Sunday: Needed day of rest!

 My middle back was strained in my fall and I took two Advil before going to bed hoping it will help.  I think it did because when I got up this morning at 8:30 to take Yuma for a walk everything worked but sorely.

Decided to keep things to a minimum today hoping for all to go well.  Had my crackers and cereal while watching TV.  Overnight, the wind was not bad but it has picked up today and it is cool.  High near 60 but with a cold north wind.  I know others have it worse so I'm not complaining.

In the afternoon, I tried again to tighten the seam in the black valve but not the right thing to do.  Leaked more.  I can't see the top bolts holding it together and so far I've only been able to see one side and the bottom so can't be sure exactly where the leak originates.  It is just a small drip now so I'm going to just wait till I've emptied the tank and I'm near a Walmart before investigating more. 

Took several walks around the area to let you get an idea of the views from my site.

Love the cactus around here.

Walked along Darby Well Road heading west and we see both North Ajo Peak and Ajo Peak in the distance.

North Ajo Peak

Ajo Peak

When I turned around there goes Yuma racing for home. 

The wind died down as the sun set and all is quiet now.  The wind was never really too bad today.  Don't think we had 20-30 mph winds.  They call for temperatures getting down to the high 30s tonight so I've got the heater ready to go.

Had a couple of hotdogs and chips again tonight with dessert.  A little TV and soon to bed.    Thanks for stopping by.

Dirty Work

 Woke up at the break of dawn this morning and saw the Moon setting in the West and the Sun rising in the East.

Moon setting over North Ajo Peak

Closer view

Ajo Peak and North Ajo Peak

Sun rising in the East.

Went back to bed and the next time I woke up it was after 9 o'clock.  We got up and took our short walk and then started breakfast.  Cereal this morning 😀.

I have only two things to attempt today.  One is to look under the White Lion and see what I can do and two is to give Yuma a bath and then me.  I think I'll need it.

It was after noon by the time breakfast was done and I was just getting ready to get to work when I got a call from my brother Richard in Florida.  We chatted for a bit.  All is well with him and his family.

Then I got started looking.   There is a cover in front and under the two tank valves, so it is hard to see.

It has a wood base underneath and it was rotten from previous leaks so I tore it away to get a better look at the valves.  Yep, the ground pulled on the pipe coming out of the tank and caused the valve to start leaking at the seam.  I could reach the two bottom bolts holding the valve assembly together and tightened them, but it only made it worse.  

So, I decided we would go into town and see if they have any JB Weld so I could seal the seam.  By this time it's 2:30 and NAPA closes at 3 o'clock, so I went on down to Olsens and checked out their hardware department.  No luck at all for any kind of sealant that works with water.

Headed back home and put everything away and tightened down the hatches for tomorrow.  A one day cold front with high winds is coming in and I want to be ready.  Climbed on the roof to tighten my antenna pole securely and noticed the solar panels are filthy, so wiped them down.

Now it's after 4 o'clock and time for Yuma to get his bath and then me.  I enjoyed mine; Yuma not so much.  He's happy when it's over though.  Someone down the road has been shooting all afternoon, so Yuma stayed inside most of the day😪.

Had hotdogs for dinner with chips and dip.  Like easy dinners😋.   I stepped outside at 6:45 to check for the Moon and somehow turned my ankle on the first step and fell hard to the ground on my side.  Thought I broke my ankle for a minute, but I could stand on it.  Didn't help my neck one bit though.  Second time now.  I don't know why I do that, but I better stop😱!

Told Dolly this would be a short post, but my fingers keep jabbering.  It is 9 o'clock and time for bed.

Days End

Black Mountain

Thanks for stopping by.

Why, Arizona

 Slept rather well last night considering.  Because I'm facing North/South in my new site I saw the predawn sky.

Dawn of a bright new day.

Got up at 8 o'clock but no cereal this morning because I have no milk.  I'll remedy that sometime today.  I decided to keep my activities to a minimum today.  Don't need another crisis on my hands.

I set-up the Dish early in preparation for tonight's Gold Rush.  Then, we laid around an absorbed the beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze.  High today will be 70 and that is perfect.

Black Mountain in the background.

I checked over the White Lion in the daylight and I noticed there are drips coming from around the black tank exit pipe.  I quickly placed a pan underneath and will see how big a problem it is later.  Didn't crawl under to look, but will later when I see how much is leaking.

Around 1:45, Yuma and I headed to Why, ten miles south on hwy 85 to take a few mural pictures and to see if they have whole milk.

The Why Not Travel Store

Back of the restrooms

Side of the store

Went inside the store and they did have milk in the half gallon size but only 2%.  No whole milk.  Yuma won't even drink the 2% stuff.  Was going to just go home and call it a day, but as I approached Darby Well Road, I decided to take Yuma into the Ajo Plaza so he could sniff around in the grass.

He even got to meet two big dogs.  Thank goodness they were friendly.  They sniffed a little and off we went.

