Tag Archives: Casa Grande

Taking Care of Family (Casa Grande, AZ & Colorado Springs, CO)

2016/02/10 davidhobden@mac.com 2 Comments

My last post was on Wednesday the 27th of January. It has been a busy and stressful couple weeks since then. We had to move our oldest daughter and grandson from Colorado Springs to Phoenix. Let me bring you up to date:

We left the Urban Escape Vehicle at the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande and took the Silverado with our (empty) cargo trailer on a ~17 hour drive to Colorado Springs (COS). We made it late Thursday night (28 Jan) without incident. Thanks Dad and Elaine for putting us up at your place 🙂

On Friday we loaded up all the daughters’ stuff in COS.

Nice weather and nice view of Pikes Peak from where we picked up the daughters’ stuff. That was about to change tho… the weather I mean.

After getting everything loaded into the trailer and pickup bed, we joined my Dad and stepmom Elaine at the COS Elks Lodge for Friday dinner. Other friends also joined us when they heard we were in town.

(L to R) Stepmom Elaine, Monika Malmquist, and my Dad (Bill).

(L to R) Good friends Biff Anderson, Daniel Malmquist, Linda Anderson, and then Stilla.

(L to R) Stilla, Monika Malmquist, Christine Bargy, and Biff Anderson.

(L to R) Tim Bargy, Daniel Malmquist, Linda Anderson, and my stepmom Elaine.

We enjoyed after dinner conversation in the downstairs lounge. It was great catching up. I think it was September when we were last here.

On Saturday, I stopped by my old high school buddy’s auto repair shop to say hi and air up the tires on the trailer and truck for the extra weight I was now hauling.

Here’s my old high school pal Mike. He owns Chuck’s Auto in COS.

Mike and I, along with a couple others from his shop went out for a late breakfast. We had some of the best biscuits & gravy I’ve eaten in a long time at the nearby Mill Hill Saloon.

A big storm front was moving into COS and snow was expected overnight on Saturday and it was supposed to get real bad Sunday or Monday. So I made the wise choice to start heading south before the bad weather hit. Stilla stayed until the next day (Sunday) to spend time with our youngest daughter Joleen, plus the oldest daughter Jennifer still had to clean the place we moved her out of and take care of a few last minute items.

After getting safely over Raton Pass, I stopped near Springer, NM to see what new car displays they have inside Russell’s Truck Stop. I try to stop by here anytime we go down I-25.

Cars on display at Russell’s Truck Stop and Restaurant, Springer, NM.

I drove as far as Albuquerque and got a room at Motel 6. Ugghh, it reminded me of why I like to RV. And their cheapest room was still almost $50 🙁 Oh well, at least I successfully missed the snowstorm before it shut down Colorado Springs.

Stilla, Jennifer, and Kaan caught up with me around noon just south of Albuquerque, they had some light snow and icy conditions getting out of COS but the roads were fine after that. We all made it safely to Casa Grande late in the evening on the 31st of January.

Back at the “dirt farm”, we worked on my Mom’s casita that was still under the last stages of construction. We just had to put a few finishing touches on it to make it livable for Jenny and Kaan until we find her a place. I helped my stepdad Jim finish putting in the toilet and carpet for the floor, then we set up the air conditioner and heater. And finally, after a trip to Home Depot for some window blinds, we had a nice one room apartment, aka casita.

We then spent several days looking at houses, rentals, property, etc., and finally came to the conclusion that she needed to be in or near Phoenix to find a job and good school. We luckily, have a nephew in Phoenix that has extra rooms she can stay in for a couple months. Thanks Matthew! Matthew is my younger brother Donald’s kid who lives in Florida. Matthew owns a house in Glendale where he’s going to college.

Grandson Kaan at nephew Matthew’s house.

We drove by the Elks Lodge in Tempe, AZ on the way back from dropping Jenny and Kaan off at Matthew’s house in Glendale. We wanted to check it out for possible future RV spots. They had a Super Bowl buffet that we joined in on. In the RV park, we saw an Alpine. So I naturally popped by to say Hi. It was Todd & Janet Legg! We last saw them at the Desert Rat Rally in Quartzsite. I talked to Todd for a bit but didn’t get to see Janet. See ya later guys 🙂

We finished up the evening back at the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande by watching the Super Bowl with my mom and stepdad Jim. Go Broncos !!

