A much deferred task......

6:22 am - Tuesday - February 12th - Wittmann, AZ - 32º F, 62% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the north by northwest.....clear today with a forecast high of, get this, 67º F!

By 10 am Monday I was able to walk outside in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops......haven't been able to do that for quite some time.  There was little, or no breeze, and the sun quickly warmed up everything, including the trailer.

My main task for the day was to take care of a long, long delayed project.....add LED outdoor, strip lighting to the rocker panel on the driver side of the Newell.  I bought the lights about 2 years ago, but never got around to installing them.  I installed the same type of LED lights under the passenger side rocker panel 4 years ago, and it was my intent to do the same on the driver side, but just kept procrastinating.  Well, for some reason, Monday seemed to be the day I would finally get off my duff and finish the project.  

There was a lot of preparation for the actual installation, but by early afternoon I was installing the new LED's, and wiring them into the same switch which controls the passenger side lights.  By 2 pm I was done, so all that remained was to wait for darkness to see how effective the new set was.

Another first Monday was sitting outside in the early evening and enjoying a campfire.....we haven't done that since we were in Georgia visiting our friends Roscoe and Genie in early January.  Before that I would have to go all the way back to Southwest Harbor to find our last campfire experience......much too long!

We sipped some Alamos Malbec (I puffed on a cigar) and watched the sun slip over the western horizon one more time......

 My friend Tom always has a pirate flag flying from his flag pole in the front yard, so I raised my pirate flag out of respect

.....the sunset was cloudless, but beautiful nonetheless.  Around 6 pm TLE went inside to prepare for tacos, and I grilled up some pollo asado on the Sea-B-Que........

....about 7 pm it dark enough to check out the new lights on the driver side......they look great!

 The new driver side LED's

The original LED's

.....it's been so long since I installed the originals that I apparently ordered the wrong color....the new ones are a bright white, while the originals are a warmer yellow.  I bought two reels of the strip LED's, so I'll use the extra one to redo the passenger side so they match.

We watched a couple of recorded programs, and were in bed before 10 pm......Tuesday we roll our wheels for the day over to Mesa, AZ to All Aboard America to have the Newell serviced, and then return Tuesday afternoon to Wittmann.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which we will use to by wine......lol!

A wonderful Sunday......

8:36 am - Monday - February 11th - Wittmann, AZ - 39º F, 45% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the west by northwest.....crystal clear, blue sky day with a forecast high of 59º F.....

Deep blue skies this morning

.....managed to sleep in until after 8 am this morning.....love being awakened by the rising sun on a clear day gently oozing through our bedroom curtains!

It was a little overcast Sunday morning, but by early afternoon the skies had cleared and we had a delightfully sunny, balmy afternoon.  We watched the entire English Premier soccer match  between the Tottenham Hotspurs and Leicester City which was won by the Hotspurs 2-1.  The second match between Chelsea and Manchester City was a 6-0 blowout in favor of Manchester City.

By the time the second match was at full time it was time for me to venture outside.  As you will recall I spent a couple of hours Saturday getting our gray water macerator pump working again, and I was successful, however, it began to leak after a few minutes of running so I was determined to completely remove it, take it inside the trailer to my work bench, then disassemble, clean, and put it back together.  This time I was completely successful and now it works properly.

By the time I finished with the macerator pump it was time to get dressed and drive into Surprise to meet fellow Newell owners Adrianne and Karen for lunch at Rio Mirage Cafe on Bell Ave.  We ate at Rio Mirage a few years ago when we were in town, and liked the food so a return visit was in order.  We met our friends there at 12:30 pm, and were seated within 5 minutes.....

.....Yelp gives them just 3.5 stars on 326 reviews, but after eating there twice now we would be at a solid 4 stars.....no question about it.  Very good, rustic, fresh Mexican food.  We talked endlessly for a couple of hours before paying our tab and heading for home.....thank yo Adrianne for treating us to lunch!

On our way home we stopped in at the local Goodwill, one of our favorites by the way, to see if they had anything without which we could not live......I found a very cool, black Tabasco shirt which I have to share with you.....

 Front

Back....great graphics!

......TLE also found a couple of things and we were on our way across the parking lot to the Trader Joe's.  We had bought a bottle of wine they were promoting within this store (a 2014 Cab) at the amazing price of $3.99/bottle (normally sells at $11.99/bottle).  We drank that bottle Friday night and loved it so we returned to by 6 more bottles......what a killer deal!

We were home a little after 3 pm putting away our spoils, and settling in to watch the Pebble Beach Pro/Am.  They had a late start due to rain, and hail in the morning, so it was obvious they would not finish all 18 holes on Sunday.  By the time the final pairing finished the 16th hole it was dark, so as I sit here this morning they are playing the last two holes with one of my favorites, Phil Mickelson, ahead by 3 strokes with 2 to play!  He began the day 3 strokes down, so he had a very good final round.

