January 30th, 2024 thru February 14, 2024 Our time in Yuma

(I am behind again on the blog - Sorry!)

For the first week here, I did not feel well so I did not do much except rest and putter around the motorhome.  By the second week of February, I felt so so much better.  One of the ladies here in the park was also ill with the same and her doctor told here it was a new illness.  HA!  At least I have antibodies now..

My buddy during resting times:

Anyway, it is great to feel good again.  We were able to go to lunch with Barb and Larry at the Elks Lodge and get caught up.  We met them many years ago in the Casa Grande park it was nice to be able to sit and chat.  (Forgot to take a picture.)

Another day, I met two of my beading buddies for lunch at Da Boyz in downtown Yuma  It was so good to see them again and get caught up.

Phyllis, me, and Sandy:

One day, Andy and I took a trip to Los Algodones for more medicines and, of course, Margarita's and Garlic Shrimp at La Paraiso.  YUM!!

This is Leo who has been our bartender all the times we were here this year - What a great guy!:

This is Peta who has also been here with Leo.  She is very quiet but smiles a lot:

One of the many stores selling alcohol and medicine:

One of the many dentists here:

The border - notice the wall:

There is a lot of construction here along the wall and a number of new buildings on the Mexican side.  We did talk to someone who told us that the new buildings are for Mexican processing.  Right now, there is no truck crossing at this border.  It looks like they are getting ready to allow truck crossings but who knows.  At least it is still safe here.

Double wall on the American side:

As I have already posted, we transferred from Lot 77 to Lot 30 at the SKP Park - KOFA KO-OP.

This is the front of the lot.  There is a fence across the front although we did remove part of it.  We are along the back wall of the park.  On the other side of the wall is the storage area.

Andy in his favorite spot with our shed behind him:

Looking out the front of the lot - we face the boondocking area:

Our shed from the side:

Behind the shed - it does not look very big but there is a lot of room back there.  We hope to put some pavers down and make a little patio area.

The area behind the motorhome - we also hope to put pavers here too and maybe put up one of those pop-ups.  Behind the wall is empty and Andy would like to get a box trailer and make a workshop.

Looking inside the shed:

The shed is high and we have a lot of storage above:

This will be my craft area - YEA!:

There is a really nice workbench across from the door:

So for this season we are not doing much with it.  Next season we hope to have the inside painted and then set up our areas.  So stay tuned on that project!

Besides doing the normal cleaning, shopping, and laundry, I was able to get my hair cut.  We also visited the local Elks, Moose, and American Vets.  We did some meat draws and I went to a few thrift stores.  It has been fun.

There is cable in the park and we could not get it with the new TV.  Doing research I found out that they are making TVs without tuners - can you believe it??  So we bought a cable box (just like the old ones from years ago) and now have cable.  I am still blown away by this new piece of news.  So if you have old time cable fed directly to your TV and you cannot get it, try a cable box.

Sadly, a number of RV manufacturers are putting these TVs in RVs.  Many RV parks have cable for free or a small fee.   I communicated with one gentleman who has a large RV that came with 5 TVs (WOW!).  Anyway, three of the TVs work with cable and the other 2 do not.  (I should have kept my old cable box!)

I have talked about our internet reception (or lack thereof) in the past few months.  Last year in Yuma, we had good service and this year - almost nothing.  So I called FMCA and got a nice young man, Brad, to talk to about this.  (My previous calls, let's say were less than stellar for customer service.)  Well, turns out my router went bad..  He sent us a replacement router and we are back in business.   What is so sad to me is that this could have been replaced back in October when I made my first call (or November, the 2nd call or even December, the 3rd call.)   So if you have internet thru FMCA and it is not working well, make sure that you talk to Brad.

The next blog will be our time in Prison...  Stay tuned and enjoy today!.

January 27 - 29, 2024 Back to Yuma

Saturday, 27th, we said our "see you laters" and headed south to Yuma.

We arrived, set up and have been hanging out every since. Andy has been busy cleaning the dust out of the shed. I have been doing a few things in the motorhome and resting. Hope to be back to normal soon with pictures of our lot and plans to do more traveling.

So stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for Saturday, 27th

Miles Traveled: 99 Miles

Arizona: Plomosa Road - MM3; US-95; AZ-195 (Araby Road); East 32nd Street Avenue 3E; East County 17th Street

January 2 – 18, 2024 Our Time in Yuma, AZ

(First, my apologies.  I am updating on 01/29/24.   Second, since this blog is for you and me, it may sound a little like a diary on what we have been doing.  Sometimes I do this so I don’t forget – and these days it is easier to forget.  LOL!)