Now we just have to figure out what to do with Jennifer’s dogs. Having pets certainly makes it harder to find a house or apartment for rent. And she can’t have them where she’s staying now, so I guess we’re stuck with them for now.

This is Ember (below). Our little dog “Coach’s” sister. We put her on Craigslist under the title ‘Free to Good Home’ but only got one response from an animal rights group called S.A.F.E. which stands for Save Animals From Euthanasia. They take pets every Saturday at a designated PetSmart® in Phoenix to find homes for them.

Luckily, I also put a couple pictures on the Alpine Coach Owners Facebook page and got the attention of Ron and Jeanne. We worked it out through correspondence to meet in Lake Havasu once we get there for the Alpine Coach Rally.

We left the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande on Tuesday the 9th with both of Jennifer’s dogs onboard to get to the Rally. We left our dog ‘Coach’ with my Mom because three dogs is just too much in an RV. Thanks again Mom for watching ‘Coach’… personally I’m beginning to wonder if she’ll even give him back 🙂

We left Casa Grande a little late in the day and finally made it to the Rodeo Grounds in Lake Havasu just after dark. The volunteer guards at the entrance were still ready for late arrivals and had our check-in paperwork. We followed a guy on his ATV with annoyingly bright and flashing color LED antennae to our designated site in between the other Alpine Coaches that are already here. We set up quickly, said some hello’s to our neighbors, and watched a little TV with the generator on until 10 PM when we went to bed.

This morning (Wednesday), we met Ron and Jeanne at the SARA dog park around the corner from the rodeo grounds. They drove down from their home in Las Vegas to meet us about adopting our daughter’s dog ‘Ember’. They are fairly new Alpine Coach owner’s and haven’t had the opportunity to join one of our rallies yet. As a matter of fact, they inquired about this one but it was already full 🙁 Hopefully, they will have the opportunity soon to join us soon 🙂

Jeanne with her “new to her” little dog, Ember.

Ron & Jeanne took little Ember with them to give her a loving home… as I’ve said many times before; those Alpine Coach owners are the best of people 🙂

And so here we are again… at another fine Alpine Coach Rally. It is now Wednesday the 10th of February. The Rally officially starts on Thursday the 11th and I’ll try to keep the blog updated with rally activities. We are dry camping (without hookups) at the SARA Park Rodeo Grounds (←link here). We’re here for a week of fireworks… called the 27th Annual Western Winter Blast Pyrotechnics Show (←link). We attended the same rally here last year, click (HERE) for a link to the beginning of those blog posts if interested.

Stay tuned…

Arizona

Back to the Dirt Farm (Casa Grande, AZ)

2016/01/27 davidhobden@mac.com

On Tuesday our plans changed (as they often do) and we headed on back to the “Dirt Farm” in Casa Grande in a convoy with my Mom, Stepdad, brother Steve & Cheryl. The “Dirt Farm” is where they live and call home. They gave this nickname to their ~4 acre “farm” where they have some chickens and ponies. It’s also where we often park the Urban Escape Vehicle on 50 Amp power when we’re in the area. You may recall that we parked the Coach here while we visited Germany for 5 weeks in December and early January.

We came back here directly from Quartzsite in order to park the Urban Escape Vehicle so we can take the pickup and trailer to Colorado Springs to help our daughter move.

So on Wednesday we downloaded and stored the ATV.

We emptied the trailer of all our items in storage and hooked it up to the Silverado with the intent to drive straight thru to Colorado Springs tomorrow morning (Thursday).

So if you don’t hear from us for a couple days, it’s because we’re on the road to Colorado where we’ll be helping our daughter pack up her stuff and move. We hope to be back in Casa Grande soon so we can get to the next Alpine Coach Rally in Lake Havasu scheduled for February 11 -15. Stay tuned…

Arizona

Family Time at the Dirt Farm (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/04/18 davidhobden@mac.com 2 Comments

It’s been a while since my last post. We haven’t been up to a whole lot, so I’ve been taking a bit of a break from the blog. We’ve been hanging out at the “Dirt Farm” in Casa Grande since around the 2nd of April enjoying some family time with my Mom, Stepdad, brother Steve and his girlfriend Cheryl.

