Like a thief in the night

 Woke up at 12:30 thinking it was near morning.😞  Sent a text to Dolly at 3:45 welcoming her to Spring!  I wonder if it is anxiety or just getting old.  Finally, got some sleep from about 5:30 to 7:30.  

We are locked in for the day since no one is working.  Clouds today and calling for rain maybe.  Also, going to be much cooler with a high of 70 today.  

After breakfast we just laid around the house and watched TV.  I get local channels here so watched some basketball games.  This is the first time I have actually watched local TV for a long time.  

Around 4 we played a game of Chess.  We are both getting better and making less errors so the games are going down to the wire now.

Had hotdogs again.  Never get tired of them.  Hoping to celebrate good news tomorrow night with NY Strip steak.

Our holding tanks are near full, so tomorrow, we will be heading into Mesa to pick up a Blue Boy and a fresh water bladder.  Should have bought both years ago but kept putting it off.   Now I've got to drive 60 miles to get them.

While watching the Phoenix news, a meteorologist looked familiar.  I looked her name up and she is Lauren Rainson from Peoria, Illinois.  She moved with her husband to Phoenix in early 2020.  Speaking of weather, we actually got some rain and a little thunder this afternoon.  Not much, but enough to scare the Yuma. 😕

Before bed, like a thief in the night, I jumped the fence to use the restroom at the Xpress Truck stop across the lot.  Can it get any worse?

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Wasted days and wasted nights!

There is a downtown Eloy!

I did not sleep well last night.  Woke up at 1 o'clock and sleep was fitful till morning.  I kept going over in my mind what I will do depending on what they find out today when the oil pan is pulled.

We went through our normal morning routine and I wanted to be here to see the oil pan when it was removed.  As you can guess, nothing happened.  No one stopped by and soon it was noon and everyone went home except us.  Steve didn't come in today.

Not really upset because if I could have bet a million dollars this would happen today, we would be driving home in a brand new motorhome😂.  At least I know there is an end in sight and probably this coming week.

The gate is locked when they leave and sometime after noon, we are RV prisoners until Monday at 9 o'clock.  We are getting low on fuel and water and high on waste tanks so things will have to happen soon.

I took a little time today to write down the different scenarios that may happen.  May share sometime, but don't want to lock things down just yet.  This will be a slow Saturday and Sunday, so not much to blog about.  Just want to keep you posted and hoping you keep us in your good thoughts.

Nick and I played a game of Chess today and Nick came very close to beating me.  He's starting to get the idea of this game and putting me under pressure with moves I'm not expecting.  I wonder if this whole RV thing is just someone's Chess game and we are the pawns😀.

This evening I hooked into their electricity and we are watching Tucson local stations as I prepare two cheeseburgers for dinner.  Got up to 84 today and at 7 o'clock it is still 75, so quite warm today.

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Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

 Again, I woke up around 3 o'clock thinking it was near 7.  Took awhile but made it back to sleep till 7:30.  Maybe today is the day.  Had a full breakfast and it quickly warmed from the overnight coolness.

For some reason, I felt depressed this morning.  Not normal for me.  Expressed to Dolly by text how I felt and she helped by reminding me I could be sitting at home looking out at a chilly rain.  Have to be reminded that I'm retired and there is no real rush to be anywhere, so enjoy where you are.

As we laid around the White Lion waiting for someone to start doing something, I started to get real irritated.  It's now 11:30 and nothing.  Half the work day shot and no one has come by.  I think what bothers me most is the lack of communication.  I'm not one to bug people about their business, but it sure would be nice to know the plans.  

Finally, I couldn't just wait for them to do something.  Maybe, if we leave they will come out of the woodwork😈!  We jumped in the Jeep without a plan except to go somewhere.  Anywhere.   Then I remembered the Casa Grande Ruins are near here, so looked it up and it is less than half an hour away, so off we went😁.

The city of Casa Grande is only about 15 miles away, but the Casa Grande Ruins are not located there.   They are located in the small town of Coolidge, just east of the city of Casa Grande.

The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a beautifully kept grounds and the price for entry is FREE!  And they allow dogs, so we were happy to be able to take Yuma with us.

Time to go Dad!

It was after 2 o'clock when we headed to Walmart in Casa Grande to pick up a few days supply of food because  I'm sure we will be here over the weekend.  I do feel better getting out into the nice beautiful weather we have here.  Sunshine always raises the spirit.

It was 3 o'clock when we arrived to the White Lion to see someone had been working on it.  When I went to the bedroom there were tools on the floor, the bed had been raised to get to the engine and the valve cover was removed.  I knew if we left, the gremlins would come out😂.

Wasn't long before a real mechanic (sorry Anthony) and Steve came up to the door.  Steve, the boss man said that when they removed the valve cover and turned the engine over, no oil spurted up to lubricate the valves which meant no oil was being pumped through the engine.  

We already suspected there was a low oil pressure problem and this proved it.  Now, I just hope the engine hasn't been ruined.  Time for finding answers is over for today.  Steve said they would remove the oil pan in the morning to determine why the oil pump does not pump oil!  So tomorrow is the day I find out how good or bad the news is going to be.

