the parking lot can be difficult at some times of the day. In the morning about 7 to 8, during the lunch hour, and from about 5 pm until dark there is lots of traffic. These big trucks can make amazingly tight u-turns and most of them are skilled at backing into parking spots. We are parked on the back row so we encounter lots of trucks moving at certain times as we are out walking. The drivers don't wave as they are driving or parking, but they smile and even talk to us at times in the store or outside.

Our first night here, one trucker drove up and parked in the site we were planning to go into. When he got out, he asked if we needed help parking. Were we looking for a spot?  Yes, the one you are in. He apologized and said one tip was to put on your hazard lights when parking. Then other drivers know what you are doing. Another trucker, an extrovert, said hello as he walked by. John said, "It's cold." The driver started talking--"I forgot to turn on my bunk heater last night. It was 41 when I woke up this morning." He then talked to us for nearly half an hour.

We see all sorts of different loads on the trucks here. One was hauling bees from drought-stricken California to Colorado.

We have seen new Airstream trailers and vintage trailers being hauled.

Then there are standard 53 ft trailers containing who knows what. Many are refrigerated. Other trucks are carrying heavy equipment or automobiles.

The noise level at night is pretty high, with generators and compressors operating to keep refrigerated loads cool or the sleeping driver comfortable. Every time a truck is turned on or off, there is noise from the air brakes, I guess. Of course, our generators are noisy, too. As loud as the trucks. We are right next to I-40 and it doesn't have near the noise we have here in the parking lot. I'll never take seriously RV park reviews that complain of highway noise after this.

We are grateful for this safe, free place to park while we wait for repairs on our RV brake. And everyone here at Goodyear and Flying J have been friendly and helpful.

But we really hope we get to leave later today after our repairs are completed and working!

Waiting--with water

Yesterday, the bolts we were waiting for were delivered for our brake caliper. Mike was soon under the rig, installing them.

That's the good news.

Now, the bad news. As we pulled out of the shop bay, there was a terrible sound. The brake was locking up! They removed the bolts so we could return to the shop. An examination and a phone call to the business that sent the bolts showed that there should be a sleeve in each of the caliper holes where the bolts go. The sleeve prevents the bolts from going in further than they should. The sleeve had fallen out as well and the bolts and marred the brake rotor. (I wish I understood what I just wrote. I am just repeating what I was told.)

Now we wait again. The parts have been ordered and are on the way.

John put water in our fresh water tank (yea)

and we moved to a new parking spot, right behind the service shop.

Notice in the photo that another RV pulled in right next to us.  As we were setting up, the man came over and said it looked like a good spot and they would join us.  Look at how they parked--taking 2 full parking spaces.  We are only here because we are having work done on our RV.  We know that many RVers do park in truck stops, rest areas and Walmart parking lots.  But the Escapees Club has outlined proper etiquette for doing that.  I'm sure taking 2 spaces isn't included.  I know putting out slides and using generators are not considered proper.  We feel we can do it, since we are captive here.  Obviously the other RV wasn't concerned.

Before the bolts arrived we were uncertain if we would be ready to go or be staying another night. We decided we really needed to shower. So we popped $12 for a team shower at Flying J. This is what is available for truckers for free if they buy diesel and have a rewards card.  Not bad at all.

And these are our generators.

We have had them for years. When used together, they give us about 30 amps of power. However, we haven't used them for several years and I was thinking as we left on this summer trip that I would really push John to get rid of them next fall. NOT NOW. They are what makes it possible for us to charge our electronics, keep the batteries charged and have a fan and lights and watch TV. We won't get rid of them!

Waiting

Now it's a waiting game. At 5 am this morning, I called Lippert to see if they could send us the bolts we need to reattach the brake caliper to our wheel. No, not without a serial number of the axle. Since we don't have that number, I made several other calls. At 7 am I finally reached Kodiak, the company that manufactured the caliper. Jesse there referred me to Shadow Trailer Parts in California. He knew the company had what we needed and they are located closer to our location than Kodiak.

I have talked to Frits at Shadow Trailer with the part number Jesse gave me. The bolts have already been shipped, FedEx overnight. Hopefully, they will arrive by mid-day tomorrow.

As most of the 18-wheelers that spent the night here in the Flying J lot pulled out, we moved to another slot. This time, we have enough room to open all three slides, giving us a lot more room than last night. We have traded a truck neighbor for the trash dumpster. Usually we avoid dumpsters, but in this case it makes out life much more convenient.

Last night we were only able to open one slide, making for a pretty crowded living room. And with the off-door slide retracted, much of our storage and one door of the refrigerator are unavailable. We also couldn't open the bedroom slide, so we couldn't walk around the bed and the drawers were blocked.