And that, my friends, was our Sunday.....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

Projection........

7:05 am - Sunday - February 10th - Wittmann, AZ - 30º F, 83% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the north......Sunny today with a forecast high of, get this, 62º F!

Saturday was our first full day back in the land of reasonable, moderate weather including almost NO wind.  I love how quiet it is here in Wittmann.....no road noise, no Interstate noise, no wind noise.  After weeks of traveling we are ready to sit still for a while.....really ready.

Of course, when we sit still for a while I have time to dig into a few projects that need my attention.  The more immediate project was to figure out why the macerator pump on my gray tank would not run when I flipped the 12 volt switch.  While we are here at our friend's property I run a garden hose from the macerator spigot to their sewer cleanout and then pump our gray water there using the macerator pump.  This is necessary because it is uphill to the cleanout and there is no way gravity will be sufficient enough to get that gray water up the small incline, so the pump needs to work.  I tackled that project first, and within a couple of hours I had the pump running once again. The second project was quite a bit more involved, so I saved it for the afternoon.

The gray tank macerator pump

Several months ago (back in September) we were dry camping at the Cabela's in Portland, ME.  I went start our 7.5 k Kohler generator and it started as it should, but then the engine throttled up and would not settle down to idle as it always has for the 10 years we have owned our Newell. I had started the big generator to run the block heater so we could fire up the big DD 6V92.  Since I was concerned about the genset engine running at near red line I shut her down, and got out our Predator 2000 to run the block heater.....this is one of the reasons why we bought the Predator....for just such a situation as this.  Our old Honda 1000 watt generator labored to run the block heater, and sometimes would overload and shut down, so we wanted a reliable backup to the Kohler.  Since we have been moving so much since then I never had a chance to dig into what the problem was, but suspected it was a 'stuck' throttle linkage, but to get at it is a 1/2 day job.  I tried the Kohler a couple more times over the intervening months, but it still throttled up too high.  

Finally, we are where I can get down and dirty......and I mean that literally.....and fix the suspected stuck throttle linkage, and Saturday was the day.   I can check the oil, and coolant levels in the Kohler without pulling the genset out, but to work on the engine (specifically the throttle linkage) I need to unbolt the middle section of the front bumper, then remove a bolt holding the generator slide in place, then disconnect the muffler/exhaust pipe from the generator in order to pull the generator out on its slide mechanism.  This is an involved process, especially the last part....disconnecting the muffler/exhaust.  To get at the 'quick' release I have to first raise the coach to ride height (here our front end is as low as it can go to make us level), then 'block' the frame of the Newell with large 6" X 6" X 24" wooden blocks so if the air bags suddenly deflate I won't be crushed.  Next I must shimmy under the coach on my back to get to the back of the generator where I can sit up, then kneel to reach the muffler/exhaust 'quick' release.

When I finally had the genset pulled out I immediately saw that what I suspected was true.  The throttle linkage/mechanism was a little rusty at the pivot points, and it was stuck.  That, my friends, is an easy fix.  I went to the trailer and retrieved my aerosol bottle of 'Blaster' (penetrating oil) and sprayed all the pivot points, and other moving parts.  Within 60 seconds the linkage was moving freely once again.  Now for the 'acid' test....turn on the Kohler and see if it idles properly.......I did, and it did......problem fixed!  The actual fix was 60 seconds, but the entire process of pulling the genset out, and then resecuring it, and putting everything back together and/or away took several hours, and resulted in me becoming completely filthy.....BUT IT IS FIXED!!!  I'm so happy it was so simple, and I'm so proud of myself for not over complicating it in my mind......I started with the simple, and never let my mind get beyond that until I had ruled it out.  Getting the genset fixed so we can use it is very important for our summer travels.

By the time I finished putting my tools away it was after 4 pm....I was basically outside all day working on these two projects.....that would not have been possible the last few months as it has either been raining, or too cold, rainy, and windy for such endeavors.  Once I was finished showering I went outside again to setup the Sea-B-Que to grill two filets TLE has been saving for a month, or so. While the BBQ came up to temperature I smoked a cigar, and sipped some single malt watching the sun slowly slip towards the western horizon once again.  It was a good first day in Wittmann, and I feel energized to take on a few more projects!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

Leaving Winslow.....

6:22 am - Friday - February 8th - Camp Verde, AZ - 26º F, 51% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the north.......clear skies today with a forecast high of 59º F.

Our Jello plan was to roll our wheels by 9 am Thursday morning, but we beat that by 20 minutes.  It was a frigid overnight bottoming out at 17º F just before dawn.  After 12 days at the Elks Lodge in Winslow it was time to change our view.  Our main goal Thursday was to get our VW Beetle to Findlay VW as early in the day as possible so they could install the new seatbelt buckle, and air bag module.....