We’ve been parked in front of Mom’s house moochingdocking off their recently installed 50 Amp power. Steve and Cheryl’s house is situated a little ways behind this house on the same ~4 acre lot that they have affectionately nicknamed the “dirt farm”, complete with chickens and ponies.

Here’s stepdad Jimmy working on a little dirt and rock garden in our front yard – oops.. I mean their, front yard 🙂 Jimmy is always busy doing something. Sometimes retirement isn’t easy.

Stilla and my Mom have been pretty good about going on morning walks. They’ve been going distances of at least two, and sometimes three or more miles. I even went with them once 🙂

Here’s stepdad Jimmy and brother Steve working on yet another project. I’ve been helping out as needed to “earn our keep”.

There’s a seemingly endless number of projects to get done here on the “dirt farm”. Here (below) Jimmy is putting in some pavers. I kept telling him they’re crooked but that’s how mom wants it 🙂

Here’s Jimmy at the checkout counter on one of our many trips to Home Depot or Lowe’s. I provided moral support and light lifting as needed.

Mom and Jimmy getting a section of dirt ready for some grass seed.

This is going to be a green lawn some day, I’m told 🙂

The back yard is slowly coming together. The fence keeps Mom’s cats from escaping when they use the “doggie-door”. I call this the “maximum security” area. The “minimum security” area is defined by the fence around Mom’s house where we’re parked, and it separates the two houses on the farm. The “general population” area is around my brother’s house where the ponies and chickens are kept.

Another backyard “maximum security” area view with some recently laid sod.

It hasn’t been all work around here though… we took some time to get in a little ATV’ing one day.

My cousin Dale and his wife Lisa from Denver came by to visit during the Easter holiday. It was great seeing them again.

Cousin Dale hasn’t been on an ATV in years… since the days they still made 3-wheelers! And it was Lisa’s first time. We took turns riding each of the three ATV’s so they could get the full experience. Steven’s quad (below) found some tumbleweeds… I wonder who that was?

Relaxing after a hard days ride 🙂

Lisa and Dale. Stilla and little Coach in the background.

Easter morning started out with my Mom finding some baby “Easter Bunnies” in the horse manure pile she was spreading out for her fruit tree orchard.

Awww… aren’t they cute?

Even our Easter guests weren’t safe from projects while they were visiting. Here we all are, picking up a pool for the ponies that brother Steve and Cheryl bought.

Somehow we managed to fit the round object into the somewhat square hole on the trailer and safely made it back to the farm.

Brother Steve and Aunt Kathy. Steve is describing how the “pony pool” will be positioned in the ground with “ramps” for the ponies to get in and out.

And here we are; out for another meal… something we did often during our time at the “dirt farm”.

We kept busy evenings playing games around Steven and Cheryl’s nice dining (aka game) table.

And sometimes we had “movie night”.

But alas… all good times have to come to an end 🙁 It’s about time to start heading back towards Colorado (weather permitting). The house still hasn’t sold, so we are going to go back to see what we can do. Besides, Stilla wants to check on the daughter(s) and grandson.

But first, we still want to check out some things in the Tucson area that we haven’t seen yet, so we’ll head down to the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base FamCamp. We’ve heard it’s pretty nice.

Goodbye “dirt farm”! And goodbye, Mom, Jimmy, Steve & Cheryl… thanks for putting up with us for a while! It’s getting too hot here anyway 🙂 Hopefully, we’ll be back before the snow hits up north again (wherever we are).

Next stop… Tucson! Stay tuned…

Arizona

Dirt Farming (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/03/19 davidhobden@mac.com 1 Comment

We’ve been hanging out at the “dirt farm” in Casa Grande for a couple weeks now. The name “dirt farm” is not meant to be derogatory. It’s the name my brother and his significant other, Cheryl, have given to their 5-acre homesite complete with horses and chickens. It’s actually quite green for the moment with the recent rains and somewhat cooler weather.

This is also where my mom and stepdad live in their separate, but smaller pre-fabricated house. Brother Steven and Cheryl have the “big house” – a super-sized triple wide home.

