Saturday, July 30, 2016

Another photo from the Rim

I'm posting these to show that parts of Northern Arizona are not the rocky desert that most people picture when thinking of the state. Payson is somewhere down in the pines below. Summer up here is really pleasant.

And now, today's disaster is brought to you by:. Water

Actually it was the day after the hike. When getting up to make coffee that morning, instead of carpet on my feet i felt water. I realized it was not raining, but the sound of water was coming from under the sink. I yelled for Mike to turn off the water at the outside supply while I pulled on clothes to go buy a shop vac. From the size of the pond under the rv, the leak had been pouring out water most of the night. Mike requested that I put on coffee before making the run to Walmart for the shop vac.

Once the worst of the water was drained and vacuumed up we investigated and found the connection that had let go. At True Value Mike is lecturing me on how my water lines are bogus and all need to be replaced, etc. I look at the section to be replaced we brought, leave him sorting through the various connector bins, and go find a hose that is meant for connecting to a sink faucet. $6 and done as far as I'm concerned. He gives me a look I'm getting somewhat used to...

Mike replaced the section with the flexible hose replacement and we tested it. That part fixed. Of course, in the process of all this, he found more of my previous fixes and put them right.

Much vacuuming of water took up the rest of the next few days, and I'm still blowing fans on the damper sections of carpet. It didn't help that the next morning I started coffee, and decided to do the dishes. I turned on the water, moved some dishes around, found my phone, sat down to make a big post, and discovered when I went to get coffee that I forgot to turn off the water and it was overflowing the sink. Mike is still speaking to me...

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Friday, July 29, 2016

More Mogollon Rim

I'm still on one picture posts from my phone. Here is a picture looking out from Milk Ranch Point.

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Mogollon Rim

We went for a hike up on the Rim yesterday. Hiked a couple of miles out to a point and back, then stopped at this place on the way back out to the Rim Road. Nice area up there.

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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

True Friendship

I admitted early one this job was beyond my strength and ability. Mike is using his years if maintaining his commercial fishing boat up in Alaska to know what to do. In other words, he knew what he was getting into and still came down to work on it. How did I ever get so blessed to have friends like him?

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Wednesday, July 20, 2016

It makes me feel old...

Items that are currently sitting in my vertical caving pack back home are featured in the historical caving gear exhibit. Sigh. I said something about needing to test and re-rigmy gear before I can even think about using it and was told I could also just buy new gear. These young whippersnappers won get close enough to smack them with my cane.

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Monday, July 18, 2016

Convention Campground







Not a bad place to camp with a few hundred of my closest friends.  It has been a long time since I camped like this, with so many folks around.  My back is starting to mutter a bit about sleeping on my backpacking pads.  It is fun to see old friends, hear about others.  One very good friend I was so looking forward to seeing got as far as Denver and had a stroke on the way here.  He is in the hospital and doing better.  I am really sad not to get to see him, and am keeping him in my thoughts.  Some discussion of the aging of the group.  Mostly the consensus is, it happens.

On the road again...



Made it to convention.  Nevada is beautiful in places.  I drove for miles along a valley between mountains.  Topped a rise and before me saw...  many more miles of valley between mountains.  Welcome to Nevada.

Sent this yesterday from my phone, but it didn't show up.  Internet here is spotty.  May have 2 identical posts, which I'll clean up when I get home.

And, edited again to add the picture that didn't come through the email...  sigh.  This stuff used to work.  I'll download LiveWriter to this computer soon.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Getting ready to travel

While I am parked near Mom I can travel and leave the RV and cats in her care, so I'm taking advantage of this opportunity.  Since getting back into contact with friends from 40+ years ago, most of which I haven't seen in 10-20 years, I've had my view drawn further afield than just AZ.  There is a National Speleological Society convention in Ely, NV next week.  I had been kinda pondering going as friends said they would be there.  When Mike and I talked while at the Grand Canyon I started seriously considering going.  After Turtle Lady had a talk with me and reminded me that traveling was what I had been planning to do for years, I decided to go to convention.  I haven't been to one since 1992.

Since I'm thinking of travel now, and I have until the end of August in my current situation with Mom available to watch the cats, I decided to also go up and visit Croft and Norma in Campbell River.  I'm checking flights and such right after I post this.

I spoke too soon about the hot spots.  They are working fine here in Mesa, where I'm waiting while they do an oil change on the zoom zoom car.  They don't work so well in Payson, where I need them to work.  I'll give them another try when I go home today, but if they don't work I'll send them back.  The primary reason I got them (one for Mom, one for me) is that Mom wants to get back on the internet.  If it doesn't work for her, I really don't need one either as I will end up with a Verizon Jet Pack, I think, once I'm off into the desert.  So, the search for internet access is still on-going.

