FRIENDS YOU CAN COUNT ON AND BUILDING JOHN'S STRENGTH

Borrego Springs, California

First and foremost, I want to express my heartfelt thank you to those who shared words of encouragement and prayers for me during my April fool's memories.  I could feel your thoughts and prayers and my soul was filled with peace and thankfulness.

John continues to make progress daily.  Of course, some days are better than others.  I cannot imagine what it was like to loose six weeks of life.  He missed, St. Patrick's Day, of course April 1, Easter, and Mother's Day.   

I am working to help him regain the strength he lost over the cold beginning to winter while we were at Tiffin Motorhome Service Center, Gunter Hill COE, (ice storm), Foley Alabama, (too cold and damp for him to be out for any length of time), Mississippi, New Orleans, then Texas.  Everyplace had unseasonably cold, wet days with a good day occasionally sprinkled here and there.  

It was not until we arrived in Quartzsite that he began to venture out for longer periods of time, but I did notice that he did not venture far from the security of the coach.  

So, I have taken the 'bull by the horns' and started him moving longer and further.  Little by little, day by day, he is making progress.  

Wednesday, we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise reflecting off the mountains in the west.                                         It was our first day of accelerated exercise, we drove from Clark Dry Lake to the Anza Borrego State Park Visitor's Center. California. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               We toured the grounds of the Visitor's Center, stopping to see each cacti, tree, the pond, etc.  The 'garden walk' is only a quarter mile, but John was tired at the end. That is a good thing.  We called it a day for walking.

Hedge Hog Cactus

I suggested that we look for more of the desert art donated by Richard Avery.  Here are those we found today.  Some were new to us, some not, but since I lost my camera in Fish Creek at the Wind Caves last year, I wanted more photos.

  

It is interesting to think that animals similar to the ones found in Galetta Meadows roamed this part of the country.  Can you wrap your mind around this fact?

 

 

I believe some of these metal sculptures exhibit the freedom of artistic interpretation.  What is your opinion?

 


 And there is some humor in the art.   
                              We did find our most desired Jeep though, but in the end, we decided it had a bit too much rust. 







January 8, 1774, the Spanish allowed Juan Bautista de Anza, in whose name Anza Borrego was named, along with three padres, twenty soldiers, servants and translators to establish a presence in southern California, then known as Alta.

Here is one of the padres in metal.  Even he had his fur kid with him.  

Returning home we were greeted by partly cloudy skies and gentle breezes. 

Clouds, air currents and temperatures do some beautiful designs in the skies around the mountains of Anza Borrego. One never knows what is going to appear in the sky next. 

Beam me up, Scotty.

It was a great day, full of explorations and discoveries.  That is what we like.  

Thank you for stopping in today, and of course, thank you for shopping Amazon through our blog.  

God bless y'all!  This IS the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice in it.  

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS SOLVED AND SOLAR!

It has been a lazy day here in Quartzsite. Again, John worked on the inverter, fixed our lunch and hard boiled some eggs.                                                                      I used The Solution to remove the bugs from the front of our Tiffin Allegro Bus and walked the dogs.                                                                                           That is the extent of our day. 

This morning, we called the Tiffin service department in Red Bay, Alabama.  John talked to our go-to service advisor, Stanley, and received some helpful advice.  

First, Stanley suggested old batteries.  Our response was that the batteries were new when we purchased our Allegro Bus almost two years ago.  

Second, he had two more things for John to check out.  Nada, zip, nuttin Honey.  Now what?  

Susan Thompson, a snowbird from Minnesota suggested we get in touch with Brian Boone and that is just what we did.  He came out to our part of the desert and voila...."your batteries are the problem!"  

"What? Those batteries were new when we purchased our new to us Tiffin Allegro Bus!"  At lease we assumed they were new since they were so clean when we looked in the battery bay.  And someone tested them as we were sitting in Red Bay awaiting completion of work on the coach.  The someone was not a representative of Tiffin Service.  His gauge must be wrong.  

Lesson?  .....  Never assume anything when purchasing a previously owned motorhome, car, boat...anything.  We looked at the dates on the tires.  Why didn't we think to look at the date on the batteries?  

The batteries were about ten years old!  Brian could not believe that they had lasted this long!  Off to Discount Solar here in Quartzsite.  

Ahhh, four new Interstate Batteries.  Now we will be in tip top shape.  And here we thought it was the inverter.  

Wait, there's more!  The batteries were not the only problem. After Brian installed the new batteries, the solution was not there.  Brian declared the inverter was dead, very dead.  

So now, we have a new inverter in our home on wheels. NOW, everything is working as it should. 

But, there is still more!  We have made the decision to have Brian fit us with solar power.  We have spent days researching and gathering prices and Monday, we will have our first installment of of two solar panels with two more in the plan for next year.  