And for the next sad news....   I have lost all of my blog pictures from 2021 to 01/01/24.  Not really lost, however,  but the links are broke, sort of.  I used Live Writer which saved the pictures to Google Drive (since 2020).  Those links were severed without a notice to me.  From doing my research, the only way to have them all appear on the blog is to republish all of them.  GRRR!  The ones previous to 2020 are all good.   (Hopefully someone will come up with a better way to link them but until then.. GRRRR!)

Thank God, I downloaded a PDF every time I published so I still have those photos..

There is a small box next to the picture title.  That should take you to the picture.  Apparently that link is not broken.  Crazy..  If anyone knows how I can fix without republishing, please let me know.

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On January 2nd, our friend Sue arrived to spend the next few weeks with us.  It was so great to see her and her dog Annie and get caught up with each other.

On January 3rd, the three of us headed to Los Algodones, Mexico to have lunch with Peg, Larry, and Bob at the El Paraiso.  Love that restaurant – food, music, and colorful surroundings.

Me, Bob, Larry, Sue,  Andy:

Larry, Sue, Andy, Me, Peg:

The border wall and line – it was not too bad that day:

More border wall – we noticed a lot of construction and a double wall this year.  Not sure why?:

On Thursday, January 4th, I went to see Karl at A-Z Window Fashions in the Foothills.  Last year he repaired one of our MCD shades and this year he repaired another.  Great guy, great service at a great price.   After a stop at Fry’s, we finished the day with a nice Happy Hour.  Sue and our neighbors, Chuck and Linda, joined us.

On Friday, January 5th, I stopped over to see the KoFa ladies at coffee:

Then headed to the Yuma Marketplace with Andy and Sue.  There were many more vendors this year – I am so glad.  One of the old Swap Meets on the other side of town has shut down and a number of the vendors moved here. 

From there we went to the American Veterans for lunch:

Followed by a visit to the Moose Lodge – what a great day!

On Saturday, 6th, our friends, Larry and Cheryl, were passing thru on their way to have dental work done in Los Algodones.  We were able to meet them for lunch and get caught up but I forgot to get a picture.  We will see them again in Casa Grande later this year.

Sunday, 7th, was a hang out day so we just hung out!  😁😁😁

Monday, 8th, found us in Los Algodones for my dental appointment with Dr. Roberto Acre at the Smille Shop.   A filling fell out about 2 months ago so I needed it fixed.  Once he showed me the x-ray, I knew I needed more than that.  So I had a root canal and a temporary cap put on until Wednesday.

It was great to see Dr. Roberto again.  We have been with him since 2009 and it was great to get caught up.  Turns out when he looked at my records, he did those fillings in 2014 – 10 years ago!

So, of course, we had to stop for lunch – Garlic Shrimp and Margaritas – Life doesn’t get any better!

It took about 1.5 hours to get back across.  Always fun chatting with the folks along the way!

On Tuesday, 9th, I dropped off my little Bella at the Yuma Veterinary Clinic to have her dental.  Glad to report that she did good and no teeth were removed.  Yea!  (If you have been following my blog, we found Bella alongside the road in 2011.  She had been abused and had to have some of her jaw reconstructed.  And I was told then, she may lose many of her teeth.  Sadly, she only has a few left now so I was glad she could keep them!).

Wednesday, 10th, it was back to Dr. Roberto to finish up my dental work and to have Andy’s teeth cleaned.

Of course, a visit to El Paraiso:

Yummy!

This day it took 2.5 hours to get across!  Still fun talking with the folks along the way.

Thursday, 11th,  was a hang out day - sort of.  Our lot in the Yuma Co-op has beautiful landscaping but a small and "crappy" shed.  We have talked about updating the lot and that is all we did.  But in the last week, there are a number of lots that were relinquished and were up on the bulletin board to check out.  So we spent today checking on those lots.  There is one that we really like so we told the lot transfer committee.  Now all we do is wait.  If no one higher in seniority is interested, we will get the one we want.  Fingers crossed.

Friday, 12th, Sue and I met Peg for Art in the Park in Yuma.  Folks are so creative!  There is a place that teaches silversmithing so that is on our list for next season!  After walking around, we made our way to Lutes Casino for lunch.

Aren't we just the cutest!

After Peg left, Sue and I walked around downtown and then met Andy at the American Vets.

What a great day!

Saturday, 13th, Sue was not feeling well so I went to the Yuma Quilt Show - WOW!  The talent again.  I was able to pick up a few items for my sewing.  Saw a number of kits that I may just have to try.  Next year 😀.

Sunday, 14th, was another hang out day ending with a Happy Hour with Sue, Stan and Beth.

