Strolling Amok

Pops goes on tour.

07 May 2013

A Day

Five days ago, this ultralight passed directly overhead at not much more than 100 feet altitude! Fun!

Five days ago, this ultralight passed directly overhead at not much more than 100 feet altitude! Fun!

Originally posted 2/22/2013

A day, just like any other day, only more so. The National Weather Service-based Internet weather predictions for this area are even less accurate than they are for the upper Midwest, if that’s possible. As forecasts, I’ve found them to be fairly accurate to only 2-3 hours forward at the very best, and even then, current conditions of “partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain” can disagree with what you see out your window.

Once the weather settles in for some serious rain, the view looks like this.

Once the weather settles in for some serious rain, the view looks like this.

A high winds weather alert isn’t something to dismiss, because there’s a slight possibility that any error might be in the other direction – the direction you don’t particularly want. Naturally, this alert came as a surprise to me, since I’d figured it was finally safe to  Read more…

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07 May 2013
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The Petrified Forest’s Blue Mesa

The entry walkway to the Blue Mesa has some nice views all by itself. It's a long way down.

The entry walkway to the Blue Mesa has some nice views all by itself. It’s a long way down.

Originally posted 2/17/2013

The Blue Mesa area of the Petrified Forest National Park was actually my favorite section of the entire park. A one-mile walk takes you down between badland hills that vary markedly in color and texture, with a few chunks of petrified logs thrown in. It’s all paved, but it slopes and twists markedly in spots at the entry. Something like a blown heart valve makes for a leisurely, wheezing climb back up at the end, but such a trial is so worth it!

Rather than get into how it was formed, I’ll just show you a few of the many photos I took, and leave at that. I will say that although it’s about an hour to hike around and back, the variety of magnificent views all around each time you stop will properly extend your stay greatly. Two girls in their twenties started behind me, and snapped  Read more…

Posted in Tourista! and tagged
07 May 2013

Hey, Sorry!

Today's shot of Mister Slobby's Campsite.

Today’s shot of Mister Slobby’s Campsite.

Originally posted 2/16/2013

I’ve been exploring my muse of late, not to mention doing my accursed income taxes for this year, so blog posts here have taken a hit. But who can be diligent out here? Accuweather says it’s 75 today, but my digital thermo says it’s 80, while my “analog” mercury classic says it’s 81. Sunny, very thin, high clouds, a warm breeze… Perfection. I’m acclimatized here, I guess – I have to put on a long-sleeved shirt when it drops to 70! What’s up with that? I see Algonquin, IL, my home base, reads 17 & 7 for today. Sheesh!

If you were down here, would you be toiling away? Didn’t think so. Where’s that cabana girl with my drink?

Going strictly by gut feel, the office batteries seem to drop voltage under load more quickly than they used to, but once they sit and recover, the voltage pops right back up where it should be. I picked up some heavy duty electrical connectors yesterday and may install them in the parallel wires linking the four batteries, so I will have the ability to electrically separate them for individual voltage checks. It’s just a way to see whether one battery is any worse off than the others. With them all linked together like they are now, they tend to equalize each other to the worst one, and will all read exactly the same voltage. Right now, the only way to electrically isolate anything is to unfasten connections at the battery terminals. Some of them hold up to seven wires each, so doing it this way is both a serious nuisance and fairly dangerous. All the terminals are fully exposed and  Read more…

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06 May 2013

The Party’s Over…

A club of Lazy Daze motorhome owners gathered for a few weeks in the LVTA, and recently thinned out to half in just one day. Movin 'on, I guess.

A club of Lazy Daze motorhome owners gathered for a few weeks in the LVTA, and recently thinned out to half in just one day. Movin ‘on, I guess.

Originally posted 2/4/2013

After a very heavily-attended opening weekend, with parked cars clogging the roadway shoulders and visitors clogging the Big Tent, attendance at Quartzsite’s Big Tent Show declined by half on Monday and was a trickle by Friday. You can refer to my earlier article to find out what the heck the Big Tent Show is about. Two days later, the vendors cleared out on schedule. The La Posa LVTA where I’m staying had a nice pack of motorhomes jammed into the northeast corner for easy access to the shows. That started to peter out after the show ended, and not too many of these extra vehicles are left a week later. I’m still seeing more campground action overall though, with RVs rolling in here or there to stay for a few days or a week before leaving.

At the busiest time, groups of campers moved in together, and then departed together. That's popular.

At the busiest time, groups of campers moved in together, and then departed together. That’s popular.

Also popular are ATVs or quads. They're all over out here, and now and then you'll see a conventional tube-frame dune buggy. They like to go out in groups to tour the area, and Quartzsite allows them on the city streets as well.

Also popular are ATVs or quads. They’re all over out here, and now and then you’ll see a conventional tube-frame dune buggy. They like to go out in groups to tour the area, and Quartzsite allows them on the city streets as well.

One thing that hasn’t thinned out is the airspace. Three ultralight fliers have been buzzing around for a few weeks, and appear to be encamped east of Quartzsite. Once every second or third day, I hear one or two buzzing the campground on its way to  Read more…

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06 May 2013

A Day in Palm Canyon

Palm Canyon is far from being a "One View Wonder". You'll find yourself with an eyeful of something awesome every time you look around.

Palm Canyon is far from being a “One View Wonder”. You’ll find yourself with an eyeful of something awesome every time you look around.

