From Spirit Mountain Casino March 25th 2016

From Spirit Mountain Casino March 25^th 2016

My two days at Bear River included a trip to the Loleta Cheese factory. Production was closed the day I went but I bought some olives and a chunk of cheese( neither particularly discounted) and saw a bit of the countryside.

 

On the 20^th, I returned to an old favourite, breaking into the routine of a casino-only trip by stopping over at Cape Blanco State Park (N42 49.871 W124 33.011) for a couple of days. From there, I hiked out to the lighthouse, went into the town of Port Orford to find the Crazy Norwegian’s closed for the day but the other celebrated restaurant, Griffs by the Dock, right down on the docks, was open so I had a mediocre oyster dish and some good chowder, neither in the “best of the world” category.

Three Rivers Casino, Florence OR (43 58.831 124 05.250) was the next stop, a couple of hours north. Here, one encounters very friendly staff, an excellent and well priced buffet and a small lake with park-like surroundings by extensive, level parking lots

This may be the “new” best Casino location so far because it offers most of the features that we “casino campers” require for our free nights on the road. Patrons check in as usual with Security to get a four day pass that can be extended if one has enough activity on one’s Player’s Card, meaning, if you don’t play than you will have to move along. With the Player’s Card, one gets $10 worth of free play, so I decided to take the plunge and play poker on a slot machine. In the end, I had several staff members surrounding me as they all tried to explain how the system worked. It is not enough to understand a little about poker, which I think I do, but rather the method of accumulating credits and points on one’s card, pressing he correct buttons to make sure one doesn’t blow one’s entire “budget” on one roll of the cards, as well as having an understanding of the distinction between “card credits” and actual cash credits, the former of which can be used to obtain discounts in the restaurant, parking extensions etc. At the time of this writing, I am up $1.26 in total after 45 minutes on the machine. It doesn’t take long for the eyes to get bleary. Even the button-pressing- finger/wrist is subject to carpal tunnel syndrome – this on top of the numbness created by long hours behind a steering wheel.

Local news outlets recount that at Cape Kiwanda, just north of were I am camped at the Three Rivers Casino, deaths of at least 7 people in the last 11 months, including one a few days ago have been reported. At an average age of 19, teens ignore warning signs and a fence to walk out on a high sand dune at the top of a cliff and (being invincible) fall to their deaths into the water. There, they either drown or are never found. Sounds to me a lot like the avalanche issue at ski areas.

 

From Three Rivers, I continued up the coast to Lincoln City, and then took Highway 126 over to Spirit Mountain Casino. From there, I haven’t decided if I will go along the Columbia River to Boardman County Park (an annual favourite) or head north up 97 to Ellensburg and Yakima, both of which have as yet undiscovered casinos for me to try out.

 

And - for those who have been asking, on March 23^rd,, I filled up with diesel fuel in Florence, a fishing town on the coast of Oregon and home of the Three Rivers Casino. The price was $1.69 per US gallon. On the same day, according to Gas Buddy, the lowest price for diesel fuel in the Salmon Arm area was CDN $0.899/litre = CDN $3.39 per US gallon, times US exchange rate @ .758 = US $ 2.57. This is a little bit higher than some of the diesel prices in Washington State (the highest on my travels), though quite a bit higher than Oregon (the lowest on my travels). Fuel prices have dropped quite a bit since late November as I remember filling up then in Omak, Washington for US $2.71/gallon.

 

March 24^th, I set records by visiting two casinos. Just up the coast from Florence is Lincoln City, OR, one of the larger towns on the coastal highway. There, I dropped in to check out the Chinook Winds Casino (44 59.954 124 0.353). The entry was a little difficult, turning left off the very busy 101 at a traffic light onto a side street, thence into the casino parking areas. These are all over the place but there is a special one for RVS. This has steeply angled parking, so I didn’t really like it right off the bat. The best thing about this place was the surf. Huge waves were crashing in to the beach, something I could watch all day – this almost changed my mind about staying but I didn’t. The casino itself is huge with a hotel and conference center included in the main buildings. Walking through the buffet on the second floor, I was quite impressed at the selection – everything looked very good. Luckily, I wasn’t having lunch so managed to escape without adding further to the girth.  

About an hour away to the east, at Grande Ronde on Highway 18, Spirit Mountain (45 03.582 123 35.013) is another of these large casinos, run, possibly, by the same Indian tribal corporation as Three Rivers and Chinook Winds. Parking lots were nice and level with RV-sized painted lines, so I had the slides extended and satellite dish up in very short order. The best thing about this place may be that it has a dump station and fresh water spigot at the back of the parking lot.

