Monday, March 18, 2024

Glamis, California

This morning, Yuma and  slept in till 8 o'clock.  That's because Yuma has this 2 and 4 A.M. thing going.  I don't know why, but I think it's time I run things around here and not him.

The sun was already blazing and the temperature was 59 degrees.  Not going to be overly warm today, but the 80s are barreling down on us.  Yuma and I enjoyed the cool breeze and sunshine while I had my coffee.  I have nothing really planned today.  I just know standing and walking is not on my list.  My sciatica nerve is still causing me pain, so I'm taking it easy today to see if that helps.

After breakfast, Yuma couldn't stand taking it easy anymore, so we jumped in the Jeep a little after noon to travel the 35 miles up Ogilby Road to highway 78 west to Glamis, California to see what was happening.

Ogilby Road is not where they spend their California road repair money.  It is a terrible road.  The Jeep suspension system got a good workout going 65 mph.

We were to Glamis in no time.  Now Glamis in not a town.  It is a bunch of tents catering to tourists and the sand dune buggy crowd.  It is located right in the middle of the Imperial Sand Dunes.  All the other times visiting, it was a weekend and there was a lot going on.


Only one in the parking area.

All is closed

Great reception

On a Monday, not so much.  In fact the place was DEAD!  Everything was closed except for the gift shop catering to anyone that is traveling on highway 78.  It is actually a building and they also serve food. 

That's okay.  I really wanted to go to the top of the dunes a few miles further west.  There is a viewing area and rest area where you can see all around you.

There it is



As we drove up the hill, I could see there were several trailers there.  And, there was this cute dog running around that Yuma spotted quickly.

I stopped the Jeep and asked the owner if his dog was friendly.  He said she was, so off into the sand dunes the two lovebirds went.  Both enjoyed running and they did a lot of it, while I took pictures.

Lovebirds dancing in the dunes

I agree




Highway 78 winds through the sand dunes

Highway 78

We're staying near those mountains

Didn't have to worry about dune buggies running them over, because there were none.

We were home around 3 o'clock after one stop to take a peek.  You know me.  If I see a hole in the ground, I've got to check it out.


I have Yuma check for snakes, before I go in๐Ÿ˜
 It has been a beautiful afternoon.  Warm with no wind.  I'll take days like these.  Time for a little steak cookout and TV before going to bed.  This desert life is rugged.

Thanks for stopping buy.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


I have to admit, I didn't know it was the "wear green" day till late afternoon.  Didn't wear green, but still had a good day.  Even when Dolly told me she was going to the local St. Patrick's Day 5K run to watch the kids race, it didn't sink in.  Oh well!

Talking about the race,  my son Steve and his son, Nick ran the 5K and so did my daughter, Kristi.  I'm proud of them all!  No losers in that group.  Here's some pictures Dolly took.  Unfortunately, it was a cold day with a cold wind.  Poor Dolly deserves credit for being there to give them her support.

Steve and Kristi celebrating the finish together.

Son like Father.  Steve and Nick.

The other subject is more technical.  Last Friday, I hooked up my Dish like I always do to watch Gold Rush.  Turned out it wasn't on, but that isn't the point.  I tried hard to connect the Dish, but couldn't.  Finally, I called the Dish Help Line.

They did everything they could, but with no luck.  They said everything is working on the Dish end, so it must be my receiver.  They gave me the number to call to get their assistance.   They don't open till Monday.

This morning, I was thinking.  The coax cable goes from the Dish to the receiver.  Maybe, by chance it could be the culprit and not the receiver.  I took my TV and receiver outside and hooked it up to the Tailgater Dish with a short coax cable I had.  I then took my battery power pack out there and plugged the TV and receiver into it.  Turned them on and to my surprise the Dish start screen popped up, just like it should.  

I had used that cable for at least 10 years in my travels, so it just decided to break now.  Glad I thught of that or I may be buying a new receiver and finding I still have the problem.  My St. Patrick's Day luck!

