2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 45

Day 45, Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

A cool morning, 40°F at 6:00AM. I put on long pants & long sleeved shirt as well as my vest for my morning walk. After breakfast I read for a bit, then nailed down my outdoor mat. After lunch I set up the Clam. Since 31MPH gusts are predicted for tomorrow I staked the pop out handles as well as the bottom corners. Even with all that I've had it fold up a couple years ago at Quartzsite.

Site 10 With Clam & Mat

I sat out and recovered from all that hard work, reading on the Kindle. I finished Robert Galbraith's The Hallmarked Man, and started Terra Incognita by Connie Willis.

I would have done laundry & filled the empty propane tank, but the Oswego Health Physician's Care billing department was going to call back to let me pay at least one of their doctor's bills. Unfortunately, while I waited all afternoon, by 5:00 EST she never called.

Dinner was Shrimp Tacos from the Roadrunner Bar & Grill. Three excellent tacos with a choice of corn or flour tortillas, and two large bowls of beans & rice. $21.00. The place certainly classied up from what it was before they shut down for a year to remodel. The barge portion is actually level! A large bar & a separate area serving food which was closed when I got there around 4:00. They still took orders at the bar from their menu, both for the tables & to go.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 47

Day 47, Thursday, December 4, 2025 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

A warm night, only going down to the high 50's, and 60°F for my morning walk. Still a bit of wind, but less than yesterday.

I filled up the truck at Running Man 2 for $3.04 a gallon, then took my empty propane tank to Marathon & filled it at $3.39 a gallon. Stopped at Walmart on the way home & picked up a couple of things. They only had the small bottles of Grape Zero Gatorade, but I bought some anyway. 

Back at the trailer I read for awhile. I finished listening to Joyce Carol Oates Evil Eye, and downloaded Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

Dinner was a couple of grilled chicken thighs along with left over rice and beans from Tuesday's Shrimp Tacos.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 46

Day 46, Wednesday, December 3, 2025 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

Another cool morning at 48°F. Still, few clouds so it warmed up quickly. 50°F for my morning walk & 61°F by 11:00. 

I read moat of the morning after breakfast, then gathered my clothes for a trip to the laundry. I went to the Kofa Laundromat which I prefer to the 16th St laundromat. $2.00 to wash in a standard top loading machine (they do have a few large load front loaders) and 8 minutes per $.25 to dry. For my three washer loads in 2 large dryers it took 40 minutes to dry on high. 

I finished Terra Incognita by Connie Willis, and started Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler while waiting for my clothes to dry.

The plan was to grill a chicken thigh, but by the time I got home from doing laundry the predicted 30MPH wind gusts were happening. It is suppose to be less windy tomorrow so I'll wait on the chicken until then.

Dinner was a Lean Cuisne Sesame Chicken Bowl.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 44

Day 44, Monday, December 1, 2025 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

A warm night, only going down to 61°F. It was 63°F and windy when I went for my walk. I wore shorts & a "T" shirt - should have stayed with the long pants and a long sleeved shirt. 

Around 10:30 the big Class A pulled out of site 10 & I moved in, my shortest move of the trip. I have a much better view out the back window - while there are a few RVs between me & the Colorado River, I can see quite a bit of it. 

While I usually do photos of other things, I did take a selfie of me with & mostly without beard:

Before

After

After lunch I headed to Walmart. Busy, as usual with a 10 minute wait at the check out. Still can't find grape Gatorade Zero in the half liter bottles, but the rest of my list went well.

Back at the trailer I read for a bit. Can't seem to get into Robert Galbraith's (J. K. Rowling) The Hallmarked Man, but I waited so long that I feel like I should finish it. I enjoyed most of the other Cormoran Strike novels, so I'm not sure why this one isn't working. I finished listening to First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston and started listening to Evil Eye by Joyce Carol Oates.

Starting today and for the next two months, the daily price for my site works out to $14.00. Lots of lawn since it is a corner site, but unfortunately, it is on the wrong side of the trailer. Still, it is a nice large site with a picnic table that already has a cover. I checked the propane tanks and my project for tomorrow it to get the empty one filled.

Site 10

Dinner was an Amy's Enchilada Bowl.

Until Next Time - 

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 43

Day 43, Sunday, November 30, 2025 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ - 204.7 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

Not as cold in Apache Junction at 40°F this morning, but the furnace ran enough to pull the batteries down to 32% or -222 amp hours according to the Victron battery monitor, the lowest they have been since they were installed. By the time I reached Parker they were back to 52%, and with the converter connected to a pedestal, up to 62% by dinner.

I packed up the trailer and headed out to Parker, AZ. One of the reasons I made a 2 day reservation (well, I thought I made a 2 day reservation) was to avoid driving on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Actually, the traffic wasn't too bad. Of course I 10 through Phoenix was busy, but no stop & go and it settled to comfortable driving after the I 10 got down from 7 lanes to 2. I got a call from my son - the hot water is back on. 

I stopped at the Safeway in Parker for a couple of things, then headed to the park. I checked in and am in site 74 for the night which is a pull through across from site 10 where I'll move to tomorrow. Water & electric on gravel with 2 picnic tables, both on the wrong side of the trailer. Level enough to work without lifts or unhooking. $38.50 for the night. The average cost will be far less per night when I move to site 10.

Site 74

I went for a walk since I had skipped my usual morning one. The Roadrunner bar & cafe is open and much improved over what it was the last time I saw it open (it was closed the last time I was here). 

Back at the trailer I made my usual Sunday phone calls, and shaved off my beard.  Well, not completely off, but buzzed to a #3 with my trimmer.  It had reached a length that, rather than getting longer, just curled more & more and felt like a Brillo pad on my chin.  

Dinner was a P. F. Chang's Chicken Lo Mein bowl.

Until Next Time -