There is also a big-rig friendly Shell Station on the premises. Though prices are not rock-bottom, they do have a propane-fill-up station – pretty well everything that a casino-camper could desire. The usual routine of signing in at Security, then obtaining a Player’s Club Card at another desk applied here, just as at most of the other places I have visited. There is a free shuttle that one can call by intercom from any of several covered kiosks in the parking area. However, to maintain my svelte figure, I hiked the 200 metres back and forth to the casino. Enjoying the excellent dinner buffet ($15.95) at 5:45 on a Thursday in March, I went in without waiting; however, the line-up was quite long when I came out. My server was quick to offer a drink but omitted to give me any cutlery. When she did bring a knife and fork, she forgot a teaspoon (for my trifle dessert) - nor was there any offer of coffee. Other than that, the variety and quality was excellent and I am staying over an extra night because Fridays feature the seafood buffet (more expensive than the regular fare).

One small item of curiosity – the Players Club lady told me that I would have to go back to Security to get a new Parking card as I had filled mine out with black ink. Apparently the casino has a “policy” of using only blue ink. I questioned Security about this and asked if it took a lot of people at a meeting to make such a decision and did he know why? I may have mentioned that I was in the early stages of writing a book about strange happenings along the Oregon coast and this would certainly qualify. He allowed as how he did not know the reason and couldn’t think of any management types who might know the origin and reasoning behind the black-ink-ban. He did tell me, however, that at his former place of employment (a private prison), they (employees) were restricted to using only black ink and no blue, the opposite of Spirit Mountain. This was also chalked up to “policy” so note to those out there involved with Customer Service training – never quote “policy” and try to have a reason for anything you do – that is much more satisfying for guests and probably as well for staff who might be inclined to think that some senile god is sitting out there on a cloud flipping coins to see whether their organization should favour black or blue ink.

I wrote this update on a Friday morning and as I sat at the computer, shuttle buses, like sharks, were being very attentive and circled the RV parking lots every 5 minutes or so. Maybe there was some important revenue-producing event that I should have been attending but I chose, instead, to save my energy for the seafood later on.

Pics:

178 Loleta Cheese Factory

180 Flowery Shrub near Gill’s

183 Coach and surf

184 Rocks and surf

186 trees at Cape Blanco

196 Cape Foulweather Barque

200 surf at Chinook Winds

202 Spirit Mountain entrance

203 Me at Spirit Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Bear River Casino March 17th

From  Bear River Casino/Hotel Fortuna, Northern California south of Eureka.

With my departure from the Cummins dealership in Bakersfield, the saga wasn’t over. I had made the turn entered the freeway and almost had a full head of steam when there was a loud bang and, in my mirror, I could see and object flying off into the distance, there to be trampled by any of a variety of semi tractors and cars. Not even knowing whether this was me but suspecting the worst, I pulled over and got out. Sure enough, the forward driver’s side compartment door was missing. It had self-released (opened) and either caught the wind or been hit by a passing vehicle. In any case, the door was missing. Twice, I circled the route using off-ramps and on-ramps until I finally found it, still recognizable on one side as a hatch but quite messed up on the inside. I had to wait about 15 minutes before there was a gap in the traffic so I could run out and retrieve the door. Then, to add insult to injury a pickup towing a trailer ran over the door right in front of me. The door now sits as a guest inside another storage compartment and the aperture is covered with some plastic screening and Gorilla Tape that I found at a nearby Lowe’s store. Insurance People, both ICBC and my Global Warranty (peace of mind – bumper to bumper security!) denied the claim, though ICBC did call me back to say that because of my longstanding loyalty, they would support a claim but charge me an equivalent amount in premiums over the next few years. I guess if the total repair runs into thousands, this might be worthwhile but not if it is for only a thousand or two. Along with my flu-like cough that I picked up in the desert, I reckon that that is now three strikes for this expedition, so I should be good to go.

 

I couldn’t resist the urge to visit the coast and look at 33’ waves (mentioned in the last report). The weather has improved, winds have died down and my casino trip is now in full swing. From Bakersfield, I went north to Lemoore, home of the Tachi Palace Casino (N36 14.214 W119 45.396), a Vegas-like place with hotel and Convention Centre along with the actual casino. There I spent three nights in their well lit, paved parking area, visited almost every 15 minutes by a security cart or shuttle driver wanting to know how they could be helpful. I did check out the regular Monday buffet and, while the price was right, the buffet was mediocre. Closed for the next few days, I had no further reason to go inside. This is an excellent stopping place, though, for Northbound campers and not far from a Lowe’s store for sourcing duct and Gorilla tape for making RV repairs. I have discovered an excellent website called, appropriately “Casino Camper.com”. It lists RV friendly casinos, gives the location a bit of commentary and allows site members to add their blurb. I am now a member and shall contribute my two cents worth on each casino that I visit.

