Travel Log 18: April 8, 2010 - Adrian's "Shower of Sadness"

 

Our last travel log left us in Teacapan. We left on March 3 and spent the next 10 days making our way out of Mexico. We travelled north on our now familiar route via highway Mex 15 through Mazatlan, Celestino Gasca, and Guaymas/San Carlos. We crossed into the U.S. at Sonoyta/Lukeville. Last year we were the only vehicle at the crossing. This year was quite a different story. We happened to catch the rush of Americans coming home from their weekend south at Rocky Point in Mexico. We were in a long...long...long line. 

 

We eventually were processed through with incredible ease. The U.S. officer in whose line we were was uncommonly friendly and even cracked a few jokes here and there. We found this unusual as the U.S. officials normally seem more stoic. We declared everything we had and we were not searched. 

 

Our intention for the first night in the U.S. was to stay just north of the border crossing in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. This is an Arizona state park in the midst of the most wonderful scenery of desert flora. The cactus varieties and other plants were so interesting. Also, with more-than-usual rainfall in the area over the winter, the desert was actually green! On the ground as far as the eye could see there was a soft green haze. This offset the purple mountains and at sunset, the colors were spectacular. 

 

Camping in this park is "dry" meaning no hookups at all. Having just cleaned out our fridge before crossing the border that day, we had planned to have enough canned things on hand so that we could get by for an overnight before finding a grocery store. We also made sure that the RV had about a half tank of fresh water for quick showers in the morning and kitchen needs. So we were set to squeak by for a night in this lovely locale and move on. We were advised on checking in that the nights were cold at this time of year so having propane heat is a must. 

 

We set up camp and went for a walk along one of the paths through the park. On this walk, we spied a coyote loping along so very near us it took us both by surprise.   Even though Bailey was on a leash, we both pounced on her and scooped her up. As it happens the coyote didn't catch a whiff of Bailey, nor she it. After our walk, we put our feet up to settle in around 7:00 pm. I happened to glance at the fridge and said "why is the propane light flashing?" This is not a good sign. Adrian went out to check the tanks. He came in and said "I have good news and bad news. The good news is we're not out of propane...the bad news is we are totally out of propane!" This meant no heat during the night, no fuel for the fridge or cook stove and no hot water for showers in the morning. Yikes! When one fills up with propane in Mexico, it is not actually propane, but rather butane which is provided. As butane has a much higher freezing point and we knew we were coming back to the land of tundra, we had actually been purposely letting our supply deplete, however, we didn't realize we were so close to empty. 

 

We packed up pronto and a half hour later we were making a beeline as far north as we could to find either a place to fill our propane tanks or an RV park with services to which we could hook up. It was already sunset when we left and we made it north to Ajo, AZ about an hour later. Ajo (aah-hoe) is Spanish for "garlic". We stayed in Garlic for the night and carried on to Yuma the next day.

 

From Yuma we went to Julian, California and stayed at an interesting property in the southern California mountains called Butterfield Ranch RV Resort. It's not a working ranch, but it has a definite western flair and is permanent home to some rescued horses. Pool and hot tubs were immaculate and we had a peaceful few days here. 

 

On to Escondido, CA to see our friends Jim, Cheryl and kids Miranda and Jimmy. The RV resort here was nice and our site backed onto a green space and park area. We had little wildlife visitors every day including, squirrels, chipmunks and bunnies. It was as if we had mistakenly parked on the set of a Disney movie. Very cute! We also took a side trip to Cardiff by the Sea on the coast to see some RV friends, Brett & Sheila.  Although the town is small, the charm of the area is vast. There is a dominant surf culture here that makes one feel as if the holiday never ends. The day we visited was sunny but quite cool. Despite the cooler temps there were countless people out in the surf waiting to catch a wave along this famous beach. Brett & Sheila have just retired from their lengthy home design and construction business in the area. They drove us around and we viewed many of the incredible homes which they built over the years for themselves and others.

 

Adrian's been spending a fair amount of time fixing things on the RV. His day wouldn't be complete without something requiring immediate repair. I opened a drawer the other day and the whole thing pulled out and away from the wall, roller tracks and all. Our satellite problems throughout the winter have been diagnosed as hardware problems so he has found parts to replace those that are faulty. Tomorrow he'll get up on the roof and make the repairs. Our time in Teacapan, although fabulous, resulted in much rust damage. With the high humidity and extremely heavy dew throughout the night, the salt had opportunity to stick and really make problems. Before leaving Teacapan, it took Adrian fully two days prior to departure to "unstick" metal parts on our stabilizer jacks, locking pins and other bits by dousing them in WD40. You won't believe it, but even the metallic fleck in one of our exterior vinyl decals rusted! We have tiny, tiny little rust spots where metallic shine should be! We are still having rust issues on both truck and trailer which will require attention in the near future.

 

Our sewer system has had some valve problems, making dumping of the sewer a continuous drama.   Since being back in the U.S., A's spent two separate days crawling under the trailer, removing the undercarriage covering and making repairs to the mechanisms.  

 

In one unfortunate episode, Adrian went outside to pull the lever to dump the sewer. The cable on the lever broke, causing a clog.  He came inside and in an attempt to release the pressure in the sewage tank, opened the toilet and flushed. This relieved the pressure alright...by producing a geyser of sewer liquid gushing into the bathroom.  The "emittance" hit the ceiling and all the walls, then showered down on poor Adrian. He stood for a moment in shocked disbelief, silently processing what had just happened to him. Even though he was silent, I could hear his internal dialog:  "Really?  Am I really covered in fecal matter?".  We're calling this day "Adrian's Shower of Sadness".  It's enough to put a bloke off RVing for good!  If you have seen the movie "RV", you will have visions of Robin Williams' sewer mishap. Because we had chemical in the sewer tank the "emittance" liquid was clear, but all the same, you know what it used to be.  

 

One session of dry heaves and two showers later, Adrian was almost back to normal. After throwing bathmats and towels outside, I did a bleach wash down of all walls and every surface imaginable. Adrian shampoo'd the carpets throughout the trailer due to "emittance" overspray. This horrible day started out with waking to find that Bailey had "emitted" on the carpet during the night as well. 

 

Days in the RV like this make us feel like locking the door to the trailer, driving to the airport and catching a flight to...anywhere else! We shall try to temper these memories with those of the lovely beaches we left behind in Mexico. 

 

On to better tales! After our week in California, we went to Tucson, AZ. We spent a week there doing some sightseeing around the city and we ventured an hour further south to the legendary old west town of Tombstone, AZ. This is, of course, the site of the adventures of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday as well as the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral. We had a blast visiting the sights as well as taking in, what else, but a staged gunfight! We also took in the Boothill Cemetary in Tombstone which is the burial site of many other historical old west characters. Some of the markers were very entertaining, such as: "Here Lies Les Moore. Took 4 Bullets. No Less no More".

 

From Tucson we came to Mesa. Arrived here a few days ago. We are at Mesa Spirit RV Resort. It is the end of their season here and this very large park is already very empty. We stayed in this park in November 08 on our first trip south.  This park is so big that we regularly get lost trying to find our way out to the street. We have taken to keeping a map of the park in the truck to help us navigate. We will be in Mesa for a month, and then make our way home to the Okanagan for the summer.   There is a lot to see and do here, and amid our explorations we shall wait to see which trailer bits will require repair tomorrow!