.....as we trundled westward gaining elevation mile by mile the San Francisco Mountains came into full view, and what a view it was.  After the two day snowstorm in Flagstaff the mountains are blanketed in a new layer of snow.  The 55 mile drive was effortless as we gained over 2,000' in elevation.  We arrived at the Home Depot parking lot just around the corner from Findlay about 9:45 am.  Within minutes we were dressed, had extracted the VW from the trailer, and were on our way over to Findlay.  We dropped off the car just before 10 am.....perfect!  

Originally we were to drop the car off the day (Tuesday) I had my outpatient surgery, but due to the snow storm in progress the part had not arrived so we rescheduled for Thursday hoping the part would arrive by then......as it turned out the parts delivery had occurred just a few minutes before our arrival.....perfect again!

We had about 5 hours to kill so we walked about a mile over to one of our favorites thrift stores, Savers, and spent over an hour going up one aisle and down another looking for that which we could not live without.  TLE found several things, and I found a couple pairs of shorts (always thinking of warmer weather, right?), and some pajama bottoms......I was due.  By the time we returned to the Newell it had warmed up to 34º F, but without wind it felt warmer.  It was now Noon, and we still had a good 3+ hours before the VW would be done.

Finally, about 3:30 pm, we got the call the Beetle was ready and quickly walked over to pay the damages, and retrieve our car.  We had the car back in the trailer within minutes and were on our way back to I-40, but only for a couple of miles.  We needed to dump our tanks, and found an RV dump station at the local Conoco fuel station just off I-40 at the Butler exit (#198).  Within 30 minutes the deed was done and we were back on I-40 for just another 2 miles.  For the first time since we reached I-40 in Amarillo we were leaving it there in Flagstaff for I-17......

 Forgive the terrible condition of our windshield....we didn't know how bad it was until we were headed into the sun

.....we have been on the Colorado Plateau for a few weeks, and it was time to head for lower elevations, and warmer weather now that most of my doctor appointments are done (all that remains is my final surgery in 2.5 weeks).  Our goal was Camp Verde for the night, but we had been unable to find an RV park with room for us.  I do not like to drive at night, and I knew it would be sunset as we reached Camp Verde at 3,200' elevation.   There were a couple of dry camping/boondocking opportunities in the area (Walmart in Cottonwood, and National Forest land between Camp Verde and Cottonwood) where we have stayed before, but the Walmart no longer allows RV's to stay overnight, and it appears the National Forest land is now closed to dispersed camping.....bummer!

Leaving the snow behind, as well as the Colorado Plateau

As expected, we reached Camp Verde around 6 pm, a few minutes after sunset.  As we approached the town I saw the Cliff Castle Casino  on the left, which I had forgotten about, and knew we could probably overnight there.  Unfortunately, by the time I decided that was the place to stay we had passed the exit and had to proceed down the hill to the next exit, and get back on I-17 northbound to the Mid Verde exit.  Just as we found a spot in the large parking lot in which to park it turned completely dark.  This lot is well lit, however, and feels very safe.

Within minutes I had our small generator running power into the coach, had the DirecTV dialed in, and TLE was making scrambled eggs for dinner......life is good, and in the end it all worked out.  So, our car is finally fixed, and we are at as low an elevation as we have been in weeks.  In another day we'll be in Wittmann enjoying pleasant days, and warmer nights.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

RIP - Tioga George

6:34 am - Thursday - February 7th - Winslow, AZ - 19º F, 63% humidity, wind 8 mph out of the southwest......clear today with a forecast high in Winslow of 41º F.  We will not see that high today as we roll our wheels in 3 hours.  The 20+ mph winds have finally abated overnight.

Before I get into Wednesday's shenanigans I wanted to take a few minutes to salute a fellow nomad Tioga George of 'The Adventures of Tioga and George' fame.  George was kind of a pioneer of RV blogging, and utilizing the internet for years using an expensive motorized DataStorm Satellite Dish ($5,000 at the time) to access the internet no matter where he was, and he camped in some pretty remote areas.  As cellphone broadband became better and better he gradually stopped using the DataStorm dish, and relied upon his cellphone hotspot.  I learned a lot about dry camping and boondocking from him.  He also utilized an array of solar panels (again, a sort of pioneer in the day) for his electrical source as his goal was to avoid RV parks at all costs.  He began blogging back in 2003 just after purchasing a used rental Fleetwood Tiogo Class C motorhome.  He had just finished a serious bout with cancer and decided he was not going to live the rest of his life fighting cancer.....he just wanted to live, and if that meant a shorter life so be it.  Well he lived another 15 years cramming probably 30 years of experiences into that time.  I began reading his blog back in 2004, and have read it every single day since then.  His blog provided a major source of monthly income, which he needed as his Social Security check was quite small, and he would averaged 100's of thousands of hits per day.  He was my inspiration for becoming a nomad, and I learned a lot from reading his blog.  Suddenly, about a week ago, his daily blog posts stopped, and I feared the worst, and then Wednesday it was confirmed that he had passed....I think he was 82 or 83.  He never stopped planning, and seeking adventure. At the time of his passing he was in the process of converting a box van to live in as he traveled.  He will be sorely missed by me and thousands of others.  Take some time to read his blog....you will be amazed at the wealth of information to be found there.

