2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 80

Day 80, Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 38 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

51°F overnight & 53°F for my morning walk. Heavier clouds than yesterday but still some sun peeking through. After breakfast I did my usual reading, mostly inside. 60°F by noon with a high for the day of 67°F.

I got a call from my son Kyle. The whole house stand by generator wasn't standing by. The generator folks said they need parts and will be back when they come in. Meanwhile, no stand by generator. 

I wandered over to the dry camping area and tried to fix a problem with Lorraine's 12/12-18 Victron DC to DC converter. It appears to be dead with 14.6V on the output (connected to the batteries) and no Bluetooth or power LEDs. While some parts of the manual seem to indicate that it can be programed through the app without being connected to 12V input, other parts indicate that there must be at least 12V on both input & output. We will have to hook up the truck to see if that helps.

Dinner was left over stew. The meat didn't magically get more tender, but it still tasted OK. I froze one batch and will have the other tomorrow.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 79

Day 79, Monday, January 5, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 37 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

52°F overnight & for my morning walk. A few thin clouds, but for the most part clear and sunny. The high for the day was 71°F.

After breakfast I sat outside & read. Last night I finished The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches and started As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust, #7 in the series.

A little before noon I headed to Loren's Classic Barber Shop for a hair cut. $24.00 before tip. After that I stopped in at Food City to see if they had replenished their stash of Grape Zero Gatorade; no such luck. I did pick up what I needed to make a stew.

Back at the trailer I read for awhile, then started the stew. I'm used to slow cooking stew, but since I have an InstantPot I decided to try its method. I dusted with flour & saluted the meat, then added all the vegetables except the peas. Set the InstantPot on Stew & it pressure cooked the stew for 40 minutes. Waited 10 minutes for the "natural" pressure release, then added a cup of frozen peas. Five minutes later added watered cornstarch to thicken and left it on "keep warm" for 10 minutes. 

The result - Vegetables were fine but the meat really needed long, slow cooking, still a bit tough. I used store labled stew beef, which you never know the cut, but when I make it my usual way store stew beef always ends up tender. We will see how it does on the second day; stew is always better as seconds.

Obviously, stew was dinner.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 78

Day 78, Sunday, January 4, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 36 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

A little cooler at 51°F overnight, but since I slept in an extra hour and there was plenty of sun it was up to 64°F for my walk.

Back at the trailer I did some reading. I finished Alan Bradley's de Luce #5 Speaking From Among the Bones, and started #6, The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. Since it was nice I did most of my reading sitting outside.

I took a break from reading to make some of my regular Sunday phone calls. While the internet says Oswego got 4' of snow, Kyle said they only got a couple of feet over a couple of days. He does appreciate the heated handles on the snow blower. Unfortunately, the one they have at work doesn't have heat but at least it runs. He is in a building that has lots of steps so much of the outdoor time is spent with a shovel.

After lunch I made a run to Walmart for some supplies & food. Very crowded, with long waits for folks with full carts. Even the self check outs had long lines.

Back at the trailer I put stuff away and headed for the showers. I went to building #6 just for something different. It is about the same distance from the trailer as building 9, but while the shower itself is OK, there are no shelves or benches in either the drying area or the shower. Makes it tough to store a shaving bag, soap dish, etc. The shower floor is dryer (after you shut it off) than the drying room even though there is a shower curtain. I don't remember what I gave it the last time I used it, but it couldn't have been better than a C.

Back from the shower I sat outside & read. It made it up to 79°F by late afternoon. The sun ducked behind heavy clouds around 4:00 so I headed into the trailer.

Dinner was a Chef Ramsay Chicken Pot Pie. First time & pretty good particularly for a microwaved pot pie. A puff pastry crust that is not greasy like most pot pies.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 77

Day 77, Saturday, January 3, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 35 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

56°F for both a nighttime low & for my morning walk. Still fairly heavy clouds with little sun. I'm getting lazy & had breakfast at the Black Pearl. Stuffed French toast; very good, as usual.

Back at the trailer I got a call from the town clerk with the amount for my local taxes. Oswego has separate school & town/county taxes, the school in October & the county in January. With the USPS Informed Delivery email I could see a photo of my tax bill envelope, but of course, not the amount. There is an on line tax record but the 2026 tax bill isn't posted yet so I left a message for the tax collector to let me know how much I owe. Taxes in Oswego are pretty low compared to most of NY, and I get a $30,000 exemption on my property value as a Viet Nam combat veteran so they are even lower. Of course having a little less than an acre & a 1000 sq ft house helps as well.

Since is still a bit cool to sit outside at 59°F and no sun, I read inside. I finished Bradley's I'm Half-Sick of Shadows and started #5 Speaking From Among the Bones. Still listening to Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol audio book during my walks.

When it made it up to 63°F I sat outside and read. Still lots of clouds and no sun. Around 4:00 I went to the water kiosk for a gallon of filtered water (for $.25). Cheaper & easier than going to the store. The high for the day was 64°F. Lorraine, a fellow Escape owner that I run into at many rallies is set up in the dry camping area. She had asked for an electric & water site, but discovered that they gave her a water only one. Noisy with all the generators, and water only doesn't make much sense since most don't drink the water (salty). The dry area is away from the river, but quieter.

Dinner was a Bubba Chicken Burger & more of the Bush Beans. A 22 ounce can of Bourbon & Brown Sugar Beans is too much for two servings as sides, but not quite enough for three.

Until Next Time -

2025-26 Trip to the Southwest, Day 76

Day 76, Friday, January 2, 2026 - La Paz County Park, Parker, AZ, Day 34 - 0 Miles, 3,449.7 Miles for the Trip

56°F overnight & for my morning walk. Still cloudy although a bit of sun peaked through during the morning. At least it isn't raining. Lots of puddles & thin gravel over mud; one needs to be careful where one walks. 

I ran through my books database and found that I read 243 books for 2025, 46 of which ware audio books. If that seems like a lot of books, remember I don't have a TV.

I finished Bradley's deLuce #3, A Red Herring Without Mustard, and started #4, I'm Half-Sick of Shadows. Bradley is a Canadian author who's books are a quick read, and a bit strange in that they are about an eleven year old girl in the 1950's England who is an advanced chemist and solves murders before the police. Not quite a kid's book but about kids. As of 2024 there are 12 books in the series. 

Still cool & cloudy at noon, although at 60°F a bit warmer than yesterday. I spent most of the day in the trailer reading. 

Late afternoon the sun was back and it hit 70°F. I moved outside to enjoy the sun.

Dinner was a Chicken Apple Brat & Bush Beans.

Until Next Time -