A month of challenges mixed with some camping fun

Following my latest eye doctor appointment, I packed up Minnie and headed up the mountain to camp for a few weeks in cooler country. As I was nearing Payson, it dawned on me to question why I was towing my Fit up there, when Dale has a car and we probably wouldn't be doing that much running around.Too late, but if I'd been smarter, I could have saved a lot in gas on that drive up the hill. Next time, I'll think things through better.

But let me back up and catch up on Minnie repairs. The last time I had my generator serviced was about 6-7 years ago at Cummins Onan. I decided it should be done again, and contacted my mobile service guy, Juan. He sent his son Brandon to do the service. Brandon found a small leak, which he fixed by tightening a bolt, and then changed the oil. After checking other things, he told me the carburetor was aged out and should be replaced, and I said okay. When he told me a new one would be $550 plus labor, I changed my mind and said I'd keep this one for the time being as long as it was running okay. He put everything back together and all seemed to be working fine.

My onboard Onan 4000 generator

However, when I was getting ready for my trip, I kept having trouble with the breaker switch, which kept flipping off. Whenever I flipped it back on, the gennie would start but would not run my AC without stalling. I sent Juan a message, but he was out of town. Dale said he thought he could trouble shoot it, so I headed north on a Tuesday morning.

The drive up Hwy 87 was pleasant and some of the lightest traffic I have seen on my drives up to the Rim. I pulled into FR 171 Campground and got set up. Within 30 minutes, Dale had diagnosed and fixed the problem with the breaker switch, but getting Minnie to run long and strong enough to handle the AC was not happening. I could run my microwave, so thought if it didn't get too warm, I could survive a few weeks without the AC. I have a good 12V Fantastic Fan, and an awning, so between those two heat interventions, I did survive. Only one very warm afternoon did Hanna and I have to retreat to Dale's Minnie while we watched Happy Gilmore 2 on his big TV.

Taken just as I got set up, but before I settled in. (No awning or rug out.)

Gnarled tree branches

Pretty sunset through the trees

One day, Daryl, Gisele and Dianna drove up to visit us and have a hot dog cookout. Daryl had just gotten a new Tesla Model Y and Dale convinced him to bring it up to show us. (He had an ulterior motive in wanting Daryl to bring up an Amazon package he had been waiting for.) It was a nice outing for them, and a nice visit for us all, and I got to test drive the Y. The last time I did that, I went home and ordered my own Tesla Model 3. I resisted that urge this time, as I'm still happy with my car. But Daryl's Y is very nice and it's a beautiful color. I really like it!

We spent about 10 days in 171, then moved south to another dispersed camp road (unnamed). We had scoped out a nice site earlier in the week, but when we went over the night before our move to park Dale's Jeep to reserve it, someone had swooped in and grabbed it a few hours ahead of us. We found another decent site just beyond it and settled in the next morning.

 A couple mornings later, I was walking Hanna up the camp road and 3 big barking dogs came running out at us. A shouting match ensued between the owner and myself regarding the legality of unleashed dogs in a campground and defending oneself with a stick. No one was injured, but from then on, Hanna and I only walked down the camp road away from that site so we would not encounter them again.

I want to mention this woman and her dogs were in a group site labeled "Camp Stewards". These are not official Camp Hosts, but apparently they have some sort of deal with the forest service that they can stay in the campground area indefinitely in exchange for "keeping an eye on things". All other campers are limited to 14 days. Dale and I never saw them keep an eye on anything. They didn't do any patrolling nor cleaning up sites, which were sometimes littered with trash. (Fortunately, no one left a charcoal grill!) But their semi-official status should have meant following the rules and setting a good example of being responsible and courteous campers. 

"Camp Stewards"

Dale and I did less running around this time, only going into Payson twice and Heber once. On our Heber trip, we did a little exploring by taking the back road past Black Canyon Lake (which was shrunk to a puddle) and Black Canyon Campground back to our campsite. Dale took his kayak over to Willow Springs Lake one morning, but after toodling around a little while, he discovered a leak, so needed to fix that before any more water adventures. Other than that, we stuck pretty close to camp, just walking down the road a couple times a day, sitting out under the awning, and making S'mores over our propane firepit some of the evenings. 