Originally posted 1/29/2013

Recently, I had a special day! Instead of dumping sewage, doing laundry at the laundromat, or wondering why some device appeared to be failing, my visiting sister and her victim husband came by to see something worthwhile in Quartzsite. In order to do that, one needs to leave Quartzsite, of course. In this case, we headed 18 miles south to see the Palm Canyon National Recreation Trail in the Kofa Wildlife Refuge. It has been been rated as “moderately easy”, so I figured it would be a cakewalk. Lemme tell ya, footing was uncertain in bits and pieces here and there, and for safety’s sake, we ditched my sister  Read more…

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06 May 2013

Solar Test Coming Up

Originally posted 1/23/2013

Along with unusually warm weather (highs in the upper 70s) for the next couple of days here in Quartzsite AZ, the skies are expected to be pretty well overcast until next Wednesday. Rain may come Friday and again Monday.

That means I won’t be running the desktop computer much, since it’s the heaviest draw on the office battery pack. The CPAP battery won’t care much, because that device pulls so little power anyway. What will be interesting to see (in a nerdy kind of way) is how the house batteries fare. The house batteries, two ordinary ol’ flooded marine-type “deep cycle” hybrids, are the least robust cells in the place, and power interior lights, water pump, and ignitions for the propane refrigerator and the water heater. I’ll be wanting to measure their voltage as time goes on in order to see what their limit for this kind of prolonged cloudy weather is.

The water pump started acting up yesterday, running nonstop as if it were trying to keep up with an open faucet or a bad pipe leak. It started running on its own for no reason, and kept going, so I turned it off at its main switch. I’m glad I was home, since it could take the house batteries down fairly quickly. After awhile, I turned it back on and Read more…

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06 May 2013

It’s Showtime!

Everybody likes window shopping.

Everybody likes window shopping.

Originally posted 1/20/2013

The campground finally saw some action a day or two ago as RVers with money to burn rolled in and clogged the smallest area of the La Posa West LTVA that was closest to the show tent next door. Other areas show a little more density, and even my section now has a large fifth wheel and travel trailer on one side, and a mixed group of four units circled like a defensive wagon train. They each have an assortment of ATVs and/or trail bikes, and enjoy touring the area. Still, I’d have to estimate that as a total site, attendance must continue to be way down from prior years.

Surrounding the Big Tent were still more purchasing opportunities, and a place to see many big-ticket products not available elsewhere.

Surrounding the Big Tent were still more purchasing opportunities, and a place to see many big-ticket products not available elsewhere.

That doesn’t seem to stop the vendors so far though. The “Big Tent”, a huge vinyl structure was still packed with vendors and visitors, and the range of alleged health products, RV-related equipment, camping resorts, and prepared foods was impressive on opening day. As always, the sheer number of dealer’s  Read more…

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06 May 2013

What Price Knowledge?

Cap't Bob guides the discussion at a previous meeting.

Cap’t Bob guides the discussion at a previous meeting.

Originally posted 1/13/2013

As I mentioned at Thanksgiving, there’s a group of campers, the vast majority full-timers, who’ve gathered together for camraderie, friendships, and knowledge. Nearly all of these folks make me appear to be Mr. Luxo Tubby in my 26′ travel trailer, because most dwell in vehicles ranging from class-C motorhomes, to smaller travel trailers, to converted small cargo trailers, to converted vans. They’re more than willing to trade a lifestyle based on affluence and comfort for one of freedom of choice. That’s a vast simplification of course, but each person I talk to has a depth of presence and satisfaction that’s hard to find anywhere else. Most folks are waiting and planning for the day that they might be able to do what they like, and perhaps experience living rather than merely putting in time for the day when they can. There’s a sense of joy and enthusiasm in this bunch, even among those whose  Read more…

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06 May 2013
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Getting a Grip

The Ergon GP5 handlebar grip.

The Ergon GP5 handlebar grip.

Originally posted 1/11/2013

After the seat, my bike’s handlebar grips were next up for improvement. Riding the bike usually made my hands numb because of the vibration and pressure of upper body weight resting on them. Changing the handlebars to lift the hands and get the torso more upright is the preferred option, but the Raleigh’s brake and gearchange cables make that impossible to do without having a selection of replacement bars on hand for trial fitting. So, it’s up to the grips, and though the Raleigh’s OEM handgrips are soft rubber, they still proved a problem.

Enter the Ergon GP5 grip, designed and made in Germany, where Industrial Design is still a career option, and functionality and performance can still take precedence over manufacturing cost. Developed with the assistance of the German Sport University in Cologne, the entire selection of Ergon grips flat out work, and do so with a simplicity that makes them able to be fully installed and adjusted in less than a minute apiece using just a metric hex wrench. Just slide it over the bar end, rotate the  Read more…

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06 May 2013

This is Winter?

Originally posted 1/10/2013

Having arrived here from the upper Midwest, I can’t exactly whimper about winter here in Quartzsite AZ. But in its own way, it is notable. We’re heading for a short week of nightly lows just below freezing, with highs in the 50s. That’s not particularly good from a camping standpoint. There’s kind of a point of no return on low temperatures. Lows of 40 or more are a non-issue. I light a kerosene lamp overnight to serve as a nightlight and to slightly take the edge off the cold when I awaken. It’s usually 50 or more inside the camper then, and edges upward well after sunrise.

Nightlight? Yes. I’m more at ease with a nightlight, ever since the days when I would travel on business and wake up in the middle of the night in pitch-black darkness, with no clue as to where I was or where the bathroom might be. I found that disconcerting, enough so that I began to pack a nightlight so I could wake up at least having bought a vowel. Because of moonlight here, it  Read more…

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