Tag Archives: Prescott Valley

“Dirt Farm” (Casa Grande, AZ)

We’ve enjoyed our time here in Prescott Valley at Scott and Julie’s house.  But, with more rain and possible snow expected on Tuesday afternoon, we decided it was time to head south for warmer weather while we had the chance.  So, we said our sad goodbyes in the morning between rainstorms and moved on.  Plus, we didn’t want to wear out our welcome at the Richardson Ranch 🙂

IMG_6957
View out Scott and Julie’s backyard.

The evening before we left, Julie made us an awesome spaghetti dinner… thanks Julie!

IMG_6958

IMG_6959

Here’s our moochdocking spot, looking east.  The streets were finally drying somewhat after the last couple days of rain.  Sure Julie… we believe you… it’s really nice weather here most of the time… suuuure…. 🙂

IMG_6963

And here’s looking west.

IMG_6964

Our hosts saw us on our way.  Bye Scott & Julie… see you again soon!  Thanks again!  We’ll definitely be back to see some of the local attractions with you when the weather’s better.

IMG_6966

A sign over I-17 just north of Phoenix told us to drive with care due to winter weather conditions.  Luckily, we were able to stay dry and the Urban Escape Vehicle stayed clean except for a very brief rain shower near the middle of Phoenix.

By the way – we had decided to go down to the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande to stay a while with my Mom, Stepdad, brother Steve, and his girlfriend Cheryl.  They reported good weather there, plus we can save a little money on diesel and campgrounds until it’s time to go to California for a couple Rallies in mid-March that we already signed up for.

IMG_6968

We got to the “dirt farm” without incident after fueling up and dumping tanks at a Pilot/Flying J nearby.

Brother Steve and Stepdad Jimmy showed us the 50-Amp pedestal they finally got installed 🙂  However, the ground was still pretty soggy from recent rain at the designated spot, so we opted to park in front of Mom’s house until it gets a little drier here.

IMG_6971
Our own 50 amp pedestal at the “dirt farm”. Pedestal is to the right, next to the house.
IMG_6970
Pedestal with 30 and 50 amp service!
IMG_6974
Brother Steven and Cheryl’s house, aka “the dirt farm”. Their name for it – not mine 🙂

Here’s where we’re parked in front of Mom and Jimmy’s house on the “dirt farm” until the 50-amp site on the side of Steven and Cheryl’s dries out.

IMG_6994

IMG_6995

View up the drive.  The Coach is parked in front of Mom’s house on the right.

IMG_6975

On Wednesday, we downloaded the ATV from the pickup and puttered around.  Here’s Mom (below) starting her garden.  She’s planting some corn and onions.  The “dirt farm” has gotten quite “green” since we were last here in mid-January.

IMG_6980

We went into town for lunch at a place we call the “Cactus Garden Restaurant”.  It’s official name is BeDillon’s.  Nice place, good food with cool ambience, this was the second time we’ve been here.  They even have a little museum on site.

IMG_6982

IMG_6983

IMG_6987

IMG_6988

IMG_6990

After lunch, Mom had us all working hard in the garden.  We even managed to keep the rows straight and even, with a little help from tent stakes and string.  Then we enjoyed another family meal and an evening of movies.

IMG_6991

On Thursday, I helped stepdad Jimmy pick up supplies at Lowe’s so he could finish up some more electrical runs and breaker boxes to supply power for outlying sheds and the garage.  There’s always something to do here at the farm.

When I returned and stepped into the Urban Escape Vehicle, I heard the Inverter/Charger (Xantrex) alarm going off.  The display panel indicated an Inverter/Charger internal fault and there was no power except for 12 volt.  This is especially bad for us because we have a residential refrigerator.  We must always leave our Inverter/Charger running with the Inverter “enabled” in order to power the fridge at all times.

I checked everything I could think of, but we have no 110-120 volt power to anything, no matter what I do.  Every time I reset (either from the display panel or on the actual Inverter/Charger) it goes directly to “fault-mode” and the alarm sounds.