Monday, 15th,  Sue and I were off to a craft fair at Coyote Ranch and a nice lunch at Chretin's Mexican Restaurant.  Great food and Happy Hour Margarita prices all day!   

Andy was not feeling well on Monday and I came down with the bad cold on Tuesday.. Wednesday was the same and Thursday, I finally did get out for some groceries.  Sheesh, I hate being sick.

But the great news is that we got Lot 30, so we will be transferring next week.  Pictures to follow.

Tomorrow, Friday, 19th, we are heading up to Quartzsite for lots of bargain hunting - maybe..  LOL!

Until then, enjoy today.

 

December 4–14, 2023 Our time in Casa Grande

Been a while since I updated so here goes!

Monday, 12/4, we woke to a beautiful day and headed to the VA in Tucson for bloodwork and a nice breakfast afterwards.  Coming home, we made a stop at Fry’s and headed back home.  Later that afternoon was the park’s Meet and Greet where they have announcements and greet the new folks in the park.  It was good to see folks that I have not seen in a while and meet some new ones.

Tuesday, 12/5, was the big laundry day.  Today was all the afghans, quilts, etc. etc.  There is a great laundry in Casa Grande that has the LARGE, VERY LARGE washers and dryers so that is were we headed.  I have to tell you that you meet some interesting folks in the laundries.  We met this gentlemen that lives in the boonies in Nevada but spends December and January in Casa Grande with his parents.  He was very interesting!

Later that afternoon, the park had a tag along to the New Barro’s Pizza.  We had the back room and over 50 people showed up.  Great pizza and great fun!

Wednesday, 12/6, Andy helped the PCM committee fixing some of the sidewalks and I took off early for the Phoenix area.  First stop was Southwest RV in Glendale to see if we could get an appointment.  They came highly recommended by folks on the Nexus Forum so we were in the area and decided to check them out.  They are a small family owned business and for scheduling, I talked with the owner, Jeff, told him our problems and he told me exactly what it might be.  (I wanted to hug him… seems like we are getting the run around with others.)  The best part was he just had a cancellation for 12/12 if I wanted it.  Of course I said yes..otherwise we would be waiting until January or later.

From there I headed to Tempe to spend the day with my cousin, Kris.  We had a great time getting caught up with each other and the time just flew by.  Someday, I am going to spend a few days with her (Look out Kris!)…

Thursday, 12/7, Andy and I put our new OTA antenna on the roof.  It works great!  Don’t know if I included this earlier in the blogs but the day we were leaving, we snagged some low hanging wires on our street, it came loose, and feel off somewhere on our way to New York.  We did not know we lost it until the next day.   (Wires were low because of a bad storm we had that sheared the poles.  All the wires were put back temporarily .  We were careful with the ones near us but missed watching the one near the end of the street.)  Anyway, all is good now.

Friday, 12/8, was soup lunch day.  I helped serve – fun time and great soup.  That afternoon was meet and greet followed by a Happy Hour.  What a great time and we got to meet even more folks.

(I am skipping a few days here.)

Tuesday, 12/12, we were up at O dark thirty and on the road by 6 AM to Glendale.  Southwest RV was 90 miles from us and we hoped the morning traffic had no hiccups.  We were blessed and got there at 7:30.  YEA!!!

The prognosis: With the exception of a few loose wires, there is no problem!  The mechanic, who was the owner’s son, took Andy thru all the electrical readings and explained how the “BIRD” worked on a Nexus.  They were wonderful and are on our list of helpful and reasonable places for RV maintenance.

About the dates I skipped….  On Thursday and Friday, I was feeling a little “funky” but still okay.  On Saturday, I was not well at all and continued to get worse.  So Tuesday night I was in Urgent Care.  Turns out I have an infection and was given strong antibiotics.  So now to get better and get my strength back.  (I am writing this as of 12/17 and I am much better!  Still not back to par but almost there – YEA!)

I had planned to do a number of things in Casa Grande but they will have to wait until we come back.  Oh well.

On 12/15, we headed to Yuma but that is the subject of another blog!

Stay tuned and enjoy today.

November 12–27. 2022 Our Time in Pahrump Nevada

WOW!  Hard to believe we have been here for two weeks.  Time sure does fly.  So what have we been up to?

On November 13, 2022, our time was up at Preferred RV so we moved to the local Moose Lodge.  They have water and electric and a dump station when the lodge is open.  Had a great time that afternoon, chatting and drinking with the local folks.  We really love the Moose Lodges.

On Monday, November 14, 2022, we moved to the Escapees Co-op, Pair-a Dice for a week (or so we thought!)

Our Anderson Kantleak part arrived on Tuesday and Andy replaced the part.  It is wonderful to have water again without the pump going crazy.  We also thought our pump was dying but it turned out that it was only the valve that we replaced.  Yippee!  So we celebrated that night at the VFW at their Taco night.  Another great place here!