At convention we will be camping.  I've been digging around in my camping gear for the first time in about 5 years.  My car trunk currently holds 2 backpacking tents, 3 tarps, a sleeping bag/liner/3 sleeping pads, 2 backpacking stoves (5 if you count the pop can alcohol stoves), a cook kit,  2 rain jackets, rain pants, rain poncho/bivy tarp, bear canister, folding bucket, 2 folding chairs, folding table, hiking boots, caving helmet (figured I should take at least 1 piece of caving gear), and several other things in the 2 backpacks and tucked into the nooks and crannies.  I did laundry but still need to pack, and think about some snacks for the trip up.  I'm sure I"ll forget something, as until this morning I had not put a tent in the pile.  I'll leave early Friday morning.

I need to figure the schedules of the Victoria Clipper ferry to get from Seattle to Victora and Southwest into Seattle for my trip up to Norma and Croft's next month.  I figure I can grab a cab for the trip from the airport to the ferry.  I am looking forward to seeing them again, and having a chance to view Canadians in their native habitat. Lots to do, finally.  I was turning into a lump on the couch with no external structure in my life.  I'll have to figure out how to deal with that at some point, but I'll use travel as the crutch to get me going again for now.

Thursday, July 07, 2016

Back Online

My Consumer Cellular hotspots are working now, so I can get online with my computer.  Posting with the phone I basically only put one picture in each post as I sent it as an email.  Being able to connect via computer again means I have no excuse not to include more pictures as I take them.  I'll also be able to get out and read the blogs I follow again.  Woo Hoo!

Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Where I went yesterday

I have been back in contact with a friend who I first met at a caving club meeting when I was 16. He lives near the Grand Canyon now, and invited me up for a quick tour. I made it a day trip and saw the high points (pun intended) of the South Rim. It was nice to have a knowledgeable guide so all I had to do was look and be impressed. We will go back when there are fewer people there and check the area out in more detail.

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Monday, July 04, 2016

Getting up in my world

This motorhome does not have a ladder to the roof. When the bathroom vent was leaking in the recent rain I bought a new vent and a telescoping ladder. The ladder took awhile to figure out but I managed to get it extended. Then I woke Mom up to request her presence to call 911 given how I figured this will go.

While waiting for her to eat breakfast I went up for the first gander at my roof. The good news is that it is sealed nicely. The less good news is that the vent is sealed solidly to the roof. I looked at the situation for few minutes. I texted Sandie Dixon with another plea to send me a Jim clone. Seems he is doing nefarious things with a drill and won't stop long enough to be cloned.

I went over and told Mom to stand down, I am not going to try this after all. I may call my mobile fix-it guy again and pay him to replace it. I may call a buddy from long ago and see if he wants to go hiking over here, and by the way I have a vent that needs to be replaced first. Probably go with calling Can Do mobile fix-it, though.

There is no screen in the vent, a blade is broken off the fan, and now the cover is broken. I have the bottom trim off and the wires capped off. The vent cover is sealed as much as I can with silicon. Now it will be up to Carl at Can Do. Yes, we are on a first name basis now. On a related note, stock in silicon is due to go up. This place will be held together with it before long.


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Saturday, July 02, 2016

Payson Farmers Market

Once the sun came out I ditched my fleece and walked over to the Saturday morning Farmers Market. The only thing I bought was some peaches the size of largish plums that I haven't tried yet. The usual contigent of well behaved dogs on leashes and a couple of craft booths along with the food booths. Gluten free in a couple of stalls and fresh goat milk and cheese in another. I did one loop and was getting hot so I came home. Once I wash them, I hear a peach calling my name.

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I put on socks this morning

I ran down to Mesa yesterday as it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy down there which I hoped meant I could work in my storage units doing some rearranging. That plan basically worked as I found the food I want up here and a fleece. Living in Mesa, all jackets had been packed away. Up here in Payson I've wanted a jacket a couple of times.

I drove back up the ridge in somewhat heavy traffic but it was Friday of a holiday weekend. About 3 miles out of Payson traffic came to a standstill. Holiday traffic backed up from the first stoplight. At the same time I noticed very dark clouds and lightening off to my left. As i was stopped anyway I called Mom to see if this was the leading or trailing edge of the storm and she said it had just started raining. The time it took me to get the few miles home meant that I missed the brunt of the storm. Mom said it hailed here while I only had some rain. The problem was, my lot turns into a literal lake after a storm like that. Several inches of water where my patio was supposed to be. I took off my shoes and waded in. The cats were happy to see me.

Later after the lake had drained away I had to put my sewer line back onto the hole. I don't know if it floated out or if the neighbor again pulled out the hoses to drain the lake. Yesterday as he was telling me how he had pulled the sewer hoses the night before to drain the lake after that storm he ended up helping me light the water heater. I was trying to light the wrong place. At some point I'll ask what the place was i kept holding the lighter up against in case I damaged it. I do have hot water now anyway.

Last night it was rainy and chilly. I had a cat against me for warmth most of the morning, a vocal one when it was thundering and raining. Bosley hides when it rains so I'm not sure where he spent the night. When I decided to get going this morning around 7 it was 58* outside. So I put on socks and my fleece. In July. In Arizona.

My heart goes out to Sandy and Jim Dixon as I saw the news this.morning that their dear dog Scooter died last night. I'm holding them in my thoughts as I know how difficult it is to lose a family member as Scooter definitely was. A much loved and spoiled family.member.

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