 

Over to I-5 from Tachi and a long haul up central California. I decided to circumnavigate the San Francisco Bay area, brave freeway traffic and stay on mostly flat roads. That means (for those who follow) highways 12, I-80, 37 and 101. The traffic, indeed, was terrible but only once I reached 101 north of the cities. Then, all of a sudden, as the clock rang 5, everybody was gone, presumably having better things to do than experience freeway gridlock. The next casino in my GPS was Coyote Valley (N39 15.127 W123 12.426), not far from Willits, a destination of some renown whereat I was snowed in to the Safeway parking lot on a previous voyage. No such trouble this year as temps are very summery, even at night. Coyote Valley is a casino that had planned to rebuild years ago but never quite managed to get into the blueprint or out of the tent stage. Being an Indian Casino, maybe this is natural but the charm of the tents (Cover-Alls) was more reminiscent of the plow-truck sand repositories on Roger’s pass than a true Teepee. Added to that, the parking lot entry was filled with huge potholes, so I had to be quite cautious. Once there, I set up in the back 40 on a relatively flat dirt lot. Because of its location at the end of a hectic day on busy roads this casino falls into the “any port in a storm” category. Not everything was negative, however. They had a brand new service station with truck sized RV diesel pumps, at which I was the first customer – ever! Diesel was also the cheapest anywhere in California at $2.06/gal.

 

What I thought was to be a short haul over to the coast to my next stop, the Bear River Casino (40 37.711 124 12.390), south of Eureka at Loleta, turned out to be longer than one might think due to winding, slow roads. Perhaps the most scenic part of my trip, I would recommend this road to anyone as it passes along the mighty Eel River Valley, over a summit or two and through several Giant Redwood groves. Bear River Casino is quite modern and the only downsides, so far, would be that:

·         the parking lots are sloped at about 3%, more gradient than the airbag-levellers on the coach can accommodate but still not enough to turf me out of bed and:

·         Security check-in takes place on arrival, then one takes one’s approval notice to Player’s Club desk, shows ID again, gets a Players Club Card and returns to Security for a final signature.

This is an unnecessarily complex system invented by employees concentrating on Security and Marketing aspects of the job, not by anyone with an inkling of good, common sense

 

Next morning, I rolled myself out of bed to discover that the parking lot tilt hadn’t been too severe after all. Fog and a light drizzle were the first signs of a coastal climate – rather pleasant for one who hasn’t seen many clouds at all in the last few months and useful for clearing off grasshopper remains from the windshield. Dinner at the Bear River Casino was good as it was prime rib night but they didn’t offer a buffet. I might just stay over an extra day to visit the Loleta Cheese factory, not as world-famous as the Tillamook one further north but, I’m told, one can get good bargains on “seconds” (well made but poorly cut pieces). For this side-trip, I have to unhook the Jeep, taking care not to run myself over in the process as it is on a downslope.

 

Bear River is a good location from which to set off and explore the rest of the coast. One passes into Oregon after half a day, not that that makes any difference as the roads are equally serpentine and the views just as impressive (once the fog lifts).

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 12th 2016 from Bakersfield Cummins Dealer

From Bakersfield, Ca. Cummins Pacific dealership parking lot (35 21.248

118 57.244)

When last heard from, I was camping at Roosevelt lake north of Globe, AZ. Lyn and Linda Michaud were there as well and we enjoyed a number of hikes designed to see a few sights, get my heart pumping and hips aching. After the Michauds departed, I went for a day trip on my own to the Coon Creek (aka Haemetite) Ruins. This was well worthwhile on my third attempt to locate them as the ruins are well preserved but rarely visited, being quite difficult to find and to access up a number of rough Jeep trails and a hike.

And on the subject of Jeeps - it is full, not only of dust from my backroad travels but also mice as my traps have caught 4 of the little critters, all, no doubt, bound and determined to eat critical parts of the Jeep wiring. It (the Jeep) has also developed a number of squeaks, possibly more mice but more likely loosened bolts?