Our surge-guard appears to be working fine and “clicks” when I plug in to shore power.  The generator appears to be supplying voltage when I turn it on, but again, the Inverter/Charger keeps going to “fault-mode” whenever I “enable” the Inverter portion of the Inverter/Charger.

Now, I thought that when hooked to shore power or with the generator running, I could still power all my appliances (Fridge, Microwave, TV, etc.,) without the Inverter being “enabled”.  But, since I ALWAYS leave my Inverter “enabled” for the times when we disconnect from shore power or turn the generator off… so that the batteries will continue to provide seamless power – I’m not sure.  I certainly can’t get any appliances to work now, no matter what I do with the Inverter/Charger.

Here’s a picture I took of the Inverter/Charger which is mounted sideways on the back wall of the basement.  It’s the RS2000 model from Xantrex, and I’m relatively sure it’s original equipment from 2005.  As you can see from the lights; the “Network” light is on and the “Charger Enable” light is on.  In this current state, it does not alarm, but there is also no power to any appliances.  Now, if I press the “Inverter Enable” button, the “Fault” light comes on and the alarm sounds at the display panel at the front of the Coach in the upper cabinet.  The display shows “Fault F026 – Inverter/Charger Internal Failure”.

I then have to hit the “Reset” to stop the alarm.

IMG_6996

I checked the network wires and connections.

IMG_7009

I pulled off the front panel to see if there was anything obviously loose or wrong.

IMG_7003

IMG_7005

All the connections are tight and clean.

IMG_7004

Then I pulled off the top cover.  Note: All necessary safety precautions were taken – no one was hurt in the making of this blog post.

IMG_6999

IMG_7002

Again, nothing obviously wrong.  I guess it’s time to call my extended warranty service and see what run-around I’ll get from them (based on my past experience with the refrigerator compressor) and see where they will allow me to take this problem to get fixed.   Oh well, always a new adventure… it’s a good thing we’re parked where we are and not in the boonies somewhere, eh?

We emptied the refrigerator and freezer and moved everything into the house… thanks Mom and Cheryl!

Hopefully, we can get this resolved without a lot of money or drama.  Honestly, I should have seen this coming, because I HAD noticed recently that the Inverter/Charger was louder than usual.  It always “hummed”, but lately it’s been louder than I remember.  I chalked it up to the lower voltage service we’ve subjected the Coach to in recent weeks; 30-Amp at Alamo Lake State Park, garage power (probably 20-Amp) at Scott & Julie’s, and now 20-Amp in front of my Mom’s house…

I called our extended warranty service, EasyCare.  They tell me that there are only two “authorized” Xantrex service centers in Arizona.  One is in Tucson, the other in Gilbert.  I’ll be making some calls in the morning.  Stay tuned…

 

Moochdocking (Prescott Valley, AZ)

It’s wet, cold, and raining in Prescott Valley this morning (Monday), so we’re just hunkering down…  we got here on Friday and I’ve used the last couple days to play catch-up on the blog since we didn’t have connectivity during our week-long stay at Alamo Lake State Park.  Now let me bring you up to date on our time here so far…

As I said in my previous post from 28 February: “We are now in Prescott Valley at the home of Scott and Julie Richardson. Julie is a friend and former co-worker from my days at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). We were both in the MDA Contracting Directorate together at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. Julie retired at about the same time that I resigned from my position back in May of 2014 and moved here to their lovely retirement home in Prescott Valley, AZ. We drove straight here from the lake (about 150 miles) when we learned that they were home and also willing to put up with us for a day or so.

IMG_6865
Scott and Julie Richardson inside their retirement ranch.

It’s great to see Julie again… we haven’t seen her since May of last year at her retirement party in Colorado Springs.  After we arrived on Friday afternoon, we got caught up on recent events and old times a little bit and shared what little knowledge we had about mutual acquaintances’.  We also got the “grand tour” of Scott and Julie’s beautiful home, aka., “Richardson Retirement Ranch” or (3R).