Today, we are feeling more comfortable with more space inside. We have the generators for power but we are dry camping. We never travel with water in our tanks unless we know we are going somewhere we need it. We didn't know that yesterday when we pulled out of Homolovi State Park. It took awhile, but we are remembering what it was to camp in a tent or popup with no water.   All we need is a jug of water so we can heat water on the stove and we have what we need to washing dishes and taking a spit bath.  The RV fuel island has water so we can go there as often as we wish to fill our 3 gallon jugs. We checked at the Flying J today and found we could take a shower for $12, and we could both use it. Still, $6 a person sounds really high.

We had lunch at Denny's again today. The secret to good food there is to order something they have to cook to order. We both had the Santa Fe skillet--breakfast for lunch. The food was good and John ate every bite of his.

Something New

We never park for the night in rest stops, truck stops or Walmart parking lots. We are always, and I mean always, hooked up to electricity. We don't boon dock in this 5th wheel and rarely in previous RVs we have owned. But this is where we are today.

We are parked behind the Flying J in Winslow. When we pulled into Homolovi State Park on Tuesday, one of the other campers reported hearing noise coming from one of the RV's wheels. As we pulled out today, headed for Gallup, New Mexico, I drove and John listened. Yes, there was definitely a noise coming from the rear street-side wheel. The closest place we could find was the Flying J just down the road. The service is handled by a Goodyear Tire shop on the same lot.

They are used to working on 18-wheel tractors and trailers, but they agreed to look at out Mobile Suites. When they pulled the tire, the brake caliper was just swinging free. The two bolts that hold it to the wheel (or axle, I'm not sure) was swinging free. Ooops!  They went to both auto parts stores in town and couldn't get the necessary bolts. Lippert, who supplied the axles, is closed till 8am EDT, of course. It's Sunday.

We dodged big trucks coming and going as we found a spot to park. This is the view out our back window.

This was the view out our side window--before the moving van pulled in next to us.

We went to the Denny's in Flying J for lunch. My quesadilla was good. John had a club sandwich. He is a person who always, always cleans his plate. This shows you what he thought of his sandwich and fries.

Tomorrow may be a long day. We will try to make it as good a day as we can.

Winslow Visit

Homolovi Ruins State Park, where we are staying, is just outside the small town of Winslow. The main reason to visit Winslow, other than taking a picture at the Standing on the Corner statue, is La Posada Hotel. We did take the picture.

But first, we went to the hotel for lunch. La Posada was built in 1930 by the Santa Fe Railroad. It was one of the last great railroad hotels and one of the grandest along the railroad route.  It was designed by Mary Colter. Just look at the entrance.

A year ago, I posted a more complete tour of the hotel. You can see it here.

We had a good lunch in the Turquoise Room at the hotel.

The place mats are fun to look at.

John had the French dip sandwich.

I had the Don Francisco quesadilla with beef Machaca and cheese.

Both were very good and the service was excellent.

We also stopped in the Winslow Visitor Center, located in the old Hubbell Trading Post. The lady there told us the building was once the headquarters for the Hubbell system of trading posts. Local artists and suppliers would bring in goods through the front door or the loading dock on the side, then the merchandise would be shipped out by rail on a spur track at the back of the building.

This is a graffiti wall inside the building. It became a tradition for workers to sign their names on the wall and date the signature. They wrote with coal ash from the stove used to heat the building. The signatures date from 1920 to 1967. The wall was in a work area of the trading post, not a public area.

The Hubbell Trading Post that was established in 1876 in Granado, Arizona, is still operating and is a National Historic Site.

On the Road Again

For the past six months, this is where we have called home.

Most of the time, we lived in the house. We love the space and the decor, our workshop and our neighbors and all that is available in Gold Canyon and nearby areas. We especially love Epiphany Episcopal Church in Tempe.

When company comes to visit, we move into the RV, where we lived full time before buying the house a year a half ago.

This morning several people came by to say good bye for the summer. Then we headed out to travel down the road. This is where we landed for a few days, at Homolovi State Park in Winslow, AZ. We have been here before and it is a good place to get into our vacation mode for the summer. Look at how our environment has changed.

An Unsual Evening

At least it was for us. We attended the Summer Kickoff dinner at our resort. It was, in essence, a normal happy hour--drinks and loud music--with a hamburger or hot dog, chips, a slice of watermelon and a cookie thrown in.

If you know us very well, you know we aren't often interested in parties and music so loud you have to shout at the person right next to you is an even greater irritant. Because John wears hearing aides, any situation with lots of people or other background noise makes communication impossible. But, the food was free!

Since summer is coming to Arizona, most of the resort residents have already headed north, but about 200 came to the party.