It was windy, and it was bone chilling cold Wednesday so what to do?  Well, I began working on our taxes a week, or two ago.  Back in my workaday life I, like most adults who own property, and are in business for themselves, itemized.  My Federal 1040 had about 5-6 schedules attached to it every year.  I've always done my own taxes.....well, I did go to H&R Block back in the early 70's to have my taxes done and guess what?  I got audited over $60.  Ever since then I have done my own taxes, and have not been audited even one single time!  At any rate there was just the Federal 1040 each year, and the California 540 form, again with schedules.  It would usually take me parts of two days....usually weekend days, to finalize everything once I had all my W2's and 1099's in hand.  Often there would be one,or two I did not receive by April 15th so I would almost always have to file for a 6 month extension.  I got in the habit of really doing my taxes in early October in advance of the expiration of the 6 month extension on October 15th each year.

Now that I have been retired for 8 years, and no longer own a home, or have a business I no longer have any schedules attached.  I can even use the California 540EZ form which takes about 5 minutes beginning to end as it calculates everything as you plug in the numbers.  What is not the same as my workaday life is we usually work jobs in other states than California.  In fact, in the year 2018 we worked 3 jobs in other states (Arizona, Maine and Kentucky), so I had to file 5 tax returns this year.......

......and there they are above.....whether or not I have income in California, since I still have my domicile address there I must file a return, even though I owe no taxes, and had no withholding in that state.  I wasn't able to finish my work back in January because I did not have any of my W2's.....I had to work off my final pay stubs for each job to get my total income and then await the W2's to be sure I had everything correct.  Well I finally got the last of the W2's a few days ago so Wednesday being my surgical recovery day was a perfect day to stay inside and rest as I was asked to do by my surgeon.  Within a couple of hours I had all the forms completed online, signed, dated, scanned, and all the W2's attached accordingly.  My favorite forms to complete were California and Arizona as they do all the calculations as you plug in the numbers....super fast and easy.  My least favorite ones were Maine and Kentucky.....way too complicated, and way too many pages for someone who is getting all their withholding back.

In the afternoon we watched an English Premier soccer match between Manchester City and Everton, won 1-nil by Manchester City.  It was a very good match, and could easily have ended in a 0-0 tie.

The surgical wound on my right buttock is doing great.....a little bruising, which is to be expected, but not much swelling, or redness, which is good.  Towards the end of the day, after the soccer match, I took a few minutes to move a couple of things around in the trailer, and then we (TLE is the one who actually drives the car into the trailer as I am too big to get out the door in the cramped confines of said trailer) inserted the VW in advance of our departure Thursday morning.  All that is left to do is unplug from the electrical and put our outside step inside the trailer.  Our Jello plan is to be on the road by 9 am up to Flagstaff where is is 6º F as I write.  We'll park at the Mall across the street from Findlay VW so we can drop off the car there to have the new seat belt buckle and air bag module installed.  We'll hang out at the Mall while the work is being done possibly taking in a movie while we wait.  When the car is ready we'll continue our journey down to Camp Verde which is at 4,000' elevation and much warmer where we'll spend a few days before heading down to Mesa, AZ for our annual Newell service.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

The rest of the story.......

7:18 am - Wednesday - February 6th - Winslow, AZ - 33º F, 73% humidity, wind 21 mph out of the southwest......sunny today with a forecast high of 40º F.

I think it's time for an update on the reason for all these doctors appointments over the last 10 days.  I discussed previously that I had one surgery scheduled for February 25th for the cyst in my right cheek saliva gland (parotid cyst).  The next part is kind of personal, but I'll just put it out there anyway.  For a number of years I have had what is called a 'lipoma' on my right buttock cheek.  A lipoma is a non-malignant fatty tumor.  Until the last couple of years it has been small and didn't really bother me, but it has grown larger over that time, and a little painful when I sit for long periods of time, so it was time to have it removed.  that surgery occurred Tuesday.  It was done at the Flagstaff Ambulatory Surgical Center (outpatient surgery) at 11 am.  The surgery itself took about 30 minutes, and was closed using surgical glue......no stitches, and no dressings to change!

We left Winslow around 7:45 am in order to arrive by the 9 am check-in time (two hours before the surgery).  From reading the weather forecast we knew it would be very windy Tuesday, and in Flagstaff it would also be snowing.  As we drove west on I-40 we could see the ever so heavy cloud bank enveloping Flagstaff to such an altitude that even the San Francisco Peaks, which include Humphreys Peak (12,633' elevation) were covered.

