Last things, again.....

 7:04 am - Wednesday - October 29th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 59° F, humidity 13% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 89° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were enjoying our new outdoor light display, and watching the sunset in Seal Rock, OR....

....Seal Rock, OR is 10 miles south of Newport, OR.  One of our favorite workamping jobs ever.  Spent a year there.

Tuesday was the final day of our sojourn at Newell House.  Basically, all that needed to be done was to put the things we keep in the two engine bays back in their places, then re-organize the trailer interior for VW insertion Wednesday morning, and, finally, drain a week's worth of effluent from our black tank.  Tuesday was also the hottest day since we arrived with the temp climbing to 91° F.  For us that's hot, but for Tom and Darlene it feels cool compared to the normal 110-115° F during the summer.  It's all a matter of perspective.  I took care of the engine bays in the morning, and around 4 pm in the afternoon I dumped the black tank leaving just the water, sewer and power to disconnect, and the patio awning to stow first thing Wednesday morning.

I spent the rest of the day reading, while TLE played card games with Darlene.  Normally, when we are here I'm working on a large 'to do' list, and am busy all day, every day.  This time around it has been more relaxing with just easy maintenance things to get done.  We'll be on the road by 8 am Wednesday, hoping to arrive without event at The Wilson Wilderness by early afternoon.  Charles and Phyllis will be there to welcome us 'home', and then the work will begin.  There are a boatload of winter projects to be started, and completed.  As I write it is about 7:24 am Wednesday morning, and all that remains is to disconnect the power cord, and insert the Beetle in the trailer before we 'haul anchor'.  I checked the daily temperature at The Wilson Wilderness, and the high is just 75° F today, which is what one might expect at 5,500' elevation.

Thanks for stopping by!

'Walk off...'

 8:16 am - Tuesday - October 28th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 65° F, humidity 16%, 2 mph out of the northeast....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 91° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were enjoying our 4th day boondocking at Lone Rock.....

....each night we would have a sunset fire facing east.  As the sun set behind us it would light up the sandstone formations to the east.....it was captivating.  You can see Lone Rock on the left.  The view from our site makes this one of our favorite all time boondocking places....it definitely has the 'IT FACTOR'.

I had one big thing to accomplish Monday, and that was to pressure wash the Newell's rear facing radiator in the afternoon, but first we needed to make a Trader Joe's run into Surprise, and also top off the VW fuel tank before doing that.  TLE and I left around 9:30 am to do that, and were back around 11:30 am...perfect.  While I am not a fan of working in the 'heat of the day' I wanted to radiator to be warm, making it easier to dislodge the road gunk more easily.

I haven't pressure washed the Newell's large rear facing radiator since we had it steamed cleaned, and rodded back in October of 2022. I did, last April, when we were in Bishop, attempt to clean it with my portable steam cleaner, and the worked pretty well, but you need more water pressure to really get out the gunk than the steamer provided.  I've always applied some sort of degreaser to the radiator before I pressure wash it, but I've always been dissatisfied with the effectiveness of the degreaser.  I've used 'Simple Green', and numerous other name brands, but have never been quite satisfied, so when we were in Home Depot the other day I found that Dawn (dish detergent) has an 'Professional Industrial Grade' degreaser, so I bought a gallon of the concentrate to try....

....I use a week killer pump up sprayer to apply it to the radiator, so I poured the the entire gallon into the sprayer, and cut it about 25% with water.....

....I've had this sprayer for about 10 years, and it still works great.  At any rate I applied the degreaser, let it sit a few minutes then used the power sprayer to dislodge grease, grime, and other road related gunk from the radiator, and it worked wonderfully!  I applied the degreaser twice and that seemed to do the trick.  While I was at it I cleaned both engine bays, which were quite dirty.  I don't think I've washed them out for a couple of years....

....once everything was dry I decided to add a second project to my 'to do' list for Monday.....insulate the cruise control module.  It's been overheating due to a loss of air circulation in the passenger side engine bay caused by the presence of the large 5000 watt Predator generator.  When the module gets too hot it shuts down.  My thought was to buy some insulation, and foil tape to protect it from the heat....

....I think this will work, but we shall see if it does Wednesday when we finish our journey to The Wilson Wilderness.  I didn't put everything away Monday afternoon as the engine bays were still drying, so I'll do that Tuesday.  That was the end of outdoor activity for Monday.  