Feb 25^th I left Roosevelt Lake and drove back to Plomosa. En route, I received a text message from Susan Brugger asking if I wanted Walt to reserve a boondocking space above them on the trail with their VW. There it was, a shining beacon gleaming in the distance from the highway below. Walt and Susan were out to greet my arrival. The site chosen is actually one ridge west of where I was in December/January

The phone signal was a bit better than the lower site (-87, T-Mobile) but Verizon jetpack signal only just passable, occasional and 1X weak)

 

The weather quickly turned very hot, up to the low F 90s (C 33) on a few days, and remained so long enough that I started to think that I should make tracks to the north earlier than my planned date of mid-March. Technically, with my coach, I could run the air conditioners with the generator but that defeats the purpose of boondocking, so I didn’t.

In preparation for my trip north, I made a list of Oregon/ Washington Casinos in case the urge to make a purely “casino” camping trip came upon me.

Finally, I did decide the heat, winds and blowing sand were enough for me and pulled the Plug on Plomosa Road March 10th. Walt and Susan left the same day to visit Lake Havasu for a few days, then on to Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve for them.

The first casino on my list was going to be Tachi Palace in Lemoore, CA but I didn’t quite get that far and stopped, instead, at the Golden West Casino in Bakersfield, Ca. This was a drive of close to 7 hours and, as fate would have it, proved to be a fortuitous decision. The small parking lot was a bit of a tight squeeze for me but I managed to nestle in to about 8 spaces under the watchful eye of a friendly security guard. This casino, I discovered, was not operated under the auspices of Indian tribe regulations as are most in the south. Therefore, it did not have slot machines but rather a large number of tables for poker, blackjack, craps and baccarat etc, It turns out that the Indians have a monopoly on slots (one armed-bandits without the arms any more) and anyone else has to settle for table games. Anyway, not there to gamble, I had a beer and a sandwich at the bar and went “home” to watch TV. The “fate” component intervened the next day when I took off for what should have been a short jaunt to the Tachi Palace in Lemoore but had to pull over on the side of the freeway as I had all the warning lights and buzzers telling me to stop when I was no further than 10 miles out of Bakersfield. I quickly assessed the problem and determined that the engine had lost all its coolant (anti-freeze) and was overheating. This was above my pay grade, not something I could deal with, so in to BCAA went the call and a giant tow truck was dispatched to the rescue from Bakersfield. I had been eying the cloud and wind that had been forecasted and just as the truck arrived, winds at 40 to 50 mph and torrents of rain combined into one hellish deluge that made one think there might be better places to stand than on the downwind

From Bakersfield, Ca. Cummins Pacific dealership parking lot (35 21.248

118 57.244)

When last heard from, I was camping at Roosevelt lake north of Globe, AZ. Lyn and Linda Michaud were there as well and we enjoyed a number of hikes designed to see a few sights, get my heart pumping and hips aching. After the Michauds departed, I went for a day trip on my own to the Coon Creek (aka Haemetite) Ruins. This was well worthwhile on my third attempt to locate them as the ruins are well preserved but rarely visited, being quite difficult to find and to access up a number of rough Jeep trails and a hike.

And on the subject of Jeeps - it is full, not only of dust from my backroad travels but also mice as my traps have caught 4 of the little critters, all, no doubt, bound and determined to eat critical parts of the Jeep wiring. It (the Jeep) has also developed a number of squeaks, possibly more mice but more likely loosened bolts?

Feb 25^th I left Roosevelt Lake and drove back to Plomosa. En route, I received a text message from Susan Brugger asking if I wanted Walt to reserve a boondocking space above them on the trail with their VW. There it was, a shining beacon gleaming in the distance from the highway below. Walt and Susan were out to greet my arrival. The site chosen is actually one ridge west of where I was in December/January

The phone signal was a bit better than the lower site (-87, T-Mobile) but Verizon jetpack signal only just passable, occasional and 1X weak)

 

The weather quickly turned very hot, up to the low F 90s (C 33) on a few days, and remained so long enough that I started to think that I should make tracks to the north earlier than my planned date of mid-March. Technically, with my coach, I could run the air conditioners with the generator but that defeats the purpose of boondocking, so I didn’t.

In preparation for my trip north, I made a list of Oregon/ Washington Casinos in case the urge to make a purely “casino” camping trip came upon me.

Finally, I did decide the heat, winds and blowing sand were enough for me and pulled the Plug on Plomosa Road March 10th. Walt and Susan left the same day to visit Lake Havasu for a few days, then on to Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve for them.