Saw her the other day.  Must love it here.

Beautiful plaza

Instead of driving all the way to the north end of Ajo, about three miles, I stopped at the Dollar Store just around the corner and I'll be darn if they didn't have half gallon whole milk on sale for $3.15.  Could have gotten a gallon for $3.85, but I didn't.  Glad I didn't stop at a Five Dollar Store 😀

Got home at 3 o'clock and checked on the pan under the MH and it appears to be a problem that has to be handled sooner than later.  Decided, I will just keep emptying the pan back into the toilet till tomorrow and I will crawl under and see if I can stop it temporarily or not.  If not, I may be heading to Tucson sooner than planned.

Got dinner over early tonight.  I was done by 5 o'clock and watched a part of last week's Gold Rush and then the new one at 6 o'clock.  At 7 o'clock, I started my post and as I'm finishing up, Yuma couldn't wait any longer and went to bed.  I think he's giving me a big hint that it is time to call it a day.  I'm sure me being upset yesterday had an affect on him too.

I almost missed the Moon rising in the East tonight, but caught it before the Sun's rays were gone.  I'll watch more closely tomorrow night.

Thanks for stopping by.

Insert Cuss Words Here!

 Up at my normal time, 8:30.  Clear skies and it will be a much cooler day with highs only in the mid 60s.  I'll take that.  Took Yuma for a short walk and it was so nice out it took me hours to finish my breakfast.  Had no plans except to get milk.  

My feet felt good after soaking them.  As I was resting outside I decided to clean the hummingbird feeder.  Haven't seen one since the first day and wouldn't you know it that little bugger came up and wanted me to put it back.  I guess it drinks from it when I'm not looking. 😁

As I was finishing breakfast, I decided I would drive to Why and see if they have milk.  Haven't been there yet.  It was 1:30 and Yuma and I jumped in the Jeep and headed out.  About a half mile down the road I saw this very nice big RV site and pulled in to check the Internet strength.  1-2 bars of 4G.  Much better than I'm used to getting.

Decided to hold off going to Why until I get moved in here.  Don't want someone else to take it.  Drove back to the White Lion and packed everything hastily and and slowly turned around to get out of my site.  

It's tight but I'm sure I can make it.  Like a dummy, when I started thinking I was in trouble, instead of stopping and getting out to survey the situation, I bull headily forged on.  I think you're starting to see why I have the heading at the top.

Missed my target!

The front end made it, but the back end wasn't following the same track and I ended up bottoming the rear end out in a big ditch.  Now, I'm making no excuses.  It's 41 feet long and I know I should be careful, but do I listen?  H--- NO!  

I got out finally and surveyed the situation and it was bad.  No traction to the back tires and this thing weighs 15 TONS!  Poor Yuma was scared because I was cussing so much and going through a massive amount of self-pity.  Why me!  Why me!  Because I'm stupid, that's why!

Luckily, I was only taking up half of Darby Well Road, so what little traffic there was could get through.  I knew right away I needed a tow truck and a big one at that.  Had to hook up my booster so I could call the Napa Towing Service in Ajo.  They said $150 an hour and I said come on out.

About 3 o'clock out comes an elderly gentleman with a two wheel drive flat bed and a winch to pull cars up  on.  His name was Bill.  We assessed the situation and tried pulling it out forward but the winch wouldn't budge it.  Tried pulling it out backwards but the truck would just spin its tires.

Bill finally called his boss, Jerry who runs the Belly Acres RV Park and he said he would be out shortly.   Jerry came out quickly in a 250 Ford 4-wheel drive dually.  I took one look at it and said I don't think this can do the job!  Jerry agreed and said he planned on using the flatbed truck.  He said Bill had only been on the job four months and didn't have a lot of experience.

Yuma meets Bill.

It's five o'clock now and the sun will be going down soon and my stress level is up a notch or two.  Jerry surveyed the situation and said he would place the flatbed ramp under the hitch and push while I put on the diesel and the plan is to push it forward.  Five minutes later I was in the road with all four wheels safely on the ground.  Thank you, Jerry!  All this for $150 😊.  Jerry didn't charge me for the training experience Bill received.

Just as the Sun sank into the West I finally pulled into my new site and called Dolly to let her know what happened.  I told her if I ever get stuck again, I'm selling the White Lion and retiring from my travels!  She said, "Sure you will!".

I'm exhausted and tired.  Guess I'll try for milk tomorrow.  Too late for dinner, so will just have pudding with whipped cream and call it a night.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Overlooking Ajo, Arizona

 Yuma woke me at 7 o'clock and wanted to go outside.  Not sure why, because he didn't do anything except look around and then came back in.  At 7:30 two fighter jets buzzed right over the White Lion.  Didn't see them because we had gone back to bed, but it scared Yuma enough that he went down and laid on the floor.  At 8:15 it was time to get up.

