Saturday, October 18, 2014

MORNING DESERT WALK & I MANAGED TO GET THAT BIG MOSSMAGATOR OF A MUD FLAP OFF THE RIG

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THIS IS NOT ONLY A FAVORED WALKING AREA FOR US BUT IT IS ALSO A FAVORED JEEPING AREA WHERE WE CAN JUST GET OUT & GO FOR MILES & MILES & MILES

We actually made it out into the desert this morning without setting off a hull-a-balloo of dog barking.  Problem was we were too late in starting our morning walk & by 8 a.m. it was already getting too hot for we Canadians.  We plan to be out an hour earlier Sunday.

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KELLY & PHEEBS COMING OUT TO JOIN ME FOR OUR MORNING WALK

I think if we would have had the rig’s inverter problem fixed we might have headed for higher altitudes & cooler temperatures.  Hadn’t planned on taking the Big EEE to Phoenix for that inverter fix until next month sometime.

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I LIKE THE SOUND & SMELL OF HORSES NEARBY

Kelly’s cold is slowly clearing up but she is having trouble with tiredness & fatigue.  We won’t be straying too far from the house in the near foreseeable future.  I worked at trimming trees again this morning but by 10 o’clock I had to beat a hasty retreat inside to our cooling tabletop & ceiling fans.  Definitely not looking forward to an even hotter week next week.

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VIEW FROM MY CHAIR AS ARIZONA’S MORNING SUN STREAMED THROUGH THE WINDOW INTO OUR LIVING…THAT’S MY SUNKEN BEDROOM WITH THE LAMP & RED CHAIR

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MY TREE TRIMMING BRUSH PILE IS GROWING   

Noticed we had a new Blog Follower this morning.  jolenemacinjax joins us as we begin our 9th winter season of travels & home life in Congress Arizona.  Welcome aboard Jolene & here’s hoping we can continue to hold your interest over the coming months:))

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LOOKS LIKE WE ARE OUT IN THE COUNTRY HERE BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE’RE NOT & WE DO HAVE NEGHBORS AROUND US

Well it took me a bit of gruntin & a whole lotta sweariin mixed with about half a dozen body contortions under the rig plus a vice grips & a healthy dose of liquid wrench to get the job done but I finally did it.  Got that big 50 pound solid heavy rubber Mossmagator of a mud flap off the Big EEE.  After reading a comment a couple days ago it became crystal clear to me how that mud guard caused the Jeep damage.  Air passing under the Motorhome hits that full width mud guard which has only about 4 inches clearance off the road & is directed immediately downward.  Easy to understand how that blast of air concentrated on the gravel only inches below easily kicks up a vortex of stones & debris.  With that flap off air can now move freely under the rig from front to back unobstructed.  We never had a wide mud flap on the back of any RV we’ve ever had & despite travels on gravel roads we never so much as put a dent on any of our 2 tow vehicles.  Also easy to understand is how gas mileage will now improve.  No big heavy wind drag at the rear of the coach.  Thanks to readers for clueing me in on this mud flap road sweeper problem.  Well done folks & much appreciated:))

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NICE CLEAN UNOBSTRUCTED AIR FLOW UNDER THE MOTORHOME NOW WITHOUT THAT BIG HEAVY MOSSMAGATOR SINGLE PIECE ROAD SWEEPING MUD FLAP

Sarge (HUDSON HORNETS) dropped in Friday afternoon.  He & Jackie are the folks who helped us move into our Congress house.  John (Sarge) is just finishing up his 44 treatments for Prostate Cancer & has himself a real positive attitude about the procedure he decided on.  Living in a Congress sticks & bricks now their Class A Motorhome came in real handy for the length of time all those treatments have taken.  They drove it up to Prescott & stayed in an RV Park to make the daily treatments at the Prescott Hospital more readily accessible.  Sarge has been expressing his thoughts about his procedures on Facebook in hopes anyone else out here with that same problem may see his posts & find some answers to some questions they may have. 

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WE HAVE HAD THE JEEP THROUGH THOSE FAR AWAY MOUNTAINS HALF A DOZEN TIMES & AS SOON AS THIS HOT WEATHER ENDS WE WILL BE OUT THERE AGAIN TO SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE

And for any newbies or seasoned RV travelers you will probably find Paul & Marsha’s post from WHERE'S WEAVER interesting.  Statistics for the past 5 years Fulltiming laid out in a detailed manner at the end of their post including financial costs & mileage figures as well as fuel costs per year.  Someone has spent a lot of time with attention to detail tracking all the numbers.