We’ve been parked in front of Mom’s house, where stepdad Jim just finished hooking up a 50-Amp receptacle in the garage. Now we, or anyone else for that matter, can mooch power from either house… just depends on who you want to visit. 🙂 Although, the houses are only a couple hundred feet apart, we opted to park at Mom’s because it’s fenced in. This is great for little dog, Coach. We don’t have to put him on a leash… just let him out the door in the morning to do his business. Besides, as I reported earlier, the ground at Steven & Cheryl’s 50-Amp pedestal was still soggy from recent rain when we first arrived here.

When we weren’t working on the “dirt farm”, we went out to eat a few times… but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been eating well at the farm too! We’re going to have to get away from here so we can go on a diet! Just kidding Mom 🙂

While enjoying all the good meals and the company of family, we’ve been helping out a little with all the on-going projects around here. Some of these projects include, but are not limited to: running electrical power and burying cable for outlying sheds and a casita; putting up or moving fencing; spreading gravel and leveling with the bobcat; etc., etc.,

Brother Steve and Stepdad Jimmy spreading gravel.

Mom’s future orchard… all leveled and ready for planting… almost…

Mom working on the future fruit tree orchard.

And the first fruit tree goes in…

Mom’s first fruit tree in the new “orchard”.

Earlier picture of Mom’s vegetable garden. There are now two rows of corn and one row of onions… more rows to follow…

I also used the time here to reorganize the contents of my cargo trailer and made room in my “Conex” storage container for more items. Now I can park either the ATV or the Harley inside the trailer, depending on which one we decide to haul around in the pickup with us.

The new Xantrex inverter/charger that I wrote about in my last post has been working as advertised. Although, when I did some checking, I found out that the technician forgot to tighten down the nuts that hold it to the basement wall. I guess he got distracted after finger-tightening the nuts… must have been tired from lifting the 75 pound unit into place.

Also, I think I need to come up with a junction box of some sort for the wire connections he spliced. I wish he would have taken the time to run new wires, the old ones (orange) were just a couple inches too short.

In other RV maintenance related news; I finally took the time to do something about the sagging insulation in the engine compartment. My stepdad had some super-sized washers that I was able to use after drilling holes through the closet floor (under the drawers). Don’t look too bad, eh?

I also fixed a support bracket for the charge-air cooler tube that had broken again. This bracket had been fixed once already by my old high school buddy and good friend, Mike Harris. My buddy Mike welded the bracket, but I think the extra weight of the sagging insulation that was laying on top of the tube was just too much for it. Thanks anyway Mike! 🙂

Oh, and by the way – the technicians at Speedco lied! They didn’t lube the u-joints on the Coach after changing the oil and replacing the fuel filter like they said they did. There was absolutely no evidence the dirt-encrusted grease fittings had been touched with a grease gun since last year. So I cleaned the fittings and lubed them myself while I was under there.

It’s been great spending time here at the “dirt farm’ with family. Thanks Ma, Jimmy, Steve & Cheryl! See you again soon… hopefully we’ll be back in time for some Easter fun at the farm 🙂

And now it’s time to move on… we’re signed up for an Alpine Coach Pre-Rally in Valencia CA that starts the 19th. After that, we’ll convoy to the FMCA Rally in Pomona. We’re looking forward to both rallies, there’s going to be lots of activities and new things to do and see.

Here we are at a rest stop by the Imperial Sand Dunes along I-8 yesterday (Wednesday) after we said our farewells and hit the road.

I decided to load the Harley and the bicycles for our next adventure in California. I parked the ATV safely away in the cargo trailer back at the “dirt farm”.

All loaded up for the rallies in California.

We found an overnight spot at the Red Earth Casino along highway 86 next to the Salton Sea. And the price was right, Free! We just had to stay at our $20 limit inside the casino…

Little Coach enjoying some California dirt.

We should make it to Valencia in a few hours after I post this. Check back in later to see what we’re up to. 🙂

Arizona

Maintenance Day (Gilbert, AZ)

2015/03/11 davidhobden@mac.com

It was a very early day on Tuesday – we had to get up around 5:30 AM and hit the road by 6 AM to make the 55 mile trip to Gilbert, AZ for my scheduled inverter/charger repair. The Xantrex inverter/charger went out on me last week on Thursday. I wrote about this in a previous blog post titled “Dirt Farm“.

