Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Travel

RV Gas Run

Image: All done with fueling and getting ready to back up the RV drive

Blogging has been sparse as of late, mostly due to an ongoing problem with home repair since June. That problem, which is now completely resolved, will be discussed in detail and will be posted in a subsequent blog later in September.

Given that we’re going to be traveling to Albuquerque in October (only about six weeks from this post date) to witness the annular solar eclipse in October, we’re getting the big RV ready for the trip. It has been idle in its parking spot in the RV drive behind the house for too much time (I am embarrassed to say how much time). So, today was the day to fire it up and head to the gas pit to take on some fuel.

I say the RV has been “idle” which is not exactly the case since I have a weekly chore where I fire up the diesel engine once a week for fifteen minutes or so and I fire up the 6KVA generator once per month. We check the fluids, air pressure the satellite TV receiver and several other functions just to make sure all is well. We have had some maintenance done in place with Air Conditioning and Awning Repair, and one big electrical problem.

So, after running the engine for all this time, we have been getting Zero MPG, but the big guy was getting down to the red arc on the fuel gauge thus requiring a trip for Diesel. I went through the preflight checklist and got the RV ready to go to the station for some fuel. The price of diesel, of course thanks to Bidenomics, was upward of $4.68/gal today, so I used my reward points from Safeway/Chevron to get the first 25 gallons at a $1.00 discount. I only put 25 gallons in (the tank holds 90 gals) and when I get another ten reward points on my Safeway card I will put in another 25 gallons.

So the big guy is again on the RV drive where we will be getting it ready for the upcoming excursion to Northern AZ and Albuquerque. We also might be upgrading the tires, since they have had some hard time sitting in the Arizona Heat and Cold. Nothing lasts very long in the elements here. More on that when it’s time.

29 Aug 2023 by Notions Retirement Travel Wanderlust 0

Motorhome Navigator Upgrade

Now that we have resolved some of the issues with our Thor Palazzo 35.1 Motorhome, we are anxious to get back on the road with it. We have a trip planned to head over to Bullhead City, AZ and then to Williams, AZ and return, which will keep us close to home in case we encounter additional latent problems with the RV. Hopefully, these (if any) will not be show stoppers, but things we can note and get fixed back home.

The original GPS we purchased for the motorhome is a Garmin Nüvi 2797 which is still operational and a very good unit with a companion smartphone app that works through bluetooth. We might have been content with keeping this unit which has served us well, but we had a bug planted in our ear by a You-Tuber we watch, Traveling Robert, who mentioned the RV-specific features provided by some of the new units.

I did some research and found that Garmin’s RV series GPS units have the RV-specific features we were looking for. We purchased a Garmin RV 1090 10 Inch GPS Navigator which has the RV specific features we were looking for and more. The most important features relate to where an RV can safely navigate, avoiding sharp switchbacks and low pass bridges, etc. I opened the box (left, clickable) and after updating maps and software via WIFI (no computer attached), I plotted out some routes to see how things worked. One feature is when you search for campgrounds, the unit already knows your RV dimensions and will show those places where you are going to have no trouble.

So now, we will be cleaning out the RV, mounting the new GPS up front, draining the black tank bleach solution and recharging it with the chemical packs plus some other things that need to be done before getting back on the road. I’m anxious to see how the new RV 1090 unit performs.

13 Aug 2022 by Technobabble Travel Wanderlust

Safe Arrival at Home

Cactus Wren on Saguaro Buds

We’re safe at home today, after a five week absence. We drove from Bullhead City over to Kingman and then down US 93, also called the Joshua Tree Forrest Arizona Highway, but there is lots more to see along that scenic route going from I-40 down to Wickenburg. Damsel and I are happy to be at home again, having missed our beautiful retirement home. Our two small dogs seem equally happy to be getting back in their routines.

The Cactus Wren in the image above was waiting on the big saguaro out front to greet us. It is our State Bird perched on the buds of our State Flower. Click on the image to enlarge.

09 May 2018 by Critters Flowers Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Camping at the Colorado River

Camping at the Colorado River

Tonight, we’re camped at a neat little RV park right on the Colorado River in Bullhead City, AZ. The campground is less than 300 feet away from the river where we enjoyed the view that Damsel captured in the image above. It is a lot warmer here than we have had during the entire trip with the mercury hitting a bit over 100° at check in time this afternoon.

Yes, we’re finally back to our home state. We got here by a circuitous route designed to avoid Las Vegas metro area. From Beatty, NV, we went down US 95 Veterans Memorial Hwy and actually went back into California along CA 127 to Baker, up I-15 a ways and across again to Searchlight, NV, Laughlin, NV and finally arriving here in Bullhead. There is always plenty of beautiful scenery along all the desert highways. We had sunny weather and a pleasant drive with only some minor gusty wind conditions in mountainous areas.

Our plan is to head home in a couple of days after relaxing here and enjoying the summer-like weather in the RV resort. The RV’s dual A/Cs keep the temperature comfortable inside.

Click on the image to enlarge.

07 May 2018 by Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Next Camping Spot – Beatty, NV

Hills near the campground

Our route from Hawthorne, NV, took us along Veterans Memorial Highway (US 95) through Central Nevada. We drove through several little farming and mining towns along the way. Tonapah and Goldfield were the most interesting.

Tonight and tomorrow night we will be here in Beatty, another old mining town but with casinos being the main attraction these days. The image above is the view directly across the road from the campground. Click on the image to enlarge.

05 May 2018 by Retirement Travel Wanderlust

Eight Years

Eight YearsEight years ago today was the first day of retirement for me. Almost immediately, Damsel and I set out to begin looking at places where we could relocate outside of Kalifornistan. Within a week we were in Southern Arizona on a combination of vacationing and looking at potential places to eventually live.

That first trip wasn’t very fruitful other than us having vacation fun in places like Pima Air Museum Tombstone, Mission San Xavier del Bac and Saguaro National Park. Arizona is a very scenic and interesting place.

We took a couple of other trips in the early part of 2010 with more serious focus on relocation. We finally decided on Wickenburg after some research and having visited here several times. We made a deal for some property and after some delay in getting financing, construction on the house began late summer of that year.

It’s coming up on seven years that we have been happily relocated to our retirement home. With continued good health and our nest egg holding out, we expect to have many more blissful years of retirement here and on the road.

01 Oct 2017 by Arizona Retirement Travel

Phoenix Metro at Rush Hour

Metro at Rush Hour

Due to missing a turnoff when returning from Mesa, AZ, Damsel and I encountered the daily Phoenix Metro area rush hour traffic. Damsel snapped this photo as we crossed AZ State Route 51 in heavy traffic. Had I made the turnoff from Loop 202 to Loop 101 as originally planned, we could have saved a lot of time and aggravation rather than merging onto I-10 with everyone else.

Our purpose for visiting Camping World of Mesa started out to be a look and see of their diesel motorhomes, but it wound up with us making a commitment to purchase a new RV. We will post more about that next week when we take delivery.

Other than the messed up traffic, look at the beautiful, clear day the Valley was having. Click on the image to enlarge.

20 Jan 2017 by Arizona Travel

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