Pistol Lip Gripper

Casa Grande, Arizona

Not much happening here the last few days.  If my fractured heel, heals according to my following the doctors orders, I've been good.  I think it should be back to normal soon.  I elevated all day and stayed on the couch.

I did get a welcomed call from the Beckman's.  They were putting their RV in storage and wanted to know if I wanted to see it.  They drove it by and I think I surprised them by how quickly I could get up the steps.  Gerri said I'd be seeing it in two weeks anyway, but I've been waiting since this past summer to see it.  They keep telling me it's used, but it surely didn't look like it.  

They were anxious to get it parked so they didn't stay long.  It was so nice to have the visit, even if it was short.  

It's amazing the things you never do but when you're forced to sit around you do.  I read the junk mail today--Bass Pro.  My question to you is, "What's a pistol lip gripper and what do you do with it."  For whatever it's worth, it's on sale for $14.97.  

The "Warden" let me out today for a little while.  We went to see American Sniper.  It's one of the best movies I've ever seen.  I never realized that the theaters have handicapped seating.  I was able to have the knee cart next to me and prop my leg up.  The only problem was when I was trying to get up and steadying myself on the rocking seats.  

Turtle Safely......

Quartzite Departure

Casa Grande, Arizona

It was so nice to leave Quartzite on a high.  The Bloggerfest was the best way to end our Quartzite stay.  Thanks again to Jeri Williams and Sandie Dixon for hosting the party.  I can't wait for next year's party.  

We packed up and said our goodbyes this morning and made plans for when we would see everyone again.  

It was about 9:30 when we pulled out.  It was after we made the turn by the city park, when I remembered to turn on the tire monitors.  The monitors started warning us immediately.  The passenger side rear coach tire only had 42 pounds of air which usually has 80 psi.  

Bill pulled into the station on Riggle and tried to air up the tire.  After $2.00, and no more quarters, it still wouldn't pump up the tire.  

We pulled into the back lot of the station and was about to unhitch the truck so our truck compressor would reach the tire.  A nice couple in a motorhome was about to hitch up their car.  They pulled alongside the rear tire and used their compressor to air it up.  They also spotted a nail in the tire.

I called our roadside service and they connected me to a tire service.  They started out be saying it was $87 to repair a tire and $165 to install it.  I asked about the cost of a new tire and after that sticker shock told them I'd call them back.  

We decided to head down the road to the Vicksburg exit where we knew there were two truck stops.  While there were two trucks stops, they didn't do repairs on tires.  But as luck would have it, there was a tire repair place next door and better yet, even though it was Sunday, they were open.  

In no time at all, we had the tire repaired.  The best part was our bill was $22.50!

I'll take the next two weeks, elevating my leg and doing my exercises so it doesn't swell. Then we'll be off on our next adventure.  

Turtle Safely......

Classless Class

Quartzite, Arizona

Yesterday Bill drove into town and we filled the propane tanks.  It was a pleasant surprise when we found out it was $2.30 a pound.  I remember paying almost $4.00 in Billings, Mt.  I overheard one man at the Pit Stop saying that one tank held 35,000 and the other 45,000 and they get them filled twice a day.  That's a lot of propane!

I thought maybe I could manage walking around Tyson Wells but we couldn't find a parking spot convenient enough for me.  We rode out Kuehn and found a parking spot, but the gravel was just to thick to manage with the knee cart.  

When we returned Jim Dixon was standing there with a grin on his face.  You just knew he was up to something.  They bought me the perfect pin.  

Now those of you that know me, have to agree it's the perfect pin.  In case this is too small to read, it says "I only have a kitchen 'cause it came with the rig!" If I wear the pin, do you think I won't have to cook?

The Class had a swap thing where everyone brought stuff they didn't want.  You picked a number and when your number was called you got to pick some stuff from the table.  There was a very nice Coleman grill that no one picked, but the bottle of bourbon drew the most attention.  It was gone when my number was called.

It takes forever to just do basic stuff like getting dressed.  I told Bill this morning that I thought we should head home.  Needless to say "The Warden" agreed my probation should be revoked.  It's been very difficult with the rocks trying to roll the cart over them.  I just don't want to ruin any chance of us going to the Pyrotechnic Winter Blast next month.  

Today was the Bloggerfest.  Jeri and Sandie did an excellent job of organizing this first event which appears to be an annual one.  There were over 50 people and everyone had the chance to tell their blog name and a little bit about themselves.  Sandie will send the list of blog sites out in a few days.  I wasn't able to mingle as much because the ground was so rough and I had trouble moving around on it. 
I was surprised how far some people traveled to attend.  It was a great event and I'm sure it will double in size next year.  Great job, Jeri and Sandie.  Did I mention that Sandie stepped up to the plate when George Yates had to cancel?   

I'll post some photos, thanks to Mike Woodward for taking them, of the event.  

Yep, Mike ever took a photo of me on my cart with my yellow balloon.  

Jim and Sandie drove us to Bouse for dinner.  It wasn't much but they have never been to Bouse before.  

Oops, I almost forgot.  We did get a photo of Jim driving a Dodge.  I wonder what General Motors thinks of this.  Maybe they'll revoke his pension.  

Turtle Safely........

Celebrating a Birthday with Escapees

Quartzite, Arizona

It takes a lot longer to do daily tasks like bathing and dressing than normal and I therefore missed the morning drinks with the group.  I'm sure they were great.