Strange rock in the campground

On Friday, August 1, my Minnie sprang a leak in the bathroom. Dale took a look and discovered there was a cracked pipe under the shower. It was spraying pretty good, so I shut off the water pump, and decided it was time to head home and have my list of repairs attended to. It's pretty hard to camp without water, and the temps were climbing into the high 80s, so home was looking better and better. I quickly packed up and headed out of the campground at 4:00. I made one quick stop for a few gallons of gas in Star Valley, but otherwise made a beeline down the Beeline. I pulled into my back yard just before 7:00. Unloading waited until 5:00 am the next morning.

I've been in touch with Juan with my list of issues he needs to fix, but told him they can wait until fall. I'm not going anywhere before the holidays. 

Thanks for all your help with my Minnie, Dale. I appreciate you always being willing to work on things for me. I sometimes feel guilty that I depend on you guys so much, but then what are brothers for? I think that's why Mom and Dad gave me four of them!

 

Yuma LTVA, Winter 2025

Dale's daughter Karen and her husband Damon retired last year and began to travel in an RV part time. This past fall, they left freezing snowy Erie, PA and headed southwest to a warmer winter climate. After a slow paced cross country trip, they ended up in Quartzsite, where Dale spends much of his winters.

I got to have a short visit in December when I dropped Hanna off with them on my way to Disneyland for my annual Christmas trip. As we talked, I made plans to bring my Minnie out to camp with them in January. They told me they would be in the Yuma LTVA by then, and that made me happy. I prefer the Yuma area over Quartzsite mostly because of the more interesting terrain, but also the proximity to a city, Mexico and lots of fun things to explore in the area. So following the busy holidays and a couple of doctor's appointments, I made my way west. 

They had a nice roomy site, but all the level spots were taken. ;-) I found the best of the rest and with some maneuvering and a few big boards, I got to where I wouldn't roll out of bed. Evening campfires with S'mores commenced.

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The wind howled most of the time I was there, with just a few breaks late in the week. The first several days were the worst, and we mostly just retreated to our respective rigs to wait out the weather.

Hanna looks like she could take off and fly!

Dale's solar panels blew over one day.

Finally, four days in we decided to brave the storm and go for a hike through a slot canyon. I had never been on this kind of hike, and it sure was challenging walking over that rocky gravelly surface without twisting an ankle. But it was a very cool area and I now have that in my experience bucket. 

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A couple of days later, we visited the Cloud Museum. This collection of vintage automobiles and antique equipment was really interesting and we had fun wandering through and reminiscing on how our parents and grandparents managed to survive on that ancient technology.

An early model motor home, circa 1930s

Karen inside the old motor home

Karen played Post Mistress in the old P.O.

I'm sure glad we don't have to do laundry like this anymore!

My current sewing machine is a little more modern than this!

 

This looked like the old bus we moved from NY to AZ in.

On the way back to camp, we stopped at Camp Laguna Desert Training Center adjacent to the Yuma Proving Grounds. I couldn't help but reminisce about my trip with Nathan and Steven and how enthralled they were with the Minuteman Missile site near Badlands, South Dakota, so I took a bunch of pictures to send to them. They both responded "Cool!" which is impressive from teenage boys.

We had been dreaming of date shakes, and Martha's Garden Date Farm offered not only date delights, but also a tour of their 8000 Medjool tree farm and operation. We learned a lot about the labor and time intensive attention it takes to deliver those sweet "jewels" to their customers. It also gave me a new perspective on my own palm trees in my front yard. They don't produce edible dates, but they do share some of the same growth patterns.

I made Date Rugelach after I got home.

Late in the week, Dale, Damon, Gemma and I drove over to the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. Karen was coming down with a bug and stayed back at camp to sleep it off (more about that later.) The Visitor's Center was pretty nice, but not dog friendly so Damon waited outside with Gemma. The docent was very talkative and informative. After a few minutes, I went out to watch Gemma so Damon could go in and hear her spiel. Then we wandered around the grounds a bit and made our way along a one mile trail to Meers Bay off Martinez Lake. It was a nice afternoon and hike, and they all went back the next week after I left so Karen could see it, too.

The next day, Damon and I both came down with the same bug that had plagued Karen, and I decided to pack up and scoot home before I got too sick to make the drive. I got home in time to unload my Minnie, shower, and hit the couch for the next three days.

It was a great winter break, and I sure enjoyed spending time with Karen, Damon and Gemma. (Dale too, but I see him more often.) They have promised to come back out this way soon and camp again. I encouraged them to try it in the spring, summer or fall when we could all camp up on the Rim or in the White Mountains. Arizona has more to explore than just her beautiful deserts. It's definitely a four season state.

Note: Some of these photos (pc:kr) are Karen's, stolen from her blog, and posted with her permission.