A Couple of Slow Days

 Friday, January 20

Windy and cold conditions kept us in our respective RVs to stay warm.

In the afternoon, it was still chilly but the sun was out so I wandered over to a nearby rocky hill:

A view of our campsite from the top of the closest hill

Rock formations I found while wandering...

Sadly, someone decided their half-assed effort of remembering someone dear to them (apparently), was to spray graffiti over one of the large boulders:

Saturday, January 21

Sunny and warmer due to lack of windy conditions.  It barely reached 50 degrees Fahrenheit at its warmest but the sun and clear skies had all three of us lazily basking in the sun's warmth.

I did take a short walk up to the nearby rocks and tried to find some interesting rocks but none really turned out.  I did manage to find a somewhat OK angle to do a selfie:

Not much else to report besides the absorption of the sun's welcome warmth.  Chris Z. went for a short ride on his T-Dub and I think Lori did some Yoga while I was wandering about the hilltop rocks.

In the late afternoon, Chris and I discussed further reinforcement work for the trailer.  I need to procure some angle iron first, along with appropriate fasteners to hopefully strengthen the rear third of the trailer's platform.

Drone Views of Indian Bread Recreation Area and Lunch with RichardM and Bridget

 A good day today.  First, a nice sunrise:

A little bit of riding with my TW200 in rather cold temperatures to explore an area we'd seen from the rocks near our campsite.  Turns out I knew this area from previous campings.  

A view of our campsite

View of Chris and Lori during drone operations

Staring down the drone....

RichardM and his lovely wife Bridget showed up just before 1PM and brought us a BBQ lunch!  He also brought us some Chinese food he'd cooked up yesterday.  It was all quite yummy, the BBQ.  We sat, ate, chatted and generally enjoyed the calm breeze and sunny weather.

The sun had set behind the nearby mountains by the time RichardM and Bridget were ready to leave, but we still managed a group shot:

Our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to RichardM and Bridget for driving all the way from Benson, AZ and bringing lunch!  So good to see you two!

Here's a video Lori Z. shot in the morning, mostly views of the two big rocky hills next to our campsites, with me climbing and moving about.

A Sunrise, Trailer Repairs and a Walk to some Rocks

 Wednesday, January 18

We had us a pretty good sunrise, a bit cold but bearable as I waited for the sun to appear:

I spent the morning working to re-attach the loading ramp back onto the trailer bed.

The aluminum channels through which the ramp's hinge pins had mounted and rotated had give way sometime early in the drive yesterday.  I'd been dragging the ramp, unknowingly as the rear view camera sucks in low light conditions, for a bit until a truck's good Samaritan saw it as I went past him and he flagged me down.

Left side hinge, showing the pin I mentioned.

Right side hinge area, completely worn down

due to being dragged on the roadway!

I'd procured hinges and hardware at the Tractor Supply in Hatcher, AZ and used it to remount the ramp.

The above seems secure enough and I was able to unload Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol.  I then spent the remainder of the time cutting off excess bolt length as required, cutting off aluminum remnants of previous mounting points.

I also found three cracked cross bars on the ramp and will be adding reinforcing steel plates before trying to load Scarlett back onto the trailer.  I'll probably replace all the existing nuts with Nyloc nuts to further secure them.  I also have to buy some more long bolts as I underestimated the need for longer versions of the 5/16" bolts.

A snack and some rest, the I joined Lori Z. who had come by as I was putting tools away.  She'd gone ahead towards the nearby rock pile to see what she could see.

A view of the rigs, now that the previous camper had

vacated the site in the early morning

Lori Z. at her meditation spot

I would end up at the point between the two rocks.

Lori Z. gazing out on the valley

Pano by Pixel Phone

A New House Battery, Trailer Trouble and now Boondocking at Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area (BLM)

 Sunday, January 15

Overcast and breezy not very windy but for gusts. Hung out in our respective RVs. I did have dinner with the Zs.

Rain started in the evening and it would pretty much rain thoughout the night.

Monday, January 16

Lori and Chris left at 9am under overcast skies but at least the rain has stopped. They were headed to Tucson for some pickups and then driving back to San Simon, which is perhaps 15 minutes east of Bowie on I-10. They were having a leak looked at, a a diesel engine shop recommended to them.

Lori reported treacherously slippery conditions due to mud on the road to Bowie. I started thinking perhaps detouring via Safford to avoid the muddy roads.

photo courtesy of Lori Z.

I spent morning charging battery to float via the external battery charger running from the small generator. I wanted to see if it was failing since the difference reported by direct voltage readings and the battery meter were quite significant!

Tuesday, January 17

I woke to a battery voltage reading of 12.17V whereas the meter said 90%. 12.17V is equal to 60%! So the battery is toast, and just six weeks over one year old.

No problem I thought, I'm going to Safford anyway to detour away from the muddy roads, I'll exchange the battery at the Walmart there, under warranty!  I left while it was still barely light, and as I was negotiating the pot holed section of Haekel Road; was flagged down by a truck that I had recently passed going the other way.

I stopped and the driver pointed out to me that I was dragging the ramp for the trailer!  I'd not heard anything of course and was dismayed to see the ramp on the ground, held onto the trailer solely by the thin aluminum arms that support it in the raised position!

The hinges, upon which the ramp rotated, had both sheared open, allowing the ramp to fall off the trailer.

Thanking the young man, I picked up the ramp and used the new ratchet straps I was planning to use on Yagi to secure it to the rear of the trailer:

I got to Safford and found that I'd bought the 1 Year Warranty version of the Deep Cycle Everstart 29DC battery, not the 2 year!  I was past warranty by six weeks.  Dammit.  So, $112 later, I had a new battery, this time the two year version!  The removal and install of the battery went pretty easily, much easier than I thought.

Groceries at the Walmart were next.

Next, it was a stop at the Tractor Supply Store in nearby town of Hatcher where I got heavy duty hingers and associate nuts and bolts which I hope to use to re-attach the ramp to the trailer.

I hit US 191 South out of Safford and about 30 miles later I was on I-10 and soon enough at Bowie.  I stopped at the Mountain View RV Park for propane, dump tanks, take on water and pick up a Pecan Pie which they're apparently quite proud of.

I heard from the Z's at this point, they were done with the diesel shop and apparently were told no leaks, perhaps a couple of loose bolts on Stewie's timing cover!  We arranged to meet at the nearby Indian Bread Rocks BLM soon afterwards.

I went ahead and found my desired spot occupied by a van camper.  I walked up to the lady who was sitting at the front of the van and found she was leaving tomorrow morning and she was OK with us sharing the spot with her for the night!  Nice lady from Canada.

So I put Uma, the VRRV into a spot as far away as possible from the nice lady and guided Chris and Lori when they showed up to a spot close to Uma.

I was a bit bummer about the latest debacle with the slowly disintegrating aluminum trailer.  There was a brief period where I though I should just get rid of it and buy a new one.

After discussing it with Chris and Lori, and imbibing some strong drinks way before 5PM, I decided to not buy a new trailer.  Instead, get this one to make it back home sometime this Spring.  I'll be towing the CRV in future camping trips with Martha you see, and I'll probably be leaving the Ural behind.  We'll see how it all ends up.