THIS POST IS COMING TO YOU FROM CONGRESS ARIZONA….WE’RE HOME

NICE TO BE BACK IN ARIZONA’S GREEN SONORAN DESERT

Pheebs must have read my Wednesday post about her not being able to get up in my over the cab bunk.  This morning I somehow had a happy doggy full of slurpies in bed with me.  Don’t know how she got up there but all of a sudden there she was on top of me with her tail furiously thumping against against my bunk’s wall.  She was right proud of herself too.  Had us a big snuggle before I was able to climb out & down to the floor.  No climbing down for Pheebs.  She just jumped from the bunk onto the loveseat sofa below.  No problem.

  

First thing on my list this morning was to see if the Jeep would start.  It didn’t…..but it did.  Our Jeep has a manual transmission & to start it one must push the clutch all the way to the floor & then turn the key.  If clutch is not all the way to the floor nothing happens.  I had the clutch right to the floor but no go.  Keeping the key turned I let the clutch up a bit a few times & on one of those times the starter kicked in but Jeep didn’t start.  Battery was fine & starter was fine.  By carefully getting the clutch just in the right position by not putting it to the floor  I could sporadically start the Jeep.  Kelly got on-line & looked up that kind of problem.  Looks like it could be some kind of switch that makes contact with the clutch or something.  I don’t understand the mechanics of it.  What I did understand was that we could not take a chance going anywhere with the Jeep until the problem was determined & corrected.  And that led to a decision.

ARIZONA GAS PRICES IN QUARTZSITE

Far as we know there is only one garage in Borrego Springs that we have seen.  And that one garage is always hugely busy.  Being Thanksgiving Day we also figured the garage would be closed.  If we did take it there & a part was needed it’s not likely we could have had the Jeep repaired until next week sometime.  And that would leave us with unreliable or no transportation.  Although we had originally planned on staying in Borrego Springs longer we knew we had no choice but to head for home.  Far more convenient & logical to let the Congress Garage have a look at this week.  We hope to head back to Borrego Springs in March anyway.

I DIDN’T GET TO SEE OUR FRIEND BUTCH THIS TRIP BUT PHEEBS DID GET TO MEET BUTCH’S DOG KAPEESH

Want to thank folks for their suggestions in our comment section about the Jeep problem.  Especially KEN PRATT for his knowledgeable problem solving technique.  I definitely see an automotive background there.

STOPPED FOR A FREIGHT TRAIN IN MECCA CALIFORNIA

Took our time packing up & I think it was sometime after 9 we sadly rolled out of our site.  Next stop was about a mile down the road to say good-bye to Jean & Skip.  I had also hoped to see our old Borrego Springs friend Butch who was camped not far from Jean & Skip but Butch wasn’t home.  I wrote him a note on one of our Bayfield Bunch cards & walked over to his 5th Wheel.  Butch’s dog Kapeesh was home though & Pheebs & I got to talk to Kapeesh for a couple minutes.  Kelly had bumped into Butch in the grocery store but I didn’t get a chance to see him.  Said our good-byes to Jean & Skip but I think chances are good we will see them again this winter

It was about 10 a.m. when we pulled out onto California’s S22 highway, pointed Winnie’s nose East for Congress Arizona & put the hammer down.  Nice sunny day with warm temps & the traffic was lite.  Took the same route we took last time we left Borrego Springs.  North on highway 86 to Mecca.  Quick stop at Starbuck’s for Kelly & we were through Mecca heading East through Box Canyon.

ROLLING THROUGH MECCA’S BOX CANYON HEADING FOR I-10

Picked up I-10 East at 29 Palms Road south of Joshua Tree National Park.  Decided to stop in Quartzsite on the off chance K&B’s might be open.  Needed another LED light or two.  Turns out Quartzsite was pretty much a Ghost Town for Thanksgiving.  K&B’s was not open but of course McDonald’s was so we burgered ourselves. 

PROBABLY PRETTY HARD FOR MOST RV’ERS TO BELIEVE THESE EMPTY STREETS BELONG TO QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

 

HERE COMES KELLY WITH THE GOODIES COMPLETE WITH A DOGGY ESCORT

How nice it was to be back in the land of many Saguaros.  Soon as we crossed the Colorado River east of Blyth California we spotted our first Saguaro Cactus.  We were back in Arizona & we were back in the green desert once again.  Traffic thinned out as the afternoon wore on & we figured that was a direct result of Thanksgiving Day.  East of Quartzsite we turned North-East onto highway 60.  What a peaceful stretch of road this is as it lazily rolls across the desert floor heading in the direction of Congress.  Traffic is always lite on the highway & today it was virtually non-existent.  A left turn onto highway 71 East of Aguila had us on the home stretch as the days shadows were lengthening.  Pulled into our driveway here in Congress at 4:30 p.m. Arizona time.

 

A COUPLE COLORFUL BUSSES HEADING EAST ON I-10

What a nice feeling coming home to our little Adobe Digs.  I was so looking forward to a nice long spacious hot shower.  Well that is until I couldn’t get any hot water.  Had forgot that we had turned our water heater off when we left.  Dratts!!  Didn’t bother unhooking the Jeep but we did unload the rig.  That done, one of the first things I did next was to fill up the bird feeders.  We should have some happy Tweeters in the morning.  Surprised to see green grass growing.  But they did have a lot of rain here while we were away.  All my Cactus plantings looked intact as well.  In fact everything looked great.  Les had even planted a couple Creosote bushes/trees for us.  Noticed he had the Skunk trap set up right against the hole in our foundation.  Guess we’ll find out tomorrow what has been going on with our Skunk dilemma.

 

A GENUINE OLD TOWN ALONG THE WAY & BIG YELLOW BALES OF COTTON

GUESS THE SIGN SAYS IT ALL

Reflecting back to our past week in Borrego Springs we both agreed it was a roaring success for us.  Had a great time & the shake down cruise for Winnie the Bago went as well as expected.  We have a few changes to make as we fine tune things before our next trip but all & all we are 3 tiredly happy travelers tonight.

JUST FOLLOWING OUR OWN SHADOW HOME…CONGRESS STRAIGHT AHEAD

 

LAST STOP OF THE DAY BEFORE GETTING HOME WAS OUR LOCAL POST OFFICE

PHEEBS WAS SURE HAPPY TO GET HOME FOR A SNUGGLE WITH HER LITTLE PAL DUCKY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  More Ponderings:

-Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?
-Why do people who know the least know it the loudest?
-If the funeral procession is at night, do folks drive with their headlights off?
-If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?
-If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?
-When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?
-Should vegetarians eat animal crackers?
-If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
-When companies ship Styrofoam, what do they pack it in?
-If you're cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read all right?

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- 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.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.