IMG_6955

We parked the Urban Escape Vehicle in front of the 3rd garage so we wouldn’t block the driveway.  Then we ran an extension cord to the garage outlet so we wouldn’t have to run our generator to charge the batteries.. the residential-type refrigerator sure sucks them down.  Thanks for the juice Scott and Julie!  And also the moochdocking, – er, I mean boondocking spot!

IMG_6956

IMG_6954

On Saturday, we took a little driving tour to catch some of the sights in the area.  Julie acted as our tour-guide and we all piled into her car.  We went north on AZ-89A aka the “Prescott Jerome Hwy” towards Sedona.  We hadn’t gone very far up the winding pass before we spotted snow on the higher mountain tops around us.  Ugh… thought we’d left that behind in Colorado.

IMG_6867

We stopped to enjoy the view at a pull-out.  It was windy but not raining yet.

IMG_6868

When we got to Jerome, AZ, we decided to park and walk around a bit… what a neat town nestled on the hillside.

Here’s a pic I swiped from Google Images:

5550766253_26a45ed511_b

And here’s some actual pics we took while wandering around a bit.

IMG_6870

IMG_6871

IMG_6874

IMG_6873

Anyone recognize the lamp in the window?

IMG_6872

We heard that the hotel in the pic below is supposed to be haunted.

IMG_6876

We drove on down the pass and finally rolled into the picturesque town of Sedona.  (don’t forget to click on the link for more info).

IMG_6879

IMG_6880

As you can see below, the rain picked up once we arrived in Sedona.

IMG_6886

The rain didn’t stop us from shopping for some t-shirts though…

IMG_6894

We passed by Pink Jeep Tours, who has quite a large fleet… and the crummy weather didn’t appear to be stopping tourists from lining up to take tours in the rain.

IMG_6888

How about a couple more pics of the area:

IMG_6891

IMG_6903

Our downtown area walk was cut short with a brief downpour that made us dash for the car, so we headed on over to the Golden Goose Cafe & Bistro for a late lunch / early dinner.  Scott and Julie treated… thanks again guys, you didn’t have to do that.

After our fine dining experience, we drove over to the nearby Chapel of the Holy Cross.  Don’t forget to click the previous “green” link to go to the official church website, or here for more pictures from Google.

IMG_6897

IMG_6898

We were able to park in the upper lot and made the short walk to the semi-circular walkway up to the chapel.

IMG_6906

IMG_6909
Stilla, Julie, and Scott on the walkway up to the church.

IMG_6914

IMG_6915

The views from inside the church windows looking out – were awesome.

IMG_6921

And here’s some views from the landing in front of the church entrance.

IMG_6910

IMG_6911

IMG_6901

IMG_6900

IMG_6904

After visiting the picturesque church, we continued south on (also) picturesque route 179 until we got on I-17 which we took to the 169 exit, and then back to the house, effectively completing our loop for the day.

IMG_6922

On Sunday, we stayed close to the area.  Our highlight for the day was a trip to the local IN-N-OUT Burger.  Yummm.  This time Scott and Julie allowed us to treat.  Julie acted as our chauffeur once again.  Thanks Julie!!

IMG_6923

Then we drove through the Bob Stump VA Medical Center… reminded me of an old Army base stuck in the ’50s.  Check out the officer’s housing area:

IMG_6930

IMG_6926

IMG_6929

IMG_6927

Unfortunately, the museum here was closed.

IMG_6936

In downtown Prescott, we stopped briefly in the rain for a picture of the courthouse.  The crummy weather prevented us from wanting to wander around.

IMG_6938

IMG_6937

Then, on the way back home, we stopped at the Phippen Museum for a little “Art and Heritage of the American West”.

IMG_6952

IMG_6942

IMG_6950

However, only a small portion of the museum was currently open for viewing due to new exhibits being put into place.  So we opted to save our $7 per person entrance fee for another time and just browsed the gift shop.