Stilla joined my Mom, stepdad Jimmy, brother Steven, and his girlfriend Cheryl in their car so they could run “errands” (code for shopping) in and around the Phoenix area while I stayed with the Coach.

We arrived at Tekris Power around 7 AM. The knowledgeable technician, Robert Meeker, quickly verified that my old Xantrex RS2000 was ready for the trash can. They don’t make them any more and parts are hard to get… repairing the unit is not cost-effective. He determined that the best replacement unit is the Xantrex Freedom 3012. This is a nice 3,000 watt unit that will go well with my 8 house batteries and residential fridge.

Urban Escape Vehicle parked behind the Xantrex “authorized” service center in Gilbert, AZ.

Items on display inside the office at Tekris Power.

My extended warranty company, EasyCare, sent a warranty coordinator to verify the failure and authorize the replacement. He arrived around 10AM, took photos, asked questions, and filled out a lot of paperwork. We got word by telephone that the replacement was authorized about an hour after he left. The end-result was a bill for a little over $3000… luckily my portion only ended up being around $375 thanks to the extended warranty.

Here’s the old RS2000 unit on Robert’s workbench. Notice the small vents on the bottom that are clogged with dust. This side was mounted against the wall and probably contributed to it’s demise. Although, it has lasted 10 years – which is a pretty good run for an inverter/charger. The Coach is a 2005 model.

Robert packed up my old inverter/charger in the box from the new unit. I decided to keep it in case someone might need parts or want to have it repaired.

Here’s Robert mounting the new unit on the back wall of the basement where the old unit was. He must have crawled in and out of there about 50 times before he was done hooking things up.

And here’s the new unit all mounted and ready for wiring.

While my technician, Robert was working away… I got a text from my friend, fellow Alpine driver and blogger, Mike Kuper. He and his lovely wife, Donna are currently staying at an RV Resort in the nearby Mesa, AZ area.

Mike came over on his scooter to visit and provide moral support while the Coach was getting fixed.

Mike hung out with me for a good portion of the day while we talked Alpine and full-time RV stuff. We even walked over to a nearby restaurant, Los Favoritos to have some fish tacos for lunch. It was good seeing Mike again… it’s a small RV world after all 🙂

We first met Mike and Donna in Portland, OR at an Alpine Coach Pre-Rally in August 2014. We convoyed together afterwards to the FMCA Rally in Redmond where we enjoyed more time with them on a sightseeing trip to Lava Lands in addition to other rally activities.

Here’s a few pictures we took back then on a hike we took around an old volcano… this was before I was doing the blog:

Donna and Stilla at Lava Lands National Monument (Oregon) in August of 2014.

Lava Butte – Newberry National Volcanic Monument near the Lava Lands Visitors Center in August of 2014 with Mike and Donna.

Mike has a great blog named “Flying the Koop” that I read regularly. I even emulated his website when I was starting mine. Check it out.

After Robert finished up the inverter/charger replacement and put in a new system control panel to replace the old one (they weren’t compatible), we tested everything out with shore power and the generator. We even boiled some water in the microwave using just the inverter on battery power… don’t think the old unit would let me do that! I paid my portion of the bill and headed back to Casa Grande. Stilla and the others were still out shopping and running around the greater Phoenix area, so I drove back alone.

I knew it was time for an oil change and what better time than now – since I was already out and about. It’s been a year since the last service and we’ve put on about 8000 miles since then.

Mike told me he had a good experience at Speedco near Casa Grande, so I plugged them into the GPS and got there by 5 PM. Thanks for the tip Mike!

After a 20 minute wait, they drained and replaced my 25 quarts of engine oil and the filter. Then they replaced my fuel-water separator filter with a Baldwin BF 1293-SPS, but couldn’t get to the other fuel filter (an FF5488) that is hidden above the starter. That one was replaced last year and the shop that did it then, had to remove the starter to gain access. I decided to let that one go until next time… maybe I’ll try to tackle that one myself.