With about 10 miles to go we entered the snow zone, and as we approached exit 198 it was snowing quite hard.  As we exited the Interstate the snow was already sticking to the local streets.....very concerning at the time as we would not be heading for home until almost 2 pm.  As we approached the first signal off the Interstate a VW Beetle just like ours slid into a pickup truck beside us.....uh oh, it's slippery!  I immediately shifted down to 2nd gear and just crept along at about 10-15 mph giving myself lots of stopping room in front of me.

We reached the Ambulatory Surgical Center around 8:50 am, found a parking spot across the street and then walked through the snow to the registration office.  Within 10 minutes I was taken (with TLE) to the pre-surgical waiting area (several curtained spaces), had my vital signs checked, and then Molly (RN) inserted an IV catheter in my arm, and hooked me up to an IV bag.

By 10:40 am I had been seen by my surgeon (Dr. Aldridge), and the anesthesiologist, Dr. Hendrickson, and within minutes after that the two attending nurses arrived to walk me into OR #1.  Within minutes they began to administer the anesthesia and then the next thing I knew I was awakening in the post op area, and it was done.  It was now a little after 12:30 pm.  Once I was knocked out they intubated me, and then flipped me over onto the operating table to do the surgery.

Within minutes of my waking up TLE was there with a big smile on her face.  It took me about an hour to completely wake up, and by 2 pm I was getting dressed and being wheeled in a wheelchair out to the car, which TLE had driven over from the parking lot.  The drive back down the hill to the Interstate was not as treacherous as it had been 6 hours before, and within 6 minutes we were on the Interstate cruising eastward at 70 mph....within 10 miles we emerged from the cloud bank, and snow to very windy, but clear skies.  The winds were blowing over 35 mph, but they were coming from behind us (from the west).  We were home by 3 pm, and by 4 pm I was in bed taking a two hour nap.  Man, that anesthesia really knocks you out!

After I woke up TLE served me some chicken/potato soup (she combined two soups together), which was thick and creamy.....just as I prefer it!  We watched several recorded programs and were in bed a little after 10 pm.  

As of this morning (Wednesday) I have not had to take any pain medication.  The wound area is tender, of course, but otherwise I hardly think about it.  When I sit I am sitting on a small pillow, to be sure.  So, there you go!  We roll our wheels on Thursday down to Camp Verde, AZ for a few  days, then into Mesa, AZ where we will have the annual service done on the Newell at 'All Aboard America', and then head to the property of our good friends Tom and Darlene over in Wittman, AZ where we will stay until my next surgery, and follow appointments are completed.  Life is good!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

It's a chore.....

6:02 am - Tuesday - February 5th - Winslow, AZ - 40º F, 59% humidity, wind 25 mph out of the south by southwest.....cloudy today with a forecast high of 54º F.

Monday had several chores to be completed.....we needed to do a BIG laundry run involving at least 3 large washers at the local laundromat, we were awaiting an email from Amazon providing a link for returning peak season employees to apply early for Peak Season 2019, and we needed to drop the trailer back on the Newell hitch while it is still decent weather (there is a front coming through....snowing in Flagstaff this morning, and that is where we are headed in about 90 minutes).

Before all that occurred, however, we decided to walk over to the 'Sipp Shoppe' for coffee and a muffin.  We were planning to leave on our walk after we got the email link from Amazon, which was supposed to arrive around 10 am Mountain Time (12 pm Eastern Time), but by 10:20 am it had not arrived (technical glitch on Amazon's end) so we began our walk.....

......we had barely sat down with our coffee and muffin when the email came through, so we sat there on our phones completing the new application while sipping coffee, and taking the occasional bite of our muffin.  For those who may be wondering we have applied to work in their Camperforce program at their Phoenix Fulfillment Center, a new addition to the Camperforce program this year.  They have a very short Peak Season in Phoenix which is November 11th to December 23rd.....about 6 weeks.....perfect!  For us the online application process was a breeze, and we were finished in about 30 minutes, beginning to end, and now have a reserved spot at Phoenix.

Once that was done we walked back home to gather our mountain of laundry together and head up to the laundromat.  We filled two large hamper bags, and that amount of laundry filled three large Dexter washers.  While the 30 minute wash time was running its course we drove a block down to the Safeway supermarket to pick up a few groceries, returning about 4 minutes before it was time to move the washed clothing to the two large Dexter dryers.  The drying cycle took another 30 minutes to complete, at which time we folded everything and headed for the Newell.

We arrived just in time to watch an English Premier soccer match between league leading Liverpool and West Ham United.  It was a great, well played match ending in a draw, 1-1.  Once the match was done we got into gear to complete the final task of the day....drop the trailer back on the Newell hitch.  That took about 15 minutes to finish, and we were done with being responsible for the day.....time to take a nap!

Around 5:50 pm we were treated to a beautiful, windswept sunset......

.....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defer the costs of producing this blog each day.

The 'rest' of the weekend........