IMG_6947

IMG_6945

IMG_6944

Then we headed back to the house to relax again and hide out from the rain.

And that brings us to the present… here it is Monday (my new favorite day of the week since retirement) and it’s still raining outside.  It rained all night, and it’s even been snowing a little bit this morning.  At least it’s not sticking.

So we plan on just staying inside to wait out the weather.   There’s a lot of cool stuff to see around here, but none of it’s quite so fun to do in the rain and cold.

As a parting shot… Julie shared this picture of an eagle with me that she saw in the back yard just the other day.  We haven’t seen it since though… probably hiding from the cold weather like we are 🙂

image1

Alamo Lake State Park – continued (AZ)

We made it back to Scott and Julie Richardson’s house this evening (Sunday) after enjoying the day with them touring the area.  I’ll post about that shortly.

IMG_6909

But first, I have to bring you up to date on the rest of our time at Alamo Lake State Park.   As I mentioned in my last post, the reason I got behind is because internet connectivity at the lake was almost non-existent.  So, to continue on where I left off in my last post from this morning, here’s what we did…

21 Feb (Saturday):

We got invited to go ATVing with some other campers that we got into conversation with the day before.  So we graciously accepted their invitation and met the group first thing in the morning.  We carried our little dog “Coach” in his doggie backpack.  And off we went…

IMG_3097

IMG_3096

There were seven ATV’s in the group altogether and our first destination for the day was going to be the “Mud Cliffs” that you can see on the right side of the hand drawn map (below) that we got from the ranger station.  Our start point is labeled “Camp C” in the lower center of the map.

IMG_6767

Stilla took some pics while riding on the back.

IMG_3098

IMG_3104

And here are the Mud Cliffs.

IMG_3112

We rode through the sandy bottom of the gorge between the impressive cliffs.

IMG_3117

The trail got smaller and smaller as the cliffs closed in on each side.  Most of the group waited at the entrance to the cliffs because they had been there before and many of the side-by-side ATV’s were too wide to make it very far without getting stuck anyway.

IMG_3126

IMG_3116

IMG_3147

We rode until the trail was blocked.

IMG_3130

IMG_3148

Then we parked and walked a little ways further up the canyon.

IMG_6791

IMG_3142

IMG_3139

Stilla posed (at a safe distance) under an arch that looked like it could collapse at the first hint of rain.

IMG_6789

IMG_3145

After our “Mud Cliffs” adventure, we rejoined the rest of the group and headed further east.  The destination was supposed to be a magnesium mine that some in the group had an agenda to see.  However, during a short rest break, one of the side-by-side ATV’s wouldn’t restart.  So we ended up spending the next hour or so troubleshooting the problem.  We finally got it restarted but it was getting late so everyone decided to head on back instead of continuing on to the mine.

IMG_3156

IMG_3154

We got back in time to stop at the “Wayside Inn” before they closed for the day.  This little bar and grill is in the middle of nowhere but they still manage to serve up great burgers and fries.  They also have the only gas for sale within 35 miles.

IMG_3106

Little “Coach” was happy to run around a bit after a long day of riding on the ATV.  We had gone about 55 miles for the day and still had a few more miles to get back to the campground.

IMG_3108

IMG_6782
The “Wayside Inn” A small campground bar and grill – miles from nowhere.

One of the other riders in the group had a Can-AM ATV just like ours.  His was a year newer than our 2007, but it was the same silver “limited-edition” series… the first one I’ve ever seen like ours.  I took a couple pics and took note of how his mirrors are mounted because that’s something I’d like to add to ours in the near future.

IMG_6776

We finished up our adult beverages (also available at the Wayside Inn) and motored on back to the campground to call it a day.  And what a fun day it was!

22 Feb (Sunday):

We decided to spend the day (Sunday) on the lake to see if we could get some good use out of the $55 Arizona fishing license I purchased at the ranger station when we got here.  So we broke out our Sea-Eagle inflatable raft that we keep in the back seat of the truck.  It’s the SE-9 model called the “Fisherman’s Dream” with an electric trolling motor.  We got ours from InflatableBoats4Less.com.  The link to the SE-9 model we purchased is here.