I mentioned happy hours. During the winter season, there is live music for happy hour in the resort two or three times a week. Those who attend can have two free drinks--if they wear their name tags. There is also popcorn available. We have never attended, but often they are held outdoors, one street over from our house, so we hear and see them. Many of the residents do attend and love to dance to the music. They did the same at the Friday dinner.

We did enjoy talking--or shouting--at the others seated at our table. The couple on my left are from Holland. Every year they come to the United States, pick up their RV, which they store in Texas, and travel the country. I enjoyed talking to Hilde about their life.

On John's right were Otis and Tina, two long-term residents of the resort. We will see them again.

There was another couple on the far side of the table, but we weren't able to hear each other and so we didn't try much.

Gettin' Things Fixed

Last fall, we purchased a stacking washer-dryer from Lowe's for our winter home. The washer has always worked fine, but the dryer wasn't right. I could get the clothes dry if I used a timed setting--60 or 90 minutes. But none of the automatic settings worked right, leaving the clothes very damp. Several people said I should get it fixed.

Finally, I called Lowe's and requested service on the dryer. I was told they would schedule a repair person and get back to me. A couple of days later, I received a call saying Frigidaire had decided to replace the unit, rather than trying to repair it. What? That's unusual. However, it was fine with me. I imagine my problem wasn't at all unusual and they knew it couldn't be repaired. It took about 3 weeks, but here is my new washer-dryer. It is identical to the original one.

Soon, we will begin our summer travels. After looking at the truck tires, we decided it would be a good idea to get some new ones. They had 40,000 miles on them and the front tires, at least, looked worn. When John took it in to Big O tires, they made a disconcerting discovery. While removing one of the front tires, one of the bolts broke. And they found another broken bolt inside the hub cap! Can you imagine how dangerous that could be? The front wheel could have come off while we towed the trailer in the coming months!

Here are the two broken bolts:

And here are our new tires:

The tire company also suggested we have new shocks installed. That will happen in a couple of days. Since we tow and live in a 5th wheel trailer weighing 19,000 pounds during the summer, we want the truck to be in excellent condition at all times. It's better to be safe than sorry.

WHAT Have We Been Doing?

We are about ready to leave Gold Canyon until next fall. So, what have we done over the winter? We certainly haven't been hiking much--only twice all winter, as a matter of fact. When we first arrived in October, we were busy getting our new workshop ready, getting a washer-dryer, utility sink, water softener, cabinets, work bench, lathe, scroll saw, etc. etc. etc.

Finally, we got down to work. John used the scroll saw to create three intarsia projects. He also painted the nativity scene characters he had carved over the summer.

He also created this scroll saw cross.

Then, he got distracted. He started attending a class on "Writing Your Family History" here in our resort. For years, he has been writing stories about his ancestors and about his own experiences. He decided to get serious. Here is a photo of the notebook of stories about his personal experiences. He hopes to have it ready to publish (on a limited basis) before 2016 is over. It won't be in bookstores, but hopefully it will be of interest to family and a few friends. He is really a good writer and he has done so many different and interesting things over the years.

Meanwhile, I spent a lot of time working on the lathe. Some projects turned out very well, others--not so much. But I had a lot of fun and I learned a whole lot, especially from my mistakes. Look at what I did.

Next winter, we hope to live a more balanced life--both hobbies and hiking. But, that balance has always been hard for us. All our married lives we have focused on either work or play, but never balanced the two in either a week or a month. Do you suppose we can change that in the 13th year of retirement? I wonder.

Arizona has an amazing number of bird species throughout the year. It is located on a major bird flyway and is far enough south to attract birds from Central and South America. One of my favorite birds is the Gambel's Quail, which lives here year round. This year a pair of these birds had babies near the dog run down the street from our spot in the resort. We had to go see them.

We don't have a dog, but many of our neighbors do. That is how we learned about the babies.

We spotted seven baby birds, as well as two adults. Whenever a human approached the space at the rear of the dog area, one of the parents would begin talking to the babies. They seemed to understand there was danger, but didn't really know what to do. They would run back and forth along the cinder block wall at the rear. Finally, one of the parents gathered them all and hid them under its wings.

These photos were taken with a cell phone, so they aren't good, but you can get an idea of what we saw.

When we walked one of the neighbors called out, "Hey, where is your dog?" "What dog?" we said. "We only are interested in birds!"

Water Birds with Friends

Yesterday, we walked through the Gilbert Water Ranch with Rose and John, looking at all the birds enjoying the ponds there. This week we have had wonderful weather--not too hot and not too cold--so it was a good walk. We saw lots of water birds:

There were mallard ducks--posing for a picture

showing off his colors

and a young one with some color on the wing

The black necked stilt is pretty

and so is the American avocet.

We ended the outing with lunch at Kneaders in Mesa on our way back to Superstition Views.

It was a fun morning.