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!

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:

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

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…