We are pleased with our decision.  The solar panels make up for the disappointment of not having our booth dining area removed and replaced with table and chair.  This too will happen, just not this year.  

If you are in Quartzsite in winter months and need work performed on your trailer, 5th wheel, class C, B, or A motorhome, Brian is the man to call.  His fees are extremely reasonable.  

Brian is a very  honest young man that has for the last eleven years migrated in the winter from Montana to Quartzsite to work on our rigs.  Previously, he worked for another solar dealership, but has now started his own business.  We wish Brian God speed in his new business.  

Thank you for coming to our blog today and a double thanks for clicking on our Amazon link at the top right of this page.  I know, it's not the end of the year, but I am having a difficult time changing the link.  Can anyone help?  

Tonight, I close with sunset photos.                                                                                                                                                                                                There is nothing like an Arizona desert sunset!  

 Until next time, God Bless!  

                                                                     

WE HAVE ARRIVED

In the north west corner of Alabama sits a little town of around three thousand residents.  The two largest employers are Sunshine Mills, a pet food manufacturer and Tiffin Motor Homes, the manufacturer of our motorhome.  



Red Bay is the name of this town that got its name from the red clay soil that it stands on and Bay came from the Bay tree which grows in town.  



We are in Red Bay for three reasons:  
1.  John and a boulder had a battle and the rock won, damaging John's psyche and the motorhome.
2.  We have a few repairs to challenge the service people's talents. 
3.  There are a couple of upgrades that we would like to make in our full time home on wheels.  

Hopefully, the repairs and upgrades will not take long as there are many empty sites in the Allegro Campground.  

We needed a few groceries, so we went into town.  Our first stop was the Dollar Food Store.  We did find a couple of good deals, but there were also prices higher than one would imagine.  

Next stop, Piggly Wiggly.  Piggly Wiggly is not your neighborhood Kroger!  They had very limited brands and selections.  Lesson learned....shop at a larger store before arriving in Red Bay.  

What do we like about Red Bay?  After being here for twenty four hours, we have had more people smile and greet us than we can count.  Everyone here is extremely kind and courteous. I believe that is called southern hospitality.  

Our quick escape from Indiana left us with a few unaccomplished errands. Tomorrow, we are going to venture further than Red Bay. We need to find a store similar to Pet Smart to buy the special dog food that we purchase for Oliver and Olivia.  

A special thanks goes out to those who use our Amazon.com link to do your shopping.  Yesterday's reported purchases are:

 Holmes Personal Size Box Fan

NOOK 7" 8GB WiFi Tablet


Thanks for visiting with us. I hope that all of you are warm and comfy tonight.

May God bless you today and always.

TRADING SNOW FOR RAIN

Here we are near Huntsville, Alabama.  It is raining, but there is no snow to be seen.  Yet, back at Camping World, Indianapolis, there are, depending on location, six to eight inches of snow blanketing frozen rain.  

Note in this photo taken from the Internet show pedestrians gingerly crossing Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis. Can you imagine eight inches of snow over this ice?  Yuck.  

I am sure the ski resorts in southern and northern Indiana are thrilled.  I am also sure they are about the only ones that are happy.  

Today, we drive a short distance to Red Bay, Alabama to Tiffin Motorhomes to check in and begin our upgrades and repairs.  

John and I want to thank those who have placed Amazon orders through our blog.  Each order reduces our large out of pocket expenses for Johns huge list of medications.  

Who ever decided to give the name "doughnut hole" to the costs that Medicare drug coverage will not cover until we hit a greater dollar amount? 

It has been reported in a Harvard University Medical School study that 57% of seniors that reach the doughnut hole stop taking their medications. They just cannot afford to pay for full price for their medicine. 

For John, we choose to pay the huge monthly amount. It really cuts into our fulltime budget and has been since August, when John fell into that nasty hole.   

Doughnuts are good, pastry doughnut holes are good, Medicare's doughnut holes are not so good! Very few extras, such as doughnuts have been purchased since August since John is on fourteen prescribed medications each day.  

Thank you for stopping by to share your time with us.  

God bless!


Listed below are purchases made through our Amazon link near the top of the blog.  Thanks again!  

Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker with Tote Bag

Belkin EaseFit Convertible Armband for Apple iPhone 4/4S (Black / Limelight)

Doctor Who Police Box Tardis Double-Sided Cigarette Case, ID Holder, Wallet with RFID Theft Protection

Doctor Who Generations 1.5 Inch Fridge Magnets Value Pack

ROCCAT Apuri Active USB Hub with Mouse Bungee (ROC-15-315-AM)

Audio-Technica ATH-M50S Professional Studio Monitor Headphones