Solar Power...the benefits of the Sun

As you may remember from the post back in September, Jim had gotten 10 solar panel mats that stick to the roof of the camper.  He really wanted 14 of the solar panel mats, but there just was not enough room on the roof of the camper to accommodate that many.  This past winter, while in Quartzsite, it just didn't seem to be enough charge in the batteries to last through the evening and night to make it to the next day when the sun would come up again.  On cloudy days, well that really didn't help matters either.  We would have to run the generator for 2 to 4 hours in the evening in order to watch TV. Well, with gas approaching $4.00/gal that was an incentive to search for more solar panels.

Jim had helped a fellow Quartzsite RV dweller to transfer his solar panels from one motor home to another, for payment Jim got a couple of 50 watt panels.  Jim quickly installed them over one of the windows. (Jim keeps saying he and I compromised....I wanted awnings over the windows and he wanted more solar panels.

This one little panel really helped and cut down on the use of the generator considerable.   SO, if one is good, a whole bunch is even better....right???

After returning to Seligman, and conferring with his cousin, off we went to Flagstaff (1 &1/2 hr drive) to NORTHERN ARIZONA WIND & SUN (http://www.solar-electric.com/  P# 800-383-0195) and picked up not 2 but 4 more solar panels.  I knew what he would do with the two....more awnings, but there was just enough room on the roof to mount the other 2 up there.



The new ones are at the end of the camper.  Just enough room!!
He has them mounted that they can be pointed in either direction.



Up close and personal with one of the new panels.
(That was Jim taking the pictures.....your truly doesn't do high places!!!)




Wah Lah......Window awnings!!!



Keeps the sun out of the coach and puts more energy into the batteries!!

 Jim is on a quest for "Float Mode" on the system and usually gets it by 2PM every afternoon now.  He's happy and I get to watch TV without the generator running in the evening!!!! 

I think we have enough solar panels now to power a small city!!!  The sun is amazing!

I guess we are all set, for the time being.

Safe travels to all!!!

Jim and Barb

Home Sweet Home

With a camper it is "Home is where you park it".  This is not only our camper, it is also our home!!  In a stick and brick house if you don't like some thing...rip it out!!!  Since we have done that a lot in the past in all of the rentals and rehabs we had, we decided it can't be all that tough in a camper.    In a house it is called remodeling, in a camper it is called making modifications.  Boy did we modify!!!!

BEFORE

AFTER

We added 4 cabinets behind the lounge chairs and table for extra storage.  It is so nice now.

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE.....INDULGE YOUR SELF

I got the window in Mexico for $85.00.  They were selling in the states for $220.00.

And they wonder why our economy is going to hell!!!!

Well until the next time....that we decided to rip something out....safe travels!!!

Jim and Barb

Flowers of the Desert!

I set out in search of flowers that bloom in the desert.  This is some of what I have found so far.....



Please don't pick the flowers...they are smiling at God.



May your day be filled with flowers and sun shine today and every day.

Barbara Denning

The Grand Canyon

May 5, 2012

Raise your hand if you have never been to the Grand Canyon!!!!  What can be said about the Grand Canyon...beside that is a big hole in the ground!!!  It is pretty and lots of people from all over the world come to see it.  On this visit even Flat Stanley got to see if for the first time.

This blog is done mostly for our grandson, Anderson, so that he can see where his Flat Stanley has been.  Hopefully, some day soon Anderson and Riley will be able to join us to see this wonder also.

In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words!!!!







Pretty neat place,  Anderson.  Hope you can come see it too, like I did.



We had fun taking pictures with Flat Stanley today.   One of the park rangers shared with us her experience of taking pictures with a Flat Stanley that another child had asked her to take into the Grand Canyon for an adventure.   It seems like it is a pretty popular school geography lesson.

As we were leaving the Grand Canyon, Jim got his wish.....that the only time he wanted to see snow again was on  a mountain way over there......

  

Until the next time......safe travels to all and enjoy!

Jim and Barb

Returned to Cousin Bob's

Apr 20, 2012 and still here.

As you may remember our first stop, after Texas, was Cousin Bob's.  After the second snow fall last fall we left promising to return in the spring to continue to help with construction on the house.  We got to Bob's on Apr 20 at 3:30pm.



One of the little desert creatures came out to greet
us as we were setting up camp!!!




The neighbors....at least they are quiet and they
mosey off when they are done.

We plan to leave sometime the third week in May to go to the Grand Canyon-North Rim.  I read that the North Rim does not open to tourists until the middle of May.  Oh well, we will get there when we get there!!!

In the mean time, there have been some day trips....very LITTLE work has been done on the house. What is the old adage?  All work and no play....in our case it is more play than work.  OPPS!!!!

We have ventured over to Oatman, AZ.  It is known for it's little burro's wondering the streets begging for food....and they are good at it too.   Flat Stanley went along and again mugged it up for the camera.

Flat Stanley and Cousin Bob when we first got into town.

Always a Saloon in these old west towns.

Flat Stanley on a toy burro his size.



Flat Stanley got involved in the gun fight in the center of town.
Everyone is trying blow holes in this poor little puppet!!!

Now for the burro experience:
Burro food is sold in town.  They would rather the burros be feed burro food than a candy bar or popcorn (bad for their teeth I guess)  It was fun feeding the little guys.



They wander the streets looking
for a hand out.

They will get up close and personal

Very up close and personal!!!



And they are pushy!!!

Some of the buildings in town:

Fast Fanny's, the local Bordello!!!



Town Hall/Museum





Local entertainer...or crazy.  Not sure.