Yuma and I also went into Yuma today and bought something for the motorhome.  I pick it up on Thursday.  Stay tuned for pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, March 16, 2024

A great day for a visit

Last night was another night of Yuma waking me to go outside.  Twice!  And then he started bothering me to get up at 8 o'clock.  I know it's time, but I just wasn't ready.  He finally settled down to wait while I played my mind games. 

I knew it wasn't going to be a slow two coffee morning and then breakfast at noon.  So, I made it a one coffee morning and then fixed breakfast for both of us.  I had turned on the heater when I got up, but within an hour, it was quite warm outside, so off it went.

Before I knew it, the time slipped away and I was closing in on the noon hour.  I had made a date to visit Jerry and Elva at 1 o'clock and they live east of Yuma in the town of Wellton, about an hour from here.

Yuma was happy to go somewhere, anywhere.  We hopped in the Jeep and headed across town, over the Fortuna Hills and into Dome Valley.

I thought I would remember where they lived, from my last visit, but as usual, my memory failed me and I had to call for directions.  I was there right at 1 o'clock.

It was a beautiful afternoon.  We sat in their gazebo and had a very relaxing afternoon talking about just about everything, except religion and politics.



Unfortunately, I can't remember when we first met, but I do remember, Elva introduced me to Bill and Patsy that started the friendship phase of my journeys west.

Before I knew it, the afternoon had passed, the sun was finding more and more clouds to hide behind and it was cooling down.  It was nearly 4 o'clock and I still had Walmart shopping to do before going back to camp,  so we said our goodbyes and hopefully, I will see them again next year.

As I got closer to Yuma, I could see dark clouds to the west of town, about where I am camped.  When I finished shopping and went out the door, the clouds were starting to move over and the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping fast.

We made a beeline home hoping to beat the rain that I could see coming.  Thankfully, I had just gotten everything inside when the winds picked up out of the north and the skies opened up.  Dropped from 70 to 56 very quickly.

As with the rains out here, they come in fast, but they also move out fast.  By the time I was ready to cook dinner on the grill, the wind and rain had gone.  Still cold and the sun was leaving quickly, too.

Burning tree
Already 9 o'clock and time for me to finish up and hit the sack.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

A day in Algodones, Mexico

Yesterday, Yuma and I drove into Yuma and had a new battery put into my S23 Samsung Ultra.  Cost was $100.  Much less than buying an S24 for around $1600.  This was the first model Samsung made that allowed the battery to be replaced.  Happy camper.  The remainder of the day, Yuma and I laid around and enjoyed the day.

Today, they had called for high winds starting in the night and blowing most of the day with cooler temps.  Sure enough, they were right.  The constant winds were in the teens out of the north with gusts up to 30 mph.  We were dressed accordingly and by noon with the sun, it was fairly nice.  Luckily, the buildings protected us most of the time.

Yesterday, Deb, Riley and I had made plans to go to Algodones, Mexico, so I could buy updated glasses.  We didn't let the wind stop us.  At my age, buying new glasses seems like an annual event.  We left at 8:30 to beat the crowds and went directly to the same optometrist I bought my glasses from last year.  I've been happy with my present pair, but my eyes have grown weaker.

He was there and waiting.  The ladies went down to the pharmacy for some things while I was being attended to.  They came back when I was being fitted.  How do you like these honkers?  Should impress people.

Just kidding.  We got the prescription perfect and then it was sent out to be filled.  It was 10 o'clock and they said to come back at 12:30 to pick up my new glasses.  Talk about service.

First place we stopped was a food place for breakfast.  I had two eggs over easy, bacon and beans.  Swallowed those down with coffee.  The ladies ate something they couldn't pronounce to be in with the Mexican in crowd.

Afterward, we had more time to kill, so we walked the crowded sidewalks completely smothered with venders.  I was taking pictures while Deb and Riley were looking for a small, brightly colored table covering.  There were plenty of large ones, but finally, she found a smaller one she liked.

Sidewalk with merchandise everywhere.


This picture and the one above is the restaurant we had breakfast.

Examples of the flashy merchandise for sale.


Loved the green alien.

Easier to walk the streets if you want to avoid venders.