The first casino on my list was going to be Tachi Palace in Lemoore, CA but I didn’t quite get that far and stopped, instead, at the Golden West Casino in Bakersfield, Ca. This was a drive of close to 7 hours and, as fate would have it, proved to be a fortuitous decision. The small parking lot was a bit of a tight squeeze for me but I managed to nestle in to about 8 spaces under the watchful eye of a friendly security guard. This casino, I discovered, was not operated under the auspices of Indian tribe regulations as are most in the south. Therefore, it did not have slot machines but rather a large number of tables for poker, blackjack, craps and baccarat etc, It turns out that the Indians have a monopoly on slots (one armed-bandits without the arms any more) and anyone else has to settle for table games. Anyway, not there to gamble, I had a beer and a sandwich at the bar and went “home” to watch TV. The “fate” component intervened the next day when I took off for what should have been a short jaunt to the Tachi Palace in Lemoore but had to pull over on the side of the freeway as I had all the warning lights and buzzers telling me to stop when I was no further than 10 miles out of Bakersfield. I quickly assessed the problem and determined that the engine had lost all its coolant (anti-freeze) and was overheating. This was above my pay grade, not something I could deal with, so in to BCAA went the call and a giant tow truck was dispatched to the rescue from Bakersfield. I had been eying the cloud and wind that had been forecasted and just as the truck arrived, winds at 40 to 50 mph and torrents of rain combined into one hellish deluge that made one think there might be better places to stand than on the downwind side of a six-lane freeway with heavy traffic consisting of semi-trucks swaying along spraying water into our faces. The “our” part of the sentence above was shared with the tow operator who soon decided that getting under my coach to hook things up was going to be far too difficult, possibly dangerous under present circumstances and not as attractive an option as refilling the reservoir with water and seeing if it would hold long enough to make it in to the Cummins dealer (the “fortuitous” part) conveniently located back in Bakersfield. This proved successful; engine temperatures remained stable, so here I am at the time of this writing, camped at Cummins, plugged in to their power receptacle and about to spend the weekend in a paved lot until the mechanic returns on Monday to search out the problem leak. Hopefully, this will all go on the extended warranty insurance policy that I purchased at the time of picking up my coach last October. As I said to the lady who was dealing with my “case”, I really don’t have a schedule and one paved parking lot is much like another, only without the gambling or buffets in this case. Gambling is not one of my pleasures and buffets can be replaced, either in-house or down the road at a Denny’s Restaurant.

For the second time in a year, my I-phone has gone on the fritz. Standing around getting soaked on the highway, I had the phone in the pocket of my shorts, a reasonable place, one would think. It only got damp this time as opposed to swimmingly wet last summer when I actually did take a dip with the phone in my pocket. Anyway, right now it will only type certain letters, but I can still talk to text or e-mail if necessary, so not the end of the world. Once again the baggie with rice is in play to try and dry out the phone and bring it back to its former self.

 

My new neighbour here at Cummins is a large motorhome, similar in size to my own. He was towed in to the slot next door in the night having suffered a flat tire and a loss of oil pressure, both at the same time. It took his tow truck driver two hours to disengage the drive shaft on the coach and another two hours to reattach it in our parking area. This is costing upwards of $1000.00, a good reason to have a towing policy with someone. He does have Good Sam but is not sure if they will cover the entire bill. Our problems are similar – he with oil, me with coolant. My towing (just escorting duty) cost nothing and we’ll see if I am as lucky with the coach coolant repairs

Also on the fortuitous front, it was of interest to read on the Internet about high wind and surf warnings along the Oregon Coast, my intended destination. Waves (surf) peaking at 33’ are predicted and flash floods along with road washouts are possible, all this coming to a head Sunday/Monday with weather and road conditions beginning to improve next week – maybe a good thing to have returned to Bakersfield where all is calm at the Cummins dealership.

 

           

side of a six-lane freeway with heavy traffic consisting of semi-trucks swaying along spraying water into our faces. The “our” part of the sentence above was shared with the tow operator who soon decided that getting under my coach to hook things up was going to be far too difficult, possibly dangerous under present circumstances and not as attractive an option as refilling the reservoir with water and seeing if it would hold long enough to make it in to the Cummins dealer (the “fortuitous” part) conveniently located back in Bakersfield. This proved successful; engine temperatures remained stable, so here I am at the time of this writing, camped at Cummins, plugged in to their power receptacle and about to spend the weekend in a paved lot until the mechanic returns on Monday to search out the problem leak. Hopefully, this will all go on the extended warranty insurance policy that I purchased at the time of picking up my coach last October. As I said to the lady who was dealing with my “case”, I really don’t have a schedule and one paved parking lot is much like another, only without the gambling or buffets in this case. Gambling is not one of my pleasures and buffets can be replaced, either in-house or down the road at a Denny’s Restaurant.