 There was a Harley Davidson store in this town, along with one in Apache Junction, Tortilla Flat, Sedona and Seligman.  Could it be something about "Riding off into the sunset"?  Probably the best mode of transportation on the mountain roads.

I know, if I show one more rock formation....but each one is unique.



So much for Oatman, now on to Seligman.....

I read on the Internet that one of the "must experience things" was to go to the Snow Cap in Seligman.  They have a quarky way of serving food.  So we had to try it out.




You can have your picture taken in
the back of this "uniquely"
decorated car.





They capitalize on "OLD" and Route 66!!!!



Tour buses stop in Seligman on the way to the Grand Canyon!
Or on the way to Las Vegas...whichever!

Even the food has a sense of
humor !!!!!



It's been fun so far.

Life is a Journey....Enjoy it!  We are.

Jim and Barb

Sedona, AZ

Apr 18, 2012 to Apr 20, 2012

From Apache Junction we headed to Sedona.  That place is awesome!!!!  I can NOT afford to live there in any way shape or form.  Median home is priced at $1.5 million.  Just a little out of my price range.  So we were typical tourists in a very touristy place.

We camped at the Dead Horse State Park in Cottonwood.  The story behind the name of the state park was: the Ireys family came to Arizona from Minnesota looking to buy a ranch in the late 1940s.  At one of the ranches they discovered a large dead horse lying by the road.  After two days of viewing ranches, Dad Ireys asked the kids which ranch they liked the best.  The kids said, "the one with the dead horse."  the Ireys family chose the name Dead Horse Ranch.  In 1973, when Arizona State Parks acquired the ranch, The Ireys made retaining the name a condition of sale. (How is that for your history lesson for today.)

There was only one thing in Sedona that was a must do on our list.....Pink Jeep Tour!!!!



The Jeeps really were Pink!!!!!



Jim rode up front on the first half of the tour.

Did a little rock crawling!

One of the trails we came down.



Our driver said this was the Flintstones house!!!



















Our drives said the top was Flintstones house, the next one
down was a space ship and the one in the foreground was
a whale.  Do you see them?




The one in the middle of the trees looked like a space ship.
And I thought I was out in the desert to long!!!!

















And then there is the scenery:

ONE LAST ROCK FORMATION:



See Snoopy?

We had an excellent time.  I think we are in our second childhood....and it is so much fun!!!

We were able to see things that you just don't get to see from the paved highway (Deb, you were right!!).

This was one of life experiences that will stay with us for a long while!!


Experiencing Life,

Jim and Barb

Next Stop....Apache Junction

Apr 12, 2012 to Apr 18, 2012

Leaving Tucson we headed north to Apache Junction ( a suburb of Phoenix).  Coming into Phoenix we were on Hwy 202, which is the bypass around Phoenix.  That highway was awesome!!!  It was wide, walls on both sides of the highway and meticulously landscaped.  It also had NO trash anywhere.  It was a very pleasurable drive through the city.  We came into Phoenix around 2PM, thus not much traffic...just don't go near that road during rush hour!!!!  Cleveland drivers have nothing on Phoenix drivers during that time of day!!

We went to Apache Junction because I heard about the Apache Trail.  I thought that would be a fun thing to do....drive the Apache Trail.....in the BIG truck.  We waited to do that on the 15th of April.  On the 13th of April (which was Friday the 13th) we drove over to Superstition Mountain Museum and Gold Field Ghost Town.

Pictures of Superstition Mountain:

Superstition Mountain.
Not sure I would want to live at the bottom of a mountain
with that name.

Here are some of the buildings in Gold Field Ghost Town. This makes our 3rd Ghost town we had visited.  With the exception of the Dome Rock Mining town, they are all pretty much the same...old buildings with junk shops inside to sell replicas of old time stuff.  Hay they have to make a living some how.



What is an old town without a Saloon!!!



The local bordello (darn tourists in the way)



The local Ghost town Church

A working train..they gave train rides around the ghost town.



And what respectable Ghost town would not have their
own collection of old rusting cars and farm equipment.



Now on to the Apache Trail.  The article that I read it said it was not for the faint of heart.  By the time we got finished with it, I am totally surprised Abby's head didn't pop off and all the guts come spilling out..I was holding her so tight.  Not sure if it was for her sake or mine.

First stop on the trail was Tortilla Flat.  Tortilla Flat is the last remaining stage coach stop along the Apache Trail.   It has a population of 6.  The place was crazy!!!!

Beginning of the Apache Trail...nice!!!

Welcome to Canyon Lake.

OMG...there is water in Arizona!!!!

Tortilla Flat Restaurant:

Bar stools are saddles....Cute!!

The Walls are covered in money!!!!

And they threw in some fun stuff!!!

The scenery was pretty impressive.

The road was even more impressive!!!!

There was a mile marker out in the middle of flipping NO WHERE!

In the Tonto National Monument there are Cliff Dwelling.

Tonto  Cliff Dwellings built around AD 1250.

Pretty close quarters and really hard to get to in the early days.

But the view is breathtaking!!!



Our last adventure in Apache Junction was to visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park.  I took over 50 pictures of the Arboretum, unfortunately I can't post them all.  The place was just full of flowers.  I have a wonderful time...looking at all the flowers, knowing that I didn't have to weed them!!!

 



Even cactus can be pretty!!!!



On our way of Apache Junction I spotted this sign......you see the darndest things in the desert!!!!

Who said you can't find a job!!!!!

We enjoyed our stay in Apache Junction, and we hope to be able to visit again...someday.

Life is a Journey.....Enjoy it.

Wishing you all safe travels.

Jim and Barb