I paid the somewhat reasonable $200 bill and got back to the “dirt farm” shortly after Stilla and the rest of the family.

We decided to stay parked in front of my Mom’s house because it’s fenced-in. This is convenient for little dog “Coach” so he doesn’t go near the horses or get chased by the chickens at my brother and Cheryl’s. We’ll have to test out that 50-Amp pedestal they installed next to their house another time. Meanwhile, we’re doing ok with an extension cord to a 20-Amp outlet… especially, since I have a new 3000 watt inverter 🙂

Time to close out todays blog post and go help out around the farm here in order to earn our keep. Wouldn’t want to wear out our welcome here with the family… especially since we still don’t have a buyer for the house back in Colorado Springs yet. We need to save some bucks in the campground budget category until we head to Valencia and Pomona on the 19th. At least we’ve already paid for those rallies.

Until next time…

Arizona

Hanging out at the “Dirt Farm” & Casa Grande Ruins (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/03/09 davidhobden@mac.com

We’re still hanging around the “dirt farm” with my Mom, stepdad Jim, brother Steve, and Cheryl. Since the inverter/charger went out on the Urban Escape Vehicle, (see my last post) we’ve been minimizing battery usage by having meals and watching television with our hosts. Thanks family!

Urban Escape Vehicle parked in front of Mom’s house at the “dirt farm”.

We still haven’t moved over to the 50-Amp pedestal that brother Steve had installed next to his house, since it wouldn’t do us any good now anyway. You may recall from my last posting, that recent rains prevented us from parking there when we arrived. The ground was pretty soggy… wouldn’t want to sink in and get stuck.

Anyway, I was able to schedule an appointment with the authorized Xantrex service center in Gilbert, AZ for Tuesday morning. We’ll depart early in the morning to get there by 8 AM.

Meanwhile, we’ve just been puttering around here or in the local area. Yesterday (Sunday) we drove over to Coolidge to browse the flea market with Mom and Jim. Mom picked up a few more fruit trees to plant at the farm.

And before that, on Saturday, we toured the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument with Mom and Jim. Here’s some pics we took for the day:

Entrance sign to the national monument from the main road in Coolidge, AZ.

We were able to use my disabled veteran National Parks Pass in lieu of the entrance fee.

Entrance sign in front of the Visitors Center.

The visitors center was chock-full of displays and informational placards.

We watched the film in the theater and then browsed all the displays until it was time for the guided tour.

Artists conception of daily life back in the day.

Here’s a diorama of the “Great House” with informational placard below.

I was surprised to learn there’a a large number of archeological sites throughout Arizona.

Once you step out the back door of the Visitors Center, you are greeted with a grand view of the ruins.

When it was time for the guided tour, we gathered under the pavilion.

Our tour guide, John, was passionate and knowledgeable. His background was in engineering, so he gave his presentation from that perspective.

Here, our informative tour guide John, is explaining how one of the circular openings in the wall align with the setting sun on the summer solstice.

Another view of the ruins from the front, or is it the back? Oh heck, the other side.

Informational placards were placed throughout the compound:

Mom and stepdad Jimmy posed for a picture.

Then it was our turn.

Another view of the ruins. I found it interesting in itself that the protective structure was built around 1932. It replaced a wooden structure that was in place before that.

After our tour of the Casa Grande Ruins, we took the short walking tour from the parking lot to view some more of this compound. Here’s the ball field with another informational placard in the foreground.

There were many of these signs all around the parking lot and compound.

Stilla supported one of the local “artists” inside the visitors center.

Great tour!… I would highly recommend it for anyone visiting the area.

Back at the “dirt farm” there’s always something to do. Here’s some electrical wire getting laid in the ground to power up the sheds, and recently built casita.

And here’s Jim and Steve filling in one of the ditches. I even helped a little… the fun part was packing it back down by running over the fresh dirt with the ATV 🙂

Anyway, gotta run and help out a little more…

Stay tuned to see how our repairs to the Urban Escape Vehicle go tomorrow…

Arizona

“Dirt Farm” (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/03/06 davidhobden@mac.com 2 Comments

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 🙂

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

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…. 🙂

And here’s looking west.

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.

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.

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.

