Day 67, Thursday, January 5, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 6

M60 Tank

Thursday, January 5, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 6, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

A fairly warm night - the furnace only came on twice for short runs. After a long walk it was warm enough to enjoy cooking breakfast outdoors, so I had bacon & eggs.

I spent most of the day reading, but decided around 2:30 to drive to a "Farm Store" on US95 for some broccoli. While labeled as a farm store, they had no produce. Lots of jams, dates, and kitsch, but it sure wasn't a vegetable stand. Since I was half way to Yuma, I went the rest of the way to a grocery store for my broccoli. My GPS lied about the location of the nearest store (Fry's) so I eventually ended up at Walmart again. On the way back I found the Fry's...

By the time I got back to the trailer, I only had about a half hour till dinner time, which was the last of my NY strip steaks, and, of course, the broccoli.

Here are the photos of the guns & tanks at the entrance to the Proving Grounds on Imperial Dam road that I took yesterday. I tried to include the ID information in the images:

Until Tomorrow -

Day 66, Wednesday, January 4, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 5

Squaw Lake Campground

Wednesday, January 4, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 5, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

Another beautiful day, with temperatures in the 70's and hazy sun. After a walk to the dumpsters to drop off a couple of bags of garbage, I made breakfast, did some forum & web page reading, the Syracuse newspaper, then sat outside for a bit.

I decided to check on my county taxes by phone since I had difficulty finding the amount on line. Of course, the problem is there is no AT&T service here at my site. I put the phone in the truck's amplifier & headed for a signal. I found one bar after driving about 100'. Unfortunately, not enough signal to make a call. I headed to the proving ground area to find a stronger signal, but didn't find one until I reached the gun & tank exhibit near the junction of Imperial Dam road & US 95. I called & got my bill, called my son Kyle to let him know I was still alive, then walked around the exhibit. I took a bunch of photos, although I don't think there are any changes from the ones I took in 2014. In any case, I'll post them tomorrow since I already have a bunch for today.

On the way back to the trailer I drove past the entrance to the Senator Wash area & continued on across a dam to the Squaw Lake Campground. This is a BLM campground that is essentially a paved parking lot with no hookups for $15.00 per night (1/2 with the Senior Card) and a maximum of 15 day stays, but with the advantage that it has hot showers. You purchase a token for $1.00 and get well over 7 minutes of running time.

The only one open when I got there was the handicapped shower, which is good in that it has plenty of room, but bad because the only bench is under the showerhead, and there are only two hooks to hold your towel & all your clothes. At least it is large enough that the spray from the shower doesn't hit the stuff on the hangers. It even leaves a section of the floor dry. I almost broke my neck trying to get my socks on balancing on one foot! The shower ran well over 7 minutes, and the water was hot. It felt good to do something other than a sponge bath or navy shower - one of the many things I will appreciate in my Escape 21 I'm getting in the Fall is a bathroom that is large enough to turn around in without bashing my elbows!

I took some photos of the showers, campground, generating station, and, on the way back, some more at the LTVA areas. I've posted some similar photos the last time I was here, but these will save you from going back to pages from 2 years ago.

Dinner was a microwaved burrito & the rest of the maple & bacon beans, with some vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 65, Tuesday, January 3, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 4

Sunset

Tuesday, January 3, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 4, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

I took another sunset photo last night. The clouds were more interesting, with a bit more color than the day before, but there are still enough of them that I'm not going to get a chance to do any nighttime star photos.

After breakfast I headed to Yuma for some supplies. On the way I stopped by the Christan Center to get propane. I always feel a bit guilty getting my 1 gallon tank filled since the labor is the same for larger tanks, and the waste propane blown off connecting & disconnecting the tank is probably as much as goes in it, but since their price was $2.99 a gallon, I didn't feel too guilty!

I stopped at an RV store to pick up a couple of propane hoses. The last time I checked the tank to regulator hoses for the 20 pound tanks on the trailer, one of them had a few surface cracks. Since they are 5 years old, I decided it was time to replace them.

Back at the trailer I changed out the propane hoses, and as long as I was in a plumbing mood, replaced the pressure gauge on my water pressure regulator. I've been carrying around the replacement gauge for weeks, but since I haven't had hookups, didn't get around to replacing the bad one.

After that I tried sitting out under the clouds, but it was a bit too cool to be comfortable. There must have been some sun while I was in Yuma since I was down 24 amp hours when I left & was at plus 1 when I got back, but now there are fairly heavy clouds.

I met a new neighbor from British Columbia that moved in next door & chatted for awhile, then decided to do a major cleaning of my grill. Don (my former student and, with his wife Anne, my favorite traveling companions) has the same grill & manages to keep his looking like new. I am of the "burn the old stuff off" school of grill cleaning, but ever once in awhile you need to dig in and scrape!

Dinner was a chicken Italian sausage, and Bush maple & bacon beans.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 64, Monday, January 2, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 3

The Moon, Venus & a Sunset

Monday, January 2, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 3, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

I took a sunset photo last night that included a crescent moon & what I believe is Venus. Too much cloud cover moved in for any nighttime star photos.

A dreary day with cool temperatures and heavy clouds. I finally climbed out of bed to the sounds of the Aerobics class in the Gravel Pit Ramada. I think they should do the Yoga group first - they are a lot quieter!

I went for a long walk around the area before breakfast, including a stop at the "Liberry" (their spelling) to drop off six books & pick up six more (the daily limit). The Liberry is a gutted Airstream trailer lined with books along the entire shell. Well labeled by genre, and sorted by author. They don't even ask you to reshelve the books yourself - there is a crew that does it. After that I spent the rest of the day doing nothing. Lots of reading, some outside wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up, and the trailer blocking a light wind.

I finally quit for dinner & started cooking my last Bubba Burger. About 1/2 way through I ran out of propane in the one gallon tank I use with the grill. I grabbed one of the 20 lb trailer tanks & used it to finished dinner. I'll try to get the tank filled tomorrow.

So, dinner was the last Bubba Burger & the rest of the coleslaw. I hope I can find the Fresh Express Coleslaw Kit again - I like the dressing that comes with the package.

Until Tomorrow -

Day 63, Sunday, January 1, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 2

Sunday, January 1, 2017, Imperial Dam, CA, Day 2, 0 Miles, 3,923.7 Miles For the Trip

Happy New Year! 2016 has been quite a year with some wonderful travels; I hope 2017 is at least as much fun for me & all of you.

While it was warm overnight, it rained off & on, and around 4:00AM the wind picked up enough that I had to go outside & close the front window cover - it was vibrating enough in the wind that I was worried about the support arms failing.

The rain & wind stopped by 8:00. I went for a walk around part of the Imperial Dam area since I wouldn't be doing my usual morning walk for coffee. After breakfast and a cup of drip coffee, I did some reading, both my current book & a few blogs & forums on the computer. I also read the Sunday Syracuse Post Standard, my hometown Sunday paper. Once the sun came out it was warm enough to sit outside. The Ramada was wet enough that they canceled the Sunday music gathering, although I talked for awhile with a Washington state couple that stopped by hoping the music makers would appear.

I didn't do anything for the rest of the day except enjoy the sun and read my book. No photos today. While there were long periods of fairly heavy clouds, there was enough sun throughout the day to completely fill the batteries.

Dinner was a grilled chicken thigh, mashed potatoes, and more of the coleslaw. There is still enough coleslaw left for one more meal.

Until Tomorrow -