6:30 am - Monday - October 22nd - Campbellsville, KY - 32º F, 100% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the west by northwest.......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 63º F.

Once again on Sunday my goal was to deploy some decorative lighting, but by 11:30 am it was still in the high 30's.......just too cold for a guy trying to get shut of a 'cold', right?  I did go outside briefly to the trailer to retrieve the Shop Vac so I could do a deep vacuum cleaning of the Newell living areas, and also did a little trailer vacuuming when I returned the Shop Vac to its place of storage, but that was the entirety of my outdoor activity for the day.

I have transitioned from blowing my nose about every 3 minutes to once an hour, and my cough has all but disappeared.  I have been off cold medication for over two days, and am feeling much, much improved.  I think I will be ready to begin working this week, but barely.

Our Amazon orientation begins at 12 noon on Monday, the 22nd.  We will be orientating until 5 pm, which will involve some safety training, and familiarization with the facility.  It has been 6 years since we have set foot inside the Amazon building here in Campbellsville, so who knows how much it has changed since December of 2012.

TLE and I spent some time Sunday completing our online Amazon paperwork in advance of Monday's orientation.  Virtually all of our 'paperwork' is being 'virtually' done online, as opposed to 6 years ago when it was virtually all done during our Monday orientation on actual paper.

Once again I took multiple naps, and just rested all day long.  I was in bed by 10 pm.  When we begin our 6:30 am to 5 pm schedule we'll be going to bed between 8 and 9 pm, and that will take some adjustment, especially for TLE who is a night person, and usually goes to bed after I do.....sometimes way after I do.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

GO DODGERS!!!!!

8:51 am - Sunday - October 21st - Campbellsville, KY - 32º F, 86% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the north by northeast......crystal clear blue skies with a forecast high for today of 53º F.  

Saturday began slowly....didn't get up until after 8:30 am.  I do not often sleep until after 8 am, but you can bet I will looking back upon Saturday with fondness in a week, or two after getting up at 4:30 am to get to work by 6:30 am for a few days!

The weather Saturday was pretty good, and I had intended to spend time outside putting out some of our decorative lights, but I never got around to that.  I was more focused on resting, and getting over my head cold by Monday afternoon when we report for orientation.  I guess that was a good decision on my part as I took a 90 minute nap.....I was out like a light!  

Finally, around 1:30 pm we headed out to do some final shopping before we begin working, as well as do some 'junking'.  There is a tremendously large flea market here in Campbellsville called 'Peddlers Mall'.....this is just one of a chain of 19 locations around Kentucky (one is in Lebanon, OH).  Inside there are a 100+ booths selling everything (new and used) under the sun at pretty reasonable prices.  When we were here 6 years ago we visited Peddlers Mall every couple of weeks without fail.  Additionally, there is a Goodwill just down the block, so we don't even have to move the car to visit both stores.

We spent about two hours browsing through Peddlers Mall and Goodwill.....TLE managed to find a couple pairs of shorts without which she could not live, but I cam home empty handed. There were a couple of used tools upon which I almost pulled the trigger, but I resisted.

Next up was to visit the local Krogers supermarket to pick up a few grocery items.  We were home by 4 pm at which time I took another very long nap......over an hour.  I woke up suddenly to the rocking of the coach.....the wind had kicked up suddenly to over 30 mph thus validating our decision not to deploy our patio awning.  Most of the time is it pretty nice here, but the wind can come up suddenly like it did Saturday, and if you are not around when it does it can make short work of destroying your awning.

The wind blew like that until almost midnight before it began to abate, and as I write to you this morning (Sunday) it is completely calm again.  We were up til midnight watching game 7 of the MLB NLCS between my L.A. Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.  L.A. had lost game 6 in Milwaukee 7-2, so it came down to game 7.....would the Dodgers be able to repeat as National League champions and return to the World Series for the second year in a row for the first time since 1978?  The Brewers jumped on top in the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo homerun, but we came back in the top of the 2nd with a two run blast by Cody Bellinger to take a one run lead, and that is how it remained until the 6th inning when Yasiel Puig hit a monster 3 run homerun to dead center field to increase the lead to 5-1, and that is how the game ended just before midnight!  The first game of the World Series is on Tuesday in Boston at the famous Fenway Park, which we visited in person just a few months ago on our way to Maine.  GO DODGERS!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

The intersection of ambiance and functionality......

8:39 am - Saturday - October 20th - Campbellsville, KY - 51º F, 97% humidity, wind 7 mph out of the west by southwest.....heavy cloud cover with a forecast high of 62º F.  Rained most of the night beginning just before 8 pm Friday, but it appears to be done as I write.