Our own 50 amp pedestal at the “dirt farm”. Pedestal is to the right, next to the house.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I checked the network wires and connections.

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

All the connections are tight and clean.

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.

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…

Arizona

Desert Rat Rally XIV (Quartzsite, AZ)

2015/01/22 davidhobden@mac.com

Well, we made it! Here we are at our premier spot in the desert, just North of Quartzsite, AZ.

We got here just in time on Sunday to partake in the Margherita Mixer Hour and then the catered Mexican dinner from Taco Mio. Good times! But, first let me bring you up to speed on our trip here.

As mentioned in my last post, we got the Harley downloaded from the truck and uploaded the ATV at my brother’s “dirt farm” in Casa Grande.

After making sure everything was properly stowed again after our one night stay at the “dirt farm”, we headed out for the ~3 hour road trip to meet up with the Alpine Coach group at the rally that was already in full swing since the 14th of January. We got here mid-afternoon and had just enough time to set up “camp” before we went into the giant tent that our group had rented.

It was great catching up with all the people from past rallies. Many wondered where we had been. The camp co-host, Ann Fleming, even provided Stilla with extra tickets for Margherita’s since we won the “award” for being last 🙂

Here’s a few pics from the inside of our huge dinner tent. I took more pics, but unfortunately many were blurry, just a few came out alright:

On Monday, Stilla and I, both took pictures around our boondocking site throughout the day:

Our Alpine Coach Association, Desert Rat Rally XIV, community tent.

Also, on Monday – I had some work done on the coach, but I’ll save that for my next post… the sun has been out for a while now, and I have to get on with the day. So much to see and do…

I will post again tomorrow to bring you up to speed on activities since Monday… until then 🙂

Arizona, Colorado

We’re late, We’re late, for a very important date… (Casa Grande, AZ)

2015/01/18 davidhobden@mac.com 1 Comment

It took a lot of work… but we’re finally back on the road! Goodbye ol’ house 😐

On Thursday, with the help of my Dad, (Thanks again Dad!) we finished up some last minute details on the house and then concentrated on loading the Harley into the pickup along with any last minute forgotten items. Back at the Elks Lodge, Stilla had some of her German friends come by the Coach to say goodbye.

On Friday morning, (our travel day), I found myself up on a ladder trying to get as much ice off the roof as I could. I had to use a hair-dryer and broom to get the chunks of ice off the slideout awnings so we could retract them. I gave up trying to get the ice off the roof. A lot of the snow had melted the previous day and turned into 1 – 2 inch thick ice that stubbornly refused to break up and fall off.

While I was working on the ice problem, good friend Danny surprised us by stopping by to say goodbye. Bye Dan! We’ll keep in touch.

We finally decided it was best for Stilla to follow me (at a safe distance) in the truck. I didn’t want any of the ice chunks falling off and going through the truck windshield. So, down the road we went… with ice chunks slowly melting and falling onto the highway behind us… goodbye cold Colorado… we’ll see you again when it’s warmer.

It took 70 miles before enough ice had fallen off the roof of the Coach so we could hook up the truck up for towing. We even stopped at the rest stop just before Pueblo, where I got out the ladder and tried to break up some of the ice, but it was still too thick.

Just as it was becoming dusk, we stopped at the casino/gas station after Santa Fe but before Albuquerque to get fuel and noticed that my running lights weren’t working on the truck. The brake lights and turn signals were fine, but the driving lights wouldn’t come on. I’ve had this problem before. I think it has to do with the Vansco Multiplex system the Coach employs. I’ll have to work on it once we get to Quartzsite. Since we didn’t have tail lights on the truck, and I didn’t want to just hook up an emergency flasher light, (which I carry), we decided to spend the night at the casino.

They charge $20 for electrical hook-up at the casino but gave us each a $10 players card. We enjoyed their buffet for $20 and spent another $20 playing the slots. Fortunately, we won just a little at the slot machines so we pretty much broke even by spending the night there.

On Saturday morning we got rolling about an hour after the sun had come over the horizon. We made it to Casa Grande just as it was getting dark again. Whew! Time to refresh ourselves for the night, catch up with brother Steve & Cheryl, Mom and Stepdad Jimmy.

