MY TIRED LITTLE CAMERA BUDDY
When I was out with Max at 4 a.m this morning I was heartened to see stars overhead in a clear Moon filled night sky. Picked up my spirits right away & believe you me, my spirits sure needed some picking up after Saturdays long frustrating day.
I must admit there are definitely some nice perks at an RV Park. A limitless supply of water & lots of electricity are the two big things. That means longer showers with lots of water & a chance to run our electric heaters. Even fired up my electric shaver this morning & had a go at trimming up my shaggy beard. Electric shaver 1. Beard 0.
I would give the METEOR CRATER RV PARK on the south side of I-40 west of Winslow a definite two thumbs up. Very nicely landscaped & well kept park. Big double compound dog area. Gas & Diesel pumps with a nice bright & spacious igloo styled office, general store, some RV parts, free coffee & friendly hospitality.
YEP, I PARKED A LITTLE CLOSE TO THAT PINE TREE ALRIGHT
We took on water, dumped tanks, picked up some fuel & were mobile by 9 a.m. Decided to take the 5 mile drive south of the Park to have a look at the METEOR CRATER SITE. Pulled into a large parking lot alongside about have a dozen other visiting RV’s. Thought we had smelled propane a few minutes earlier & when we stopped the smell quickly became stronger. We had switched our fridge from electric back to propane this morning & for the second time the fridge must have failed to ignite. Kelly quickly shut off the water heater & pilot light. We opened the door & all windows & vents. Jumped out & shut off the propane valve on the big tank. Smell was still strong so I jumped back into the drivers seat & immediately pulled out of the parking lot away from the other rigs in case we had a problem. Figured it would be good to get air moving through the coach. It worked & all fumes were dispersed. Stopped in the RV parking lot near I-40 & turned the main tank on again. Kelly tried the fridge propane/electric switch & this time the igniter worked. It’s the second time in a month we have had that propane ignition problem.
THE UPHEAVED EARTH OF METEOR CRATER CAN BE SEEN AHEAD WHILE A GROUP OF PEOPLE WALK ALONG THE RIM
We climbed aboard I-40 heading east for a propane fill up at a Flying J in Winslow Az. Flying J’s are not one of my favorite places & this one was a good example of why. Couldn’t believe how badly designed this one was. The parking lot was a large game of musical vehicles weaving & bobbing & jockeying for position. I couldn’t believe they had the propane station in a gas & diesel island lane & then added a dump station in the mix as well. What a jumble of mass confusion for everyone. Took us over half an hour to finally reach the propane station while the 3 RV’s ahead of us fueled up & one guy beside us dumped his black tank into a totally filthy fuel island pipe. Sure glad to get out of there.
WAITING FOR PROPANE BEHIND A RIG REFUELING WHILE OFF TO THE RIGHT ANOTHER RIG DUMPS HIS BLACK TANK
Windy day again as we bucked our way east on I-40 until reaching the highway 191 exit ramp heading North. Nice to finally get off the Interstate for awhile. Up until heading north on 191 the scenery had been really boring since leaving Kingman Saturday. Flat land with shallow rolling hills & few trees. Reminded me some long drives we’ve had in Texas.
We lost the little bit of sunshine we had way back in Winslow earlier in the morning & the further north we went the thicker the cloud cover seemed to get. The drive up to Chinle was far more scenic than our previous drive on I-40. Nice to see trees & greenery again along with some high Mesas. Because the hills were higher on northbound 191 & the valleys lower, our Chevy Vortec engine had to put in a little bit of overtime today.
ON HIGHWAY 191 NORTH HEADING FOR CANYON DE CHELLY
Reached the town of Chinle about 1:30 & was surprised to find it bigger than I had anticipated. We headed straightaway for Canyon De Chelly’s (pronounced De Shay) Visitor Center. Picked up some brochures, local information & directions to the Cottonwood Campground just below the Center. CANYON DE CHELLY
KELLY CHECKS FOR A WIFI SIGNAL FROM THE THUNDERBIRD LODGE AT TOP RIGHT OF PICTURE
This is a free campground with no amenities like electric & water. It does have paved roads & reasonably level paved sites . A picnic table & BBQ are included. And the campground does have a dump station. No Verizon signal here so we looked for a site fairly near the Thunderbird Lodge. We had inquired about that at the Visitor’s Center & were told we could tap into the Lodge’s Wifi if close enough. It’s a bit slow but at least we’re online. Don’t know how I will make out publishing the blog with photos later on but guess I’ll find out. There is a Burger King in town with Wifi so if I end up with a load of pics over the next few days I may have to head myself on over to BK for a midnight hamburger:))
OUR PRESENT SITE AT THE COTTONWOOD CAMPGROUND JUST OUTSIDE OF CANON DE CHELLY
Joe & Nancy over at the RVING BEACH BUMS have themselves a new Jeep & have been out getting a little desert dust on themselves up around the Wickenburg area. Always like to see people with a sense of adventure about them.
