Good Morning COVID-19 Warriors – day #337 for me. This may be the last post I do with this title. I’m still trying to think of a clever title, but I’m still not sure what to use. I’m driving Ms. Daisy to Tucson to sell to Judy! I’m excited and a little sad, but not really. Now that I have Mama Bear and I feel pretty confident towing her – not backing up into my side slab – Bill is still doing it for me, but I can hook her up and unhook her and set up the leveling of her, it’s a pretty great thing! We WENT CAMPING!!!!!! It was amazing – I can say “for sure” where we were – we don’t want it to be “overrun” with newbies (although I’m still a newbie), but the place was just amazing. I have pictures and videos to add to this blog. Here is the first one!
This was Papa & Mama in our first site #7. The place had HUGE sites – lots of room between them – unlike any I’ve ever seen before. Bill and Cathy & Rich have been there numerous times and love the place – I can really see why. Bill backed up Mama for me the first time, but on the second day, I practiced and we had a “break through”! I finally “got” the technique – use the mirrors (not the back up camera) & STEER TOWARD THE PROBLEM. Don’t give me left or right because it isn’t natural for me – never has been. Even though I’m right handed, it never was automatic for me, but now the more I back up, the more confident I’ll become. I’m going to practice in the neighborhood because there are places to do that.
This picture was taken from my site – the next RV is Rich’s and beyond that is Bill and Cathy! Isn’t that AMAZING!!!!!!!
We are on BLM land and the price for the night with the OLD FART card was $2.50 – $5 for the two nights!!!! There were no services, but there was a fire ring and a pavilion with a picnic table at each site.
So this is how cheap it can be to camp in AZ and with the “old fart” card, it is half off! WOW! I just looked on the calendar and I’m scheduled to go to Patagonia Lake State Park on February 21st, I’ve reserved site #33. I’ll have to go to the website and figure out where that site is. It will be my first time on my own but it is with RVing Women. I need to get another bumper sticker for Papa Bear. I have a back in site – #PTL-33. I wanted a map of the whole campground but could not for the life of me figure out how to get it. I’m going to call them in a bit when they open up.
SO in the meantime, more pictures from our camping trip:
This was the view from our campsites. The Gila River prevented us from going over to those cliffs. But aren’t they beautiful? The temperature was super – mostly in the 60’s during the day and 40’s at night. It got cold in Mama Bear, but my fleece blankets kept me warm. I turned on the furnace for a few minutes first thing, let it cycle a couple of times, and then turned it off and used the HEAT BUDDY:
You can see the heat buddy in the corner – it gives off a lot of heat. I was also using my 4Patriot generator (it’s really an inverter that will charge phones and run the coffee maker). It fits under the table so that is why the coffee maker is on the floor. I think I’ll use an extension cord next time so I can keep it on the table. I plugged in the generator and charged up the battery. When I get my truck topper, I’ll put the solar panel in it and then I can use solar to charge it up while boondocking.
So this is sunset at our camp:
That was the second night. This picture from my iPhone doesn’t really show the colors well, but you get the point. We always eat at Bill & Cathy’s because they have the roaring fire:
Love our fires. I thought I would try the axe (hatchet) and sledge hammer work to split the logs, since the logs are so big in the packages you buy at Safeway or ACE, so I tried it once. Split one log and decided I wouldn’t be doing that. But I may rethink that. I need a trip to REI in Tucson. I need hiking boots, socks, back pack etc. My Harley Davidson backpack is not that great. I need one that is designed for hiking. But as Bill says, how much hiking am I really going to do? So far, it hasn’t been much, but that could change.
The rocks in this campground were amazing – this one reminded me of Suzan:
There were rocks along all of the paths between sites. It made it really easy to walk between sites:
This is how I have my bed set up – there is SO MUCH ROOM:
It is actually nice not to have to climb a ladder to go to bed! Plus it’s great for napping too! By the way, those storage bins on the top shelf are a perfect fit for Mama Bear. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to put in them yet, but we’ll see. I could put the small pictures I used to put on the shelf in Olivi@ and I can put them out on top of the window valance by the bed. Something that will make me feel “homey”!
So more pictures from camping: My view out of the emergency window at my bed:
This is the view from my dinette window and you can see how far the sites are apart:
I just went to the trash and mailboxes and along my way, I saw Barry – he is building his own shed by his Park Model – he is so cute! Reminds me a lot of Barry Donavan. Anyway, then as I’m going to the far gate to return home, the guy on the corner has his cat outside on a leash – it’s 15 year old Maine Coon. HUGE cat! Got me thinking about this:
I think I’ll try this seriously now. I want to take her with me in Mama Bear, but I want her on a leash most of the time, so she is just going to practice with this until she gets a little more used to it. 30 minutes today. I’m going to put a reminder on my phone for training each day.
This is a picture of the meal that Cathy provided to us on our first night. Good ole southern dish – black eyed peas and collard greens with spicy andouille sausage with corn bread. Gave me indigestion but was so good going down. Still feeling some pain in my side and back and hoping it’s just a pulled muscle or something, not a kidney issue!
Just tested where to put the kitty litter in Mama Bear – it fits right by the toilet in the bathroom. I won’t need to use the shower any more! So things are progressing.
She found the sun on the bed and looks so cute. She did not resist as much today. I’m excited about getting her to wear the halter so we can go outside. It’s still a little cold these days but that will change shortly.