We bought some live minnows at the ranger station / general store ($2.75 per dozen) and went to the boat ramp on the west-end of the lake to inflate the boat.  After we got the boat into the water, we slowly motored our way to the other end of the lake while I trolled behind us with the minnows for bait.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to the east-side of the lake, which is peppered with dead trees, the wind had picked up significantly.  We were told that the “hot spot” for fishing was near the dead trees, however, an inflatable boat, no matter how sturdy, is no match for dead trees sticking up out of the lake… especially in high winds.  So, we had to cut our day short and motor all the way back against the wind.  We were worried the battery might not hold up, but luckily we were fine and didn’t have to flag down anyone for a tow.

Once we were safely back at the dock, we stored the trolling motor and battery, left the raft inflated and loaded it onto the back of the truck.   We then released the remaining minnows on their own recognizance to fend for themselves in the dark waters of the lake.

Oh well, there’s always another day.  You know what the say; “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work” 🙂

We spent the rest of the day hanging around the Coach.  I used the time to give the ATV a good washing.  Then I cleaned and serviced the K&N air filter after removing an old animal nest I found under the plastic cowling in front of the seat.  A fellow camper gave me some of the “recharge” oil I needed to properly service the filter.

I know you’re disappointed, but there’s only one picture for the day.

IMG_3157

It rained off and on all night.

23 Feb (Monday):

It was still sprinkling in the morning and it was chilly… I don’t think we’ve had temps this cold since we left Colorado.   Another ATV ride had been scheduled with the same group we hung out with before, but everything was cancelled due to the poor weather.

IMG_3163

We took the inflatable boat off the back of the pickup and drained out all the water it had collected overnight.

Then we decided to take the pickup out to the Wayside Inn to get our 5 gallon fuel can refilled, but that ended up being a short trip because the dirt road that goes out to the Inn was too muddy… I didn’t want to spend another day just washing the truck.  We turned around and went back to the campground.

So we ended up taking another trip up to the dam to look for burro’s.    We’ve heard the burros almost every night but haven’t seen any yet… Stilla wants to see some burros.  Unfortunately for Stilla, no burros were to be found anywhere… just several road signs that say; “Watch for Burros”.

The rest of the day, we spent hanging around the Coach.  At least the rain washed some of the dust off the Coach, so I spent some time wiping it dry once it stopped drizzling.  Then we closed out the rest of the day with a lot of television.

24 Feb (Tuesday):

It was another chilly morning, but at least it was dry.  We got invited to join a different group this time to do another ATV trip.  The destination today was a giant Saguaro cactus that someone in the group had discovered on an earlier trip.  This time, we left little dog “Coach” in the big Coach since it was supposed to be a long ride.

IMG_6815

There were seven or eight ATV’s in our group today.

IMG_6797

It was a long way out, but we finally arrived at the giant cactus.

IMG_3174

Stilla posed for this picture which gives the huge cactus some perspective.

IMG_6800

Pretty impressive, eh?

We then headed towards a distant mountain range… the goal was to see if there was a way across and then back to the campground.  That goal was not realized…

Along our route to the mountain range, we stopped to explore around some abandoned mines.

IMG_6812

IMG_3218

Everyone had brought their own lunch which we stopped to enjoy after checking out the abandoned mines.

IMG_6805

We then headed on up the mountain.  Check out the long winding road in the picture below.

IMG_3195

IMG_3191

IMG_6808

Here we can see the top of the mountain with all the antennae on top.

IMG_3215

Getting closer to the top.

IMG_3216

View back towards the lake… way in the background.

IMG_3209

IMG_3198

IMG_3197

IMG_6811

We ended up having to turn around at a gate near the top.  At least the views were awesome.  It’s a shame we couldn’t make it all the way up, or even better, down the other side.  The GPS said we had attained an altitude of ~5,200 feet above sea level.