Sure am feeling better today than I did by the end of yesterday. Those long days on the road mixed with a poor night’s sleep sure makes for a crusty old Cursmudgeon alright!!
GROANER’S CORNER:(( And a few thoughts on marriage…..
-Marriage is not a word. It is a sentence--a life sentence.
-Marriage is very much like a violin; after the sweet music is over, the strings are attached.
-Marriage is a thing which puts a ring on a woman's finger and two under the man's eyes.
-Marriage certificate is just another word for a work permit.
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The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.
on the propane issue, it might be some scale that has fallen from the inside of the exhaust stack. Pull the cover and there should be an inspection plate that you can open and see the pilot light and burner. See if any scale has fallen down and blocking anything, you can normally blow it away. We've had that problem a few times over the years.
ReplyDeleteI share your feelings about Flying J, and I doubt I will ever pull into one again. They have too little space to maneuver among all the concrete barriers and islands. I have found that Shell stations are usually smaller, very few patrons at one time, and much easier to go inside and pay and be on your way. I also avoid Pilot and Love stations for the same reason.
ReplyDeletea bad day in an rv is still better than a good day at work!..glad today was a better day for you all..love the 'keeper of the camera' photo!!
ReplyDeleteenjoy the ammenities!!
Cora definitely wins the prize for cute photo of the day. Glad you solved the propane problem - that's scary stuff.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are feeling better, loved the photo of Miss Motormouse. We won't stop at a Flying J--never--every one we ever went in was a zoo even if only filling up a diesel pickup, so we've crossed that company off our stress list! And, hey, that groaner is a bad one says Janna!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessin' you didn't get to tour the crater...Boy that is very interesting. We toured it about 15 years ago...One thing about that kind of tour..it doesn't change over the years..Glad you are parked, safe and sound..Keep an eye on the Propane, though..YOWZA
ReplyDeleteAn established campground two nights in a row?? Wow! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad that bad day is behind you and you can enjoy the Canyon. We don't travel with the propane on. Since most of our days are only about 200 miles or so we don't have a problem with the food in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteGood work on tracking down the propane problems... gotta keep on top of that one... We never did get a chance to go and see the meteor crater... maybe this year...
ReplyDeleteOne thing we NEVER do is travel with the refrigerator on propane! Too easy for something bad to happen. The fridge stays cold for as long as we travel anyway, so no need to operate it. We are so anxious to get back to Canyon de Chelly -- we saw that MANY years ago while still (shudder) working. Suzy's Mom was with us, and she was convinced some ancient Indian guy was making eyes at her and would soon approach her with amorous intentions!
ReplyDeletethat is scary about the propane,hope you have some better weather now. I like the new picture of Kelly in her red jacket.
ReplyDeleteThe fridge on my RV frequently fails to ignite on propane, but it always shuts off if no flame is detected in 30 sec or so. (I match light it.) I thiought this feature was standard for years. (Mine is 15 years old.)
ReplyDeleteOMG - I totally agree with you two (and Gypsy and others) re: Flying J's!! When I saw the photo of the approaching tunnel, I could feel myself starting to experience a 'worst nightmare' feeling!! What a day you two had. Glad you pulled into Meteor Crater RV Park though. I stopped there heading in the early fall last year on my way down from the Monument Valley area. If you have the chance, make a stop at Gooseneck State Park in Mexican Hat. I was fascinated with the shape of the landscape there. I'm sure you can do much better with photos of the 'gooseneck' shapes than my little Canon did. Enjoy your stay in that area!
ReplyDelete