Game 3 of the World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays was at 5 pm Monday evening.  We began watching it in Tom and Darlene's home as we ate dinner (made by TLE....Chicken/mushroom Alfredo), and then continued watching in the Newell after dinner.  The game was tied 5-5 after 7 innings, and it was still tied 5-5 after 15 innings.  In the 15th inning the Dodgers sent Will Klein out to the mound.  Just a couple of weeks ago he was sitting at his home in Arizona thinking he was going to watch the World Series on TV, but he was added at the last minute to the Dodgers' World Series Roster.  He ended up being the last pitcher standing for the Dodgers Monday evening in this marathon game.  He ended up pitching the final four shutout innings for the Dodgers.  Each team left between 17 and 20 runners on base throughout the game, and each had numerous opportunities to end the game, but they came up short each time.  Finally in the bottom of the 18th inning Freddy Freeman (hit a grand slam, 'walk off' homerun in the first game of last year's World Series) came to bat.  On a 3 and 2 count (3 balls and 2 strikes) with nobody out he got a pitch to hit, and did he hit it!  The ball cleared the wall in dead centerfield for a homerun, his second 'walk off' homerun in as many years, to win the game.  The time......12:05 am....the game started on Monday night, and finished Tuesday morning.  It took TLE and I the better part of an hour to settle down before we could go to bed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sometimes things go your way....

 7:30 am - Monday - October 27th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 61° F, humidity, 26%, wind 6 mph out of the northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 86° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were boondocking on the shores of Lake Powell....

....taking a walk near Lone Rock on the shoreline of the lake, and having an evening fire.  I miss that stainless steel washer drum fire pit.....we'll be using it again soon at The Wilson Wilderness!

My only goal for Sunday was to work on trouble shooting the issue with the trailer lights.  It's been very frustrating, to say the least, trying to solve the problem, and get everything working as it should.  Before I did anymore troubleshooting I decided to try them one more time, hoping they had began working again on our trip here from Andrade, AZ.  This is not entirely unprecedented.  On several occasions after sitting for 5, or 6 months we've had the same issue, but they would usually begin working again.  I turned the ignition key left to 'ACCESSORIES' mode, then turned on the left turn signal, which has not been working consistently since we arrived in Bishop.  As I walked to the back of the trailer to see if it was working I had my fingers and toes crossed (well, not literally....how could I walk with my toes crossed?).  As I rounded the back of the trailer I could see that the left turn signal was working perfectly....WOW!  I then turned on the right turn signal (they have never both worked at the same time for long) and it worked.  I then turned hazard flashing lights and they both worked.  Then I turned on the running lights and they worked, also!  WOW, WOW, WOW!!  Everything works again, and I have no idea why they work now, and did not work at all when we were in Fontana.  There is obviously an issue, and I believe I'm going to need to buy a new 7 pin cord/plug for the trailer, and a new 7 pin receptacle for the Newell, and just replace everything when we get to TWW later this week.  Sometimes things go your way!

With the trailer lights working I was done for the day, and spent a little time moving stuff around inside the trailer that shifted on our trip south.  That took about 30 minutes, then I was really done for the day.  I spent the rest of the day reading, and watching some NFL games, mainly the Broncos vs. Cowboys.  I expected a close game, but the Broncos, who are now 6-1 following a one sided game ending 44-24, which really wasn't that close, continue to play above everybody's expectations.  It seems, at least for now, that they are for real.

On Wednesday (at least that is our current Jello plan) we'll finish our journey back to TWW to begin another winter of 'home improvement'.  There are about 180 miles left to traverse, and we hope to be onsite by early Wednesday afternoon.  As of this Tuesday we will have been on the road for 3 weeks, traveling at our own deliberate pace.  On Monday I'll tackle cleaning the big Newell rear facing radiator, and then my short 'to do' list will be complete.

Thanks for stopping by!

A short 'do do' list....

 6:59 am - Sunday - October 26th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 58° F, humidity 29%, wind 5 mph out of the northeast.....partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 85° F.  On this date in 2024 I got to check out my new to me 1969 Jeep CJ-5....

....I had bought sight unseen in early October before we arrived at The Wilson Wilderness.

While we are here at Newell House we have a  short 'to do' list of 3, or 4 things we want to get done before we drive the final leg to The Wilson Wilderness.  One of those was to clear the lint out of the Splendide washer/dryer combo vent snorkel, and that was crossed off the list Friday.  Next up was to 'bug bomb' the Newell interior to kill any ants and/or any other insects which had managed to get a foothold in the Newell over the past summer.  We knew we had an ant problem for sure.  In order to 'bug bomb' the Newell interior we had to remove all the pantry items from the Newell, which TLE did Friday when we fixed the Splendide, so the next step was to remove any other items, from the Newell which we did not want to be exposed to the 'bug bomb' fog, then set off the 'bug bomb', and then head into town to kill a couple of hours doing shopping, and visiting a new In-N-Out Burger place near Home Depot.