I wanted to renew our Passport America membership and buy a sewer hose support system that we saw last year.  Bill dismantled the macerator to see if he was okay with using the conventional sewer hose systems.  I'm still not sure how I feel about having a washer dryer but knew we'd have to get rid of the macerator system so we could just have the gray tank open constantly.  Little steps, I'm not sure I want to give up the space.  This meant a trip to the big tent RV show.  

We looked for a handicap space and kept circling the parking lot, I finally said I could manage from anywhere so Bill parked pretty close to the handicap area and I managed to negotiate the freshly applied loose gravel with the knee cart.  

We don't have any pets, but I can't understand why people would bring their pets, if they cared for them, into that crowded space.  I saw pets just shaking from all the people and other pets.  Dogs were going in one direction on leashes and the people in another.  I had an awful time trying to avoid running over pets with the scooter.  Don't get me wrong, there were some well behaved pets with owners that were watching out for them, but unfortunately there were many owners that didn't have a clue what their pets were doing or how they felt about all the crowds and other pets.   I'm sure the pets didn't beg to come to such a chaotic place.  

This is the first year we've come for two items and left with just that.  Nothing extra!  Mark this day down for a first!  We always spend more than we intended.  

I got my "hug" fixes from Molly and Bob Pinner and Mark Nemeth.  Dortha Hall also had a hug for us.  It was so nice to see everyone.  Chris Yust also had a big hug.  Everyone wanted to know how I was doing and I kept saying just great.  

As we left the "big tent" we did the outer ring.  It was all fresh gravel and I had to literally take a step and pick up the scooter and put it down and take another step.  Of course this was on the side furthest away from the truck.  I managed to do the whole circle of the tent, but by then I was tired.  

We came back and had an hour or so before the big party tonight.  What a group of generous Escapees.  Three couples hosted the margaritas and Mexican food (I can't spell what they were but they were delicious.)  

 Don't you love the Escapees pinata?  Have you ever seen a party like this one before?

Toni made a delicious chocolate birthday cake for me.

Bill had to take a photo of this "honey dipper".  Notice the name on the side of it.  

Great food, great drinks, great friends, what more could you want.  

Here's the party hosts.  I think they may have sampled the margaritas.  

They offered some great toasts.  

I spent most of the evening with my leg elevated.  I may have pushed it a little too much today.  

The pinata was filled with candy.

We probably were the first to leave.  My foot was getting cold and starting to throb but I'm sure the party lasted a much longer time.  I asked someone if I had a flat tire on my scooter, because it didn't balance too well.  No problem, we weren't driving and had a short walk home.  

Turtle Safely......

New Record

Quartzite, Arizona

Jim and Sandie came over to show us where the "Classless Class" was gathering this morning.  I guess I must have gotten left and right wrong.  No problem we just drove across the street.  


Yep, the townsfolk say there are 850,000 RVers out in the desert.  It's amazing how many groups and friends get together here.  With that said, I'm still in a state of shock.  We went to dinner with our dental friends--Jim and Sandie Dixon and Dianne and Tom Wartman.  You might remember if you read this blog regularly that we all went to the dentist together about this time last year.  The Yacht Club was our destination.  Absolutely no traffic whatever.  I can't believe it.  

Even better than that, we were immediately seated with no waiting.  The place was packed but our waiter was very attentive.  

Tom is so generous, he offered to lend me one of his legs.  He said he has lots of spares.  

Jim found a loose connection on our black water sprayer and of course, he had it repaired in no time.  When the tool kit is out, it always draws a crowd and Tom was there to lend a hand.  

The weather was nice, but the winds kicked up this afternoon.  

Saturday is the blog fest that will be going on here.  I think it sounds like fun, and it will be nice to finally meet some people that make comments on this blog. I hope if you are a blogger, you'll be here. For those of you that don't comment, it really means a lot when you do.  I haven't been doing this as long as most but today I finally had more than 50,000 views.  I wish I had started blogging when we first started RVing but you can't go backwards.  


Tomorrow promises to be a busy day.  

Turtle Safely............

Probation!

Quartzite, Arizona

Yesterday we drove down to see how Marilyn Boyer was recovering from her surgery.  It was great seeing them and Marilyn showed me how to crawl in the trailer.  

They have a lovely new home and I can see why they love this new coach.

We went to the Hideout for lunch but they were not serving when we got there.  No problem  "Tinys" was right down the road.

It was Bill's kind of place.  Old western stuff everywhere.  The food was excellent and we enjoyed our visit.  

On our way home, which happened to be in the truck, I said since we went 177 miles I could handle Quartzite.  The next thing I knew, we were headed to storage and picked up the coach.  Bill did all the packing and we left this morning around 9:30.  There was a terrible accident on I 10 which delayed us for over an hour.  

This Metlife blimp was flying overhead watching the accident area.

At least I had a place to elevate my leg during the wait.

There was a fifth wheel, an Airstream travel trailer, an 18 wheeler and a couple of cars but looked like most of the accident was cleared.  

We're on Polomos Road across from the Montana Circle of the Wagons.  I guess we're on the wrong side of the tracks for the classless class.  We'll decide tomorrow if we want to move or not.  

We rode over to say "hi" to our MOC friends.  They are pulling out tomorrow.  It was great seeing them and I'm sorry I didn't take photos.  Janet and Rollie's new family member is adorable.  

Just got an e-mail that someone is coming to visit us this week, but we're not there.  No one expected Warden Bill to give me probation. 

Turtle Safely.....