Day 57, 58, 59 -

Sunday (57) - Another sunny, calm day and my roll of Eternabond tape came in. Back up on the roof to seal the other vent. I also noticed that the Dicor sealant along the edge where the awning is attached has some minor cracks so I will pick up some Dicor tomorrow when we go into town.

Monday (58) - Windy again but almost 70°F. I’m sitting at the pool enjoying the warm-ish breeze. We picked up, of all things, a sewing machine from Walmart. I checked Amazon and it was only $4 cheaper. Joanne’s was $70 more. We also picked up some curtain panels. The idea is to make up some new curtains for the windshield. The original ones look pretty dingy with water stains along the bottom probably from condensation. The original drapes are pleated and the new panels aren’t. We’ll see how they look. I could get pleat tape and hooks on Amazon it needed.

I just got notified by Amazon that the SeeLevel II tank monitor was not available in the Amazon warehouse like they indicated on their site.The cancelled the order. I could order from another vendor but they can’t get it here by the time we leave this location. And, like many other vendors, they won’t ship to Alaska…

Tuesday (59) - Not much going on. High cirrus meant that we didn’t reach very far into the 60s (°F) today. But at least it isn’t very windy. Zipped into Fort Mojave for some thread but somehow the list expanded to more items (coffee, tension rods, etc.). Hard to go in for only one item... The curtain project is just waiting for curtain header tape. Amazon claims delivery tomorrow but I doubt it.

It’s 6:50 and I just got back from the jacuzzi (for the 2nd time today) and feel completely relaxed. It’s the best feature of this RV park. 

Day 55, 56 -

Friday (55) -Yesterday afternoon, we rode the e-bikes down to Jack Smith Park which is a couple of subdivisions down-river from the RV park. The low water level was really evident compared to last year. The lower end of the boat ramp was on dry land by several feet. It was a  windy trip back.

Saturday (56) - It has been cold back home in Fairbanks the last couple of weeks. Not unusual but a good reminder of one reason we are opting to be in the RV in warmer temperatures. It may get cooler once the sun goes down but it’s still above freezing. And, I’m sitting outside without even a sweater typing this post.

Yesterday at the pool, someone was saying that they’ve been unable to ride their motorcycle due to the low temperatures and clouds. I was tempted to comment but managed to not say anything. There are a number of bikes here and rarely do I see them used. Sad...

I removed the main panel of the wet bay to get access to the black and grey tanks. I needed to measure their height since I plan to install a SeeLevel II tank monitor. The tank sensors are available in three sizes so I needed to know this height of the tanks. The black and grey tanks are both about 17” tall but only the upper 13” is flat enough to install the sensors. Since it is more important to know when they are full, the included 12” sensors are fine. The sensors are external to the tanks so they should be more accurate. The water tank is an “L” shape with the lower 10” or so the full width of the RV. Then it extends up for a total height of almost two feet. This tank requires two stacked sensors. 

Day 54 - Still in Needles

This picture was actually taken on Tuesday when it was pretty windy. But it was warm. At least into the 60s (°F). I didn’t go anywhere since I was waiting for the propane truck. I was trying to see how reliable the gauge on the tank was. It read just under ⅛. The gauge is accurate as it took 21.3 gallons to fill it back to 80% (22.9 gallons).

We had neighbors for a couple of days around New Years Eve. They had brought this sheet metal fire pit, some wood and an axe but decided that they wanted a Solo fire pit instead. They were just going to put it out by the dumpster so I asked if we could have it. They threw in the axe and the firewood. The axe looks almost unused. Incredibly generous of them! I’m getting ready to make some kindling. All we need is some newspaper and cardboard.

We will be here in Needles for another couple of weeks before we start to head east towards Texas. It’s been a long time since I was in Texas and it was all work related. We will be taking advantage of our Thousand Trails membership and have already reserved well into March.

Another thing, after seeing several YouTube videos on the service, I signed up with TSD Logistics for a fuel card. They opened up their long distance trucking fuel program to RVers to increase their volume and get better discounts. They send you a fuel card and PIN that works at truck stops (truck lanes only) and TSD Logistics get charged for the fuel. They then debit you for the discounted price. They negotiate discounts with the different chains and you use an app to find the negotiated price so you can shop for the best deal. I was skeptical for a while but other RVers, including some that I have confidence in, are reporting significant fuel savings averaging around 65¢/gal. On 75 gallons per fill up, that adds up pretty quick. Other users on the FB group are reporting the best discounts are at Love’s and TA. I’m looking forward to not only the discount but not having to go into the store to pre-pay for the fuel.

Today was another windy day but we rode the bikes around a bit. The electric motor made the headwind less of an issue.

Day 53 - 2019 Review (Part 2)

Happy New Year!

July - The month started out with a camping trip to Eklutna Lake north of Anchorage. This was a camp out arranged by Gary and Stacy of Pau Hana Travels. Later in the month, we thought that we found an affordable used diesel pusher coach that checked off most of the boxes for us. It was at a dealer in GA so Bridget and I spent a few days north of Atlanta to check it out. Thank you Lori and Chris for your wonderful hospitality.

August - I drove the Prius down to Oregon with most of the stuff for the new-to-us RV. I then flew to Atlanta with the intent of picking up the 2005 Mandalay 40E. The dealer didn’t have it ready even though they had 5 weeks to get it checked out. Again, thank you to Chris and Lori for putting up with me. I would not recommend this RV dealer.

September - After a nine day delay, I headed west from northern Georgia to Corvallis, OR, where I had left the Prius and Bridget flew in with two dogs and a cat. We met up with friends Brad & Brandy, and Lynne & Jerry in Salem before we began our snowbird trip. After a few days in Sunriver, OR, where we met up with Ginny and Dave, we headed east and south through Idaho and Utah. There was snow in the forecast for Montana and Idaho.

October - After escaping the frosty weather and threats of an early snow, we stayed in southern Utah/Nevada/Northern Arizona. My son and Alyssa drove out all the way from MN to spend several days with us exploring the area. We went to Las Vegas for a couple of days before heading back to Utah to meet up with Dom & Martha, and John & Renee. We hiked in Zion before heading to Lake Powell. We went to Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon that everyone probably has on their bucket list. From there, we continued south to the Grand Canyon and finished off the month in Tucson.

November - We continued south from Tucson to Benson and stayed for a couple of weeks. I went back home for several appointments and picking up some things I forgot to pack. While in Benson, I arranged to have the cooling system on the coach worked in Tucson on as the engine would get close to overheating on just about any grade. Even the modest 2% grade from Tucson to Benson. After the repair, we headed west to Quartzsite to see how this new-to-us coach did boondocking. No more overheating!

December - After our boondocking “test” we headed to Casa Grande, AZ, for a couple of weeks then on to Needles, CA, where we are spending the holidays. This coach does fine for short dry camping stays but really prefers campgrounds and RV parks. Being 41½ feet, it likes level spaces and smooth roads. And even though the tanks are all much larger than those on the 5th wheel, they filled up twice as fast. Based on our “test” we probably won’t be adding significant solar and we decided to purchase a Thousand Trails membership.

That’s about it for the year in review. 294 blog posts in 2019...