But the next day, Andy had a fever and did not feel good and it continued!  On Thursday, we went to the local Urgent Care and he was diagnosed with pneumonia and given meds. Every day he has improved and as of today (11/27), he is much better.   It was a little scary!  (And that is why we stayed an extra week here.)

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So I want to talk a little bit about the VA.  Andy’s home VA is in Lebanon, PA.  First we called and left a message for his PA.  Second, we remembered we received a brochure in the summer from the VA about what to do if we were traveling.  We called that number (VA TELE-URGENT 833-835-3874) and they answered right away.  We explained our situation with the nearest VA is about 50 miles away and that it was not our home VA system.  Once we gave her the zip code where we are located, she gave us the name and location of a local Urgent Care and told us to tell them that Andy is covered under the MISSION ACT.  So off we went and they knew everything about the Mission Act.  How Wonderful! 

As for the medications, we had them call in the prescriptions to the local Walmart.  When we went to pick them up, they helped us get the cost down with Good RX.  The pharmacy tech came out to talk to me about the VA.  Walmart does not have a contract with the VA, however, many other places do.  She told me to call around wherever we are and ask if they have a contract with the VA under the Mission Act.

I am writing all this here in case my blog is read by traveling veterans and they did not know about this.  When we were at the VFW this past week, we got to talking with the couple that are in charge and they did not know about it as well as Andy’s local PA in Pennsylvania.  So please spread the word… remember the telephone number and the Mission Act.

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As some of you may know, I have arthritis and osteoporosis, so on a daily basis, I deal with a little pain.  But, I can tell you that the pain almost disappears when I am in the desert.  Last summer, I got a new Fitbit and this week decided to learn how to use it (besides telling time – LOL!).  Now I am starting to walk again with small daily step goals. It is wonderful not to have that pain!!  Hopefully I can keep it up and have more strength when I get back home.

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Andy is also teaching me some of the systems on the RV that I did not know.  So in the past week, I have learned how to flush the black tank.  (We did not have that system on the Bounder.)  Also learned how to regenerate the catalyst on our osmosis system.  Fun!

And in keeping with learning and keeping my brain active….   In the summer I got a new camera and know it can do a lot!  So that is my goal over the next few months – to learn all it can do. 

For some who didn’t know, two summers ago, I started occasionally helping my friends, Gerry and Chuck of King Cole Winery with wine tasting at some festivals.  It has been so much fun.   My RAMP certification has come due so I finished that course this week.  Yes, I passed – YEA!

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Another fun repair this week – NOT!  Our toilet came off its foundation!  WTH!  Never had that happen.  So Black Friday, we are traveling to find parts.  Even traveled to Las Vegas but nope, no part.  So we ended up at Lowes and Andy has pieced it together.  Next week, we will be in Yuma for a few weeks and we will be able to order the correct part.  Sheesh, it never ends!

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In between is the usual, laundry, cleaning, organizing the RV, etc.  I am going to do a blog on all our improvements, repairs, upgrades, etc.  sometime this winter season.

We did get out to the Moose for Thanksgiving and the VFW for their Taco Salad night.  We did not do much around the Co-op Park.  This park was very active at one time but the COVID shut downs really stopped a lot and they have not come back.  So so sad. 

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Here is a funny that happened during this time too.  I started an Instagram account and then realized that I was not receiving anything from them.  When I checked, I received a notice that my account was disabled because I violated their rules.    HAHAHAHAHA!  I had 0 posts, 0 followers and I followed 1 person.  So I wrote to them and had them explain to me what I violated since I did not post nor does anyone follow me and I only follow 1 person.   Their response:

Now how funny is that.  Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?  Still having problems seeing messages so if you send me anything, I may or may not see it….   Sheesh!

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Thanksgiving Weekend is famous for lots of craft fairs and I just love craft fairs.  On Saturday, I went to the Tivoli Village in Las Vegas for their show.  The village looks like a little place in Italy where you walk the street.  I had a blast!

What a cute little place!

Scenes from the trip to and from Las Vegas:

The snow has been on that mountain for the past 3 weeks.  Some days it is heavier than others:

Going thru Red Rock Canyon:

Coming back to Pahrump and the wind was blowing:

The colors of the mountains when the sun is setting – Beautiful!

We really like Pahrump and will be back when the weather is a little warmer.  I would like to explore more here and more in Nevada.  Maybe next year.

So now that I am caught up on the blog and rambled enough, tomorrow we head south.  We are going to spend a few days in Quartzsite and then head to Yuma for a few weeks.

So stayed tuned and enjoy today.