We received our Amazon employment docs late Friday afternoon.  Included in the 20 or so documents which must be either signed, or acknowledged was our shift information.  The prior two times we have worked for Amazon we chose to work the night shift which on a 10 hour work day goes from 5:30 pm to 4 am (two paid 10 minute breaks, and a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch included in there).  We had hoped to work the night shift again this year, but  alas it was not to be.  We have been assigned to work the day shift (current business needs determine your shift, and job) from 6:30 am to 5 pm as either packers, or pickers.  We will work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays to begin with doing 10 hour shifts.  Our mandatory overtime day (if one is so required) will be on Tuesdays.  Without the mandatory overtime day we will be off Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.  Which job (pack, or pick) we will perform will be revealed to us on Monday.

As one might expect, we are disappointed, but were fully aware from the beginning that we might not get what we wanted.  TLE and I are resilient, and within a hour, or so we were beginning to make the mental adjustment to our new reality.  We always say we can do anything for 8 weeks......it's not for the rest of our lives.  Your mentality has to be 'work, get the money, and get out', and that's what we shall do.

Friday was a gloriously dry, sunny day and I took full advantage of that weather to wander around site #57 setting up for the next 8+ weeks.  The first, and most important step in creating the proper ambiance is to pull our artificial turf out of the trailer for the first time in 5 weeks, and unfold it.  There is just something about stepping out of our coach in the morning and standing on 'grass' instead of gravel, right?  The visual aesthetic is just much more pleasing.  

Then it was time for me to adjust the position of our trailer in relationship to the Newell.  Where we dropped it initially placed it too close to the right rear of the coach, which meant I could not open the bedroom window awning on the passenger side, plus I could not access the passenger side engine bay door.  Lucky for me that I have this wonderful 'Trailer Valet', and plenty of time.....

......in the above picture you can see that the VW is parked right on our property line, whereas the trailer is about two feel off the property line.  My plan, which worked, was to move the trailer forward and to its right about 10 feet, and then slowly back it up moving it further towards the property line (its right).  It took about an hour for me to accomplish the deed, but it was worth it.  I can now extend the window awning, and open the engine bay door, plus I can actually, with ease, walk between the trailer and the coach......

.....plus we have room to park the Beetle behind the coach.  I think it looks a lot better, along with the obvious increase in functionality.  As it stands now the front of the Newell is about 12" over the front line, and the trailer is about the same over the rear property line.  Fortunately the interior roads here are quite wide, and practically everyone is over their line, too.  I'm not sure if we are going to put our patio awning out as it can get windy here, plus I notice no one else has deployed theirs.

Once the outside was done I turned my attention to the interior of the trailer.  Most of my stuff in there has been largely inaccessible for the past 5 weeks, and it was time to change the status quo.  I moved everything that sits in front of the work bench when we are traveling to the back of the trailer, and then assembled my Cannondale, and my Intense 5.5 mostly to just get them out of the way of the work bench, and so I could set up the table upon which I keep my tool bags when we are stationary.

During the time I was working outside in the afternoon TLE was at a massage appointment in town.......she got the 80 minute massage for $80, and loved it.  By the time she returned a couple of hours later I had the trailer organized, and had poured the rest of the Delo 100 40 wt. motor oil in my oil reservoir....why?  Well, the last of two 5 gallon buckets was taking up valuable room in the trailer.  As I was taking the lid off the 5 gallon bucket I noticed I had written the date I acquired that oil......2/15/2015.....wow, that 10 gallons of oil lasted me over 3.5 years, and I still have two gallons in individual 1 gallon containers, plus another 2.5 gallons in the reservoir.

Speaking of the oil reservoir.......I added 2 quarts to the big 6v92 when we left Ellsworth, ME, and over the last 1700+ miles I have used just one quart.  When I first purchased the Newell back in March of 2008 it was using 1 quart every 7-8 hours of operation.  Since we left Ellsworth we have operated the Detroit for about 19 hours.....big, big improvement.  Our odometer currently sits at just over 164,000 miles, and we are responsible for 61,000 of those miles over the last 10.5 years. In that time I have had to replace the gear driven water pump on the Detroit, replaced a secondary coolant hose, and had to have the Jacobs brake repaired.  Otherwise it has just been a matter of changing the coolant, changing the oil, the oil filter, the tranny filter, the fuel filters, air filter, and the tires.  Talk about low maintenance!

By the time I finished with the oil project it was after 3 pm, and I was ready for a shower, and a nap.  I feel like I have turned the proverbial corner with my cold, and am seeing steady improvement on almost an hourly basis now.  Very little coughing, and blowing of the nose on Friday, but I still tire easily.

So, there you have it.....day two in Campbellsville is in the books with two more days before we begin Amazon 'orientation' on Monday....thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.

Full circle......

8:16 am - Friday - October 19th - Campbellsville, KY - 36º F, 91% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the north......clear blue skies this morning with a forecast high today of 69º F.  Sunrise here at the furthest end of the eastern time zone is 7:53 am and sundown is 6:59 pm.