Our first stop was the local COSTCO where we bought some of our favorite coffee, Peet's Major Dickinson blend whole beans, and other items we get only at COSTCO.  Next it was off to the local Home Depot to buy some degreaser so I can clean the large Newell rear facing radiator, plus TLE needed some, you guessed it, ant spray, plus a gallon of 'AWESOME' (a household cleaner/degreaser) concentrate.  It's great for cleaning the Newell interior walls, and ceiling.  I use it at LPG&RVR to clean the vinyl seats on the golf carts.  Once we were done at Home Depot we headed across the street to In-N-Out Burger for our usual #2 combo (cheeseburger, fries and a medium drink).....getting to have an In-N-Out Burger twice in one month is a treat.....

Waiting for #65 to be called

.....this In-N-Out Burger is new since we were last hear in the Newell back in 2022.  By the time we had finished with our burgers (TLE always get the protein version - lettuce wrapped) over two hours had passed so we headed back to Newell House where we first had to unload our purchases from the VW, air out the Newell, then begin washing everything down.

There were a number of interesting NCAA College Football games Saturday including #11 BYU vs. Iowa State.  Tom is a graduate of BYU, giving this game special meaning, and so far they are undefeated.  They managed to come from behind in the second half to win handily 41-27, and now have an 8-0 record.  There were a few upsets Saturday, but all of the top 10 teams won their games.

For our evening entertainment the Dodgers were coming off an embarrassing 11-4 loss to the Blue Jays in game one of the World Series, so we were hoping they would rebound Saturday, and they did.  Yamamoto pitched his second consecutive complete game in the post season shutting down the Blue Jays 5-1.  The Dodgers needed just 6 hits to score the 5 runs, and were the beneficiaries of very timely hitting.  Now it is back to Los Angeles where they will play the next 3 games, and, we hope, close out the World Series.  It has come down to a best 3 out of 5 series now.  My Dad used to say the World Series doesn't begin until the home team loses a game, and that happened last night.

Thanks for stopping by!

Second time around.....

7:42 am - Saturday - October 25th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 59° F, humidity 32%, wind 5 mph out of the east by northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 84° F.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I had just arrived at Lone Rock on Lake Powell....

.....just over the Arizona border into Southern Utah....about 8 miles from Page, AZ.  One of our all time boondocking places....we've boondocked there 4, or 5 times over the years.

About a month ago the dryer portion of the Splendide combo washer/dryer stopped drying.  We suspected it was the same issue we dealt with 3 years ago to the month.  There is what I call a 'snorkel' made of formed soft rubber that receives the hot, moist air being vented from the washer drum, sending it upwards about 10" where the air is vented out of the machine.  This 'snorkel' is a bad design as when the hot, most, lint laden air reaches the first right angle bend at the bottom of the 'snorkel' the lint tends to build up there, and every 2-3 years one must clean out the lint.  I wrote about the process here back on October 15th, 2022.  Now, here we are, just over 3 years later and I'm having to do it again.

Removing the Splendide washer/dryer combo out of its cubbyhole is not for the faint of heart.  Beginning to end it takes about 3-4 hours to remove all of the pantry items from the two shelves above the washer, remove the selves, remove the double doors to the pantry, then begin to 'snake' the Splendide out of the cabinet, finally clearing the lint build up from the 'snorkel', then reversing the entire process.  The actual removing of the lint does not take long....

.....once the airflow through the 'snorkel' becomes this constricted, the dryer will just shut off, and all of the lights on the control panel start flashing as if you have won a jackpot on a slot machine in a casino.

We began the aforementioned 'process' around 9 am, and didn't finish until after 12 pm.  By that time I was exhausted from wrestling the Splendide out, and then back into the cubbyhole, which is very, very tight.....

.....we bought this Splendide brand new in July of 2020 at the Camping World in Spearfish, SD during the Wuhan Flu, and with the exception of these two clogged lint issues, it has run flawlessly.

Once I put all my tools away, and TLE put everything away, we spent the rest of the day reading, and relaxing.  It got up to 82° F around 3 pm, which is not very hot, but we did run the A/C for a few hours nonetheless.  I still need to figure out what is going on with my trailer lights, and I need to pressure wash the large, rear facing Newell radiator before we get back on the road next week, but otherwise we are in good shape.

Thanks for stopping by!

Return to Newell House....

  07:49 am - Friday - October 24th - Newell House, Wittmann, AZ - 60° F, humidity 30%, wind 3 mph out of the north by northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 83° F.  On this date in 2021 TLE and I were setting up at the Fontana/Rialto Elks Lodge for a one month stay.....