Anyway, I have some hunting to do this morning after breakfast.  Had my crackers and cereal and used all the milk I had left so will need to make a stop at the store today sometime.  Once I was done with breakfast the hunt began.  

Last evening while at the cemetery typing my post something or someone whispered in my ear.  Many years ago I bought a Wilson Internet Booster cradle and a trucker's Internet booster antenna.  

Back a number of years ago Internet wasn't as prevalent and strong as it is today.  I hadn't used it in several years but I was sure I put the equipment somewhere when Deb, Riley and I transferred everything from Miss Adventure to the White Lion.

I thought I knew where it was and sure enough it was right there so not much of a search.  Pulled it out and hooked up the Wilson cradle.

The Wilson cradle is holding my phone.  It has two wires coming from the cradle.  One goes to the antenna

and the other to power.  It is power boosted.  I was only getting 1X or 1 bar of 3G before and now I'm bouncing between 2 and 3 bars of 4G.  Good enough to do my picture uploading and post from here in the White Lion.  

Why did it take me five days of running around to remember this!😡  I use the cradle for my Verizon WIFI Jetpack when I'm using my computer.  The holding arms are adjustable so I can use it for both.  We'll see how it goes tonight.

At 1 o'clock, Yuma and I took the scenic road heading to the store.  As I was driving along I could see a small saddle in the mountains above me and I wondered if I climbed up there I could see Ajo from above.

Dead center in the picture above.  So, Yuma and I parked the Jeep and started hiking.  Shouldn't take too long😃

At the very top of the far mountain in the center you can see the white cross overlooking Ajo on the other side. 

 Lots of cactus and rocks on the climb.

Got to the top and what do I see!  Another valley and another saddle.  Wasn't planning on several hours of hiking, but I can't turn back now.  If there is another valley, I will for sure.  Don't have the energy to another.

As I look to the North, I can see a sliver of the Ajo Scenic Drive winding through the Little Ajo Mountains.

Look at all the cactus and so many Organ Pipe Cactus.  You can also see the cross peeking up on the left top.

Oh my!  It was worth the hike.  I can see the massive Ajo Pit rim from here.

There's Ajo across the way and you can see the white cross at the top of the mountain overlooking Ajo.  Twenty years ago I would have climbed that mountain, but not today.

Standing at the cliff edge hoping my photographer doesn't slip and push me over.😁

Heading back now.

Yuma is tired and thirsty.

Finally made it back to the Jeep and we headed to the store.  Luckily, I had a bottle of water in the Jeep.  We were both thirsty on this 80 degree day!

Stopped in the store and picked up a few items, but they only had gallon milk cartons.  I can't drink that much before it spoils , so I decided to stop by the Dollar Store on the way home and check.  No dice there either, plus their milk said "best if drank by 2-28".  By this time I'm too tired to go back to Olsens to check their dates, so no cereal tomorrow.

Of course, Yuma wouldn't let me drive by the green grass, so we made a short stop there so he could sniff around.

Of course Yuma finds a friend.

 Finally made it home after 4 o'clock and my feet were so sore I took two Tylenol and soaked my feet in cold water.  Still have no Epson salts.  Edited pictures and then fixed dinner at 5:30.  After eating I was ready to see if my pictures would upload.

I managed to get them uploaded but a little slow.  May have to play around with size and quality tomorrow to speed things up a bit, but everything is doable😀.  Already 9 o'clock and time for bed.

Thanks for stopping by.

Darby Well Cemetery

 Slept in till almost 9 o'clock this morning.  Had lots of weird dreams.  Did our morning routines of checking out the mine pit and enjoying this morning's weather.  No breeze right now making it feel hot in the sun.  I'm sure it will pick up later and cool things off.  Had scrambled eggs this morning, something I haven't done in awhile.

We didn't do anything except lay outside in the shade all morning.

Haven't seen a hummingbird since the first morning.

At 2:45 Yuma and I drove the half mile to the Darby Well Cemetery.  Seems to be back and forth around here as to whether it's "Darby Well" or "Darby Wells".  I guess it doesn't really matter.

The place looks great.  So much attention is given to the folks that reside here.  While walking around I found that my cell phone was getting 2 bars of 4g which is great.  I'll come back here when I'm ready to publish my post and see how it goes.

See the shelter in the background.  That is where I'm sitting to do this post.😁

Black Mountain

Decided it was too warm and I'm too lazy to cook a dinner, so had a ham sandwich with chips and dip.  And of course, a dessert of pudding and topping cream.  All done at 6 o'clock, plenty early.  Waited for a spectacular sunset, but just don't get them like I did in Yuma with all the sand in the air.  It does give a beautiful golden glow off the mountains to the east though.

Not even 7 o'clock and I've got everything done.  Even the dishes.  Time now for a little TV and off to bed.  It is a gorgeous evening without a breeze in the air.  Yuma and I may have to go for a little walk.

Thanks for stopping by.