Thursday dawned clear, but very cold.  As I am the first one up 98% of the time I turned on all three gas furnaces to take the chill off the interior.  Once that was done, and I put on some clothing I went outside to hookup the small generator so we could run the block heater to heat up the big 6v92.  I can do this with our on board Kohler 7.5 kw generator but that uses propane at a rapid rate.  One of the reasons I purchased the Predator 2000 was to be able to run the block heater without turning on the Kohler, which we really save for those rare times when we need A/C and happen to be dry camping, or boondocking.  

Once that cold task was accomplished I walked the trash over to the nearest Cabela's trash can, then finally got back inside to warm up my extremities again.  By 9:30 am it was time to turn over the big Detroit once again and run the last 95 miles into Campbellsville, KY.  It was another perfect driving day.....no wind, no rain, and mostly flat roads.  As we transitioned from one highway to another moving around the north end of Lexington we began to see why this is called the 'horse capital of the world'.....

 Mile upon mile of white fencing

 The famous Keenland Race Track

.....and then we rounded a corner to find this amazing modern day castle on a hill.....

 Castle Hill Winery

 .......in about 15 minutes we were out in the countryside floating along on a cushion of air towards our 5 week destination.......Amazon in Campbellsville, KY.....

We always prefer to arrive at a long term destination with a full diesel tank.  You will recall we just 'paid the rent' this past Sunday, but that was about 400 miles ago, so TLE went online while we were driving and found a Murphy Gas (Walmart) in Lebanon, KY selling diesel for $3.04/gallon.....that's the least we have paid since we left Southwest Harbor, ME.  We took on about 66 gallons and had just 16 miles to go to Campbellsville.  

There was, however, one more task to accomplish.....top off our 60 gallon propane tank.  I thought we probably had enough to last 2 months, but I am not one to roll the dice when it comes to having a steady, uninterrupted supply of hot water, so once again TLE went online to find a propane station between Lebanon and Campbellsville.  As it turned out there is a Tractor Supply in Campbellsville which had a propane station with propane at $2.69/gallon.  We last filled the propane tank the day we left Southwest Harbor, and we have done a lot of dry camping since then.  I was sure we would need anywhere from 25 to 30 gallons, which would still leave about 30 gallons.....better to be safe than sorry.  We arrived in Campbellsville around 12:15 pm and headed directly to Tractor Supply.  We ended up taking just 19 gallons.....love those analog gauges!  

Our preferred RV park in Campbellsville when working for Amazon is Heartland Campground which is directly across the street from Amazon.  When we were here 6 years ago we stayed at Heartland and really enjoyed being able to walk to and from work, as opposed to driving and then having to find a parking spot.  For the past 3 years Heartland has been a 'first come, first served' park for Amazon, meaning you could not reserve a site as you could in the past.  You can call about 5 days before arrival and save a site then, but there is no guaranty you will get one, so we made a reservation at another popular RV park called 'The Stables' which is about 4 miles from Amazon.....not our ideal, but still not a long drive either.

This past Monday I heard from our friends Ed and Jackie whom we met in Illinois on our trip to Maine back in late April.  They had just arrived at Amazon and got a site at Heartland, and suggested we call this past Monday to reserve one as there were still a lot of sites available, so I did and we did, indeed, get a site!   Once we had finished taking on propane we headed directly for Heartland.  

 Had to drop the trailer at the right rear of our site (not stage right)

Amazon pays for our site beginning 2 days before our start date to two days after our release date.  We are responsible for any other days before and after.  Since we have arrived 4 days early we paid for Thursday and Friday nights at $20/night, then went out and found a site (#57), then took a while to figure out how we would occupy it.  These sites about about 50' long which means we have to drop the trailer, but we can do that within our site as they are about 20' wide.  Ultimately we positioned the trailer at the right rear portion of our site, and the Newell at the left front right next to the power pedestal.  This campground obviously does not have the 'it factor'.....it is just a large gravel lot with RV sites lined out.  Since we will spend the bulk of our time here working and sleeping, the most important thing about Heartland is its proximity to Amazon.  It is a well run park with a nice community room, great, modern laundry and decent WiFi, although we will not be using it this time around.  When we were here 6 years ago I did use it, and was quite happy with it.

By the time we had our power, water and sewer connected it was after 2 pm and I was ready for my usual "I have a cold" mid afternoon nap.  We have 3 more days before we begin the Amazon grind, and we will use that time to finish configuring site #57 by deploying our turf, and a few decorative lights.....you know.....just enough to make the site 'ours'.....😊

So, I began blogging on a daily basis back on October 5, 2012 when we arrived in Campbellsville for our first workamping job at Amazon.  Since then I have written a daily blog post every single day, rain or shine, even when I have been in the hospital.  Initially I decided to blog every day to record for posterity's sake our 11 week Amazon experience.  When we finished I just kept on writing a blog every single day.  Now we have come full circle....back to the scene of the original 'crime'.  Thank you for following along  these past six years as we have slowly evolved into full time nomads.  

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which helps defray our travel expenses to a small degree.