They love bright colors.




We ended up right across the street from the optometrist's office at noon, so I checked in just to see if they were done early.  Sure enough they were done.  Cost, $430.

We were hoping the line to leave would be short, but it wasn't.  We ended up in line for over an hour.  Fortunately, the couple ahead of us were chatty, so it made the time go much more quickly.  

The husband had business in a small Southern California town and stopped in Yuma on their way home.  He is an avid fisherman and hunter and had been visiting a small town in southern California to help train a new hunting dog.  They are from Wyoming.

Finally, back on American soil!

When we got back to camp, Yuma and I stayed indoors and just took it easy till dinner time.  As night closed in, the winds died down.

That was our day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Spring is coming to the desert

Last night, Yuma woke me twice to go outside, and that's after I took him out before going to bed.  Then, this morning at 7:30 he was ready to get up, but I wasn't.  Reluctantly, he laid beside me and patiently waited.  Yesterday, I was up with the sun, but this morning, I felt very tired.

At 8, I let Yuma take me outside.  We walked towards the mountains, north of here, until Yuma did his duties and then we came back.  I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day, again.  I just sat in the sun and drank my coffees while Yuma laid at my feet.  He loves laying in the sun.

Today, for the first time, I put up the flagpole.  Now, I am officially an American boondocker.

Home
Late in the morning, Deb and Riley stopped by to say they were heading to Walmart and wanted to know if I needed anything.  Nope, I stopped in yesterday.

This next topic may be a little long and boring for some, but maybe it can help others:

I wanted to use my 275 amp lithium battery to run my motorhome as if I were hooked up to a land line.  Easy enough.  I pulled out my landline plug and with the proper downsizing plugs, I plugged it into a  strong extension cord.  I know I won't be using large amp equipment like A/C units or microwaves or hair dryers.  But I do want the electrical plug-ins in the motorhome to be live, so I can charge my phone, my laptop, my TV, my Dish tuner.  The usual stuff you use a 600 watt inverter to run.

Plugged the extension into the inverter and hooked up the battery and then I used this little Bluetooth app to read how the battery is performing.  Since, I had nothing plugged in, I expected no amps being used by the battery.  Not the case.  I had around 9 amps being sucked out of the battery and I didn't know who the culprit was.

Not being very handy with electrical stuff, I called my brilliant son again and gave him the details.  He said find the circuit breaker panel and switch each one off till the amp pull stops.  Found the panel at the bottom of my bed and there was a Main for shutting everything down.  Don't want to do that.  Then, I had six 15 amp fuses.  Turned each one off till I found the culprit.   When my Bluetooth app stopped showing a draw, I knew it was the one. 

I read the description for that circuit and it said that when you are hooked to an AC landline, the power converter is then available to charge your house batteries.  In other words, my big battery was charging the two 100 amp house batteries.  I certainly didn't want to rob Peter to pay Paul!  Case solved.  I just have to remember to flip the switch back on when I pull the plug.

It was then around 3:30, when I went over to tell Deb and Riley that the problem was solved.  We sat around and talked for about an hour.  We have made plans to head down to Mexico on Thursday, so I can meet with the optometrist I bought my glasses from last year.  Hopefully, I can strengthen my prescription so I can see better, but not see double.

Deb, mentioned that the cactus were blooming, and I would see them if I walked down the wash a short distance.  Yuma couldn't wait to go on a little hike, so off we went.  Following are the pictures taken.  Spring is in the air in the desert.  And certain creepy crawly guys too.

Blooming Brittlebush

The wash

Barrel Cactus

Mojave Desert Wildflower

The brittlebush is very common along the roadways.


Brittlebush dead ahead.


Flowering Ocotillo
The crawly
I was surprised to see a garter snake in the wash, but there it was.  His color matched the sand, so it was hard to see.  Never moved, except for checking me out with his tongue.  Took a few pictures and went on my way, and it did the same I'm sure.

Time for dinner and off to bed.  It has been gorgeous.  Hot sun, but a cool breeze coming through my windows.  Be a great night for sleeping.

Thanks for stopping by.