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WASN’T SURE IF I WAS GOING TO HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO TURN OUR NEARLY 37’ MOTORHOME AROUND ON THE PROPERTY BUT AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE TIRE TRACKS IT WAS NO PROBLEM

Had the Critter Cam set up Friday night & by golly we caught us a couple Critters alright.

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THE PUSSY CAT ON LEFT IS WELCOME BECAUSE IT HELPS CONTROL THE MOUSE POPULATION BUT THAT ODOROUS GENTLEMAN ON THE RIGHT IS GOING TO HAVE TO FIND HIMSELF SOME NEW DIGS!!

Until the weather cools off & we get’s to feeling a bit better I may not have a whole lot of things to write about or photograph in the next little while so hang in there dear faithful readers & we’ll see if we can’t kick up something different & remotely exciting soon.

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AND THIS GREAT AREA IS ONLY A BLOCK BEHIND OUR HOUSE

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Our young daughter had adopted a stray cat. To my distress, he began to use the back of our new sofa as a scratching post. "Don't worry," my husband reassured me. "I'll have him trained in no time."  I watched for several days as my husband  patiently "trained" our new pet. Whenever the cat scratched, my husband deposited him outdoors to teach him a lesson.  The cat learned quickly. For the next 16 years, whenever he wanted to go outside, he scratched the back of the sofa!!

12 comments:

  1. Those huge mud flaps may look nice to some people but I believe they do mare damage than good.
    You have mud flaps right behind your duals thats all you should need. Thats all we have other than a a dirt skirt.

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  2. Mow see I'm in the camp that thinks the mud flap all the way across the back helps keep the stones off of the toad... I have never had anything on a toad vehicle since installing the flap... Mine is at the very back of the vehicle and if it did stir up stones, they would have passed under the jeep since its only the distance of the tow bar to the bumper... As far as fuel economy, not much bothers the diesel... It gets what it gets no matter what the problem is.. Wind, toad.. rough road... Still get about 9 mpg..

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  3. It's good to know about the mud flap. I always thought they were suppose to help keep rocks from damaging a toad.

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  4. Yep, I too believe the big mud flap helps keep the stones etc from hitting my truck behind. I have pulled it over 30,000 miles without any problem like that. However that said, I don't do gavel roads if I can help it.....
    I also had 35 of those radiation treatments for my Prostrate Cancer,,,it helped for a couple years, but it came right back, as it had gotten out of the Prostrate gland and into my body. It has now settled in my bones....stage 4, But with new meds the dr thinks he might get me 4-5 more years. Heck Al, this ain't hot, you should have seen July and Aug...whew!!!:-)

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  5. sounds like a today was a productive one! nice photos of the area as always!

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  6. Your place is looking so great! Hot is better than cold and damp! Can't wait to get on the road! Take care!

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  7. I too felt the huge flap was for protection....guess we'll find out, won't we... :-) Are you going to install smaller mudflaps behind each wheel?

    Good luck and hope that solves your stone problem. Must say, I never saw damage like your Jeep suffered...YIKES!

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  8. We removed the mud flap and use a Kar Guard from Blue Ox. It is a screen that goes over the top of the tow bar. We have had a few problems with it, but no rock damage. Problems? We made a tight U turn and bent it a little. Working with Blue Ox to work out a fix.

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  9. Put that big white tiger out by the skunk hole at night Al. That'll scare the lil' blagart away.
    Can you please post Sarges facebook link. Be interested in reading his about his teatments.
    We are heading out next week and after a visit to Gaffney and Red Bay we'll be pointed west and won't stop til we see cactus....big cactus. Get well fast Kelly.

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  10. Al, I checked Weather Underground and they report high temps in the 80 to 85 degree range in and around Congress, AZ. And of course, it's a "dry heat." I hope you are not expecting a lot of sympathy from those of us who are still "up north!"

    ;-)

    Enjoy.
    Bob

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  11. Mike McFall...hugs to you and yours...Keep the faith...And..I also was of the belief that those mud flaps were to DETER from toad damage...I don't get it, but I guess we will find out if we travel with you two in EEE.

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  12. I'm looking forward to being warm even though it's not quite as hot in Yarnell as Congress.

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