This morning, (Sunday), I’ll download the Harley from the truck and upload the ATV which has been stored here at the farm. Hopefully, we can make it to Quartzsite at a reasonable time this afternoon. The party already started there and we’re late… I’ve already heard from some of the Alpine Coach group that are there, hope they saved us a spot in the desert 🙂

Arizona, Colorado

There and Back Again (Colorado Springs, CO)

2015/01/15 davidhobden@mac.com

We made the final road trip to Casa Grande on Sunday with “stuff”… made it back to COS on Tuesday.

Cloud bank coming over mountains near Santa Fe NM

On Sunday: We, (Stilla, Little dog “Coach”, and I), left our house at 6 AM after hooking up the fully-loaded trailer and made it to Casa Grande by 9 PM. After 15 hours of driving, we met my Mom, Stepdad (Jimmy), Brother Steve and his squeeze (Cheryl), for a late-night dinner at the Iron Skillet Restaurant just South of Casa Grande. The 900 mile trip down here took us 15 hours and we only got 9.2 miles per gallon with the heavy load. Every time we pull the trailer, it’s like having an open parachute behind you.

After a good night’s sleep at the “dirt farm” in my Mom’s house, we spent Monday recuperating from the trip. We also downloaded a few items from the trailer to the Conex. Most items, we left in the trailer. Then we gave the trailer a good washing with my brother’s pressure washer. It also took a good amount of carwash soap, buckets and ladders to clean off all the road-grime and magnesium chloride. That magnesium chloride is nasty stuff. They put it on the roads for ice control and it’s hard to get off the under-components of your vehicle. The stainless-steel wrap on the front of the trailer and fenders have spots all over that will have to be buffed out now to get rid of the effects of the stuff. We parked and locked up the trailer in a safe spot on the farm. (Thanks Steve, Cheryl, Mom & Jimmy)!

On Monday: We got a 6 AM start back to Colorado Springs. What a difference without the trailer (parachute) behind us… we made the 900 mile trip back to COS by 8 PM and we got a much more palatable 14.8 miles per gallon 🙂

On Tuesday: We picked up my 90 day refill of meds from the Ft Carson hospital that I had requested the week prior and we stopped by Home Depot (again) for a couple last minute things to finish up the house that’s for sale. I had to special order some 3-toggle light switch plates that they didn’t keep in stock… I needed them to match the others that we had already replaced. I also finally finished up the carpet and trim pieces on the garage steps, which is yet another home project that I never got around to completing when we lived there. Now, if the weather would just cooperate, I can finish staining the rear deck and painting the front porch. These are the last items on our list to complete so we can head South. Hopefully we can complete this quickly and hit the road with the Urban Escape Vehicle. We’re late for the Alpine Coach Rally in Quartzsite.

Looking West from the driveway – For Sale sign in yard.

inner garage door steps (finally completed trim pieces and tacked down carpet)

front porch with partially completed concrete paint (using “Restore” product from Home Depot)

With any luck, my next post will be coming to you from the warm Arizona desert 🙂

BTW- If anyone else out there is selling a house, beware of scam artists on Craigslist. We had someone use our pics and name to represent it as a rental… hoping to con someone into sending them a deposit. My realtor found and fixed this on Craigslist but not before someone stopped by to look at the “rental”. I guess these scumbags try to get people to come by and look at the house through the windows, and when contacted, the scumbag says he’s out of town, but if you send him a deposit to secure the rental – he’ll send them the rental contract and keys… scumbags!

Urban Escape Vehicle .com

Tag Archives: Casa Grande

Taking Care of Family (Casa Grande, AZ & Colorado Springs, CO)

Back to the Dirt Farm (Casa Grande, AZ)

Family Time at the Dirt Farm (Casa Grande, AZ)

Dirt Farming (Casa Grande, AZ)

Maintenance Day (Gilbert, AZ)

Hanging out at the “Dirt Farm” & Casa Grande Ruins (Casa Grande, AZ)

“Dirt Farm” (Casa Grande, AZ)

Desert Rat Rally XIV (Quartzsite, AZ)

We’re late, We’re late, for a very important date… (Casa Grande, AZ)

There and Back Again (Colorado Springs, CO)

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