For the second time in a year, my I-phone has gone on the fritz. Standing around getting soaked on the highway, I had the phone in the pocket of my shorts, a reasonable place, one would think. It only got damp this time as opposed to swimmingly wet last summer when I actually did take a dip with the phone in my pocket. Anyway, right now it will only type certain letters, but I can still talk to text or e-mail if necessary, so not the end of the world. Once again the baggie with rice is in play to try and dry out the phone and bring it back to its former self.

 

My new neighbour here at Cummins is a large motorhome, similar in size to my own. He was towed in to the slot next door in the night having suffered a flat tire and a loss of oil pressure, both at the same time. It took his tow truck driver two hours to disengage the drive shaft on the coach and another two hours to reattach it in our parking area. This is costing upwards of $1000.00, a good reason to have a towing policy with someone. He does have Good Sam but is not sure if they will cover the entire bill. Our problems are similar – he with oil, me with coolant. My towing (just escorting duty) cost nothing and we’ll see if I am as lucky with the coach coolant repairs

Also on the fortuitous front, it was of interest to read on the Internet about high wind and surf warnings along the Oregon Coast, my intended destination. Waves (surf) peaking at 33’ are predicted and flash floods along with road washouts are possible, all this coming to a head Sunday/Monday with weather and road conditions beginning to improve next week – maybe a good thing to have returned to Bakersfield where all is calm at the Cummins dealership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

144: Ruin construction

154: Hiker’s lunch

155: Brittlebush

156: Me on highway before storm

157: empty coolant reservoir

161: Two coaches awaiting service

           

Feb 17th 2016 Windy Hill Roosevelt Lake

February 17^th Windy Hill Campground/Coati Loop/ Roosevelt/Lake Tonto National Forest (N33° 39.445’ W111° 04.877’)

A very sad and shocking occurrence - My friend Dick Forer, part of our golfing crew at Salmon Arm, was discovered dead in his trailer in an RV Park in Casa Grande, south of the Phoenix area. Only a few days before, he had stayed with me in his fifth wheel trailer up on Plomosa Road where I was camped. We hiked the desert and spent two days wandering around the Quartzsite RV Show. To all outward appearances, he was fit and healthy, so to suddenly die came as a real shock. An autopsy is being done but I have no idea of the results or cause of death. His daughter, Annette and her husband Frank flew down to deal with matters and take the truck and trailer back to their home in Airdre, Alberta. I came over from Plomosa to assist them in preparing Dick’s trailer for the trip.

 

After my week-long stay at Val Vista RV Park in Casa Grande, I went over to visit the Obornes, Darch and Catherine, in Apache Junction. Squeezing my coach into their curving driveway was quite a challenge but, with guidance from Darch and the loss of a few prickly pear cacti lining the drive, I made it. There I stayed a few days and enjoyed some hikes and a bike ride in the local desert, always uphill with Darch but, since every uphill has a downhill to follow, there must be a balance. I enjoyed the thought that I must be getting fitter by the minute.  

At the time of this writing, I have shifted camp to Roosevelt Lake.

East of Apache Junction/ Phoenix and North of Globe AZ, Roosevelt Lake is a reservoir formed by the Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River.

 There are over 1000 campsites spread over several campgrounds here. Windy Hill is very attractive with trees and shrubbery plus ample space between different campsites. Water is available at various spigots located throughout, there is a central dump station down the road a few miles and no power means that solar users like me are right at home. Unfortunately, generators are allowed to run 24 hours and there is one guy who actually does run his generator all night. What he is up to other than falling asleep in front of his TV or running an oxygen machine is beyond me but I can hear him in the distance. The noise doesn’t really bother me but his closer neighbours must be unhappy and “Handy Bob”, were he here, would be apoplectic. Also, cell reception is marginal at Coati Loop whereas other loops have quite acceptable signals. Washrooms with solar heated showers round out the facilities and are nicely hot in the afternoons. Every day is a sunny one here and temperatures this week are climbing into the mid to high F 80s (C 30s) (low 90s in Phoenix, according to the radio). I shall be hiking at a slow pace – if I can slow it down any more than I plod already, wearing my sweat band and carrying plenty of water.