IMG_3217

We stopped at the Wayside Inn on the way back.  We must have been on fumes after traveling over 70 miles for the day.  The fuel gauge was showing empty for miles before we finally rolled in.  They close at 4 PM on weekdays, so we were especially lucky to have made it back on time, just as they were closing.  Another good day!

25 Feb (Wed):

Today (Wednesday) was another full day of ATVing.  We met John the first day we got here and he was with the group from yesterday when we visited the giant cactus.  He and his wife offered to take us to the north side of the lake to “Red Canyon”.  We took little “Coach” along with us today.

We crossed to the north side of the lake by going through the marsh-like river bed on the east side.

IMG_3249

IMG_3250

It was dry where we crossed the river, the water was running underground.  John said they had to ford through at least six inches to a foot of water when he crossed last week.

IMG_3252

After an hour or so we finally reached the “Red Canyon”.  Here’s some pics for your viewing pleasure…

IMG_3232

IMG_3233

IMG_3237

IMG_3239

IMG_3240

IMG_6845

IMG_6849

IMG_6839

We even explored a couple side canyons, but most just dead-ended like this one.

IMG_6851

IMG_6850

This is truly a “must-see” canyon… and super fun to ride through.  We’re going to have to come back here sometime in the future to explore of the area, we only scratched the surface from what we’ve been told.  We ended up going about 50 miles for the day.

26 Feb (Thursday):

It was time to give the fishing another try.  Today, the water was calm with very little wind.  We stopped at the ranger station / general store to get some more minnows on the way to the boat launch.  We met a guy that was checking out of the campground and he offered to give us his remaining minnows.  I thanked him and we hit the lake.

IMG_6856

IMG_6858

Stilla thought it would be funny to take a picture of my catch.  Really, it’s the bait minnow ready to go into service and do his duty.

IMG_6857

This time, we stayed on the west side of the lake and didn’t worry about trying to go around the dead underwater trees on the east side.  We didn’t want to get caught too far away from the boat launch if the wind picked up again… plus, we didn’t want to fight for space with the other fishermen in their boats.

After an hour or so, I hooked a fairly large fish, but it got off the hook just as Stilla was putting the net in the water.  Bummer.

IMG_3257

But it wasn’t too long before I landed another one.

IMG_6860

It was a male crappie according to a fellow fisherman and our ever-helpful friend; Wikipedia.com.

IMG_6862

IMG_6863

It was a slow fishing day according to other fishermen that I talked to later.  But at least I didn’t get skunked this time 🙂

We cleaned the fish back at our campground at the fish cleaning station with the help of yet another friendly fellow camper that was an experienced fisherman.  We got some pretty nice filets for the freezer.

IMG_6864

Here’s a final parting shot of the lake, since this is our last day here.

Tomorrow, we plan on moving on, as our weeklong reservation concludes.

IMG_3256

And Stilla finally got a picture of some of the local burros.  So she’s happy too.

IMG_3254

Goodbye and good evening from Alamo Lake State Park.  We’ll be back!

IMG_3260

27 Feb (Friday):

We left the state park after driving the Coach over to the dump station and taking care of business there.  Tire pressures are all still holding… no more slow leaks, at least for now.

Once we drove the 35 miles or so to get back to highway 60, we expected our AT&T service to be back on.  But, alas, it was not to be… it seems we used all our “off-network” allowance and can only connect once we get an actual AT&T 3G signal.  At least we can still make phone calls, but I guess we’ll have to wait until the end of our billing cycle to get the “off-network” ability reset in order to use WiFi or google maps, etc.,

We decided to head east on 60, and since we were this close to Prescott Valley where my good friend and former coworker (Julie Richardson) now lives, I gave her a call to see if we could stop by.

After ~150 miles, and the help of google maps, we made it to Scott and Julie Richardson’s beautiful retirement home.  And guess what – there’s a strong AT&T 3G signal here!

I’ll post more about our visit here at the “Richardson Ranch” later.  Stay tuned…