....we have three concrete piers, which we use to ground anchor our patio awning when there.  We bought them 10 years ago, and leave them there for others to use when we are not there.

It was windy all night long at Sleep Hollow RV Park, but it was a warm wind, meaning it did not get very cold Wednesday evening.  We were hoping the winds would abate by the morning as we did not want to wait another day to get to Tom and Darlene's.  Fortunately, when we awoke, they had dropped to a manageable 7-8 mph out of the west northwest, which meant whatever wind we had Thursday morning would be a tailwind, which we do not mind at all, and that is how it worked out.

We were disconnected from the sewer, water and electrical by 8:30 am, and on I-8 eastbound a little thereafter.  The drive east, and then north to the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix basin) was as easy a drive as we have had in recent memory.  No mountain passes to climb.....just flat, mostly smooth Interstate for over a 100 miles.  We exited the Interstate at Gila Bend taking Arizona 85 north to I-10 eastbound where we exited 2 miles later at the local Love's Travel Center to top off our 180 gallon diesel tank.  We took on 111 gallons at $3.09/gallon, the least we have paid in years.  Since we last topped off our tank in Minden, NV we have traveled almost 800 miles, and averaged 7 miles per gallon....the best mpg in a long time.  We won't have to buy diesel again until after we leave The Wilson Wilderness next April.  The fuel station was jammed with trucks, and it took us close to 30 minutes to get to a pump.  Once we were back on I-10 eastbound it was just another 30+ miles to Tom and Darlene's place in Wittmann where we arrived without incident around 12:45 pm.

Within minutes we had leveled the coach, and were connected to water, electric and sewer....

The famous Newell House behind our 1982 Newell Classic

....we'll be here about a week before completing our round about journey back to The Wilson Wilderness before Halloween.  I don't think we've been here in the Newell for at least three years, in fact the last time we were here was without the Newell on a road trip back in the VW in 2023 when we were working at Glamis North Hot Springs, so we haven't been here with the Newell since February of 2022 when I removed and replaced our 8 air bags, and four shocks over an 8 day period.

Thanks for stopping by!

Both sides now.....

 07:17 am - Thursday - October 23rd - Andrade, CA - 63° F, humidity 33%, wind 7 mph out of the northwest.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 88° F here in Andrade, CA, but we will not be here for that high.  Our destination (Wittmann, AZ) has a forecast high of just 82° F today, which is the lowest high we've seen since we hit SoCal just over a week ago.  On this date in 2017 TLE and I were hiking the Peek-A-Boo Trail in Bryce Canyon NP.....

.....our third successive day of hiking in Bryce Canyon.

Our final dental appointment was not until 1 pm Wednesday, so we spent the morning reading.  I had only paid for two days here at Sleepy Hollow RV Park initially, so I needed to walk over to the office first thing Wednesday to extend our stay by one more day.  We left the Newell for the 1 mile walk to Dr. Urena's office around 11:50 am as we needed to make a stop at the 'Purple Pharmacy' to buy some medications for moi that always require a prescription in the USA, but in Los Algodones they are 'over the counter' medications.  I like to keep extra blood pressure and cholesterol meds on hand in case I run out before I can renew my prescriptions, or the end of the world comes....lol.

We arrived at Dr. Urena's office around 12:45 pm, and by 1 pm TLE was called back to have her two new crowns installed.  She was back in about 30 minutes....why does it always take longer for me?  Anyway, my name was called shortly thereafter, and within a few minutes my new crowns were also being installed.  Mine required a little more fitting than TLE's, but after 45 minutes they were installed.  Then it was time for my semi annual check up, and cleaning, which took another 30 minutes.  In the end I can now chew on both sides of my mouth again....

......no more fillings in that mouth.....just a lot of crowns now. Below are the teeth that were crowned......

....they really do a great job of matching the color of your teeth.  Anyway, we were on our way walking back to the USA port of entry around 2:45 pm where we found a short line, and by 3 pm we were back in the USA walking back to Sleepy Hollow RV park where we spent the afternoon reading, and napping (me, of course).  After two days in the dental chair with my mouth wide open it was great to know I was done until next time....lol.

TLE made Orange Chicken (a Trader Joe's specialty) for dinner, and for the first time in a month, or more I was able to chew on both sides of my mouth.  It's the simple things like that which make life worth living.

In about 45 minutes we'll haul anchor and make the 180 mile drive to Wittmann, AZ where we will spend about a week visiting with our good friends the McClouds.  Yo will recall they spent a week with us at LPG&RVR on their way home from Alaska. It's been two, or three years since we've been there, but it always feels like were coming home.

Thanks for stopping by!