 

From Roosevelt, a number of back roads and hiking trails spread out (perhaps I should say “up” since everything goes up from here). I am camped with Lyn and Linda Michaud, who are avid hikers. They drag me up a selected trail every day, sometimes accessed by their truck, sometimes, if access roads are of the “unimproved” variety (really rough), we go by Jeep, which can travel pretty well anywhere. I think this activity is good for me though there are moments on the uphills when the heart palpitates and I feel as if I might gasp myself to death. On steep downhills, the hips remind me that my operation was only months ago, not years. Anyway, the complaints disappear overnight and I am usually ready to roll the next morning. Some of the outstanding features of the Roosevelt area are the canyons that descend from a high escarpment across the lake. These have been created by water erosion over the centuries. Comprised mostly of reddish brown quartzite (no relation to the town which added and “s” to distinguish itself from the rock), some of the walls must be close to 1000’ of sheer rock. A few of these canyons are popular with “canyoneers”, people who slide and hike the smooth rock surfaces underlying water in the creeks, swim or wade across pools, and rappel down waterfalls as high as 80 feet. We were just sightseeing from the outlooks above but I could see this as having been a sport for me 40 or 50 years ago. We met some guys who had biked to the bottom of ‘the Jug” trail and back to the trailhead. They said that the water flow was a little strong for safety and postponed for another day. At least their single track descent (600’) to the canyon floor must have been entertaining.

As of today, Lyn and Linda have moved off to Deadhorse State Park in Cottonwood, thenceforth back home to Turner Valley south of Calgary.

 

My mom has had some difficulty hearing on her telephone this winter, so I have arranged to get her a special phone with a “hearing enhanced” earpiece. The audiologist visited her and delivered the new unit, at which time, we conducted a trial with me and my cell phone. In order to do this, I drove up the road to the Tonto Info Center where there was an excellent signal and managed to speak to my mom. In her present state, the conversation was limited to when I would come to visit. Any talk of Arizona camping or activities here at Roosevelt Lake just confused her. In any case, I’m sure she was glad to hear my voice, as I was hers.

 

This past weekend has been Presidents’ Day long weekend, with quite a few campers, a fishing derby and lots of people around. Now, they seem to have disappeared leaving just me and an older couple across the loop in their motorhome, plus large numbers of gambel’s quail who wander around bobbing their heads and seem to have little purpose in life other than to walk in circles, run across open spaces from bush to bush and cluck a lot.

 

Also on the wildlife front, I had a mouse inside the Jeep passenger area. He/she/it was dining on my paper towel roll that I keep under the seat. One night of hunting and the mouse succumbed to the jaws of my trap. I have noticed that many people in the campground, including Lyn, keep the hoods of their vehicles propped open whenever parked. This is to deter packrats, who, given their druthers, prefer dark, enclosed nests rather than open spaces from which to sortie out and dine on car wiring.

 

As mentioned, there are a lot of attractions at Roosevelt, so I am staying one more week to see if I can cover a few more trails. At the beginning of the week, the snow line was at 4100’. Hot weather has now pushed that up to about 5000’, so there is little fear of getting stuck in a drift.

Pics:

            55 Windy Hill Coati loop Camp

            69 Jug Trail to Salome Canyon

            74 Lyn and Linda at Oak Hill TH

            81 Mystery Canyon

            97 Salome Canyon

            102 Small waterfall and pool

            106 JW living on the edge

            109 Parker side canyon

 

 

January 21st 2016 From Plomosa Road 16.6/1.7

From Plomosa Road January 21^st 2016 (33 53.193 /114 03.166)

 

On Dec 23^rd, I left the endless water supply, sewer connection and shore power at Hickiwan RV Park, next door to the Tohono O’odham Tribal Casino at Why and moved the 3 miles to Gunsight Wash, where I stayed for about 10 days before travelling back to Plomosa, from where this note has been penned. Gunsight is quite different from Plomosa in that the desert floor is flat with a very fine gravel, almost sandy, surface and there is plenty of vegetation in the form of ironwood and palo verde trees as well as the ever present creosote bushes, along with a multitude of other shrubs. Camping at Gunsight was quite social as I had Lyn and Linda Michaud for company much of the time, enjoyed Christmas dinner with them, did a little exploring of the countryside by Jeep and on foot, plus went in to Ajo for a round of scrabble with Gayle Weyers where I took advantage of her weakened condition and distraction from too many phone calls to squeeze out a rare victory. At some stage, Ted Webber from Las Cruces, NM, came along, just as the Michauds were leaving, so Gunsight was never short on camping companions. We hiked a little almost every day, went to lunch at Marcela’s in Ajo a few times and visited Jeanette Nichols for coffee one afternoon.