We decided to save the NY Strip steak for tomorrow night when we receive the good news about the White Lion's diagnosis.  I hope!😨  Tonight is hotdog night.  Wish us good fortune.

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Climbing Picacho Peak

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!!👽💚

Didn't sleep well last night.  Woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep till around 5 o'clock, but finally dozed off.  Up again at 7:30 to take Yuma for this desert walk.

Had a partial breakfast and it was 10 o'clock and no sign of Anthony.  Hope he didn't get fired for the mishap yesterday.  I do have to say this place is very busy.  Lots of trucks coming in and thankfully out too.

At 10:30 I spotted Anthony and went over for an update.  He said Steve had pulled him to work on other projects so no update.  I didn't want to sit around waiting all day for something to happen so told him I would leave the White Lion open and if they are planning to work on it today they could get to everything.  

Nick, Yuma and me are planning to do some hiking today.  While staying at Nancy's driveway in December, we drove to Picacho Peak  but didn't climb to the top.  Today is the day for Nick to give it a try.  It's only 12 miles east on I-10 to the Picacho Peak State Park, so off the three of us went.

We paid our $7 entrance fee per carload and drove to the Hunter Trailhead.  Nick is planning to hike to the peak while Yuma and I plan to walk a mile or so and return to the Jeep and wait for Nick.  The hike is two miles up and two miles back.  Outside my hiking range.

The trail is well worn and steps have been placed where needed.  It is considered a moderate hike for the first one and a half miles till it takes a steep turn directly towards the peak.

Yuma and I walked for about a mile and on a hot 85 degree day with no shade, that was enough for me.

Looking west at the Kofa mountains.

Come on Dad!  Climb faster.

Yuma and I returned around 2:30 to the Jeep to wait for Nick to return.  The following pictures are from his hike.  Much higher and more rugged than mine.

Local resident on the peak.

They were kind enough to place cables and screens at dangerous locations to assist with climbing.

Looking west along I-10.  Pinal Mountains in the distance.

Nick enjoyed the climb and when he came down the mountain ended up taking a different trail.  Thank goodness I had the keys to go and pick him up.😊

We were home an hour before curfew at 4 o'clock.  They lock the gates here at 5 when they close for the night.  Crowded parking lot.  We look small next to these big rigs.

While gone, they had done more investigation into the problem.  Not being able to start the engine is complicating getting diagnostic information.  As it stands now they are thinking it is an oil pump problem or oil sensor problem.  Hopefully, they have time to dig further tomorrow and get some definite answers.

Time to publish and get the grill out for dinner.  Beautiful evening except for the smell of diesel fuel. 😀

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Short move today

 We were up at 7 o'clock and out the door for Yuma's walk.

We're hoping this morning something happens so we had our breakfast early and sure enough, at 9 o'clock, Anthony walked across the street with paper in hand.  I signed my life away and then we started talking to break ice and allow him to realize I'm a nice guy.  Somehow we got on Gold Rush and I find he is an avid viewer too.  Too late I find that he would rather talk than work.

After two trips back and forth, he left to get the computer with the analyzing programs.  Then nothing till 1:45.  I am getting disturbed with the lack of communication around here.  He finally walks over with the computer and the excuse that someone had left it running overnight and it needed to be charged first.  He could have brought it over and plugged it in here at the motorhome.😖

He also brought some engine starter spray and I turned it over and it started, but only for a minute.😠

He then hooked the computer to the diagnostic plug but unfortunately no recent codes came up.😩

He went back to talk to Steve and I guess it was decided to tow it into the shop area because Anthony came back with a forklift and hooked it to the motorhome and pushed me across the street into a narrow bay.

Things didn't go perfectly.  No one was communicating with me or watching the MH so as I turned into the narrow bay area I could tell it was too narrow, but nothing I could do.  Anthony kept pushing and luckily saw the trailer next to me sway and immediately stopped.  I was so relieved, but felt certain with the crunch I heard I had another scar on the White Lion.  

Now Steve is out the door and taking command.  He gives us instructions to back out and then someone moves the semi on the other side so there is more room and then he guides us back in.  The hit was right at the door, so when I stepped out I was expecting damage, but was shocked to see nothing but a couple light small scratches.😀

Anthony did some more looking around and trying to find a new diagnostic code to no avail.  He was hoping Steve would return and help with the computer stuff because he was at a loss.  It is after 4 o'clock and I was certain Steve would not be concerned till morning and I was right.

We had been laying low because it was my thought Steve would not allow us to stay in the shop area over night for liability reasons.  So, I asked Anthony and he said no problem, RVers stay over night all the time. 😊  That's a possibly big motel and eating out expense I don't have to worry about.

As soon as the workers left, Nick and I put up the local antenna and turned on the TV in preparation for Survivor.  The Phoenix CBS station kept going in and out so we moved the antenna another foot higher and the reception was perfect.  Another Survivor out of the way.

It is now 8 o'clock and time to finish this post and fix dinner for Yuma and me.  Nick is outside on the grill fixing a turkey cheeseburger for himself.

I hope with the bumping and hassles, Steve has had with us and the city, he wants our RV problem resolved and us out of his hair.   He needs to help Anthony figure out what our problem is and get it fixed I hope.  I was hoping today was the day, but it looks like tomorrow is the day. 😟  I hope.

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