 

Plomosa Road is about a three and a half hour drive from Gunsight, so easy enough for one day. However, I made a stop on the way at Saddle Mountain RV Park in Tonopah, a highway interchange and not much more on I-10. Several years before, I had heard about the Hot Springs at this place. Called El Dorado, there is a public pool area where clothing is not only not “optional” but lack of same is mandatory. In addition, several “private” tubs in fenced off areas offer, according to the young lady who was shilling the benefits of the place, an “anything goes” environment – all for only $10. Tempting, this might have been but I suddenly remembered something I had to watch on TV so scurried back to the RV Park. Occasionally, even a dedicated boondocker like me has to stop at a Park where one can hook up to water, power and sewer, replenish some tanks and empty others, do a load of laundry and get ready for the next few weeks of camping in the desert. 

 

Plomosa is quite different from Gunsight. Being situated between the Plomosa Mountains and valley floor below on a gently sloping plain, camp areas are located along several ridges that offer fairly level spaces. Here the surface is gravel with some varnished rocks and, if one is lucky, bits of deep red jasper. My camp sits up on a height of land so views are expansive and one can see for miles to the next ridge of mountains 20 miles away, as well as down to the booming metropolis of Bouse where the new Dollar store might be the main attraction. At both Plomosa and Gunsight Wash, the featured performances of each day would have to be spectacular sunrises and sunsets with skies glowing in all colours of the spectrum.

 

The Quartzsite RV Show, about 25 minutes away, takes place every year in January and attracts over a million RVers, most of whom dry-camp in the surrounding desert areas in their ”rigs”. These range from huge motorhomes to small tent trailers, so one sees quite a mixture of lifestyles. In addition, many of the desert rooftops display a sea of solar panels tilted up to the sun, though some, like mine, are flat to the roofs, so I don’t have to climb the ladder and crawl around on my knees to tilt the panels. On the downside, one receives less power from the sun. Others chose to run generators to keep their TV sets operating but camping in one form or another is being done on a large scale. All these people descend on the normally sleepy little town of Quartzsite to wander the markets and spend their money on gadgetry for their “camping” pleasure.

Ted and I had agreed to meet back on Plomosa and do our rounds of the big circus tent, try to keep our wallets in check and see what all the vendors had to offer. Meanwhile, over in Quartzsite, one year is much like another at the show but it is always entertaining to wander around in the midst of crowds of people doing one’s best to avoid colliding with baby carriages hauling small dogs and trying not to knock over ancient little women blinded and weakened by the dazzle of LED light bulbs and the smells of fabulous new-age steamers preparing vegetables or meats in half the time it took to do the same thing two years ago - all “as seen on TV”! This year, I spent my hard earned cash on t-shirts (mine keep shrinking or I keep stretching), a step for the motorhome entrance, a hitch receiver damper to keep the Jeep in line behind me, several LED lights, a broom/squeegee that can clean tiles, carpets, dogs, windshields and much more. Passed up but very attractive options would have been a memory pillow, a 400 lumen flashlight, hiking boots like the ones worn by “our troops” in Afghanistan and a used sofa-bed that may or may not have fitted in the coach. At the time of this writing, the show still has a few days remaining, so I can go and splurge some more, if absolutely necessary. Ted has gone to camp at the Long Term Visitor Stay (LTVS) area near Quartzsite (he likes to be able to walk to the action and doesn’t mind camping with hordes of other eager participants, a bit like the marmots at my cabin, now that I think of it). Recently arrived and also recently departed has been Dick Forer, my golfing friend from Salmon Arm. He is en route to an RV Park in Casa Grande but stopped for two days to camp with me and enjoy hiking around the RV Show.  

 

Arizona is well known for its sunsets but, if one rolls over in bed, the sunrises are often equally spectacular. In fact, at this time of year, the sun pokes its head up at about 8.00, so it’s a pretty leisurely schedule. I generally wake up fairly early but see little point in actually getting up to waste power and fuel on my fancy heating system when I can just stay in bed where it is always warm. At this point in the winter, outside overnight temperatures are still not far above freezing and the coach interior is only slightly warmer until the sun shines in through the large front window, at which time things warm up nicely.

 

The Verizon Jetpack that I bought in late November does not get a signal here on Plomosa, so I am gong to have to drive up the road a bit in order to send this e-mail. Attached, will be a few photos - Some are pictures of the motorhome as it is the most photogenic object that I see on a regular basis – along with the sunsets.

Less photogenic are pics of me with Ted and also with Dick Forer, in front of our respective RVs as well as a shot of a frequent lunch stop in Quartzsite: 

25 me at Gunsight Wash

28 JW and Ted ready to hike

34 Bad Boys Café in Q.

37 Sunset at Plomosa

 

38 Dick and JW with suitcase solar panels